EXCELLENT INTERVIEW WITH CARDINAL KOCH—COMMON SENSE—I HOPE POPE LEO HEEDS HIS ADVICE!

 Copied from Rorate Caeli—Press title for full interview, money byte below:

Cardinal Koch, Prefect of Christian Unity, on the SSPX Consecrations: "We need to rethink Traditionis custodes, especially for those faithful who feel drawn to this liturgy without sharing the ideology of the SSPX." 

The Illicit Episcopal Ordinations of the Society of St. Pius X

Interview with Cardinal Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity

Money byte question and answer:

Yesterday we saw that the SSPX strikingly staged the aesthetic glow of the old rites. At the same time, we can see, especially in the USA and also in France, a growing interest among the younger generation in these traditionalist forms of Christianity. A perhaps somewhat delicate question: isn't this also an impetus for the Catholic Church, as it currently stands, to review its books—perhaps to appreciate the particular truth contained within traditionalism and use it as an occasion for self-critical reflection?

Yes, I think it could lean toward self-righteousness if we simply condemn the Society and say they are on the wrong track, without asking whether there are fundamental deficits in the Church today that are being recalled by the Society.

First, I think of the unresolved question of the relationship between the two forms of the one Roman Rite, as Pope Benedict called it. Pope Benedict showed a path there; Pope Francis curbed it somewhat radically. I think we need to rethink this, especially for those faithful who feel drawn to this form of liturgy without sharing the entire ideological superstructure of the Society. For these faithful, I think we must look for new ways.

A second problem is the ecclesiological pluralism we have today in ecumenism, where basically all churches and ecclesial communities are treated as equivalent, so that it is essentially a matter of indifference which church you belong to; there, the uniqueness of the Catholic Church, as pointed out clearly by the Second Vatican Council, is forgotten.

And thirdly, religious pluralism—the idea that all religions are equally ways to God. These theses are widely held today, and it would be good to use the confrontation with the Society as an opportunity for self-examination, to consider what needs to be changed here. Because only in this way can we credibly represent to the Society that these evils they name are not contained in the Council, but are tendencies that appeared after the Council.

Read more »

THE SIMILARITIES AND DISSIMILARITIES IN THE FSSSPX SCHISM AND THE EASTERN ORTHODOX SCHISMS AND THE POTENTIAL GERMAN SCHISM AND THE PROTESTANT SCHISM

 The FSSPX schism and the Eastern Orthodox Schism are similar in the sense that the break with the pope did not affect Holy Orders and thus Apostolic Succession. The Eastern Orthodox don’t accept any Ecumenical Council since the Great Schism and it appears that the FSSPX won’t accept any council since Trent, although Vatican I they may accept, not sure. So like the Orthodox, who are ossified in the last council before the Great Schism, the FSSPX are ossified in Vatican I or perhaps Trent. 

The FSSPX won’t grow or spread unlike the Eastern Schism which had the support of political leaders at the time and since their churches are nationalistic, they have governmental support. This is not the case today with the FSSPX—complete countries aren’t going to be FSSPX, not even France. 

Now for the potential German Schism, brewing too since Vatican II.

It is much more like the Protestant Reformation. If it occurs, they will lose valid Holy Orders as they will ordain women (or whatever gender claimed). They will change the doctrine of Holy Matrimony too. 

There will be no Apostolic Secession as their Holy Orders will become null and void. 

They will become a neo-Protestant sect. 

They will become a nationalistic German sect, though, but won’t spread due to political powers adopting them as the state religion as the Protestant Reformation benefited. Their growth will be small. 

I need to know, though, as I don’t know—are Eastern Orthodox Marriages and Confessions valid or invalid? Has Rome ruled on that. This is a canonical question because prior to July 1, FSSPX marriages and Confessions were valid through a Roman decree but after July 1, that ended. Their marriages and Confessions are invalid. 

A PROPOSAL FOR A NEW POST VATICAN II ROMAN MISSAL WITH RITE I AND RITE II…

 Pope Benedict felt that having the two forms of the Roman Rite celebrated together would influence each and possible lead to a new Roman Missal to replace the 1962 and the various 1970’s editions. 

Here’s my proposal for such a thing but each has to give up something:

1. I propose two Rites of the One Missal:

A. Rite One is the Modern Mass with the new Roman Calendar and the new lectionary. However, its order is the 1962 Order completely, except vernacular can be used for the changing parts of the Mass. The Roman Canon must be used and prayed in a low voice and in Latin. The modern lectionary is used and in the vernacular. Additions to the Missal include Septuagesima (with appropriate lectionary readings) and all the Octaves removed in the 1970 versions of the Missal.

