Probably because, under Catholic terminology, a heretic is a Catholic who intentionally dissents from the faith. Protestants ceased being Catholics many generations ago and no longer have a Catholic faith from which to dissent. They do not even claim to be Catholic. OTOH, SSPX-ers usually are ex-Catholics who still claim to be Catholics, and only a few of them have been formally excommunicated. Since they claim to be Catholics, their potential for confusing the faithful is much greater than for Methodists, Episcopalians, etc. Accordingly, the Church needs to treat SSPX-ers in such a way as to make it clear the the faithful that these are heretics.
"the Church needs to treat SSPX-ers in such a way as to make it clear the the faithful that these are heretics."
Heretics for refusing to trade the Tridentine Mass for the NO? The Holy Father doesn't claim it; do you have authority to overrule him?
Unfortunately, you can't quote a single source of authority to back your assertion that Catholics who attend Mass celebrated by the Society of St. Pius X are heretics, so I'd appreciate it if you ceased the unwarranted calumny.
SSPXers are considered schismatics, not heretics.
The "faithful" couldn't be more confused about the Roman Catholic Church, which has degraded into something about as catholic as evangelical protestantism.
It is true that many Catholics are confused, especially when they travel about North America and Europe and find that the mass, even being said in the vernacular, is not uniform and not treated as anything sacred.
The ailing, frail Pope should have spent more time repairing the Catholic Church and restoring it to its once proud majesty as would befit the Church Jesus Christ left behind to nuture and instruct us until the Second Coming. Instead he has squandered his tenure on humanism and in ways unecclesiastical. There are many examples but a two that come to mind are embracing voodooism and sitting to observe bare-breasted polynesian lasses who danced for his entertainment.
Instead of working towards unraveling the web originating and consolidating after Vatican II and bringing sanity back to sanctuaries, he devoted much time to ecumenism by imitating and surpassing protestantism.
There was no sorting out by this Pope of the infestation of the priesthood by the communists and their homosexal allies. He deserves the snubbing by what some refer to as schisms.
When the time comes for this Pope and a few predecessors to account for what they have worked overtime to change on earth, their fate will not be a pleasant one.
"...their potential for confusing the faithful is much greater than for Methodists, Episcopalians, etc."
Hymns written by non-Catholics denying the real presence and reflecting Protestant theology are greatly confusing to the Catholic faithful, since they are published in the OCP songbook used in a majority of Catholic churches in this country.
If you really want to see "potential for confusing the faithful" look at the drivel taught by the "theology" departments at many so-called "Catholic" universities.
I have yet to see any heretical pronouncements from the SSPX. For that matter, I doubt that most Catholics have even heard of the SSPX.