*** True or False Pope - Now available on Kindle ***
True or False Pope - Now available on Kindle
An Introduction to the Errors in
the Ecclesiology of Dr. Scott Hahn
Mr. John Salza, O.P.
December A.D. 2023
On October 24, 2023, Matt Fradd interviewed Dr. Scott Hahn on Pints with Aquinas to discuss Hahn’s new book Catholics in Exile. The book, which Hahn co-authored with Brandon McGinley, aims to provide Scriptural wisdom for navigating the current storms in the Church and the world. While we acknowledge the many positive contributions Dr. Hahn has made to the Catholic Church over the years, some of the statements he made in the interview with Fradd (along with similar statements he wrote in the new book) are completely contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church. Continue Reading...
The Doctrine of the Universal and Peaceful Acceptance and How it Proves the Legitimacy of a Pope
The SSPX, How to "walk with the Church" in during a Modernist Revolution
In the wake of the many podcasts I did in 2022[1] which explained why the SSPX’s 1988 consecrations were schismatic (as Pope John Paul II declared), the Society attempted damage control by publishing an article by Fr. Jean-Michel Gleize called “We Owe to Pius XII Important Clarifications on the Nature of the Episcopate” (September 22, 2022). In the article, which attempted to defend the consecrations, Fr. Gleize made the devastating admission that usurping a divine right which belongs to the Pope alone is a schismatic act.
Fr. Gleize’s admission was absolutely critical because it reduced the debate to a principle we both agree with (usurping a divine right of the Primacy = schismatic), and opened the door for me to prove that the selection and consecration of bishops is such a divine right of the Primacy, thereby proving, according to Gleize’s own principle, that the Society’s consecrations against the will of the Pope were schismatic. I proved this point in my rebuttal article entitled “SSPX Priest (Inadvertently) Admits the Society is in Schism” (November 2022), which included the following Magisterial teachings: Continue Reading
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Robert Siscoe and SSPX Priest Discussion on Collegiality
In November 2024, John Salza and Robert Siscoe were beneficiaries of a slew of emails from a layman who attempted to defend the position of the SSPX. In his email campaign, the layman copied an SSPX priest (we shall keep him anonymous) who is considered one of the Society’s top theologians (and who endorsed our book True or False Pope?). After John Salza had a lengthy exchange with the priest (see here), Robert Siscoe attempted to engage the priest on collegiality, and in so doing answered the Society’s two main objections to the doctrine, both of which are due to the Society misunderstanding of Catholic terminology, namely, interpreting supreme authority as meaning the Primacy, and interpreting the munere of teaching and governing as actual jurisdiction. Mr. Siscoe’s two emails are below, along with the priest’s reply and Mr. Siscoe’s counter reply:
R
John
Salza Defends the Divine Person of Jesus Christ,
True God and True Man
(against a Catholic!)
February
A.D. 2025
A Catechist recently asked a number of Catholic
apologists if they could summarize the atonement in a single, brief sentence,
that would be faithful to the mystery of the hypostatic union and the divine
and human natures of Christ. John Salza offered the following proposition:
“The
divine person, Jesus Christ, suffered in body and soul.”
(Note: St. Thomas also says Christ “suffered in body
and soul” in Tertia Pars, question 47.)
One Catholic apologist (who we shall call “Bill”) on
the email request took issue with Salza’s proposition, even calling it
“heresy.” After private correspondence
with Salza, who defended his proposition, the apologist compiled the following
Magisterial quotations in an effort to refute Salza’s proposition.
Following are those quotations along with Salza’s
replies, which demonstrate that the apologist has incorrectly conflated the
divine person (of Jesus Christ) with His divine nature, similar to what
Nestorius had done in the fifth century, when he refused to say that Mary was
the mother of the divine person (just as this apologist refuses to say that the
divine person could suffer and die).
We believe this exchange is fruitful to publish, because it reminds us of the nuanced questions our Catholic forefathers had to grapple with. It also should move us to reflect on the profound truth that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, after assuming a human nature, remained a divine person, and yet experienced what His human nature experienced, just as Our Redeemer so willed, including birth, suffering and death. It is a most humbling reflection as we prepare for Lent. Continue reading.
John Salza vs. SSPX Priest
on the Schismatic Consecrations
December A.D. 2024
In November 2024, John Salza and Robert Siscoe were beneficiaries of a slew of emails from a layman who attempted to defend the position of the SSPX, with banal arguments we have already refuted in our many articles since 2020. In his email campaign, the layman copied an SSPX priest (we shall keep him anonymous) who is considered one of the Society’s top theologians (and who endorsed our book True or False Pope?). During the exchange, the SSPX priest, presumably to “save face” due to the embarrassing efforts of the layman, jumped in to offer his own defense, specifically on the merits of the 1988 consecrations. In doing so, he attempted to take on Mr. Salza.
