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Cardinal Burke: Synodality ‘has to be stopped’ and thoroughly reexaminedCardinal Raymond Burke urged Pope Leo XIV to halt the synodality process, calling it ‘iniquitous’ and observing it lacks definition and historical precedent in the Church. In a wide-ranging interview after Pope Leo XIV’s second extraordinary consistory of cardinals held June 26-27, Cardinal Raymond Burke delivered a forceful critique of the Vatican’s ongoing emphasis on synodality, calling for it to be halted and subjected to rigorous study.“We have to insist that this whole synodality business stop,” the cardinal declared. “And there be a very serious study done of the whole matter...

The SSPX Appeals to Rome: Will Pope Leo XIV Practice the Synodality He Preaches?The Society of St. Pius X has formally appealed Rome's excommunication decree, setting up one of the most consequential canonical disputes in decades. Attorney Robert Morrison examines why this legal challenge places Pope Leo XIV's own teachings on ecumenism, religious liberty, and synodality under unprecedented scrutiny—and why the Vatican's response may shape the future of the traditional Catholic movement.On July 13, 2026, the General House of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) announced that it had submitted a preliminary recourse to the Dicastery of the Doctrine...

TRIBUNE. The Failure of Leo XIVThere was a time when excommunication could bring an emperor to his knees or cause an entire nation to apostatize. But excommunication is no longer what it once was, and that is the work of the very Church that today wields it against the FSSPX. History knows these diminished echoes, those tragedies that repeat themselves as farces, as Marx described when he identified Napoleon III as a ridiculous imitation of his uncle. Nor is Leo XIV Gregory VII. But if farce is already a fairly appropriate term to describe this case, with Tucho Fernández, carrying...

[Catholic Caucus] Beware Of The Tales About Padre Pio And Archbishop LefebvreMy favourite Saint kissing the ring of my favourite ArchbishopI did not know that there were people evil enough to try to falsely use the dead Padre Pio to slander the great Archbishop Lefebvre. However, because I now know, I think it useful to post this in order to help preventing the spreading of lies. Two words more in general: everybody who knows two things of Padre Pio knows that 1) he hates the “aggiornamento”, and 2) he hoped to die before having to celebrate the Mass of Paul...

SSPX Excommunications & the Vatican’s Plan to Cancel CatholicismForty years after Archbishop Lefebvre's consecrations, history is repeating itself—but the stakes are even higher. Michael Matt was there in 1988, and he believes the Vatican's latest excommunications are only one front in a wider campaign against Catholic Tradition. Before another generation of faithful Catholics is divided, hear what he says.he SSPX consecrated four new bishops on July 1, 2026. The next day, the Vatican declared the bishops excommunicated, reviving one of the most painful conflicts in modern Catholic history.Michael Matt lived through the first SSPX consecrations in 1988. There is no...

Episcopal Consecrations: What Fr. Pagliarani Told the Members of the Society of Saint Pius XPreparing Hearts for the Episcopal ConsecrationsA Message to the Faithful and Friends of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius XDear faithful and friends,As we prepare for the episcopal consecrations, scheduled for 1 July in Écône, we wish, exceptionally, to make available to you an editorial that the Superior General addressed to the members of the Society on 7 March.This text does not revisit the question of the consecrations themselves, but is devoted to recalling the spirit in which they must be prepared for and lived: a...

Neither Schismatic Nor DisobedientFaced with the profusion of statements, articles and interviews which present the Society of Saint Pius X as responsible for a fracture within the Church, for a very serious disobedience towards the Holy Father, or even for a real schism, it seems appropriate to write a few lines in order to provide some clarification.Our method will always be the same, not impressions, nor "hearsay," nor the lucubrations of the occasional commentator, but Catholic theology, drawn from its sources: the constant Magisterium of the Church and the teaching of the great theologians and canonists.1. The Society of Saint...

It’s a fact that brilliant people believe in Christianity. And it’s also a fact that brilliant people do not.For example, A.C. Grayling, a high-IQ British philosopher and historian, sits squarely in the unbeliever camp, saying in his book The God Argument, “The cumulative case against religion shows it to be a hangover from the infancy of modern humanity”. Then you have Michael Faraday, the eminent English chemist and physicist who contributed vastly to the study of electrochemistry and electromagnetism, who said: “The book of nature, which we have to read, is written by the finger of God.”So, what can we...

“Physician, Heal Thyself”: Why this Diocesan Priest Rejects the Vatican’s SSPX ExcommunicationsThe debate over the SSPX excommunications has largely centered on obedience and canon law. But one diocesan priest believes everyone is asking the wrong question. In this powerful essay, he argues that excommunication exists to heal souls—not to silence Catholics defending Tradition—and asks whether those imposing penalties should first examine themselves in light of Canon 1364. Whether readers agree or disagree, this essay offers one of the most provocative priestly responses yet to the Vatican's action against the Society of St. Pius X. What is Excommunication Actually For?Excommunication exists...

After the SSPX Excommunication: Which Catholic Truths Does Cardinal Tucho Want Catholics to Deny?The Vatican has punished the SSPX—but for what, exactly? If Catholics may not "formally adhere" to the Society's doctrine, then the obvious question follows: Which doctrines? This analysis walks through the most controversial points of the SSPX's 154-point Profession of Faith and asks whether Rome is now condemning truths Catholics have always been required to believe.Our Catholic Faith does not permit us to compromise revealed truth—no matter who commands us to do so.Tweet this quoteUnsurprisingly, even the secular press has reported on the punishments issued by Cardinal...

