Pope Francis Abuse Scandal

[Pat Mustard]

Guilty guilty guilty . . . .

So, is a criminal pope automatically an anti-pope?  Or do they need to have a conclave of turds in the septic tank ??

No an anti-pope is simply a pope elected in opposition to a sitting one. They were common in the middle ages because there was much debate (read knights killing lots of badly armed and unarmoured peasants) between Emperor and curia over who got to appoint the pontifex maximus (yeah the vatican still worships Jupiter). Every time the cardinals elected one of their own behind the German Emperor, he'd go and appoint an anti-pope.

Most antis eventualy became popes proper, mainly because the popes didn't usually have a Matilda of Canossa to lend them an army.