While the exchange was brief, we believe it is fruitful to publish, because it highlights the Society’s fundamental errors (and, perhaps, abject ignorance) on key issues concerning the nature of the Church and the divine rights of the Roman Primacy. Continue reading.
The SSPX Pats itself on the Back
for Delaying its Next Schismatic Act
A Response to a Recent Sermon by Fr. Paul Robinson
Mr. John Salza, O.P.
November A.D. 2024
The hits keep coming. In a recent sermon, Fr. Paul Robinson said that the SSPX has been “respectful to the office of the Papacy” and “prudent”[1] for waiting to commit its next round of schismatic episcopal consecrations, all the while affirming its intention to do so again, without regard to possible opposition by the Roman Pontiff. You read that correctly.
In other words, Fr. Robinson thinks the SSPX gets a pat on the back for temporarily refraining, during the past decades, from performing one of the worst acts of schism possible (usurping a divine right that belongs to the Pope alone), even though the SSPX does intend to perform the schismatic act again in the future. Continue reading.
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Mario Derksen of Novus Ordo Watch Denies the Dogma of Indefectibility
(and ALL Sedevacantists do the same)
John Salza, J.D.
October A.D. 2024
When we recently challenged Sedevacantist Mario Derksen of Novus Ordo Watch to tell us which bishops in the world today have jurisdiction, he first expressed his ignorance about this dogmatic necessity as it pertains to the Church’s attribute of indefectibility (that Christ’s Church will always have a College of Bishops with mission and jurisdiction from the Pope until the end of time). He then ended by effectively denying the dogma. Continue reading...
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The Erroneous Ecclesiology of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre
Archbishop Lefebvre: "The Conciliar Church is no longer the Catholic Church. ... It is a New Church."
Comment: If the Church that used to be the Catholic Church became a New Church after Vatican II, not only would it follow that the New Church was not the true Church; it would also follow that the Church before Vatican II was a false Church, since the true Church is indefectible.
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SSPX Masses and the Sunday Obligation
John Salza Responds to Fr. Chad Ripperger and Jimmy Akin
In the span of just a few days, two well-known Catholics publicly gave what I maintain are erroneous conclusions regarding whether or not SSPX Masses fulfill the Sunday obligation. On September 18, 2024, in an interview with Gene Zannetti, Fr. Chad Ripperger stated that SSPX Masses fulfill the obligation. And on September 21, 2024, in an article by Daniel Payne for Catholic News Agency (about the Carmelite nuns who defected to the SSPX), Jimmy Akin of Catholic Answers is also quoted as suggesting that SSPX Masses fulfill the obligation (because he says Catholics can attend their Masses and receive Holy Communion).
As I will demonstrate in this article, both statements fall short of a proper understanding of canon law, which lead to the erroneous conclusion. Continue reading...
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Addressing Jimmy Akin’s Statements
on Catholic Anathemas
John Salza
April A.D. 2024
On April 25, 2024, Jimmy Akin of Catholic Answers debated Protestant apologist James White at the First Baptist Church in Livingston, Louisiana on the topic of justification (Akin also debated White on sola Scriptura the previous evening). Before addressing the topic at hand, I wish to say that I respect a good share of Mr. Akin’s work as a Catholic apologist and thought he exposed White’s deficiencies during cross-examination. Indeed, it is my regard for Akin’s abilities that actually led me to write this critique, because in his efforts to find common ground with his opponent and the Protestant audience (which he admitted was his objective), I’m afraid he went too far, in my opinion, in conciliating them about Catholic anathemas, among other things.
In regard to anathemas, I believe Akin made some misleading and even erroneous statements that I wish to address in this article. To set the stage for our analysis, after quoting St. Paul’s teaching in Galatians 1:8-9, where St. Paul uses the term “anathema” (v.9),[1] Akin claimed that James White has misrepresented the Church’s use of the term, by twisting it to mean that anyone who rejects the Church’s dogmatic canons (i.e., Trent’s canons on the Mass) “is under the anathema of God.” Continue reading...
Is the Pope the Head of the Church?
Don’t Ask Father
John Salza Replies to The Remnant’s Fr. Joseph Wilson
Mr. John Salza, J.D., O.P.
March A.D. 2024
In The Remnant newspaper’s February
29, 2024 edition of its “Ask Father” column, Fr. Joseph Wilson (the “Father” who
is “asked” the questions) replied to a letter from a prisoner named “N” which
expressed concern over the veracity of the so-called “blessings” of sodomite
unions recently permitted by Pope Francis. The prisoner mentioned that he
shares the newspaper with fellow Christian prisoners and was asked by them to
give a defense of same-sex “blessings” in light of Scripture and Tradition
(this author, too, would like the Pope to offer such a defense to this latest
“discipline”).
Needless to say, this prisoner, like anyone else with the sensus
catholicus, has been scandalized by what Fiducia Supplicans appears
to sanction, even if it also expresses a correct doctrinal judgment concerning
the nature of marriage. The very fact that there has been a negative, universal
reaction to the document – from Cardinals to laity – in spite of its
affirmation of the doctrine of Holy Matrimony, is evidence of a prima facie incoherence
with Catholic moral teaching and discipline.
Unfortunately, Fr. Wilson’s efforts to alleviate the
prisoner’s concern – which I no doubt believe were well-intentioned – actually
promote a heresy (one that is becoming surprisingly common today), and thus serve
as an example of how an overreaction to the errors of the Left can actually
result in an even worse error on the Right. To reiterate, it is not Fr.
Wilson’s sincerity that is being questioned; rather, it is Catholic dogma that
must be defended, even when it is being denied with the best of intentions, as I’m
sure Fr. Wilson would agree. That is the purpose of this article.
Note that I have also sent this article to Michael Matt (a long-time colleague of mine) requesting that he publish the article, but have not heard back from him. It would be most appropriate if Mr. Matt publish this fraternal correction, since he published Fr. Wilson’s heretical material in the first place. Continue reading...
In this unscripted mock debate, John Salza answers the common arguments of the SSPX and their apologists.
Ed Mazza Accuses John Salza of Error but Refuses to Debate Him on the Issue
January A.D. 2024
On December 9, 2023, Dr. Ed Mazza held a video conference called “Is the Pope Catholic?” The conference, which also included speakers Archbishop Vigano, Fr. Paul Kramer, Ann Barnhardt, and Elizabeth Yore, was devoted to enlightening all of us as to why Pope Francis is really an antipope. Like all Sedevacantists, one of the reasons advanced by Mazza & Company in support of their theory is that Francis is a heretic, and heretics cannot hold jurisdiction in the Church. Quite amusingly, during his talk, Mazza put up a slide which quoted from Karl Rahner (the liberal Vatican II peritus) who says “But possession of ordinary ecclesiastical authority and non-membership in the Church [for public material heresy] are mutually exclusive notions…” Continue reading...
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SSPX: Indefensible
A Concise Treatment of the Canonical Status of the Society of St. Pius X
By
Noah Weidig and Wesley Weidig
Introductory Note: The authors wish to express their deepest gratitude to John Salza Esq. and Robert Siscoe for their incredible writing on this subject. They have brought extreme clarity to the issues surrounding the SSPX, and their work can be found at True or False Pope. The authors also wish to thank Dom Dalmasso and Andrew Bartel at The Logos Project as well as Michael Lofton at Reason and Theology for their tireless work on this topic. For further reading on these subjects, please refer to the SSPX Page on trueorfalsepope.com, which has served as an invaluable resource in this project. The authors claim no originality in these arguments since this is a summary or compilation of the work of the individuals mentioned herein.
INTRODUCTION
The canonical status of the Priestly Fraternity or Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) is among the most highly debated subjects within the traditional Catholic movement. Is the SSPX a part of the Catholic Church? Is it schismatic or excommunicated? Do its priests and bishops have jurisdiction? Does the Society have a canonical mission? While these questions may appear to be a wholesale dismissal of the organization, they are of serious concern since roughly 600,000 Catholic faithful regularly attend SSPX Masses and receive their sacraments.[1] To avoid these questions would be gravely negligent, as the salvation of souls is at stake. Fr. Ramon Anglés, SSPX, ironically admits that,
If… [the priests of the SSPX] have no faculties, all the priestly work they perform every day is illegitimate and therefore evil. If this is so, it would be a sin to receive their services, maybe even to ask for them. If such is the case, the Society is deceiving the good traditional Catholic faithful![2] (emphasis added) Continue reading...
The 1989 Profession of Faith:
More Errors and Dishonesty from the SSPX
John F. Salza, Esq.
April A.D. 2023
For the average Catholic who reads the material of the Society of St. Pius X, it is often very difficult to discern the Society’s many theological errors. This is because one error is generally based upon another error, or multiple errors, resulting in a tangled web of interdependent errors that can only be untangled by systematically addressing each error, one at a time (not to mention having the theological knowledge to do so). We see how complex this web of errors can be, by just looking at the Society’s treatment of the Church’s Profession of Faith, promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1989. Continue reading...
“Who Sent You?” Keeping All Complicit Clergy Accountable
(This article was first published by Catholic World Report on March 14, 2023. After twenty-four hours of blowback from critics on social media, the editorial team at CWR removed some of the offensive expressions in the concluding paragraphs. We believe that these sentences should not have been censored, since they convey important grave realities about the situation of the Society of St. Pius X. The imagery of marriage and human sexuality as a way of understanding the drama between God and his people is of ancient usage in the Judeo-Christian tradition, from the Old Testament prophets to the Gospels, and from the Epistles of St. Paul to the Fathers, Doctors, and Saints of the Church. Considering Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre himself made use of the same kind of imagery in his (in)famous sermon at Lille on August 29, 1976, the hypocrisy of the outraged pro-SSPX critics is strikingly evident. The original article is therefore reproduced here in its entirety.) Continue Reading
Why Sedevacantism and IndependentTraditional Catholicism is Wrong
By
Eric Hoyle
Did Abp. Lefebvre Say the New Mass?
