Diocese of Oslo
July 3, 2026
Dear brothers in priestly ministry,
Dear faithful,
(1) "By unity with the bishop of Rome, in fellowship and in the profession of the true faith, the Church of Christ is one flock under the supreme shepherd. This is the teaching of Catholic truth, and no one can depart from it without endangering his own faith and salvation" (Vatican I, Pastor Æternus, ch. III).
[Posted on July 3rd]
The more vulnerable side also must recognize the imbalance of power: when the dominant party is generous, this should not be misinterpreted as weakness.
After the 1988 consecrations of four bishops, 12 long years were spent by the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) mostly ignored by the Holy See. There were contacts, but subdued.
Address to the Bishops of Chile: Unity in the Tradition of the Faith
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger
 |
| (Cardinal Ratzinger at the Catholic University of Chile, July 12, 1988) |
Dear and beloved brothers,
First of all, I wish to thank you most warmly for your kind invitation to visit your country, and also for offering me this occasion of fraternal encounter and dialogue. I harbor no illusion that one can come to know a country in a stay of only a few days; nonetheless, the opportunity to see the places where you labor, and to have in some measure the experience of the atmosphere of the Church's life in this land, is of great importance to me.
The Illicit Episcopal Ordinations of the Society of St. Pius X
Interview with Cardinal Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity
Jan Halatyk: Yesterday, on July 1, 2026, the two bishops of the Society of St. Pius X, Alfonso de Galarreta and Bernard Fellay, ordained 4 traditionalist priests as bishops in Écône, Switzerland, without a papal mandate. This brings the conflict history between the Popes and the Society of St. Pius X, which has been simmering since the 1970s, to a conclusion. In this episode of the podcast Communicatio, I am speaking about this significant event in the history of the Catholic Church with Kurt Cardinal Koch, who has been the Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity since 2010. My name is Jan Halatyk. I am a co-publisher and managing editor of the journal Communio.
***
[Interviewer:] Cardinal Koch, how do you, as a theologian and bishop who comes from Switzerland and worked there for a long time, classify the illicit episcopal ordinations that took place yesterday in Écône in the Valais?
Father Georg: "The hardliners prevailed in the SSPX. But Rome should display flexibility on the Latin Mass."
The harsh judgment of Benedict XVI's long-serving secretary: "He extended his hand; they did not accept it. It is horrible… Their understanding of tradition is not tradition."
His Holiness gave the following address upon the reception of the medal:
Dear friends,
I am honored to accept the Liberty Medal of the National Constitution Center in this year that marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America with the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. On the eve of this momentous occasion, I offer a warm greeting to all those assembled at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. As a son of this great country, founded by courageous men and women who dreamed of liberty and of a better life for themselves and for their children, I join you in asking God’s blessings upon America’s future, that the lofty ideals enshrined at the beginning of the Declaration of Independence may continue to guide the flourishing of the nation in unity, justice and peace.
The Superior General
Ecône, 3 July 2026
Upon the publication of any document emanating from the Holy See, most canonists are often overcome with questions from well-meaning individuals. The decree issued from the Dicastery of the Faith (Prot. N. 99/2009) and the accompanying Nota Explicativa, issued on 2 July 2026, is no exception. A few comments are apposite.
There will be no new Ecclesia Dei commission -- instead, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, following the publication of the Decree of Excommunication and its Explanatory Note, has published a "Procedure for the Reconciliation of Priests of the Society of Saint Pius X", and another for the Lay Faithful, with Profession of Faith and Formula of Adherence.
This is our translation of the Italian and Latin original - first, the text relative to priests; followed by the procedure relative to some of the lay faithful; followed by the texts of the Profession of Faith and Formula of Adherence in Latin, and in our translation:
***
DICASTERY FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH
PROCEDURE FOR THE RECONCILIATION
OF PRIESTS COMING FROM
THE PRIESTLY FRATERNITY OF SAINT PIUS X
The procedure followed by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, effective July 1, 2026, provides that a priest who has decided to leave the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, who is willing to accept the Second Vatican Council and the legitimacy of the Novus Ordo Missae, while remaining attached to the usus antiquior, must:
Certainly, for some time now, and once again on this specific occasion, we have heard from some representatives of that community many unpleasant things – arrogance and presumptuousness, an obsession with one-sided positions, etc. Yet to tell the truth, I must add that I have also received a number of touching testimonials of gratitude which clearly showed an openness of heart. 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 faults and making every effort to open up broader vistas? And should we not admit that some unpleasant things have also emerged in Church circles? At times one gets the impression that our society needs to have at least one group to which no tolerance may be shown; which one can easily attack and hate. And should someone dare to approach them – in this case the Pope – he too loses any right to tolerance; he too can be treated hatefully, without misgiving or restraint.
