Kera: The SSPX

TRANSCRIPT Hello everyone, welcome to Popeular History. First off, sorry for any background noise–not only is this a last-minute production which is naturally going to be fairly rough, but we’re in a heat wave so I’m afraid to turn off the AC for the house lest it not turn back on for some reason. Thank you for understanding. Anyways, in lieu of an anniversary episode this year, I’ve got to talk about the SSPX. And as one who likes to live in hope, that topic hurts. Because, within minutes of this airing, barring some miracle, they’ll be carrying out some pointedly unauthorized episcopal consecrations that carry an automatic penalty of excommunication from the Catholic Church.

Of course, you may be asking: the who are doing the what now? The Society of Saint Pius the Tenth, commonly called the SSPX, is a priestly fraternity, which is a specific technical term I don’t want to get too hung up on but if you’re used to saying “frat”, replace the booze and girls in your mental image with theology books and pious practices. It’s basically a club for priests who strongly favor the old ways, before the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council. And what they’re doing now is creating new bishops without the Pope’s sign-off to m ake sure they can keep doing their thing without what they perceive to be outside influence. Of course, the fact that they genuinely seem to view the Pope as “outside interference” is, well, an interesting trait for a Catholic group. But we all have our preferences, and honestly, they’re not the first and they will not be the last Catholic group to not want the Pope to be up in their business.

Anyways, given all this “old ways” stuff, and the fact that I mentioned in my show introduction that I don’t naturally have a conservative bone in my body, it may come as a surprise that I find myself quite sympathetic to a lot of the SSPX’s stuff. To be clear, I don’t mean their tongue-in-cheek “obedience” which, as near as I can tell, only occurs when it’s convenient for them. And also not their general lack of compassion for anyone who doesn’t fit their mold. I’m pretty strong on that point. But–particularly when it comes to liturgy–to the Mass–the tradition they love is indistinguishable from the tradition I love. Give me Latin, give me bells, give me the sign of the cross made a lot more times than strictly necessary, and extremely complicated instructions for following along. Most importantly, give me the LORD in the Most Holy Eucharist, with all the reverence and trembling of the world ending. These are beautiful things worth preserving, and cherishing, and fighting and dying for. I admit I anticipate masses with guitars as credit towards time off from purgatory. But you’re not one with the Lord of Hosts Who is present in the Host if you’re not willing to share God’s love with the worst sinner you know. You need to be eager to share the banquet of the Gospel with them. God rejoices in the lost sheep returning, even when they do so imperfectly–indeed, how can they do otherwise, but by God’s own grace? Anyways, the mystery of the economy of salvation is an understandable stumbling block. How can God call *those people* to closer union? They’re not worthy! And, of course they aren’t, and neither are we. And yet here we are, called to Christ, to His kingdom. God willing, together.

Enough of my musings, let’s get back to the facts of the present case. The reality is that as near as I can tell, every council of the Church has consequently given some shape to movements to reject the council, and the Second Vatican Council is no different there. The SSPX, though not the only, is definitely the most famous such movement, almost certainly due to its complicated relationship with the wider Catholic Church, which it calls the “Conciliar Church”, on account of its acceptance of the Council. Now isn’t the worst time to point out that the SSPX’s founder signed every document of the Second Vatican Council, which is not a thing he had to do–others had refused, though not many.

Rather than get lost in the weeds of the history, I’ll simply note that on the whole, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is that every day we are called to make choices, and that those choices impact not only our world now, but our status in the next life, whether you believe that or not. And the simple fact is that if you really believe the Catholic Church is the Church with a capital C, you can’t just ignore the Pope with a capital P. And that’s the heart of it. I suppose I could have simply said “the conceit of this show is history through Pope-colored glasses so of course we’re going to side with the Pope on this”, but I wanted to emphasize that in this case I’m very much on the Papal side on this one even apart from the show’s lens. To wrap things up, allow me to read what prompted this short episode: Pope Leo’s 11th hour direct appeal to the SSPX, asking them to turn from the path of schism–in whole because it’s short:

To The Reverend Davide Pagliarani Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X

With a paternal heart, and aware of the responsibility entrusted to me by the Lord as the Successor of the Apostle Peter, I address you and, through you, the bishops, priests, seminarians and faithful connected to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X.

The Church recognizes the devotion to liturgical life, commitment to priestly formation, apostolic zeal and desire for fidelity to Tradition that characterize many people and communities connected to your Fraternity. This has motivated the attentive and generous attitude that my Predecessors have consistently shown to you.

In this spirit, and filled with Christian affection, I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back! I urge you to consider carefully the spiritual good of the faithful, because the schismatic act you are about to undertake would deprive them of the licit and, in some cases, even valid reception of the Sacraments, which they love and seek for their sanctification.

The Church is open to a path of dialogue and understanding that the Holy Spirit can make possible and fruitful.

I pray for you, because to tear the seamless garment of Christ is a sin of extreme gravity. May the Lord enlighten your consciences and awaken your hearts. With a sorrowful yet hopeful heart, I feel it is my duty, through the authority received from Christ, to ask you to desist from your intended act. I entrust these intentions to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Good Counsel.

From the Vatican, 29 June 2026

Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul

LEO PP. XIV