Kennedy Hall Only Makes Things Worse
for Lefebvre and the SSPX
Kennedy Hall, the self-proclaimed lay apologist for the SSPX, recently released a video accusing Michael Lofton and me of calumny for claiming Archbishop Lefebvre celebrated the New Mass. Yes, this accusation comes from a man who falsely accused me of backing out of a debate, even though his own emails admit that he was the one to back out. (here) This also comes from a man who almost exclusively uses ad hominem arguments against his opponents, whom he labels “enemies of the Church.” Even though I have over 20 hours of podcasts and as many articles defending the Church by explaining the errors of the SSPX, Hall conspicuously avoids engaging my theological and canonical arguments on any meaningful level; he would rather attack my character with lies and misrepresentations, and claim that Marcel Lefebvre, who died under a declared excommunication for schism, is the victim. That is his approach.
Mr. Hall certainly has a distorted understanding of what calumny is. The Catholic Encyclopedia defines calumny as “the unjust damaging of the good name of another by imputing to him a crime or fault of which he is not guilty.” So, according to Hall, a priest who celebrates the Novus Ordo Mass – a rite promulgated by the Roman Pontiff for the entire Latin Church – is actually guilty of committing a crime or grave fault. Continue reading...
John Salza Responds to Peter Kwasniewski on the SSPX
January A.D. 2023
Following is my response to Peter Kwasniewski’s hit-and-run post about my January 9, 2023 interview with Matt Fradd on the SSPX.
Before addressing his points, notice that Peter admits he only “listened to about an hour” of my three hour and fifteen-minute interview, but then provides a laundry list of points he claims I did not cover or failed to distinguish, again, even though he did not listen to over 2/3rds of the interview, and which actually did include discussion on many of the points he claims I missed (i.e, the Magisterium’s levels of authority, obedience, the problems with Pope Francis, etc). Evidently Peter thinks so highly of himself that he believes he can publicly refute his opponents’ arguments without listening to their entire arguments. Continue reading...
Kennedy Hall Backed Out of Debating Salza, then Lied about it
The purpose of this piece is to protect the reputations of Matt Fradd and John Salza against the defamatory statements that Kennedy Hall has spread about them on social media. We hope that Mr. Hall will remove his libelous statements, as Mr. Fradd has asked him to do, in Catholic charity, for the sake of all parties involved. Continue reading
In a recent podcast, the Sedevacantist apologist, John Lane, argued that the case of Marcellinus offering incense to idols was only included in the Liber Pontificalis to serve as a moral lesson for what Catholics should never do, and not because it was believe to be historically true. Is Mr. Lane right? Continue reading.
Dear FMP
Thank you for the email and question. I am going to begin by summarizing your position.
You agree that Benedict validly resigned the active exercise of His ministry (ministerium) as the bishop of Rome, but you nevertheless believe he remained the one and only Pope until the day of his death (which happened after you send the email).
I assume that the reason you believe he remained Pope is because you believe the valid resignation only applied to the active exercise of the ministry (ministerium), but not the munus (office) itself.
The first problem is... Continue reading
A person named Joe Bocca wrote a reply (“Operation Survival: A Case for the SSPX”) to my article “Does the SSPX Have an Extraordinary Mission?” In my article, I demonstrate that the ministry of the Society of St. Pius X is illegitimate due to its lack of a juridical (or extraordinary) mission, according to divine law and the teaching of the Church. In short, the SSPX is not part of, nor has been sent by, the Roman Catholic Church, and the SSPX also rejects the Catholic Church’s universal Profession of Faith (among other doctrines). Moreover, the bishops of the SSPX were selected and consecrated contrary to the will of the Holy Father, and thus are schismatics. Therefore, the clergy of the SSPX are not considered legitimate Catholic ministers.
Mr. Bocca’s “case for the SSPX” is entirely flawed ab initio, because he thinks the SSPX can operate due to a suspension of the Church’s legislative laws, based on the ever nebulous and subjective “state of necessity,” and the higher law “the salvation of souls” (the predictable and perfunctory appeals of the false traditionalists). The obvious problem with Mr. Bocca’s argument is that ... Continue here.
SSPX Priest Proves the Society is in
Schism
Fr. Gleize Makes a Devastating
Admission
and a Fatal Theological Error
Mr. John F. Salza, O.P.
November A.D. 2022
In this article, issued shortly after many podcasts on the Society’s schism were aired, Fr. Gleize attempts to refine the Society’s position on schism and the 1988 consecrations. In fact, Fr. Gleize tries to use the teachings of Pope Pius XII – who condemned illicitly consecrated bishops as “thieves and robbers” - to show that the “episcopate in the Society is not schismatic.”Clearly, Fr. Gleize believed it was necessary to confront the very teachings from Pius XII we have used this past year to demonstrate the SSPX’s schism, by trying to make distinctions that spare the Society from the Pope’s condemnations. Unfortunately, Fr. Gleize’s efforts have backfired on him.