Cardinal, bishops support expanding Latin Mass access after SSPX consecrationsCardinal Kurt Koch said that ‘we have to rethink’ Pope Francis’ restrictions on the Latin Mass, and a bishop in Norway vowed to continue and possibly expand the TLM in his diocese.Since the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) consecrated four bishops without a papal mandate and the subsequent decree of excommunication by the Holy See, some Catholic bishops and a cardinal have said that the Vatican should rethink the restrictions of Traditionis Custodes, while at least one ordinary has promised to expand access to the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) in...

“We know how to get through this.”Écône Diary: Thursday 2nd July, the Feast of the Visitation The momentous day of Wednesday, 1st July, the Feast of the Precious Blood, concluded with Second Pontifical Vespers of the Precious Blood of Jesus and Benediction. The American Rector of Saint Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Virginia, the newly-consecrated Bishop Michael Goldade, gave a short sermon in which he shared how touched the newly-consecrated bishops were by the fidelity, prayers and sacrifices of the faithful, clergy and religious.After invoking the life-giving abundance of the Catholic Church, he continued:Today we see such wreckage. If the Catholic...

The SSPX Crisis is not an AbstractionI have tried to stay out of the tribal warfare surrounding the SSPX because I do not belong to anyone’s faction. I just want to be left alone to practice the orthodox Faith. I am a convert, but I am not an uninformed one. Before entering the Catholic Church, I studied Catholic theology, Church history, papal authority, canon law, Vatican II, Tradition, and the Magisterium. I read the Summa cover to cover. I have continued studying ever since. I understand why the consecration of bishops without a papal mandate is treated as an extraordinarily...

Canonical Analysis: The 2026 DDF Decree on the SSPXBy the Canon of Shaftesbury, a judicial vicar in a major archdiocese.The question is whether the Decree and Explanatory Note issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) on July 2, 2026 actually accomplished what many have said, namely, the excommunication of six bishops, over seven hundred priests, and an unspecified number of the faithful. The short answer, reading the documents against the Code of Canon Law, is that they did not.The Decree itself names six individuals: four newly consecrated bishops, the principal consecrator (Bishop de Galarreta), and a...

[Catholic Caucus] SSPX Superior General Responds to Pope's AppealIn response to the appeal sent by letter by His Holiness to him, Fr. Pagliarani, Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), sent the following message:Letter from the Superior General in Response to His Holiness Pope Leo XIVThe Superior GeneralTo His HolinessPope Leo XIVEcône, 30 June 2026 Most Holy Father,Thank you very much for the letter that Your Holiness so kindly addressed to me.I have been deeply touched by Your paternal solicitude.For a long time, I had hoped to have the opportunity of meeting You in person, in order...

Casualties of Legalism: Truth and Charity - Guest ArticleThe following guest article is written by Michael Kakooza, Ph.D. (Wales), who has written for Rorate in the past. It represents the view of its author and not the official stance of Rorate.In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas. [In necessary things, unity, In doubtful things, liberty, In all things, charity]But should not the great Church also allow herself to be generous in the knowledge of her great breadth, in the knowledge of the promise made to her? Should not we, as good educators, also be capable of overlooking various...

On July 4, Americans will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. At the heart of that document is the proclamation that “all men are created equal” and “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” Today, many people think that belief in a Creator is a subjective preference based on their personal faith. But that was not the view of America’s Founders. Nor was it the view held by many of the thinkers who preceded them. More than two millennia ago, key Greek and Roman thinkers already argued that nature supplies objective evidence of a Creator....

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo defends synodality, tells cardinals ‘I need your support: strong, explicit, and public’Pope Leo XIV addressed some cardinals' apprehensions while meeting in Rome about a ‘synodal’ round-table format — a structure they felt was ‘very controlled’ when used at the first consistory in January, Vatican journalist Edward Pentin reported.Pope Leo XIV opened his second extraordinary consistory of cardinals on Friday in which he insisted that the Lord is leading the Church via “synodality” so that she can “grow in communion,” according to a report by Vatican journalist Edward Pentin. The Pontiff encouraged the 178 cardinals to “engage...

The Rabbi Gamaliel Test: Will Pope Leo XIV Fight the SSPX, or Listen to Bishop Schneider? Bishop Athanasius Schneider’s messages to Pope Leo XIV regarding the Society of St. Pius X bear a striking resemblance to Rabbi Gamaliel’s words to the Sanhedrin concerning the apostles: “I say to you, refrain from these men, and let them alone; for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought; but if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest perhaps you be found even to fight against God.” Will this message be heard?An important article about...

[Catholic Caucus] Read This Before July 1: The SSPX Profession of Faith Unlocks the Whole the CrisisIf you're trying to understand why the SSPX is proceeding with episcopal consecrations on July 1, this is the article to read first. The newly released SSPX Profession of Faith isn't simply another doctrinal statement—it lays out, in remarkable clarity, the theological issue that has divided Rome and Tradition for decades.On June 24, 2026, the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) published a Profession of Catholic Faith of the Society of Saint Pius X to Enlighten Souls in the Face of Modern Errors, a...