I thank God for being raised a practicing, orthodox Catholic, but as an adult to receive the “singular grace”to understand there is a Crisis in the Church, and how grave it is. It was also a singular grace in my 20’s for God to lead me, by means of study, prayer, and an attraction to the beauty and goodness of our Catholic heritage, out of the Novus Ordo System of Conciliar Novelty onto the firm foundation of Catholic Tradition, by means of the FSSP, and years later more completely through the SSPX.
Archbishop Lefebvre is the greatest saint of our time, I think even greater than St. Padre Pio. I am thankful for him in a unique way as the ONLY bishop to serve all Catholics around the world wanting to maintain Tradition, through all his works of his Society of Apostolic Life.
No bishop came close to the heroism and global work of restoration as that of Archbishop Lefebvre. Putting ourselves into his spiritual hands as a spiritual father of the traditional movement, as a kind of patron saint in heaven surely interceding for the restoration of the Church, and especially for the Society; if placing myself into his pastoral arms as a Successor to the Apostles and a saint, trusting his doctrinal analysis and pastoral positions, still today under the leadership of the Society, if that makes me and mine schismatics, then 1 + 1 does not equal 2. We are living in a digital Matrix. Or nothing is real.
But this is impossible.
And so for those of us who sincerely remain the spiritual children of the bishop saint Archbishop Lefebvre, by “formally adhering” to the SSPX and the Consecrations, it is impossible that as of July 1st we are now “excommunicated” or now “a schism.” It is impossible, from the standpoint of truth, justice, and charity.
This “excommunication” decree does not signify us breaking with the Pope or the Church. It is now The Formal Sign or Line in the Sand that there are Two Churches, one the true Catholic Church, and the other a false imitation of it, that is the “Ape of the Church.”
The very fact that since 1988, the SSPX laity has exponentially grown to at least 600,000, some saying possibly as high as one million, the laity as a general rule being Salt of the Earth people, with so many large, vibrant, model families, like we saw yesterday at the 2026 Consecrations in Econe, not bitter trolls, who pray to and still follow the saint of their movement Archbishop Lefebvre, leads to the conclusion these people are not schismatics or “excommunicated.” This truth includes but transcends canon law, to the level of divine and eternal law, to the heights of charity and the supernatural.
Besides, to truly incur automatic excommunication, you would have to not only participate in the ecclesiastical crime, you would have to be personally guilty of doing so. You would have to intend to enter into schism, to deny the authority of the Pope, to truly act with a spirit of rebellion against him, otherwise you did not commit the sin of schism.
You did not commit the sin. When examining your conscience, as you would before going to Confession, you would ask yourself if you intended to support an act you believed was schismatic. If the act was not schismatic, or you unintentionally were mistaken it was not schismatic, if you intended no schism or literally to not support schism, then you have committed no sin.
Because guilt requires a moral act to be intrinsically sinful (which consecrations without mandate are not, judging from Church history), that you know it is sinful, and that you freely choose it knowing it is a sin. That would mean you would literally have to first believe the Consecrations are necessarily a sin and the sin of schism, including supporting them, and still freely choose to support what in your mind is schism.
As we say in the South, “that dog won’t hunt.”
Therefore, unless you did just that, or rejected the primacy of the pope, but are sincere, you do not personally commit the crime of schism or become excommunicated. Personal guilt for any questionable act is not based solely on the objectivity of the act itself in the external forum, but is fundamentally determined in a subjective sense, of the internal forum, in terms of a person’s level of knowledge, their attitude, their inclination towards sin, and the degree thy had actual intention, if at all.
Besides, the Note accompanying the Decree adds each person must be judged on a case to case basis as to whether or not the individual literally committed the ecclesial crime of schism, AND IF they were actually guilty of it.
So two things have happened to us “Lefebvrites.” One, we are being persecuted with another false, invalid “excommunication” fundamentally for our membership in the Catholic Church and fidelity to the Faith, which means for us resisting and rejecting the false “Ape of the Church.”
And two, we are still CANONICALLY being thrown out of the ordinary, juridical structure. Even if not truly excommunicated, in the external forum so long as the Church publicly judges you to be excommunicated, church law forbids us from even participating in any Catholic liturgy. This includes Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and the rite of Benediction down the street at your nearest parish.