EMAIL EXCHANGE WITH AN SSPX PRIEST
Robert J. Siscoe
November 2022
The following email exchange between Robert Siscoe and
an SSPX priest (former seminary professor), which took place in 2021, explains the reason the authors of True
or False Pope? no longer support the SSPX.
Continue…
Email Exchange with a Sedevacantist Apologist
A Sedevacatist apologist forwarded us a paper he wrote that attempted to refute our position and asked us for our thoughts. We are posting the cordial but lengthy email exchange that ensued, which contains some information that we have not published. Continue reading...
Dear Traditional Catholics: Don’t Trust the Writings of the SSPX Like I Did
John Salza Responds to One Peter Five
and also Exposes its Error on the Sunday Obligation
John F. Salza
31 July A.D. 2022
Yesterday, One Peter Five released an article called “John Salza Replies to John Salza.” The article pits my former positions on the SSPX (dating back to over ten years ago) with my current position, which I reached after digging much more deeply into the issues over the past few years. In fact, one could substitute “SSPX” for “Salza 2013” etc., because all my former positions that the One Peter Five piece presents, were simply SSPX talking points, which I gleaned from Society writings during the time I was attending the SSPX chapel and adopted as my own. The One Peter Five “article,” if you want to call it that, is really a presentation of the Society’s arguments vs. the position I currently hold (it is really a “SSPX vs. Salza 2022” comparison).
Hence, I titled this present article Don’t Trust the Writings of the SSPX Like I Did, because I want those who are currently investigating or supportive of the Society’s position to not just take their word for it like I originally did, but actually go beyond the SSPX’s mere talking points (e.g., necessity justifies everything they do), and dig more deeply into the theological and canonical arguments which they claim justifies their operating without being part of, or sent by, the Roman Catholic Church. Continue reading...
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Part I
John F. Salza, Esq.July A.D. 2022
Recently (April – June, 2022), the Society of St. Pius X issued yet another study addressing the historical and canonical details surrounding its establishment in 1970 up to its canonical status today (the authors of the various sections of the study chose to remain anonymous). The title of the study is “The Virtue of Epikeia in the History of the Society of St. Pius X,” and the SSPX goes on to explain, among other things, why it believes the virtue of epikeia justifies its ability to licitly exercise the priestly ministry throughout the world, without being part of, or canonically sent by, the Roman Catholic Church.
Unfortunately, the study is replete with unsubstantiated claims, canonical errors and even outright misrepresentations. Continue reading.
Is this Mass Intrinsically Evil?
___________________________________________________________________
John F. Salza, Esq.
June A.D. 2022
Recall what we learned in Part I of this article, that Fr. Reuter’s (and the SSPX’s) position is that it is impossible to interpret the documents of Vatican II in confirming with traditional doctrine (a hermeneutic of continuity, proposed by Pope Benedict XVI, is not possible, they say). Fr. Reuter articulated this position in Episode 30 of the Society’s Crisis in the Church series, called “Hermeneutic of Continuity: Big Word, Big Logical Leap.” However, as we have consistently seen in other podcasts of this series, when SSPX priests attempt to prove their thesis, they immediately contradict themselves, by referring to examples of someone’s faulty interpretation of the council, and not their analysis of the actual text. We saw this repeatedly in Fr. Wiseman’s podcast (Episode 48, “The 4 Questions You Should Ask Yourself about the Crisis”), which I exposed in my article “A Refutation of the SSPX’s Four Answers on the Crisis.” Continue reading...
Exposing the SSPX’s Rejection of the Hermeneutic of Continuity
John Salza Responds to Fr. Reuter, SSPX – Part I
John F. Salza, Esq.
June A.D. 2022
In Episode 30 of the Society’s Crisis in the Church series, called “Hermeneutic of Continuity: Big Word, Big Logical Leap,” Fr. Steven Reuter attempts to explain why the Society of St. Pius X rejects the approach of interpreting the documents of Vatican II in light of Tradition, or what Pope Benedict XVI called “the hermeneutic of continuity,” and instead believes the conciliar documents must be thrown out altogether. The SSPX’s position is based on the view that the documents don’t merely contain ambiguous statements that allow for an interpretation that is contrary to Tradition, but instead are full of teachings that positively teach error, and or even heresy, and therefore cannot be reconciled with Tradition, no matter how hard we might try. Consequently, the SSPX advocates that the documents of Vatican II should be rejected in toto (as a whole), rather than understood using a hermeneutic (or method of interpretation) in light of the Church’s prior teaching. Continue...
A Refutation of the SSPX’s Appeal to Canonical Equity
John Salza Replies to Fr. Peter Scott
To justify their ability to operate without a canonical mission, and also to allegedly receive supplied jurisdiction, the clergy of the SSPX appeal to a principle called “canonical equity,” which is addressed in canon 19 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law. In the SSPX article “Supplied Jurisdiction and Traditional Priests,” Fr. Peter Scott states the question as follows: Continue reading...
