Aug 5, 2026 · 1 hr 12 min · 12 segments
The recent SSPX excommunications have left a lot of Catholics—and even journalists—trying to understand what actually happened. In this episode, I sit down with Hunter, a former SSPX traditionalist…
Sure.
So with the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV, the SSPX has found itself in a different position with a new pope.
He granted them faculties to communicate.
hear confessions and to confect the sacrament of matrimony, I believe in 2016 or 2015, as part of the Holy Year of Mercy.
Well, let me back up.
So in February of this year, the SSPX announced their intention to consecrate four new bishops.
They had dwindled down to two bishops out of the original four that they had, which were consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre, their founder, in 1988.
And on July, was it July the 1st or July the 2nd? I'm blanking on it.
Somewhere around that.
At the beginning of this month.
So on July 1st, they consecrated four new bishops in Econ, Switzerland, without the Pope's permission.
And in fact, in direct contradiction to his instructions.
Pope Leo wrote a letter to the Superior General of the SSPX on June 30th, telling him, like, hey, you should not do this.
Please turn back.
Invoking his role as the Holy Father, entrusting them to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Good Counsel.
And the Superior General took that letter and was like, Holy Father, thank you so much for your letter and we love you, but we're going to do this anyway, which is, we'll get into why that's like classic SSPX in a bit, but they carried on with the consecrations.
And I think as soon as the next day or the day of, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a statement that the consecrating bishops, the new bishops, and all of the clergy and the laity who formally adhere to the
were all excommunicated.
I heard a sermon in doing research for this episode.
I listened to a bit of a sermon by an SSPX priest given, I believe, the Sunday immediately after the consecrations.
Sure.
So with the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV, the SSPX has found itself in a different position with a new pope.
He granted them faculties to communicate.
hear confessions and to confect the sacrament of matrimony, I believe in 2016 or 2015, as part of the Holy Year of Mercy.
Well, let me back up.
So in February of this year, the SSPX announced their intention to consecrate four new bishops.
They had dwindled down to two bishops out of the original four that they had, which were consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre, their founder, in 1988.
And on July, was it July the 1st or July the 2nd? I'm blanking on it.
Somewhere around that.
At the beginning of this month.
So on July 1st, they consecrated four new bishops in Econ, Switzerland, without the Pope's permission.
And in fact, in direct contradiction to his instructions.
Pope Leo wrote a letter to the Superior General of the SSPX on June 30th, telling him, like, hey, you should not do this.
Please turn back.
Invoking his role as the Holy Father, entrusting them to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Good Counsel.
And the Superior General took that letter and was like, Holy Father, thank you so much for your letter and we love you, but we're going to do this anyway, which is, we'll get into why that's like classic SSPX in a bit, but they carried on with the consecrations.
And I think as soon as the next day or the day of, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a statement that the consecrating bishops, the new bishops, and all of the clergy and the laity who formally adhere to the
were all excommunicated.
I heard a sermon in doing research for this episode.
I listened to a bit of a sermon by an SSPX priest given, I believe, the Sunday immediately after the consecrations.
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