B. Rite II is basically the last version of the 1970’s Missal. The only adjustments to it would be a slight re-ordering of the Introductory Rite where only the Confiteor, absolution and Kyrie are said or chanted. This returns the Kyrie to the proper place in the Mass and always independent of the “absolution” meaning the absolution is never given after it is said but if prescribed, the Gloria begins immediately followed by placing “The Lord be with you” prior to the Collect not after the Sign of the Cross. 

Of course, Septuagesima and the octaves are restored with the proper lectionary readings. All the other options of the 1970’s Missal are present in Rite II.

Both rites may be celebrated ad orientem, Rite I, required.

In both rites kneeling for Holy Communion is the norm.

POPE LEO’S EXCOMMUNICATION OF THE SSPX, CLEARLY AND UNAMBIGUOUSLY STATING THEY ARE SCHISMATIC IS A BREATH OF FRESH AIR BUT IS IT VATICAN II?

Also, Cardinal Fernandez’s clarifying notes makes clear that lay people should not participate in FSSPX Masses on a regular basis.

Let’s go back to the late 1960’s and early 1970’s and the fever of ecumenism that spread throughout the Church and even in my little old parish in Augusta, Georgia.

And let’s talk about today, ecumenically speaking and independent of the FSSPX:

I can remember that prior to Vatican II Catholics were warned not to step foot in a Protestant Church and not to be fooled by what looks like a Catholic Mass in High Episcopal Parishes. 

And then Vatican II supposedly tore that all down. 

I remember my pastor in Augusta in the early 1970’s telling a mother who asked if her daughter could attend a Sunday Protestant Service at her friend’s Church and he said yes and she did not need to also go to Sunday Mass. 

When I was in the seminary in the late 1970’s one of our priest-Dominican professors, who went on to become the Superior of his southern province, brought a group of us seminarians to an AME Church in Baltimore for one of their Sunday Services which also featured their Communion. The good Father went up and received their Holy Communion along with some other seminarians—I chose to hang back, so pre-Vatican II was I in the most liberal seminary in the country. But I was quite flexible about what others wanted to do, thus very post-Vatican II in that regard.

Today, I know many Catholics who have joined the Episcopal Church, especially the upwardly mobile and still receive Holy Communion when they attend a Catholic Mass. Many more Catholics have become non-denominational and yes, if they attend a Catholic funeral or wedding they receive Holy Communion.

And many practicing Catholics when they attend an Episcopal wedding or funeral where their Eucharist is celebrated, will go to Communion.

So, why is the pope and Cardinal Fernandez not concerned about other schismatic sects that Catholic attend and also participate in their Communion and with no warnings to them and the proper expression of ecumenism as Vatican II taught? And what about their possible excommunication. Are they to do what Cardinal Fernandez says even FSSPX laity must do who have participated in the FSSPX and attend Mass in their churches regularly?

Curious on Hilton Head Island on the 4th of July

SOME MUSINGS ON EXCOMMUNICATIONS AND ECCLESIAL INCOHERENCE AND THE FAITHFUL’S MISTRUST OF BISHOPS’ MANAGEMENT OF THE CHURCH AND HER LITURGIES, ALL OF THEM!

What I love about Pope Leo XIV is that His Holiness is clear, canonical and unambiguous. That is refreshing after 13 years of the opposite. His Holiness has calmed nerves, soothed hurt feelings and is the imaging the Good Shepherd—and no name calling, WOW!

As it concerns the FSSPX’s excommunication—they were warned, warned, warned, warned and like adolescent children they ignored, ignored, ignored. But worse yet, they broke the 4th Commandment. Read what the CCC says about the 4th Commandment.

They disobeyed the Holy Father in His most solemn demand that they not ordain any new bishops. They not only broke the 4th Commandment, Divine Law, but also canon law. 

Thanks be to God that Pope Leo does not denigrate those who are canon lawyers and those who are in Church Law Enforcement. I have not heard Pope Leo call anyone in a derogatory way a “doctor of the law” meaning pharisaical—name-calling.  

