Tradicat

 + JMJ Introduction Since the 1980’s when my family started going to Fr. Normandin’s mass (link: https://tradicat.blogspot.com/2026/05/stories-early-days-of-tradition-part-5.html ), I have seen the oppressive attrition resulting from the continuous pressure on Traditional Catholics and the inexorable passage of time. In Ecclesia Dei (link) , I intuitively recognized it as an attempt to scare people into submission with vague threats and ambiguities. Later on, when I studied ED, the chasm between disobedience and schism was one that seemed insurmountable – declaring an action contravened Canon 751 when it wasn’t included in the Canonical warning was akin to declaring something illegal after-the-fact (link) . Now we are faced with an objective repeat of the 1988 Episcopal Consecrations and the media frenzy and well / not so well intentioned voices are crying out all over the wilderness of the internet. Are they sirens calling us to our immortal damnation or voices of reason ...

 + JMJ A now the moment that we've all been waiting for ... well not exactly ... but I have been waiting to hear the names of the SSPX candidates for the auxiliary bishops (i.e. no jurisdiction and no schism). It is a sign of the passage of years that I have never met any of the candidates in my years roaming across Traditionalism - whereas in 1988, I had personally met 3 out of 4 of the candidates. I had been told that they would be older than forty and probably not much older than fifty. ... and so it is with two outliers:  Father Pascal Schreiber Swiss 53y German, French, English Father Michael Goldade USA 45y English and some competency in French and Spanish Father Michel Poinsinet de Sivry France 42y French, English and some competency in German and Dutch Father Marc Hanappier France 36y French, English and some competency in German and Spanish Suffice to say, I believe the SSPX is counting on Fr. Schreiber to add additional wisdom and Fr. Hanappier longevity to the SSPX....

 + JMJ At this time the only indication of a Rome (Cdl Fernandez / Pope Leo 14) issuing a Canonical Warning to the SSPX is a press release (link) .   For comparison, I have attached the 1988 version.  Perhaps they (Rome) will issue a formal warning as the date of the consecrations draws nearer.  I really want to see the canons they cite. P^3 2026 Statement of His Eminence Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith  May 13, 2026  Regarding the Society of Saint Pius X, what has already been communicated is hereby reaffirmed. The episcopal ordinations announced by the Society of Saint Pius X do not have the corresponding pontifical mandate. This act will constitute "a schismatic act" (John Paul II, Ecclesia Dei, n. 3), and "formal adherence to the schism constitutes a grave offense against God and carries with it the excommunication established by the law of the Church" (ibid., 5c; cf. Pontifical Council for L...

 + JMJ The chatter of humans discussing the future SSPX Episcopal consecrations continues at a fairly constant pace on Catholic websites and forums. As in 1988, there are threats of excommunication and schism from Rome and protestations of the crisis of the Catholic Church from the SSPX.  So, what I advice would I give to Pope Leo XIV if he ask for it? That is a good question. What is the core issue that needs to be addressed?  What decision needs to be made?  My first thought would be to recommend caling a dogmatic council to correct the 'spirit of vatican 2'.  But that doesn't really get to the core issue. The second was to give the SSPX an official mandate for their consecration of new bishops to ensure the survival of the SSPX. That also is just a surface issue. The core issue, I think, is that the hierarchy of the Church has lost their true fervour for the salvation of souls, replaced by the seeping poison of human respect.  A human respect that occlud...

 + JMJ Definitely one of the Chronicle! Courtesy of FSSPX.News [Tradicat Comments: I have noted that at least one author has missed the point of the declaration. As an SSPX priest noted in a sermon, the Declaration of Catholic Faith stands as a proof that the SSPX meets the conditions for 'Full Communion' as opposed to blind obedience to the Spirit of Vatican 2.] Declaration of Catholic Faith addressed to Pope Leo XIV MAY 14, 2026 SOURCE: FSSPX NEWS Declaration of Catholic Faith addressed to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV by Fr. Davide Pagliarani Superior General of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X Most Holy Father, For more than fifty years, the Society of Saint Pius X has endeavoured to set before the Holy See a matter of conscience in the face of the errors that are destroying Catholic faith and morals. Regrettably, all the discussions entered into have remained without result, and none of the concerns expressed have received any truly satisfactory response.  For more than f...

 + JMJ From a Catholic Traditionalist perspective the noise surrounding the pending SSPX Episcopal Consecrations 2.0 continues to simmer and bubble. In the background we have the continued signs that something isn't quite right in the Catholic Church.  Blessing of Same-Sex couple Communion for the Married and Civilly Divorces Bishops preparing to ordain married men in the Roman rite where this is forbidden. and to top it off the TransAlpine Redemptorists take the fatal step into the quagmire of Sedevacantism. The first three are signs of the doctrinal and disciplinary crisis and the final one a consequence of people with poor foundations in how to adapt to and survive the crisis as a Catholic. P^3 1 Popes Past Present and Future Papal News and Views RORATE CÆLI: Leo XIV - The First Anniversary: Pope's Brother Says Leo XIV and the President Have Much in Common - Full Interview RORATE CÆLI: HOW CAN WE VIEW THE FIRST YEAR OF THE PONTIFICATE OF LEO XIV? Leo XIV and the Challenge o...

 + JMJ Introduction I subscribed to Jesuit Review America Magazine in order to improve my perspective on the crisis of the Church. At first, I found that I had a hard time reading through the articles that caught my attention.  Actually, at best, I didn't get further than a few sentences.  Mostly due to demands on what time I have left on this Good Earth. Then a title caught my eye in a latest article ... someone is saying that the Liturgy is not a space for self-expression.  Then there's the Performative Piety?  What does this mean? What is Performative Piety? I had a sense that "Performative Piety" is the practice of making external acts of piety to be seen by others and Matthew 6:1 (link) confirms this thought. Let's break down the Knox translation: Be sure you do not perform your acts of piety before men ,  for them to watch ;  if you do that,  you have no title to a reward from your Father who is in heaven. If you stopped after the first ph...

 + JMJ Following the thread of the internal persecution of Catholics (Bishops, Priests, Monks, Nuns, Brothers) who were repulsed by the 'new way' that swallowed the Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council, I have one story that I witnessed the end stages when my family started to attend the Tridentine Mass in the early 80's. As I've mentioned before, I didn't want to be there as we walking into the little chapel. It was small, maybe it could hold 80 people.  It smelled, small building imbued with incense - a new experience.  It was strange, very strange. It was a small chapel, a hall purchased by a group of pioneering Traditional Catholics to be their anchor in a Catholic World gone mad. They had started as a rosary group in a layman's basement. Then when Fr. Normandin started travelling across Canada, they rented a room at the convention centre. Those were heady days of First Fervour. When news that Fr. would unexpectedly be in town, the call went out:...

 + JMJ Rorate-Caeli has published an interview given by Fr. Pagliarani and proposes that the consecrations should have taken place under the Pontificate of Pope Francis. I had thought that Pope Francis would have been the one to do it, just to spite his opponents on both the Conservative and Liberal sides of the Church. Here's my thoughts: The situation didn't become 'serious' until the death of Bishop Tissier de Mallerais and Bishop de Gallerrata (the youngest) had a sudden medical emergency. This presented a real crisis point that I would have seen as signalling the need for new bishops. In the waning years of Pope Francis' pontificate, such a pivotal decision by the weakened Pope may have cast the Church into an even bigger mess (civil war) with people questioning Pope Francis' mental state etc.  This would have created a crisis for the new, and unknown pope, to resolve in the first weeks of his pontificate - without securely establishing himself first.  Not...