4.18. Isn’t it dangerous to claim that we have no pope? Isn’t that schismatic or Protestant?

No. It is not schism to recognize that a manifest heretic is not a true pope — it is fidelity to Catholic teaching.

The Church herself teaches that we must reject heresy, even if it comes from someone falsely claiming authority. The sin of schism is the refusal to submit to a legitimate authority, not the rejection of an illegitimate usurper.

The Protestant error was to deny the authority of the papacy itself. Traditional Catholics, in contrast, affirm the papacy, but deny that the heretical post-Vatican II claimants are true popes.