For decades, the Society has fallaciously appealed to the historical case of St. Eusebius of the fourth century, to justify the illicit episcopal consecrations of Marcel Lefebvre in 1988. In this article, we will see misrepresented the sources it references for the case of Eusebius and inserts fake quotes to further mislead their readers. Continue...
What if Traditional Priests are Suspended?
John Salza Replies to Chris Jackson
John F. Salza, Esq.
February A.D. 2022
Exposing the SSPX’s Errors on Collegiality
John F. Salza, Esq.
February A.D. 2022
In Episode 48 of the Society of St. Pius X’s Crisis in the Church series, Fr. Alexander Wiseman gave a podcast entitled “The 4 Questions to Ask Yourself about the Crisis.” The purpose of the podcast was to explain to Catholics what is the “right position to adopt in the face of this crisis” and, naturally, why the SSPX has adopted the correction position. The four questions Fr. Wiseman asks are: (1) Is there a crisis in the Church?; (2) Is the root of the crisis found in Vatican II and the New Mass?; (3) Should we publicly reject Vatican II and the New Mass?; and, (4) Should we recognize as Catholic the Roman authorities responsible for the crisis? Continue reading...
Collegiality in Light of Tradition
Is Collegiality a Novelty of Vatican II or the Traditional Doctrine on the Episcopate?
By
Robert J. Siscoe
Part I
After years of hearing about the heresy of
collegiality, but admittedly never quite understanding it, I finally decided to
delve into the controversial topic to find out exactly what Vatican II taught
and why it is wrong. To my surprise, what I discovered is that collegiality, as
taught in Lumen Gentium, chapter III, and in the new Code of Canon law, is
entirely traditional from start to finish. There is absolutely nothing
novel about it, and nothing that conflicts in the least with Pastor Aeternus, or anything
else taught in Vatican I. Quite the contrary, as we will
see. Continue reading...
John F.
Salza, Esq.
19 January A.D. 2022
Our Statement on the Society of St. Pius X
Many have asked why we have changed our position on the SSPX, since we frequented their chapels for many years, and particularly since the Society publicly endorsed our book True or False Pope?. To be clear, we have no personal hostility toward the SSPX and the many good men in their ranks. We also continue to attend the Traditional Mass exclusively and hold the Recognize & Resist position, properly understood.
However, our extensive study of ecclesiology and Sedevacantism led us to the inescapable conclusion that the SSPX is in the same canonical and ecclesiastical position as the Sedevacantist and other independent clergy (outside of its delegated faculties), who are not part of the Roman Catholic Church, have no juridical mission from the Church, and hence cannot lawfully exercise their priestly powers. In fact, we were forced to recognize that the Society advances the same erroneous arguments as the Sedevacantists do, to justify their operation without mission, which is contrary to the divine law.
In the course of our study, we also realized that the SSPX embraces other critical theological errors (on the Profession of Faith, juridical mission, supplied jurisdiction, Collegiality, sacramental intention, the nature of the Church, etc.) which we are addressing in our series of articles. Because many of these errors are rooted in an erroneous understanding of the Church itself (errors in ecclesiology), they are actually graver than the Liberal errors on the Left, and that is because they lead Catholics out of the Church, outside of which there is no salvation.
It is our firm hope and prayer that the Society renounce its doctrinal errors and accepts the Church’s Profession of Faith, so that it can be reconciled with the Roman Catholic Church, and given a canonical mission to carry out its ministry lawfully. It is for this purpose that we make our position public, so that the Society’s leadership (and those who support the SSPX) will see the truth, and take the necessary steps toward achieving the long-awaited reconciliation.
John Salza & Robert Siscoe
John Salza Responds to Fr. Zuhlsdorf
on SSPX Masses
January A.D.
2022
On December 23, 2021, Fr. Zuhlsdorf posted the following
question, which he received concerning John Salza’s article on whether Masses
offered by the SSPX fulfill the Sunday and holy days obligation under canon
1248 (Salza’s article demonstrates that SSPX Masses do not fulfill the
obligation):
"Does
attending an SSPX Mass fulfill one’s Sunday obligation? I’m asking because I
ran across the linked article below written by John Salza in November of this
year arguing that attending an SSPX Mass does NOT fulfill the Sunday obligation
to assist at Mass. The article threw me for a loop, as I’ve heard about the
9/27/2002 letter from Msgr. Perl, but not his 4/15/2002 letter; nor had I heard
about the 2012 and 2015 letters from Ecclesia Dei, which seem to cast doubt on
such attendance fulfilling the Sunday obligation."
John Salza replied to Fr. Z privately via email, but as of yet has not received a reply. We are therefore publishing Mr. Salza's email, which can be read here .
Does Assisting at an SSPX Mass
Fulfill One’s Sunday Obligation?