I am happy that the Vatican has acknowledged those institutes and dioceses that allow the celebration of the ancient liturgical forms of the Church and opens the door to FSSPX clergy to leave the FSSPX and be amalgamated into dioceses or institutes:

Following the schismatic act of July 1, a return to Catholic communion will not require repeating the experience of special commissions, such as Ecclesia Dei in the past, because the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has already established a procedure for both priests and lay faithful, directly involving diocesan Ordinaries and the leaders of the fraternities that follow the ancient rite and are united with Rome.

But, but, but Cardinal Fernandez, we have bishops galore, some newly appointed, suppressing the TLM in their dioceses as they believe that Pope Francis’ miserable TC demands that only the post-Vatican II Bugnini Ordo of the Mass should be celebrated as sign of the Church’s unity—a truly Orwellian attitude.

How can anyone who wants to be in Full Communion with the Church trust that the Vatican won’t try to force them to give up the liturgical heritage they have and for some younger people, the only Rite they have every celebrated?

Traditionis Custodis must be suppressed and bishops told not to harass and marginalize  those who desire the TLM by making it difficult for them to attend. Is that too much to ask????? NO!
And, Most Holy Father, please give, as one more option in a Missal with many options, the TLM’s order and rubrics to the modern Missal even in the vernacular—that would show that there is truly continuity between the 1962 Roman Missal and the Modern Bugnini Order. 

SOUNDS REASONABLE!

 From Vatican News:

Lefebvrite priests and lay faithful: Procedure to return to Catholic communion

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has sent a communication to bishops around the world outlining what must be done to welcome back those who decide to leave the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X following the schismatic act that led to excommunication.

READ THE REST HERE.

VATICAN NEWS GIVES AN EXCELLENT SUMMARY OF THE HISTORY OF THE FSSPX BEGINNING WITH POPE PAUL VI, CONTINUING WITH POPE JOHN PAUL II, CONTINUING WITH POPE BENEDICT XIV, CONTINUING WITH POPE FRANCIS AND NOW AT ANOTHER ZENITH, CONTINUING WITH POPE LEO XIV

 This Vatican historical summary is great and reminded me of things I had forgotten or did not know:

Lefebvre's schism repeated 38 years later

The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X once again separates itself from Rome through illicit episcopal consecrations carried out against the Pope's will, despite the generous efforts of Pope Saints Paul VI and John Paul II, the decision by Pope Benedict XVI to lift the excommunication, and the faculties granted by Pope Francis.

By Andrea Tornielli

It is a troubled history, marked by generous attempts, doors kept open, and opportunities offered. It is a painful story, characterized by two grave ruptures that led the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, to separate itself from the Pope and from communion with the Church of Rome by committing the schismatic act of consecrating bishops without the pontifical mandate and against the will of the Vicar of Christ.

READ THE REST AT VATICAN NEWS HERE

WHEN THE VALIDITY OF TWO SACRAMENTS, HOLY MATRIMONY AND PENANCE (AKA, CONFESSION, RECONCILIATION) IS BASED UPON CANONICAL CONSIDERATIONS….

 As a young priest, I was shocked, shocked I say, to find out that if I did not have the permission of the proper pastor of the parish where a wedding was taking place, to witness the Sacrament of Marriage, that that marriage would not only be illicit due to me not getting the permission or the pastor not giving it, but also invalid!

The same is true for the validity of the Sacrament of Penance. A priest must have faculties to hear valid confessions. Some priests, due to a variety of reasons, are not given faculties to hear confessions in some dioceses. It is the local bishop who gives the faculties. 

Thus, all the clergy of the FSSPX to include their old bishops and new bishops are excommunicated and no marriage they witness or any Confession they hear are valid—they are not just illicit but invalid!

I believe, though, in the event of an emergency where a Catholic is near death or is dying and no other priest is available, even an excommunicated bishop or priest could validly hear that person’s Confession.

This applies to priests who have been laicized and validly married in the Church or not married, they too can hear Confessions in the event of this kind of emergency and also offer other aspects of the Last Rites, such as the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick and final prayers. 

What puzzles me, though, is that the Masses the FSSPX are offering after having been excommunicated are still considered valid although illicit. 

Can anyone explain to me, a most humble priest-blogger, why invalidity doesn’t apply the the celebration of the Mass but it does to Marriage and Confession?

—Confused on Hilton Head Island

DECREE OF EXCOMMUNICATION!

