Universal acceptance argument does not withstand the test of history.
St. Catherine of Siena is frequently quoted in her love of the pope of her day (as well she should be.) However, she is less frequently quoted in what she had to say about the antipope of her day. There have been 20-40 antipopes in history, so a discussion on this topic is not “anti-Catholic,” or “schismatic,” as the following account of St. Catherine clearly demonstrates.[…]
In 1378, after the election of Pope Urban VI, the majority of Cardinals, Prelates and the people recognized Clement VIl as pope, even though he was in reality an antipope. Thirteen out of sixteen cardinals questioned the validity of the election of Pope Urban due to the threat of violence from the Roman people against the Sacred College, and even Urban’s few supporters immediately retracted their election, summoning a new Conclave at Fondi which elected the antipope Clement VIl. Even Saint Vincent Ferrer was convinced that Clement was the real pope, while Saint Catherine of Siena sided with Urban. If universal consensus were an indefectibly valid argument for a pope’s legitimacy. Clement would have had the right to be considered the true pope, rather than Urban. Antipope Clement was defeated by Urban VI’s army in the battle of Marino in 1379 and transferred his See to Avignon, leading to the Western Schism, which lasted thirty-nine years. Thus we see that the universal acceptance argument does not withstand the test of history.
Source:
St. Catherine’s Letter to Cardinals Under an …