Cardinal  Felipe Arizmendi , Bishop Emeritus of San Cristóbal de Las Casas and responsible for the Doctrine of the Faith at the  Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM) , offers Exaudi readers his article.

FACTS

Pope Leo XIV wrote a letter to Lefebvre’s followers asking them not to carry out the episcopal ordinations they had announced. He wrote to them in these terms:

“With a fatherly spirit I wish to address you and, through you, the bishops, priests, seminarians and the faithful linked to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, aware of the responsibility that the Lord has entrusted to me as Successor of the Apostle Peter.

The Church recognizes the adherence to liturgical life, the commitment to priestly formation, the apostolic zeal, and the desire for fidelity to Tradition that characterize many individuals and communities affiliated with this Fraternity. This has prompted an attitude of attention and benevolence that my Predecessors have consistently shown them.

In this spirit, and filled with Christian affection, I implore you with all my heart: Reverse this! I urge you to carefully consider the spiritual good of the faithful, because the schismatic act you would carry out would deprive them of the lawful and, in some cases, even valid reception of the sacraments they love and seek for their own 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 tearing the seamless Robe of Christ is a sin of the utmost gravity. May the Lord enlighten your consciences and move your hearts. By the authority I have received from Christ, with a sorrowful soul, yet still full of hope, I have the duty to ask you to desist from your attempt, and I entrust these prayers to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Good Counsel.”

However, they ignored the Pope’s exhortation, and on July 1st, in Écône, Switzerland, the excommunicated Spanish bishop Alfonso de Galarreta ordained four bishops: one Swiss, one American, and two French. They incurred excommunication, known as  latae sententiae.  This means a trial is held to verify that all canonical norms were violated. This was not out of revenge on the part of the Church, but because they themselves placed themselves outside ecclesial communion and increased the schism, which is a separation from the Church. The Mass was obviously in Latin, with the bishop facing away from the congregation and wearing the most traditional vestments, which are no longer used among us.

Perhaps their episcopal ordination is valid, since their consecrator is a true bishop of their Fraternity, albeit long excommunicated; but it is illicit, since it is performed without the authorization of the Pope, who is the supreme pastor of the Church. If they are validly consecrated, even though their ordination is illicit, some of the sacraments they celebrate are valid, but illicit. For example, the faithful who participate in their Masses do so validly, albeit illicitly; they receive the true Body of Christ. Those baptized by them are validly baptized. On the other hand, such bishops and priests cannot validly celebrate the sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession, nor preside at marriages. That is to say, those who confess sacramentally to one of their bishops or priests, even if they have been validly ordained, do not have their sins truly forgiven, and those who receive the sacrament of marriage are not validly married. The division they cause deeply harms the Church.

With the intention of analyzing and commenting on some of the statements in their  Catholic Profession of Faith , I continue to share with you  in italics  what they maintain and in normal Word my commentary.

LIGHTNING

61. I reject the false ecumenism, founded on the idea that the Holy Spirit would not refuse to use separated communities as means of salvation, as if the Church of Christ were present and acting in them, or as if these communities possessed in themselves a salvific value whose power derived from the fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Catholic Church.

With this statement, they condemn everything affirmed by the Second Vatican Council on true ecumenism, as if there were no truths in the evangelical churches with which we agree and these should be rejected entirely. That is not even a Christian attitude, much less a Catholic one.

62. I likewise reject the idea that non-Christian religions reflect a ray of the truth that illuminates every man, or constitute legitimate paths by which God positively leads men to salvation… They are the work of the devil and cannot be pleasing to God.

In doing so, they misinterpret the Council’s statements regarding respect for non-Christian religions. The Council never says that all religions are equal; much less does it claim that they are the work of the devil.

63. I also reject the idea of ​​an “anonymous Christianity,” according to which every man who leads a naturally honest life, whether “believer,” atheist, or agnostic, would be oriented towards Christ and, therefore, would be saved by Him, for being “Christian” without knowing it.

Of course, one thing is not the same as the other, but God wants everyone to be saved and accept Christ as their savior, which is the ordinary path. We cannot guarantee that everyone will be saved, although God has His ways. Let us not forget Matthew chapter 25, where we are not asked what religion we profess, and Luke chapter 10 about the Good Samaritan, who was not a Jewish believer and is praised by Jesus.

65. I condemn the new ecclesiology, which destroys the missionary impulse by relativizing the uniqueness of the Church, the only ark of salvation.

If they reject the Council and the subsequent papal Magisterium, it is almost impossible to dialogue with them. It is false that we are destroying the missionary impulse; on the contrary. They are the ones relativizing the unity of the Church, breaking it apart and increasing the schism.

ACTIONS

Let us intensify our prayer to the Holy Spirit, so that He may keep us in the unity desired by Christ, within our legitimate differences and nuances, but without promoting a schism, a separation from the ecclesial faith and from the recognition of the Supreme Pontiff.