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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...

Reports indicate regular or increased attendance at SSPX chapels worldwideSnapshots of Mass attendance on Sunday indicate that the Vatican’s threat of excommunication to the faithful who ‘adhere’ to the SSPX ‘schism’ did not discourage attendance at its chapels.Multiple reports indicate that since Cardinal Víctor Manuel “Tucho” Fernández issued a decree of excommunication against the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) for their episcopal consecrations, attendance at SSPX chapels has remained steady or increased.Re-posting pictures taken outside SSPX chapels this past Sunday as proof, the Mason-Dixon Latin Mass Society shared on Sunday that “SSPX chapels today are standing room only” and...

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...

Letter to the Holy Father regarding the Decree of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the FaithThe Superior GeneralTo His HolinessPope Leo XIVEcône, 3 July 2026Among yourselves, if a father is asked by his son for bread, will he give him a stone? Or for a fish, will he give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if he is asked for an egg, will he give him a scorpion? Why then, if you, evil as you are, know well enough how to give your children what is good for them, is not your Father much more ready to...

Archbishop Fernandez, Preacher of ChaosHave you heard about the scandalous writings by the new head of the Vatican’s doctrinal office? No, no: I don’t mean Heal Me With Your Mouth: The Art of Kissing, the 1995 pamphlet that has occasioned so much comment since Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernández was elevated to Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith by Pope Francis last week. Kissing is, I suppose, a reasonable subject for theological reflection; though having said that . . . But let’s leave kissing aside for the moment. First, I want to talk about adultery.It was Archbishop...

Recently discovered Cardinal Fernández essay reveals his belief that all are savedA 1995 paper written by the future Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith appears to endorse the universalist view of salvation that has been condemned by the Church. The future Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández blatantly endorsed universalism, or the idea that all are saved, in a recently uncovered paper written more than 30 years ago.In a 46-page 1995 essay titled “Romanos 9-11: gracia y predestinación” (Grace and Predestination) first reported by El Wanderer, the future Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith...

[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...

[Catholic Caucus] Hold my drinkThere are images that summarize a way of understanding the liturgy better than a hundred treatises. The photographs of Víctor Manuel Fernández, «Tucho,» elevating the host while holding the chalice with the same hand, inserting his fingers inside the chalice with the same naturalness with which anyone would hold a cup at a party, is scandalous not only because of a question of rubrics, but because of a question of Catholic common sense.For centuries, priests were educated in a true pedagogy of reverence. After the consecration, they kept their thumb and index finger together while elevating...

[Catholic Caucus] German same-sex ‘blessing’ guide co-author says Vatican was involved in preparationsA co-author of Germany’s same-sex ‘blessing’ guidance says bishops coordinated with Rome and revised the text following Vatican feedback.A former priest who helped draft the German bishops’ guidance document on “blessings” for same-sex “couples” has stated that there was coordination with Church authorities before its publication, challenging the testimony of Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández.On May 22, in an interview published by German Catholic outlet katholisch.de, co-author Stefan Diefenbach – a former priest who left religious life and is now in a homosexual “marriage” – addressed continuing criticism of...

BIG SUR on the TIBERThe Synod on Synodality looms as a watershed moment in the radical transformation of the Catholic Church into a globalized religion, stripped of dogma and Catholic identity.“Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know.” And he says, “Oh, uh, there won’t be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness.” So I got that goin’ for me, which is nice.” ~Bill Murray, CaddyshackThis is the dawning of the New Age of Aquarius and Leo, where consciousness, not truth, is the end goal for...

Ten Oddities from Leo XIV’s Encyclical on AI1. Leo XIV explicitly or humorously said that the single language before the tower of Babel was a lack of diversity. §10: “Let us avoid the ‘Babel syndrome’ … the uniformity that levels differences; the claim of a single — even digital — language…”2. From the 224 footnotes, Pope Francis is cited 55 times.3. At the press conference, Leo XIV said that the Church and the US tech company ‘Anthropic’, will walk together to "find the way for humanity."4. The encyclical includes lots of personalist philosophy, including the erroneous idea of an “infinite”...

[Catholic Caucus] Vatican’s pro-LGBT Synod report used another friend of Fr. James Martin for testimony: reportThe likely author of the first testimony in the Vatican’s pro-homosexual Synod report is a Portuguese man in a homosexual ‘marriage’ who previously met with Fr. James Martin, according to a report.The author of the first testimony of the Vatican Synod on Synodality’s final report on “doctrinal, pastoral and ethical questions,” which falsely suggested that homosexual relationships may not be sinful, has been revealed as a Portuguese man in a homosexual “marriage” who previously met the heterodox Father James Martin, per a Thursday report.A May...