When the saints were unjustly censured, like Padre Pio, generally for sanctity they complied, even though per St. Thomas we are not obligated to follow an illicit, unjust law. We can still obey if doing so is prudent, but not if doing so would mean sinful imprudence.
It would be prudent to still go to an approved Confession if possibly in grave sin, and ignore the invalid excommunication, or at least on special occasions at an approved TLM to receive the Eucharist and share a bit in communion with your local traditional Catholics. It would not be a sin, per St. Thomas.
You are not obliged to adhere to an invalid excommunication, but you can choose to do so if prudent, for personal sanctity, out of respect for the order of authority even if that authority made an invalid decision at your expense, or to avoid scandal.
But if complying would be objectively a sin, you would have to disobey. But it isn’t. It is only subjectively a sin if compliance would be imprudent and a spiritual danger. That is very individual and not the same for everyone, but something to be discerned in your conscience and concrete situation, and with a confessor, pastor, or spiritual director.
For me, it seems more prudent to now generally avoid the official sacraments and liturgies, except for special reasons, but to instead rely almost exclusively on SSPX or independent traditional priests for the sacraments. Attending approved Masses as a publicly “excommunicated” person, even if not truly so, logically puts you into a situation of turmoil and strife, at least emanating from some others, which is a major spiritual distraction, unless you know the pastor and faithful are friends to the Society, and therefore will accommodate you.
Generally speaking, we now, even more clearly than before, will not find a safe haven at a FSSP, ICK, or diocesan TLMs when no SSPX Mass is available nearby.
I’ve carefully read what constitutes “formal adherence” and I’m reasonably certain me and my wife meet those criteria, which officially in the mind of the official (conciliar) Church means we are no longer to be considered in full communion with the Church. But our well informed conscience tells us this is false. Yet, the legitimate authority is still canonically imposing that on us.
Since absolutely obeying this would over time diminish our spiritual life, needing the sacraments and a traditional pastor, it is prudent to disregard the “excommunication,” but only receive regular sacraments from priests who reject the false “excommunications,” the “Ape of the Church,” do not say the new Mass, or accept the conciliar errors.
For the most part, therefore, that leaves us once again to mainly or even to a certain extent exclusively attend SSPX Chapels. This does not come from us. We are not starting or ending with a posture of schism, but those who unjustly deem us as schismatics are the ones, not us, who cause us to have to practice the Faith in the outer margins, and beyond, as the followers of St. Athanasius once did during the Arian Crisis.
A word of caution to the FSSP adherents or the like, who might be anti-SSPX, please be careful not to kick the SSPX right now when they are down, angrily hurling the words “excommunication,” “schismatic,” “Protestant” or “rebels.” Remember the lyrics “kick ‘‘em when they’re up, kick ‘‘em when they’re down.”
Mark my words, that persecution will only contribute one day to your own persecutions when they force the FSSP to transition to the new Mass, and then you’ll regret siding with the “Ape of the Church” against the SSPX, because you’ll have few other options but them. That trial will help you see things more clearly.
At any rate, I wrote my Bishop today telling him we adhere to the SSPX and why, asking to give us his judgment on an individual basis per the Decree’s Note, as his responsibility, but that if deemed personally guilty of the crime of schism, for us to appeal to Rome with them assigning a canon lawyer. This IS NOT because I fear we are excommunicated. We only are in a nominal sense, but would like the injustice removed.
My main objective here being as a Catholic public figure through this blog, to advocate for all those “formally adhering” to the SSPX including upwards of one million souls, over 700 priests, and all attached religious. Whatever the outcome gets posted and discussed here, to help the cause. Ultimately to expose the errors and injustices, and to help guide people out of the “Ape of the Church” into traditional Catholicism.
Carpe diem! Seize the day!
In conclusion, this Decree is a Line Drawn in the Sand. Divine Providence must be directing us now to quietly retreat and accept this cross. Yet, despite a certain degree of quiet sadness, there is a state of peace and joy.
Thanks be to God.
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