4.2. How can you claim there's no pope? Didn't Christ promise the gates of hell would not prevail?

Yes — Our Lord promised that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). This infallible assurance applies to the Catholic Church as founded by Christ, guaranteeing that it will never teach error in faith or morals and will never be destroyed. However, this promise does not mean that there will always be a reigning pope at every moment in history. There have been many interregnums — sometimes lasting years — when the See of Peter was vacant, but the Church continued.

What makes the current situation different is not merely the absence of a pope, but the presence of false claimants. Since Vatican II, the men occupying the Vatican have officially and publicly promoted doctrines that directly contradict the infallible teachings of previous popes and councils — on matters such as religious liberty, ecumenism, and the nature of the Church.

According to Catholic teaching, the Church cannot contradict itself. If what is now taught is contrary to what was always taught — then the institution teaching it can no longer be the Catholic Church. And if the head of that institution promotes these errors, then he cannot be Catholic — and therefore cannot be pope. This is not opinion; it is established doctrine:

• A public heretic is not a member of the Church (Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum)

• A heretic cannot validly hold ecclesiastical office — not even the papacy (Pope Paul IV, Cum Ex Apostolatus Officio)

• When a man publicly defects from the faith, he loses all jurisdiction automatically (1917 Code of Canon Law, canon 188.4)

Therefore, the Chair of Peter is not destroyed — it is vacant. The papacy continues as an office instituted by Christ, but it is not currently occupied because those who claim it have publicly defected from the Catholic Faith. This is not a denial of the papacy, but a defense of its divine protection from heresy and error.