Vatican Threatens SSPX Excommunication Ahead of Consecrations, Faces Double Standard AccusationsA new rupture between Rome and the SSPX may be imminent as the Vatican reportedly prepares excommunications over unauthorized episcopal consecrations. Yet at the same time, Pope Leo XIV’s meeting with a female Anglican “archbishop” is fueling accusations of theological double standards. Is the Church witnessing a replay of 1988—or something even more consequential?The grapevine from the Eternal City has it that the Vatican is allegedly intent on SSPX excommunication (of it’s bishops and priests) over the upcoming July 1 episcopal consecrations without papal approval, reeking of Pope John Paul...

<p>Senior Vatican Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández has said Pope Leo XIV is continuing the legacy of Pope Francis.</p><p>On April 13, Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, stated in an interview given to Italian newspaper Il Giornale that it is inaccurate to claim Pope Leo XIV intends to overturn his predecessor’s pontificate, emphasizing instead continuity through specific initiatives and teachings promoted within the Church. The interview marked the approaching first anniversary of Pope Francis’s death, on April 21.</p>

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo praises Amoris Laetitia as ‘luminous message of hope’Pope Leo XIV praised Amoris Laetitia as a guiding text for the Church in a message celebrating the tenth anniversary of the document. Pope Leo XIV has praised Amoris Laetitia as a guiding text for the Church.On March 19, Pope Leo XIV issued a message marking the tenth anniversary of Amoris Laetitia, in which he described Francis’s post-synodal apostolic exhortation as a “luminous message of hope” and confirmed its central role in contemporary teaching on marriage and the family.He also announced that he has convened the presidents of episcopal...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo praises Vatican document that rejected Our Lady’s ‘Co-Redemptrix,’ ‘Mediatrix’ titlesPope Leo claimed that Mater Populi Fidelis will be of ‘great benefit’ to the faithful and provides ‘important clarifications’ despite it contradicting numerous popes and saints.Pope Leo XIV, during an address that concluded the plenary session of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) on Thursday, commended the dicastery’s November doctrinal note that rejected the Blessed Mother’s titles of “Co-Redemptrix” and “Mediatrix of all Graces.”During Leo’s January 29 remarks thanking the DDF for its work on several doctrinal documents over the past few years, the...

[Catholic Caucus] Key aide of Pope Francis and Cdl Fernández leaves VaticanFather Daniel Pellizzon has been an overlooked, but important, figure under the last pontificate. Now that era is over.In a notable move, Pope Leo XIV has sent one of Pope Francis’ and Cardinal Fernández’s key aides back to Argentina, raising some speculation about the position of Fernández himself. Father Daniel Pellizzon, of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires, is returning to Argentina to become parish priest of the church of San Cayetano de Belgrano near the center of the city of Buenos Aires itself.News of the move, though not announced...

[Catholic Caucus] The Mother of God and salvation - an article on the Vatican Document on the Blessed VirginThe Mother of God and salvationby John Lamont Faithful Catholics have rightly been outraged by the doctrinal note Mater Populi Fidelis published on November 4, 2025 by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The document was signed by Cardinal Victor Fernández, the Prefect of the Dicastery, and its publication was ordered by Pope Leo XIV. In his address to the Dicastery on January 29th 2026, Pope Leo praised and endorsed the document, describing it as 'the doctrinal Note Mater Populi...

[Catholic Caucus] SSPX to Tucho: No Thanks! We’ll Stay CatholicPagliarani’s letter to Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández turns Rome’s “dialogue” offer inside out and exposes the real price of “full communion”A letter that smiles while it draws blood The first thing that hits you is how calm it is.Hiraeth In Exile is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.Upgrade to paidIt is a courtly, Roman-style thank you note with a blade hidden in the fold. Pagliarani opens by praising “perfect transparency,” then immediately reframes the entire encounter as something the Society proposed...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Schneider says Cdl. Fernández is ‘completely wrong’ that Vatican II texts cannot be changedThe Vatican doctrine chief's recent claim that Vatican II texts cannot be corrected has been pivotal in the SSPX’s decision to proceed with episcopal consecrations without Holy See approval.Bishop Athanasius Schneider declared that Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández’s claim that Vatican II’s texts cannot be modified is “completely wrong.”Schneider, the Auxiliary Bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan, addressed Fernández’s recent claim – which has now proved to be pivotal in the Society of St. Pius X’s (SSPX) decision to move forward with episcopal consecrations – in an...