 Decree of Excommunication

Further details are contained in an “Explanatory Note,” published by the Dicastery at the same time as the decree of excommunication, which is reproduced in full below:

The Dicastery’s Note

From the time of Saint Paul VI up to the most recent talks, held recently at this Dicastery, the many attempts to bring the members of the movement begun by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre back into full communion with the Catholic Church have proved vain.

This situation has been further aggravated by the recent episcopal consecrations celebrated without pontifical mandate, against the will of the Holy Father, and in open violation of canon law.

Therefore, this Dicastery, in the faithful exercise of the functions entrusted to it, considers it necessary to state that this act constituted the delict of schism, with the canonical consequences for the sacred ministers and lay faithful involved. Indeed, as was already declared in 1988, “such disobedience—which implies in practice the rejection of the Roman primacy—constitutes a schismatic act” (cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Ecclesia Dei, 3).

https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/it/motu_proprio/documents/hf_jp-ii_motu-proprio_02071988_ecclesia-dei.html

In this regard, from now on:

1. The sacred ministers belonging to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X are in schism and must therefore be considered schismatics (cf. Ecclesia Dei, 5 c; Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Explanatory Note on the excommunication for schism incurred by those adhering to the movement of Bishop Marcel Lefebvre, 24.08.1996, 5-6), and are subject to the excommunication prescribed by law (can. 1364 § 1 CIC).

2. As regards the lay faithful, those who formally adhere to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X are to be considered schismatics and excommunicated under the conditions established in the 1996 Explanatory Note of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts (cf. ibidem, 7), which remains in force and which this Dicastery adopts as its own.

https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/intrptxt/documents/rc_pc_intrptxt_doc_19960824_vescovo-lefebvre_it.html

3. Finally, the holy People of God are warned that the sacred ministers of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X administer the sacraments illicitly, and that the sacrament of penance administered by them and marriages assisted by them are invalid.

The Church, as a caring mother, will welcome with sincere affection and lively solicitude all those who wish to return to full communion. The Apostolic Nuncios will arrange the procedures that Ordinaries may use in the various cases.

Finally, all the faithful are urged to remain steadfast in communion with the Roman Pontiff, with the Bishops in communion with him, and with the whole Church (cf. Lumen Gentium, 22; can. 751 CIC), and to refrain from taking part in celebrations and activities promoted by the aforementioned Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X.

AMEN! ALLELUIA! AND PRAISE THE LORD!

 Copied from Rorate Caeli:

Cardinal Müller on the SSPX Consecrations: The Time Has Come to End Traditionis Custodes and Free the Latin Mass Once More

 "Let the Ancient and Modern Rites Coexist. Banning Latin? That Would Be a Gift to the Rebels." 

By Nico Spuntoni

Il GiornaleJuly 1, 2026

Gerhard Müller: "Demanding blind obedience is not the Christian style. No compromises on dogma — but more tolerance in pastoral practice."

Benedict XVI appointed him to lead the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Francis created him a cardinal. Gerhard Ludwig Müller is one of the most eminent living theologians and one of the most authoritative members of the College of Cardinals. In this interview with Il Giornale, the German cardinal argues that the time has come to close the chapter of restrictions on the Tridentine Mass opened in 2021 with the promulgation of Traditionis Custodes, and to return to liberalizing the ancient liturgy as Ratzinger had done.

Your Eminence, do you believe that the imminent Lefebvrian schism should lead the Church to rethink the restrictions on the Latin Mass still in force?

Read more there »

VATICAN NEWS POSTS STORY ON LEFEBVRIANS’ SCHISM AND THE AUTOMATIC EXCOMMUNICATION OF THE NEW BISHOPS AND THOSE ORDAINING THEM—NOT SURE ABOUT THE OTHERS THERE…

 I love the temporary altar arrangement in a tent—Please note how the floral decorations frame and highlight the altar and don’t hide it! If this were the modern rite, it would look rinky-dink, non-important and the flowers would hide the stripped down altar!

May I recommend to His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, that he change the laws concerning the altar and make ad orientem the norm following all of the pre-Vatican II norms for the placement of the altar, number of steps leading to it and its decorations, even for temporary outdoor Masses in tents!

Lefebvrians consecrate four new bishops without a papal mandate

At the headquarters of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X in Switzerland, Bishops Alfonso de Galarreta and Bernard Fellay preside over the episcopal consecration, and the Superior General declared: "Any penalties or censures imposed for this act have no value whatsoever."

