Appeal of July 18, 2026, to the Bishops of France
On July 18, 2021, Pope Francis published the Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes. Five years later, numerous voices are calling for the revision or suppression of that document, or are pleading for the restoration of Benedict XVI's Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum. The urgency of such a measure is no longer in doubt, at a time when the Society of Saint Pius X has been struck by sanctions from the Church for having proceeded with the consecration of four bishops without a pontifical mandate. In France, however, the bishops are approaching this question with great caution. The Lex Orandi Union today calls upon them to abrogate the effects of Traditionis Custodes through concrete acts.
Responding to the sanctions of the Holy See following the consecrations at Écône with a communiqué dated July 3, 2026, the President of the French Bishops' Conference and his two vice-presidents say they wish to manifest their paternal solicitude toward those faithful of the Society of Saint Pius X "who also cultivate, with genuine fervor and apostolic zeal, a sincere love of the Church and a profound desire to participate in her mission, in communion with the Pope and in fidelity to the great Tradition of the Church and the Magisterium." For these faithful, the French Bishops' Conference hopes that "the measures announced by the Holy See will help them to understand the gravity of the decisions taken by the leaders of the Society of Saint Pius X" and encourages them to "return to full communion with the Pope, with the bishops, and with the whole Church." Finally, the CEF invites the Catholics of France to pray to that end and "to deploy the charity necessary to welcome those who make the courageous choice of unity and fidelity to the Holy Father."
Whereas the CEF needed only a single day to take note of the Roman decisions following the episcopal consecrations of the Society of Saint Pius X, it has still not officially responded to another Roman document — one that was addressed directly to it. On March 18, 2026, the Holy Father, through the voice of Cardinal Parolin, addressed the bishops of France assembled in plenary session in the following terms: "You have, dear brothers, the intention of treating the delicate theme of the Liturgy, to which the Holy Father is particularly attentive, in the context of the growth of communities linked to the Vetus Ordo. It is worrying that a painful wound continues to open within the Church regarding the celebration of the Mass, the very sacrament of unity. To heal it, a new gaze of each toward the other, in a greater understanding of his sensibility, is certainly necessary — a gaze capable of allowing brothers, enriched by their diversity, to welcome one another mutually, in charity and the unity of the faith. May the Holy Spirit suggest to you concrete solutions making it possible to generously include those sincerely attached to the Vetus Ordo, in keeping with the orientations desired by the Second Vatican Council in matters of Liturgy."
As early as March 18th, the Pope was indicating to the bishops the solutions for healing a "painful wound" whose gravity has been fully revealed since July 1st: a "new gaze," a "greater understanding" intended to make it possible, in Leo XIV's words, to "welcome one another mutually" in the richness of our diversities, in charity and the unity of the faith. And the Pope called for "concrete solutions" to "generously include those sincerely attached to the Vetus Ordo."
It must be acknowledged that nothing has been undertaken by the CEF to respond to the Pope's wishes as expressed in that letter. Therefore, since the Catholics of France are invited by the CEF "to deploy the charity necessary to welcome those who make the courageous choice of unity and fidelity to the Holy Father," the Lex Orandi Union is launching an initiative that seeks to answer that objective.
On this fifth anniversary of the Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes, all Catholics in France who are conscious of the injustice done to the faithful sincerely attached to the Vetus Ordo are invited to write to their bishop to request that he adopt the following concrete solutions in order to include them generously, in keeping with their diversity:
- - Guarantee the faithful attached to the Vetus Ordo access to all the sacraments of Christian initiation (baptism, confirmation, Eucharist) according to the Tridentine rite by which they wish to be able to sanctify themselves.
- - Offer to families attached to the Vetus Ordo the benefit of the celebration of marriage and funerals according to the traditional rite in every diocese.
- - Guarantee to the faithful the availability of catechetical instruction in a form respectful of their attachment to the Vetus Ordo.
- - Ensure that the faithful benefit from the apostolate of priests whose proper right to celebrate according to the Vetus Ordo will not be called into question — contrary to recent cases in several dioceses that have caused the profound wounds that the Pope deplores.
- - Offer a benevolent welcome from diocesan authorities to the initiatives of lay faithful attached to the Vetus Ordo to establish independent schools, granting them without discrimination access to religious instruction inscribed in their curricula, and to the sacramental life in school according to the Tridentine rite for pupils and teaching staff alike.
These concrete solutions constitute a solid foundation for manifesting the willingness of the bishops to respond to the Holy Father's call. They are already in practice in a very small number of dioceses. The credibility of the CEF — when it affirms in its communiqué of July 3, 2026, "to those faithful who are suffering today from this situation, we wish to manifest our paternal solicitude" — requires that deeds accompany words.
Each person is therefore invited to write to his bishop, setting forth the five requests listed above, so that "the Catholics of France" may not be the only ones "to deploy the charity necessary to welcome those who make the courageous choice of unity and fidelity to the Holy Father."
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The Lex Orandi Union thanks you for sending a copy of your letter to the following address: contact@lex-orandi.org [Source, in French]