DICASTERY FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH
Prot. N. 99/2009
DECREE
Notwithstanding the warnings addressed to the Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X, Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, having committed an act of a schismatic nature by means of the episcopal consecration of four priests, without a pontifical mandate and against the will of the Supreme Pontiff, has incurred ipso facto the penalties provided for by can. 1387 and can. 1364 § 1 CIC 2021.
Is this why the SSPX exists, and why it consecrates bishops ? Yes, this sorry set of circumstances is what makes their attitudes understandable on a human level.
Report by the pro-deviancy group "New Ways Ministry", which is gleeful about it:
On June 13, 2026, two gay men in one of England’s leading pastoral outreaches to LGBTQ+ people gathered friends and family from far and wide to celebrate a “Mass of Thanksgiving for 50 Years of Friendship, Partnership, and Commitment in the Pursuit of Justice.”
The Sermon of the Episcopal Consecrations
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Your Excellencies, dear confreres, dear sisters, dear faithful,
The Écône Consecrations of July 1, 2026: The Chronos and Kairos of an Event
"Let the Ancient and Modern Rites Coexist. Banning Latin? That Would Be a Gift to the Rebels."
Gerhard Müller: "Demanding blind obedience is not the Christian style. No compromises on dogma — but more tolerance in pastoral practice."
Benedict XVI appointed him to lead the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Francis created him a cardinal. Gerhard Ludwig Müller is one of the most eminent living theologians and one of the most authoritative members of the College of Cardinals. In this interview with Il Giornale, the German cardinal argues that the time has come to close the chapter of restrictions on the Tridentine Mass opened in 2021 with the promulgation of Traditionis Custodes, and to return to liberalizing the ancient liturgy as Ratzinger had done.
Your Eminence, do you believe that the imminent Lefebvrian schism should lead the Church to rethink the restrictions on the Latin Mass still in force?
Tu es Petrus
et super hanc petram ædificabo Ecclesiam meam,
et portæ inferi non prævalebunt adversus eam,
et tibi dabo claves regni cælorum.
Four new bishops consecrated in Écône, Switzerland, 38 years and one day after the first consecration. (video and schedule here)
Despite papal appeal and SSPX response, thousands of people are already in the Canton of Valais, Switzerland, ready to witness the episcopal consecrations organized by the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX).
For those who wish to follow the ceremonies, the episcopal consecrations will be broadcast by the SSPX official channel on YouTube (embedded below). The broadcast will start at 8:15 am local and Rome time (Central European Summer Time or GMT+2), or 2:15 am at Eastern Daylight Time in the US and Canada. The consecrations will start at 9 am local time.
Here is the sequence of scheduled events in Écône:
In 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 XIV
The Superior GeneralTo His HolinessPope Leo XIVEcône, 30 June 2026Most Holy Father,
[Update: Response by the SSPX Superior General]
Letter of the Holy Father to the Reverend Father Davide Pagliarani, Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X
The Episcopal Consecrations of Saint Athanasius
by Roberto de Mattei
In the sixty years between the Council of Nicaea (325) and the Council of Constantinople (381), the Church experienced, through the Arian crisis, one of the most difficult moments of its history. It was an era of defection from the faith, in which strenuous defenders of orthodoxy stood out — figures such as Saint Athanasius of Alexandria and Saint Hilary of Poitiers. Athanasius, in particular, became the symbol of the struggle against Arianism, which had penetrated to the very summit of the ecclesiastical hierarchy.