By Salvatore Cernuzio 

The seamless garment of Christ, which Pope Leo XIV had urged in a heartfelt letter on June 29 "not to tear apart," has now, in the Vatican's view, been torn.

This morning, Wednesday, July 1, in Ecône, Switzerland—the headquarters of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X (FSSPX)—the Lefebvrists, followers of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, consecrated four new bishops without a papal mandate. 

They did so even though the new bishops answered affirmatively to the liturgical question, "Habetis mandatum apostolicum?" ("Do you have the Apostolic Mandate?"). They justified the consecrations as necessary to ensure the continuity and very survival of their society, despite the Holy See's efforts at dialogue and repeated warnings against proceeding with what it viewed as a schismatic act. Those warnings came from Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, as well as from Pope Leo XIV himself in a letter issued two days before the consecrations.

30/06/2026

Pope’s final appeal to Society of Saint Pius X: Do not tear the seamless garment of Christ

The letter sent by Pope Leo XIV to the Superior General of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X is dated 29 June, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, two days before the ...

The Ceremony at Ecône

More than 1,000 priests, religious men and women, and about 15,000 people attended the ceremony, which began at 9:00 a.m. in a large white marquee next to the FSSPX seminary. The event was livestreamed in six languages on the society's official website, where a countdown to the ceremony had been running in recent days, accompanied by commemorative merchandise and other related events.

The four bishops consecrated today are Pascal Schreiber, a 53-year-old Swiss priest ordained at Ecône in 1998; Michael Goldade, originally from North Dakota and raised in Kansas, United States; Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, 42; and Marc Happier, 36, both French.

The main celebrant performing the consecrations was Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, with Bishop Bernard Fellay serving as co-consecrator. They are the two surviving bishops among the four originally consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre on June 30, 1988. According to Catholic canon law, carrying out such consecrations without a papal mandate incurs latae sententiae (automatic) excommunication.

Superior General Pagliarani's Address

At the beginning of the liturgy, the Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X, Fr. Davide Pagliarani, delivered a brief address saying, "We are prepared to pay any price to save the Church."

READ ALSO

13/05/2026

Cardinal Fernández to Pius X Society: Ordaining new bishops is schismatic act

According to the Superior General, it is therefore "a most serious duty" to "hand on the grace of the episcopate to these priests."

"We consider that any penalties or censures imposed for this act have no value whatsoever," he added.

For the Lefebvrists, their superior concluded, today is "a historic day" and "a celebration." For the universal Church, however, it is a day on which, in the Vatican's assessment, an old wound has been reopened—the wound of division.

TRUE ROMAN CATHOLICS ARE PROUD PAPISTS NO MATTER THE POPE! WHAT HAPPENED THIS MORNING IN ÉCÔNE WAS A CLOWN MASS WITH THE FACADE OF THE ANCIENT FORM OF THE ORDINATION RITE!

The photo and headline from Sileri non possum:

When I was pastor of the Church of the Most Holy Trinity in beautiful downtown Augusta, Georgia (1991-2004), my part time parochial vicar was Father Daniel Munn. He was a former Episcopalian priest who was married and with several children and grandchildren. His wife was one of our lectors. Both are now dead, God rest their souls.

Under St. John Paul II’s pastoral provision, Fr. Munn was received into the Full Communion of the Catholic Church, received the Sacrament of Confirmation and his First Holy Communion and then he was ordained a Catholic deacon and priest, all this I think in 1983. He was one of the first married former Episcopalian priests to come into the full communion of the Church and ordained a Catholic priest while married. 

He also received bi-ritual faculties and was the pastor of the small Greek Catholic parish of St. Ignatius of Antioch in Augusta. 

On the back bumper of his car was a bumper sticker which proclaimed unabashedly:

 PROUD PAPIST!

That is my proud virtual bumper sticker too and I hope yours also!

PROUD PAPIST! 

Rorate Caeli writes this about the sad state of the FSSPX back in 1987 and now in 2026. It seems that the facade of an Ancient Form of the Ordination of Bishops covers what is underneath, a Clown Mass:

In 1988, there was true agonizing by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and a wide portion of the FSSPX’s priests, seminarians, and lay faithful, and most of the “friendly communities” (monasteries, convents). 

The 2026 consecrations were marked by a "We don't care" attitude, and a carnival-like atmosphere.

This is the beginning of something different. This isn't 1988 anymore.

BOMBSHELL! POPE LEO COMPLETELY SUPPRESSES A MOTU PROPRIO OF POPE FRANCIS ISSUED IN 2023!

