Posted on 02/14/2026 7:02:05 PM PST by ebb tide
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, reportedly told Father Davide Pagliarani, Superior General of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), that documents from the Second Vatican Council cannot “be corrected.”
A communiqué from the SSPX General House published Thursday revealed that, while Fernández has proposed dialogue with the SSPX to clarify the “minimum necessary” for the SSPX’s canonical status, the cardinal has already made clear that the Second Vatican Council documents must be accepted in full by the SSPX to reach such “regular” status.
“The Cardinal stated orally that, while it would be possible to engage in dialogue about the Council, its texts could not be corrected,” the communiqué explained.
During Thursday’s meeting between Fernández and Pagliarani, the cardinal proposed exchanges with the SSPX that would seek agreement on “the different degrees of adherence required by the various texts of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council and their interpretation."
Fernández’s immovability on Vatican II documents chills the likelihood of mutual agreement between the Vatican and the SSPX, given that the Society and its founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, have repeatedly and firmly insisted that certain parts of Vatican II texts contradict perennial magisterial Church teaching.
The SSPX’s suspension of its decision to consecrate bishops this summer was named as a precondition for dialogue by Fernández.
Moreover, a communique released after Thursday’s meeting revealed that Fernández threatened Pagliarani and the SSPX with the crime of “schism” if the episcopal consecrations announced by the Society go ahead.
Fernández has asked Pagliarani to present his proposal to the members of his Council and take the time needed to consider it. The superior general will “respond within the next few days,” and “will write directly to Cardinal Fernández and will also make his response known to the faithful,” according to the SSPX.
On Thursday, Pagliarani reportedly “renewed his desire” that the SSPX may continue to operate in its current “exceptional and temporary” situation for the good of souls.
It is notable that Fernández’s demand of SSPX’s full acceptance of Vatican II texts is at odds with Archbishop Guido Pozzo’s clarification in 2016 that “some texts of the Council that are not doctrinal and are thus not binding on the Catholic conscience,” as journalist Maike Hickson put it. Pozzo specifically named texts with which the SSPX takes issue, including Nostra Aetate about interreligious dialogue; the decree Unitatis Redintegratio on ecumenism; and the Declaration Dignitatis Humanae on religious liberty, and explained:
They are not about doctrines or definitive statements, but, rather, about instructions and orienting guides for pastoral practice. On can [thus legitimately] continue to discuss these pastoral aspects after the [proposed] canonical approval [of the SSPX], in order to lead us to further [and acceptable] clarifications.
Thursday’s meeting, proposed by Fernández, followed the Society’s February 2 announcement that they would consecrate new bishops on July 1. Archbishop Lefebvre famously ordained four bishops without the permission of Pope John Paul II on June 30, 1988. He took this step to ensure that Catholic Tradition, as he and the SSPX understood it, would survive in the post Vatican II-era Church.
Lefebvre, together with the new bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, and Alfonso de Galarreta, were subsequently declared excommunicated latae sententiae by the pope. The excommunications of the four bishops were lifted by Pope Benedict on January 21, 2009; Lefebvre had died on March 25, 1991. As of today, only two of the prelates are still living: Fellay and De Galaretta.
Ping
if the Church was in a better health I’d say we would need a council to fix the complex errors introduced in Vatican II.
But the Church is not that healthy and looks like it wont be so generations, given that we have Homosexuals running the Vatican right now.
Now is not the time to push forward on negotiations for regularizing the SSPX’s canonical status.
One step at a time. Consecrate twelve bishops, start sending them around the world two by two, then pick up your head and see if progress can be made on regularization. If not, big whoop, the Society now has the bishops it needs to survive. The new SSPX bishops will probably end up saving Holy Mother Church to boot.
It’s a weird sort of comment from Tucho... Has the SSPX ever demanded that any pope formally “correct” V2 documents? I don’t think so. There’s a difference between a correction and a *clarification*. As I understand it, the SSPX position has always been that the various V2 documents are ambiguous... with so many big loopholes that liberals/modernists can and do drive their trucks them. What the SSPX has asked is for the Holy See to clarify that V2 documents are only legitimate to the extent that they can interpreted in such a way that’s consistent with what the Church has always taught.
Cardinal Gaslight is bearing false witness.
In a game of chicken between a semi-truck and a mosquito(sspx), the truck wins. Every time. Right, ebby?
Any false consecrations by the mosquito will be met by excommunication. Just like the excommunicated Lefebvre and his following fools. Right, ebby?
The sspx mosquito has know for years what it takes to join the Church. Silly media leaks, and threats, by the mosquito and compound media articles by the cartoon network that ignore simple necessities for the mosquito to join the Church will not win the game of chicken for the mosquito. Will it, ebby?
Where is the picture of the baby in the red diapers, ebby? It fits here.
Would you please exhibit courtesy?
Well, your semi-truck loses the game of chicken to the Red Chinese freight train every time they illicitly consecrate their fake Chicom “bishops”.
Yet the Vatican recognizes them.
Go figure.
So ebby, you are equating the sspx to the red chinese and insist they be treated the same? Your logic is always so Illuminati. The fired strickland scule of reasoning. Did you gradiate “emeritus?”
Ok, a more discrete reply is that your “consecrated” will all be excommunicated along with the ringleader.
You are clearly NOT crediting as dispositive the ongoing crisis in the church, which the Society cites as having produced a state of emergency/necessity, thereby justifying the Society to the extent it fails to conform to canon law in this matter.
The SSPX priests and bishops are orthodox, faithful Catholics.
Your Chi-com "bishops" and "priests" are communist fakes who answer to Xi Jinping and no one else; they don't even allow children under 18 years-old to attend their "masses".
So no, they should not be treated the same; yet the messed-up Vatican blesses the latter while condemning the former.
Did you even “gradiate” the second grade?
Ha! A cartoon to excite the second graders - even with a dragon.
Sometimes it’s necessary to stoop to your level of intelligence to get the message across that Rome is hypocritical with the consecration of bishops.
Well Guy, if you mean that in the present repeating the claims of Lefebvre from decades ago, which lead to multiple excommunications and years in the wilderness for many others, then I do believe it will be dispositive of a crisis for those sspx’ers who are slow learners.
His diary celebrates “blessed nudism,” recounts sleeping naked beside adolescents, and normalizes sexualized touching as “natural curiosity” — yet Leo still advances his cause.
Are you, Tucho and Jimmy Martin, on board with this sham "beatification" of another homo, foister?
Well, while the headline is misleading (as per usual) this is obviously problematic. It may take more than a miracle or two to progress.
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