In the current debate over episcopal consecrations performed without a pontifical mandate, the name of Saint Athanasius is sometimes invoked as an example of a bishop who supposedly consecrated new bishops outside the ordinary disciplinary norms. A rigorous examination of the historical sources, however, leads to very different conclusions.
 |
| (photo source) |
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 faults and making every effort to open up broader vistas? And should we not admit that some unpleasant things have also emerged in Church circles? At times one gets the impression that our society needs to have at least one group to which no tolerance may be shown; which one can easily attack and hate. (Letter of Pope Benedict XVI to the World’s Catholic Episcopate on Remission of Excommunication of the four SSPX Bishops, 10th March 2009)
 |
| Riddes, Canton of Valais, Switzerland, where the district of Écône is located |
Most Traditional Catholics are familiar with these aspects, but, since we have many new readers these days, this seems appropriate.
Schism, Excommunication… What Are the Stakes of the SSPX Ordinations?
By I.MEDIA at Cath.ch
June 26, 2026
[Written] with the canonical expertise of Pierre Chaffard-Luçon
Why do the new episcopal consecrations announced by the Society of Saint Pius X for July 1, 2026 pose a problem? What will be the status of those involved? And what becomes of the situation of the priests and faithful connected to this traditionalist movement?
Main excerpts from Matteo Matzuzzi's piece for today's Il Foglio:
The Schism at the Bottom Right
Never before have a Pope and the Lefebvrian Society been so close to the breaking point. The mistake was to underestimate Leo XIV: the Augustinians remember what their confrere Luther did when he broke the unity of the Church.
From today's Il Giornale, reporting on the proceedings of the Consistory of Cardinals taking place in the Vatican:
The Schism Unsettles the Consistory: "We Must Respond to the Lefebvrians"
Leo XIV had asked the cardinals for candor. And some took him at his word. As we can reveal, although the agenda had made no mention of the imminent Lefebvrian schism, a cardinal took it upon himself — already on the first day of proceedings — to use the time set aside for personal interventions to name the elephant in the room: the Society of Saint Pius X's open challenge to Rome.
Address of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on the Occasion of the Opening of the Extraordinary Consistory
(June 26–27, 2026)
June 26, 2026
Dear Brother Cardinals,
I welcome you and thank you from my heart for having once again accepted my invitation. Your presence manifests the solicitude for the whole Church that we share in the service of the People of God and of the mission entrusted to us by the Lord.
Most Reverend Eminences,
What is one to think, and what is one to do, in the face of the episcopal consecrations announced by the Society of Saint Pius X at Écône for July 1st, and the consequent latae sententiae excommunication that will be reaffirmed by the Holy See?
A guest article by Dr. Michaël Bauwens, University of Antwerp. As usual, we share this essay for the benefit of wider and deeper conversation, not as an official Rorate editorial position. ~PAK
The rising tensions concerning the scheduled episcopal consecrations by the SSPX and the announced ensuing excommunications by the Vatican have provoked a range of reactions – from pleas for ecclesial unity, obedience, leniency and pragmatism, to the intricacies of canon law, all the way to ideologically hardened hearts. These are pressing and legitimate ecclesial worries indeed, but the current situation shows that the roots of the problem are really doctrinal and theological, and are still far from being resolved.
In impromptu declarations to the press, yesterday (June 16, 2026):
“I am considering making another appeal and saying ‘don't do this, let's try to live the communion of the Church.’ But it is their choice.
Pope Leo's Successful Apostolic Journey to Spain:
Popular Piety and Orthodoxy, Yes. Partisan Progressivism, No.
As is well known, Pope Honoris I stated in a letter to Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople that “we confess one will of our Lord Jesus Christ”—despite the Church’s dogmatic teaching that Christ has both a divine will and a human will—and was posthumously anathematized by the Third Council of Constantinople.
What is not generally known, what is, in fact, virtually unknown, is that Pope John IV taught that Christ “never had two contrary wills [his human will being perfectly subordinate to his divine will] …we fittingly say and truthfully confess [in a metaphorical sense] one will” and that, therefore, Honorius’s letter was not intrinsically heretical its precise wording—because it did not state whether “one will” was meant literally or metaphorically.
A report from Italy:
We wanted to bring to your attention the story of a group of pilgrims traveling through Italy with a priest of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter.