Tradicat

 + JMJ Diane Montagna has posted an interview with Bishop Schneider (link)   I strongly encourage my readers to see the full and original interview at Diane Montagna's Substack and if possible support her work. P^3 Sources Mons. Schneider breaks his silence on Écône: the SSPX had to choose between Rome and «the integrity of the faith» – INFOVATICANA Bishop Schneider says SSPX gives Church a ‘service of historical value’ Bishop Schneider: The SSPX Provides the Church a Historic Service | FSSPX News Bishop Schneider: Serious Vatican Engagement with SSPX Would Mark “Beginning of the End” of the Modernist Project Key Excerpts ROME, 17 August 2026 — Bishop Athanasius Schneider has issued his first public statement since Rome declared six SSPX bishops to have incurred automatic excommunication over the Society’s episcopal consecrations at Écône on July 1, against the will of Pope Leo XIV. ... In his statement, Bishop Schneider also argues that the SSPX, far from threatening the...

 + JMJ As long as you are ok with what happens in other Catholic Churches, Traditional Catholics will be left 'alone'.  This is a paraphrase of words spoken by an Archbishop to Traditional Catholics (with a sprinkling of SSPX) who had requested the Traditional Latin Mass under Summorum Pontificum. This reflects that attitude of the Church towards anyone who takes issue with some of the ambiguities of Vatican II and the post-conciliar magisterium.  If you reject the papacy but are ok with V2, the New Mass, and what Rome has stated since 1965 - then you are welcome. Question some of the more abiguous statements and ask for Rome to realise that a circle is not a square - then you are in for a world of hurt. This is where the SSPX exists and has existed from almost its very first moments. Pointing out contradictions with previous magisterium is not acceptable - under any condition. Why? Because it will cause the whole V2 house of cards to fall. I guess only when the contradic...

 + JMJ We have 50+ years of history to plumb for an understanding of how we arrived as this point in the life of the Catholic Church and the conflict with the SSPX and Traditional Catholics in general. This article from 2023 provided some additional insight in a way I hadn't seen previously in the SSPX publications. P^3 Courtesy of SSPX.org   sspx.org - 03/23/2023

 + JMJ On July 14 the SSPX published a timeline describing communications with Rome leading up to the Episcopal consecrations. This timeline includes contacts that were new to me.  One thing that is of interest are recent claims made by ++Pozzo that the SSPX broke off relations in 2018 (link)  which is the reason for the timeline. P^3 Courtesy of SSPX.org Despite widespread reporting in Catholic and secular sources concerning the July 1, 2026, episcopal consecrations, many news outlets, bloggers, and “social media personalities” continue to distort the timeline leading up to this momentous event. The claim that the Society of Saint Pius X never attempted to engage Rome prior to the consecrations is patently false. Further, little attention has been paid to the reality that Rome continues to demand full-throated acceptance of the Second Vatican Council as the conditio sine qua non for not just canonical regularization, but membership in the Catholic Church. November 22, 20...

 + JMJ Introduction In Part 1, after reviewing sources and historical documents, I concluded that disobedience to a direct order from the Pope is not, in and of itself, a schismatic act.  More is needed: In this case the person is guilty of disobedience, but not of schism, even though he persists in his refusal; for he rejects a commandment of the Church, not the head of the Church. The SSPX has manifestly not rejected the head of the Church, see  FSSPX.news: Letter to the Holy Father regarding the Decree of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith . ... What the Society of Saint Pius X has done, and will continue to do, is nothing other than an extraordinary initiative for the salvation of souls, amidst the doctrinal and moral confusion into which the Church is plunged. We in no way claim to substitute ourselves for the Church, and we have no ambition other than to remain faithful to her. ...  In conscience, we did not believe we could evade the moral duty we ow...