 NO! IT’S NOT TRADITIONIS CUSTODIS, BUT CERTAINLY IT COULD BE NEXT, NO???

This is the last part of Pope Leo’s Motu Proprio suppressing Pope Francis’ one. It only has to do with the Vicariate of Rome, but the suppression of Pope Francis’ 2023 Motu Proprio speaks well for the suppression on TC, in my most humble opinion. So, so, so many of Pope Francis’ administrative decisions were and are so flawed that poor Pope Leo has a huge job of reversing the previous but most venerable pope:

Now, having carefully weighed the indications received, I deem it appropriate to make certain amendments to the Apostolic Constitution *In Ecclesiarum communione*, so that the Vicariate of Rome may respond with ever-increasing effectiveness to the needs of the evangelizing mission, foster more intense ecclesial communion, and support the pastoral service of the Church in Rome.

Therefore, having carefully examined the work accomplished and following mature reflection, by means of this Apostolic Letter issued *Motu Proprio*, I establish and decree that the Apostolic Constitution *In Ecclesiarum communione* of 6 January 2023—which entered into force on 31 January 2023—be entirely replaced by the text attached to this Apostolic Letter, which forms an integral part thereof

I order that what has been decreed in this Apostolic Letter shall have firm and stable force, notwithstanding anything to the contrary—even if worthy of special mention—and that it be promulgated through publication in *L’Osservatore Romano*, entering into force on the day of its publication, and subsequently inserted into the official commentary of the *Acta Apostolicae Sedis*.

Given in Rome, at Saint Peter’s, on the 24th day of June in the year 2026, the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist, in the second year of the Pontificate.

POPE LEO FIRM FINAL APPEAL TO FSSPX

 Copied from Vatican News:

Pope’s final appeal to Society of Saint Pius X: Do not tear the seamless tunic of Christ

The letter sent by Pope Leo XIV to the Superior General of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X is dated 29 June, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, two days before the Lefebvrists’ announced episcopal consecrations without a pontifical mandate, which would constitute a new schismatic act.

Vatican News

“With a father’s heart, I wish to address you,” Pope Leo XIV writes, “and, through you, the bishops, priests, seminarians, and faithful attached to the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, mindful of the responsibility that the Lord has entrusted to me as Successor of the Apostle Peter. The Church recognises the attachment to the liturgical life, the commitment to priestly formation, the apostolic zeal, and the desire for fidelity to Tradition that characterise many persons and communities associated with your Society. This has inspired the attitude of attention and benevolence that my Predecessors have consistently shown towards you.”

“With this spirit, and filled with Christian affection,” the Pope continues, “I implore you and ask you with all my heart: turn back from this course! I urge you to consider the spiritual good of the faithful carefully, because the schismatic act that you would commit would deprive them of the lawful reception, and in some cases even the valid reception, of the Sacraments that they cherish and seek for their sanctification.”

“The Church,” the papal letter continues, “remains open to a path of dialogue and understanding that the Holy Spirit can make possible and fruitful. I pray for you, because tearing the seamless Tunic of Christ is a sin of the utmost gravity. May the Lord enlighten your consciences and awaken your hearts. By the authority I have received from Christ, with a sorrowful heart yet still full of hope, I feel bound to ask you to desist from your intention, and I entrust these intentions to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Good Counsel.”

The letter, written in French and addressed to the Society’s Superior General, Fr. Davide Pagliarani, thus constitutes a further appeal by the Pope to refrain from carrying out the schismatic act of episcopal consecrations without a pontifical mandate. Significantly, the central argument advanced in the letter concerns the spiritual welfare of the faithful attached to the Society, since such an act would render the sacraments they receive illicit and, in certain cases—namely sacramental confession and marriage—even invalid.

Here is the actual letter:

LETTER OF POPE LEO XIV
TO THE REVEREND DAVIDE PAGLIARANI
SUPERIOR GENERAL
OF THE PRIESTLY FRATERNITY OF SAINT PIUS X

[Multimedia]

___________________________________

With a paternal heart, and aware of the responsibility entrusted to me by the Lord as the Successor of the Apostle Peter, I address you and, through you, the bishops, priests, seminarians and faithful connected to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X.

The Church recognizes the devotion to liturgical life, commitment to priestly formation, apostolic zeal and desire for fidelity to Tradition that characterize many people and communities connected to your Fraternity. This has motivated the attentive and generous attitude that my Predecessors have consistently shown to you.

