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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...

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] Bishop Strickland: Love, not defiance, has been the driving force behind Abp. Lefebvre and the SSPXWhile Church ‘discipline exists for healing’ and ‘the good of souls,’ Bp. Strickland wrote, it should never be used to obscure ‘the sincere love that many have for Christ and His Church.’… If I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. — (I Corinthians 13:2) (Pillars of Faith) — In moments of great tension within the Church, we must remember that every judgment made must ultimately serve the salvation of souls. Truth can...

McElroy Says Leo Deepens Francis’ LGBT Project While Rome Looks to Excommunicate Every SSPX PriestOutreach at Georgetown, Cupich’s synodal welcome, Study Group 9, possible SSPX penalties, and Argentine bishops praising an abortion-rights activist.McElroy Welcomes Outreach to WashingtonCardinal Robert McElroy welcomed the 2026 Outreach Conference to Washington with language that should make every serious Catholic stop reading and then read it again.Hiraeth In Exile is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.SubscribeThe letter is dated June 19, 2026, on the letterhead of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. It begins with the...

The Weaponization Of Excommunication - Who Should Be Excommunicated?In the Diocese of Chur (?) in Switzerland, the local bishop will not discipline three parishioners (who) gave Consecrated Hosts, that is, Our Lord Himself, to their dogs. The bishop's name is Joseph Vonamane, and has instructed his priests not to condemn LGBTQ behavior. The 1983 code of canon law attaches automatic excommunication to certain offenses, among them being desecration of the Holy Eucharist.In the LifeSite News clip, Westin quotes the bishop as excusing those parishioners for they "did not act with sacrilegious intent". So everything is just hunky-dorry over in Switzerland,...

Anticipating Attempts To Excommunicate Faithful Catholics - And Combating Them As said in the previous post, Cardinal Burke gave an address at a conference in Rome last week.  The conference was called, "Catholic Church: Where Are You Going?"  He broached the consequences of any needed disobedience to Pope Francis.  He is speaking primarily of the direction that Amoralis Lamentia explicitly states in its infamous chapter 8 footnote regarding the administration of Holy Communion to adulterers. The question of excommunication was raised.  The Cardinal said we must be ready to suffer such consequences with Christian patience. My question is, if such...

Die-hard PP fans—all six of you—know exactly what your PP thinks of Catholic polititians who feel they can separate their faith from their public responsibilities. Entries from previous years (they're available at the bottom of the page) are filled with many posts on this subject. I was on the verge of actually getting tired of the topic until this glittering jewel of colosal ignorance came along. As you've probably heard from other sources, our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, lifted the excommunications which were automatically imposed on four renegade bishops consecrated by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. Because Eastern Catholics don't...

In a recent issue of the Rhode Island Catholic, a diocesan newspaper, Bishop Thomas Tobin condemned Rudy Giuliani's position on abortion: "As Catholics, we are called, indeed required, to be pro-life, to cherish and protect human life as a precious gift of God from the moment of conception until the time of natural death. As a leader, as a public official, Rudy Giuliani has a special obligation in that regard." The issue of how the Catholic hierarchy in the U.S. should deal with the problem of pro-choice Catholic politicians came up last during the 2004 presidential election. Some bishops warned...