There has been much confusion concerning the question of whether assisting at Masses offered by the Society of St. Pius X on Sundays and Holy Days satisfies the obligation as defined in canon 1248 of the Code of Canon Law. Many efforts to answer this question have fallen short of a proper and thorough interpretation of the law. For example, in a recent podcast entitled “Am I Allowed to Attend an SSPX Mass?” (Episode 47, Crisis series[1]), Fr. Michael Goldade provided no analysis of canon 1248 (other than displaying the canon’s language on screen), which is the only canon directly relevant to the question. Notwithstanding the purpose of the podcast, Father Goldade explained neither the canonical requirements of canon 1248, nor how SSPX Masses satisfy the requirements. Instead, his primary argument was that Catholics can attend an SSPX Mass, and presumably fulfill the obligation, because Catholics have a right to do so (which is a logical fallacy). Continue reading...
The SSPX Rejects All
Church-Approved Traditional Groups
November 2021
In Episode 46 of the Society’s Crisis in the Church series, called “What About the Other Traditional Mass Communities?,” SSPX priest Fr. John McFarland put the SSPX’s schismatic mentality on full display by stating that the Society, in principle, rejects all traditional groups in communion with the Church... Continue reading here
Does the Society of St. Pius X Have an Extraordinary Mission?
John Salza Responds to Fr. Jonathan Loop, SSPX
October 2021
In Episode 44 of the Society of St. Pius X’s Crisis
in the Church series, Fr. Jonathan Loop, SSPX, gave a podcast entitled
“How Can the SSPX Justify its Ministry in the Church?” The purpose of Fr.
Loop’s video was to explain how the SSPX clergy can justify the exercise of
their priestly ministry when they have no permission from the Church to do so.[1] After all, while the bishops of the
SSPX have valid episcopal ordinations (giving them an ontological share in the
sacred functions of Christ), they do not have a canonical mission given
by hierarchical authority, which is required for such functions to become
active and lawful.[2] Further, the priests of the SSPX are
not incardinated (attached or “hinged” to a particular Church or religious
institute in communion with Rome), which is contrary to canon law (“Every
cleric must be incardinated…unattached or transient clerics are not allowed at
all”).[3] (Continue reading)
The SSPX Says Sedevacantist Masses are Less Dangerous than Resistance Masses
October 2021
A few months ago, the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) published a video (Episode 28 of the Society’s Crisis in the Church series) in which Fr. Robinson, as a spokesman for the SSPX, addressed whether Catholics could attend non-SSPX traditional Masses (I just discovered the video this week). While we don’t wish to downplay the crisis in the Church, particularly in light of Pope Francis’ latest assault on tradition (Traditionis Custodes), the notion that a priest with no canonical permission to say Mass could sit in judgment on whether Catholics could attend traditional Masses offered by priests with canonical mission seems odd enough. Indeed, this is evidence of... Continue here
DO SEDEVACANTIST
CLERGY RECEIVE SUPPLIED JURISDICTION FOR CONFESSIONS?
Part I
September 2021
Part I
September 2021
A few weeks ago, in Episode 34 of the Society of St. Pius X’s Crisis in the Church series, Fr. Mauro Tranquillo of the SSPX was interviewed on the subject of Sedevacantism. In the interview, Fr. Tranquillo attempted to highlight a contradiction in the Sedevacantist position. After correctly explaining that all ordinary jurisdiction (i.e., power of governance) in the Church comes through the Pope, Fr. Tranquillo made some troubling statements. Continue here
DO SEDEVACANTIST
CLERGY RECEIVE SUPPLIED JURISDICTION FOR CONFESSIONS?
Part II
September 2021
In the first installment, we examined recent
statements made by Fr. Mauro Tranquillo, SSPX in an interview given for the
Society of St. Pius X’s Crisis in the Church series (Episode 34), in which Fr.
Tranquillo claimed that Sedevacantist priests receive supplied jurisdiction for
confessions even for those not in danger of death, on the ground that we are in
a “state of necessity.” We demonstrated that Fr. Tranquillo makes an erroneous
extrapolation of the suppletory principle by extending its application from
extreme cases of danger of death to cases where there is no danger of death, which
has no basis in canon law or the canonical tradition of the Church.
We further showed that common error, which is another condition that triggers supplied jurisdiction, also does not apply to Sedevacantist and other independent clergy, because... Continue here
Answering the Objection to "The True Meaning of Bellarmine's Ipso Facto Loss of Office Theory"
Two
Contrasting Errors: Sedevacantism and Excessive-Papalism (False
Obedience).