 + JMJ With the new consecrations, old news and half truths are flooding the internet. How about we look at some of them: Vatican recognition of Orthodox sacraments (New) Orthodox Churches Are Not in Formal Schism — While not in full communion with Rome, ...  Tradicat: I guess they didn't ask if the Orthodox accept Pope Leo XIV as the Vicar of Christ etc. Also I'm not certain if it is all the various branches or just one or two. https://www.ncregister.com/cna/why-does-the-vatican-recognize-orthodox-marriages-but-not-those-of-the-sspx https://www.eurasiareview.com/10072026-vatican-recognition-of-orthodox-marriages-vs-sspx-whats-the-difference-analysis/ The SSPX is in schism (Old News) Given how the Vatican backed off on the schism accusation over the years following the 1988 consecrations My own evidence of 'Not in Full Communion' status  The Orthodox are no longer Schismatics but 'Not in Full Communion' (see above)  'Not in Full Communion' being used as ...

 + JMJ With all the mis-information about the SSPX rejecting the Second Vatican Council, I thought it would be useful to publish an article that focuses on the real issues that the SSPX has identified. Update: Why Did the SSPX Consecrate Bishops? ( Neither Schismatic, Nor Disobedient link ) In the linked document the SSPX outlined the key motivation and core issues with Vatican II and the post-conciliar magisterium (see above link for full document): 4. The Society Acted Precisely Because of the State of Necessity in Which the Faith Finds Itself  In the present situation of the Church, if the Society of Saint Pius X had not carried out the consecrations of July 1st, it would have found itself facing an inevitable alternative: either to disappear gradually, or to accept, at least in fact, the new liturgy as well as the false doctrines of Vatican II and the post-council. Without the consecrations of July 1st, the Fraternity would have found itself, in a few years, without bishop...

 + JMJ Rorate published an article by I.Media ( Rorate link , Original Source ) that annoyed me.   Here's the passages in question with my questions / thoughts:  The Mandate In the Catholic Church, every episcopal consecration must obtain a mandate from the Pope. The selection of a new bishop follows a rigorous procedure carried out by the nuncio — the Pope's ambassador — and the Dicastery for Bishops. They present three candidates to the pontiff, who then makes the final choice and may also choose a bishop not included on this list of three. To proceed with consecrations without a properly issued pontifical mandate constitutes an offense under the rules of currently applicable ecclesiastical law (canon 1013 [of the Code of Canon Law]) . I find it hard to reconcile the lack of response to Chinese consecrations and all the fuss over that of the SSPX (link ). Even Pope Francis gave a blanket reconciliation of the Chinese bishops in 2018 (link) . Then we have more r ec...

 + JMJ Ok, when I first saw this article I picked out a number of flaws that made me a little giddy.  This caused me to consider pulling together some times for a more detailed review. So ... here's my critical review of "The SSPX Leadership Against Scripture and Tradition. For reference, Weigel is commenting on a shorter "Declaration of Catholic Faith Addressed to Pope Leo XIV" (link)  and not the extensive one that followed "Profession of Catholic Faith of the Society of Saint Pius X to Enlighten Souls in the Face of Modern Errors" (link). It would be interesting to see his response to the latter, but this one will suffice. Source: National Catholic Register: The SSPX Leadership Against Scripture and Tradition COMMENTARY: Even if the Society of St. Pius X hits the brakes at the last moment and doesn’t commit formally schismatic acts, the grave problem posed by the SSPX will continue. The Holy See has declared that, if the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) proc...

 + JMJ In the SSPX Profession of Catholic Faith (link)  ( pdf here ),  I reproduced the complete document.  Given the excommunication and requirement of accepting Vatican 2, I'm wondering what parts of Vatican 2 are at issue between Rome and the SSPX. Historically, the SSPX has stated that the following elements are at odds with pre-conciliar magisterium on three key points ( link1 )  (link2): Religious Liberty, Ecumenism, and Collegiality. There remain other smaller elements such as the use of the word "subsists"  to describe the relation of the Catholic Church with the Church of Christ in contradiction to Pope Pius the XII who clearly stated that the Catholic Church is the Church of Christ. Originally, I wanted to pull out those elements particularly related to the Second Vatican Council or its 'spirit'. Then I realised that by taking the elements out of the context of what is professed made it hard to follow. So I have simply indented and highlighted the...