In this spirit, and filled with Christian affection, I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back! I urge you to consider carefully the spiritual good of the faithful, because the schismatic act you are about to undertake would deprive them of the licit and, in some cases, even valid reception of the Sacraments, which they love and seek for their sanctification.

The Church is open to a path of dialogue and understanding that the Holy Spirit can make possible and fruitful.

I pray for you, because to tear the seamless garment of Christ is a sin of extreme gravity. May the Lord enlighten your consciences and awaken your hearts. With a sorrowful yet hopeful heart, I feel it is my duty, through the authority received from Christ, to ask you to desist from your intended act. I entrust these intentions to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Good Counsel.

 

From the Vatican, 29 June 2026

Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul

 

LEO PP. XIV

ONE OF THE FIRST PERSONNEL CHANGES POPE LEO MADE WAS TO “SACK” ARCHBISHOP PAGLIA (AKA, SEND INTO RETIREMENT) A PROTEGE OF POPE FRANCIS ASSISTING HIM USING SYNODALITY TO CHANGE THE MORALS AND DOCTRINES OF THE CHURCH

Thank God that Archbishop Paglia is honest in his retirement. He lets the cat out of the bag, something that all of us saw and complained about but were labeled anti-Pope Francis for doing so, rigid and out of touch with the “surprises” of the Holy Spirit.

But in his “sacking” by Pope Leo, Archbishop Paglia received the Holy Spirit’s surprise too!

Thank God for Pope Leo who values canon law, natural law and clarity of doctrine. His Holiness also sees synodality not as surprising God or the Church but as bringing the Church into the truth of the Deposit of Faith and morals not changing them to please modernistic thoughts on changing the Church and making it a different Church as Pope Francis desired and Archbishop Paglia understood.

The Paglia interview also sheds light on how emboldened Fr. James Martin, SJ became about changing the Church’s moral teachings to accommodate each and every aspect of the LGBTQ+++ ideologies. And for him and Paglia and other post-Catholics, its not just about illicit and immoral sex and sexual partnerships that they want to become moral, but worse, changing the Church’s teaching on Holy Matrimony and Holy Orders. Paglia and Martin and even Pope Francis who confirmed Fr. Martin’s heterodoxy with handwritten notes that Martin then made public, with photos of the notes! You can’t make this stuff up, but it happened at the encouragement of Pope Francis. 

Press the title of Larry Chapp’s commentary for the full article. I have money-bytes from it below the title:

Archbishop Paglia’s ‘Paradigm Shift’ in Moral Theology Comes Into Focus

In this latest interview, he is brutally honest about his ultimate aims. And he has elicited a profound and important responsefrom the Institute’s former president, Msgr. Livio Melina, who was also among the professors Archbishop Paglia fired.

“He … made clear that these interventions were intended to bring about a profound paradigm shift, which — for the first time — he explicitly acknowledged as affecting not only the pastoral sphere but the doctrinal one as well,” Msgr. Melina stated.

“According to Paglia, this ‘very profound’ reform entailed, above all, a rethinking of the very concept of natural law. Paglia accused the John Paul II Institute of advancing a conception of natural law understood as a set of immutable principles from which moral norms are deduced. He proposed, instead, that natural law must be grounded in an ongoing historical discernment of subjective and cultural experience. In this perspective, a ‘theology within history and within people’s lives’ must replace what he characterized as the late Institute’s ‘armchair theology.’”

Nothing in this “new” debate surprises me. In 2022, I published an article in the Register making the point that the key to understanding the Francis pontificate was to focus on proposed changes in moral theology. In particular, my claim was that Pope Francis seemed to show a clear preference for a kind of moral theology that many refer to as “proportionalism.” 

As evidence for this, I cited his praise in 2017 for the proportionalist moral theologian Bernard Häring, whom the Pope held up as a “model” for the development of moral theology. He also made a series of appointments to high offices of priests and prelates who were public dissenters from Church teaching in the area of human sexuality in particular, and who argued for a “paradigm shift” in moral theology.

And you can read a commentary from the heretical and schism fomenting National catholic Reporter by Mr. Michael Sean Winters by pressing his title—of course he is unhappy about Pope Leo’s orthodoxy in changing the trajectory of Pope Francis in his desire to create a different church when it comes to moral theology and doctrines associated with it, especially rejecting natural law:

Fighting over the foundations of moral theology