- Resistance Podcast 95: Errors of Sedevacantist in Ecclesiology (8-1-2020)
- Resistance Podcast 97: Sedevacantism is a Revolutionary Idea (7-28-2020)
- Resistance Podcast 121: Pope Francis & the Errors of Benevacantism (9-26-2020)
* Br. Bugnolo’s Attempt to Redefine Dogmatic Facts Backfires: He Ends by Proving Francis is the Pope
* Cardinal Ratzinger: "Benevacantists" are outside the Church
* More Flagrant Dishonesty from Br. Alexis Bugnolo
* Br. Alexis Bugnolo redefines "dogmatic facts" to justify "Benevacantist" schism
* Ann Barnhardt is a Liar and a Fool (2-21-20)
* Fr. Kramer's Canonical Confusion (Siscoe vs. Kramer) (1-21-20)
* Can we Recognize and Resist? (CFN)
* Fr. Kramer's Error on the Unfailing Faith of St. Peter (11-27-19)
* Peaceful and Universal Acceptance quotes- from the 15th to 21st Century
The Bonds of Unity with the Church (Reply to John Lane) 10-13-19)
* What is the intention to "do what the Church does"?
* Five Opinions of Bellarmine on the Loss of Office for an Heretical Pope - Part I (9-4-19)
* 19th Century Treatise on the question of an heretical Pope, by Dominique Bouix (5-14-19)
* Dogmatic Fact: The One Doctrine that Proves Francis is the Pope Part I (5-11-19)
* The Error of Pope Celestine on the Indissolubility of Marriage (4-4-19)
* Chapters 1 & 2 of True or False Pope (2-26-19)
* The Unfailing Faith of St. Peter, and how it applies to a Pope. (1-22-19)
* Formal Reply to the Never-ending Lies of Fr. Paul Leonard Kramer: Part I Part II (Jan./Feb. 2018)
TRUE OR FALSE POPE?
Refuting Sedevacantism and Other Modern Errors
By John Salza and Robert Siscoe (700 pages)
Refuting Sedevacantism and Other Modern Errors
By John Salza and Robert Siscoe (700 pages)
His Excellency, Bishop Bernard Fellay
The authors begin by demonstrating that Sedevacantism logically results in a denial of the attributes (visibility, indefectibility, infallibility) and marks (especially apostolicity) of the Catholic Church. After explaining the bonds that unite man to the Church, the authors explain the distinction between heresy and lesser errors, and how the sin of heresy alone does not sever one from external union with the Church. The authors then go on to provide the most detailed analysis in print of what the Church does in the case of a heretical Pope, based upon the teachings of all the classical theologians who addressed the topic. After a very important explanation of the scope of infallibility (papal, conciliar, disciplinary, New Mass, canonizations), the authors address Sedevacantist arguments against the new rites of episcopal consecration and ordination. The authors conclude by affirming the Recognize & Resist position of Traditional Catholics, and expose in great detail the bitter fruits of Sedevacantism.
This groundbreaking work proves the Sedevacantist thesis is an overreaction to the crisis in the Church, akin to the reflexive “faith” of Protestantism. This explains why Sedevacantists are divided into many competing factions and sects (some of which have elected their own "Popes) that contradict and condemn each other. The book also underscores that the Church is currently suffering a mystical Passion similar to that of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Like those who lost faith in Christ during His Passion, Sedevacantists have lost faith in the Church, His Mystical Body, as it passes through a similar Passion of its own. Having lost their faith in the Church, they have become among her most bitter persecutors. No matter what one’s perspective is on the crisis of the Church, anyone who reads this book will conclude in no uncertain terms that Sedevacantism – one of the great modern errors of our times – far from being a “solution” to the crisis, cannot be held or defended in good faith by any true Catholic.
- “PROFESSION OF THE TRUE FAITH”: CATHOLIC DEFINITION VS. SEDEVACANTIST DEFINITION (3/19/16)
- A RENOWNED 17TH CENTURY CANONIST REFUTES SEDEVACANTISM
- SEDEVACANTISTS REJECT PRE-VATICAN II POPE
- MEET THE SEDEVACANTIST ANTI-POPES
- SALZA AND SISCOE INTERVIEW WITH LOUIE VERRECCHIO TRANSLATED INTO SPANISH (2/10/16)
- A RENOWNED 17TH CENTURY CANONIST REFUTES SEDEVACANTISM
- THE WEBSITE FROM ROME REVIEWS “TRUE OR FALSE POPE?”(2/1/16)
- MEET THE SEDEVACANTIST ANTI-POPES (1/18/16)
- Part II: Gloria.TV Interviews Robert Siscoe and John Salza about the book (1/18/16)
- BRIAN MCCALL ON FR. CEKADA: HE FEARS CRITIQUES OF SEDEVACANTISM
- Gloria.TV Interviews Robert Siscoe and John Salza about their New Book, "True or False Pope?" (1/6/16)
- THE SEDEVACANTIST’S IRRATIONAL RESPONSE TO THE BOOK, TRUE OR FALSE POPE? (1/5/16)
- LOUIE VERRECCHIO INTERVIEWS JOHN SALZA AND ROBERT SISCOE ABOUT THEIR NEW BOOK (12/18/15)
- CFN INTERVIEWS SALZA & SISCOE ON THE BOOK (12/15)
