The Vatican\/Holy See recognizing that the SSPX\/FSSPX\/Lefebvrists\/Lefebvrians is not officially part of the Roman Catholic Church isn’t all that surprising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’m sharing excerpts: one from an AP article, another from Vatican News. There’s more detail and links in the Vatican News piece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n“Vatican cracks down on a traditionalist group by excommunicating its bishops<\/strong><\/a>”
Nicole Winfield, AP (Associated Press) (July 2, 2026)<\/p>\n\n\n\n“…The Vatican responded aggressively Thursday to a traditionalist group that consecrated bishops without the pope\u2019s consent, declaring the Society of St. Pius X had formally broken with the Catholic Church. It also excommunicated its bishops and priests, and warned its faithful that they too face the harshest sanctions in the church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“By declaring a schism and extending sanctions to potentially thousands of Catholics…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“…The society, known by its acronym SSPX, celebrates the ancient Latin Mass and opposes the modernizing reforms of the Catholic Church, which it considers to be rife with heresies and errors … has been a thorn in the Vatican’s side for five decades because it claims to be even more Catholic than the Holy See….”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Excommunication decreed for Lefebvrian episcopal ordinations<\/strong><\/a>”
Vatican News (July 2, 2026)
“A document signed by Cardinal V\u00edctor Manuel Fern\u00e1ndez, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, defines the rite celebrated on 1 July as an ‘act of a schismatic nature,’ with an explanatory note providing details of the grave canonical sanction of excommunication.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n“The bishops of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, Alfonso de Galarreta and Bernard Fellay\u2014respectively principal consecrator and co-consecrator\u2014and the newly consecrated bishops Pascal Schreiber, Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, and Marc Hanappier have incurred ‘ipso facto’ the ‘latae sententiae’ excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See for having carried out ‘an act of a schismatic nature’: the ‘episcopal consecration of four presbyters, without pontifical mandate and against the will of the Supreme Pontiff.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This was stated in a decree released on July 2 and signed by Cardinal V\u00edctor Manuel Fern\u00e1ndez, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and countersigned by the two Secretaries of the same Dicastery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The decision came twenty-four hours after the solemn ceremony celebrated in \u00c9c\u00f4ne, Switzerland, on the morning of July 1, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith\u2019s decree establishes that, in the act of carrying out the consecration, both the consecrators and those consecrated incurred the prescribed excommunication….”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
In a way, I get it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back in 1970, here in America, we were seeing a fair amount of screwball DIY liturgical stunts done “in the spirit of Vatican II”. I wasn’t a Catholic at the time, but even from the outside they seemed silly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For someone who had grown up in a parish that’d been considered old-fashioned in 1900, “in the spirit of Vatican” antics could have felt \u2014 deeply offensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don’t know why or how many priests and bishops actually bought into the “spirit of Vatican II” nonsense. I suspect part of the problem was that American culture was going through a ‘let’s review old habits’ cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another \u2014 let’s face it. Church documents are written in academese: in Latin, then translated into other languages. They’re not easy reading. It’d be a whole lot easier to pick up one’s favorite magazine or newspaper, and see what the reporters and editors said the documents said. Easy, yes. Accurate, maybe not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I haven’t talked about the Piux X outfit before, but I have said a few things about the Church and making sense:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- “Called to Holiness, Not Stupidity<\/strong><\/a>” (June 7, 2025)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- “Polka Mass and Adoration<\/strong><\/a>” (December 13, 2019)\n
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- Something New<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Our Lady of the Angels: Polka Mass<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- History, Personal and Otherwise<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Another Ancient Philosopher<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Propriety and Perspectives<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Time, Place and Being Appropriate<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- “This is My Body”<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- In the Adoration Chapel<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Vatican\/Holy See recognizing that the SSPX\/FSSPX\/Lefebvrists\/Lefebvrians is not officially part of the Roman Catholic Church isn’t all that surprising. I’m sharing excerpts: one from an AP article, another from Vatican News. There’s more detail and links in the Vatican … Continue reading