But how can this be? Roman Catholicism teaches that we are “all brothers” (Pope Francis’s 2020 encyclical), that we must bless everyone (the 2023 “Fiducia supplicans” declaration allowing the blessings of same-sex attracted people), that “todos, todos, todos” (all, all, all), all are children of God—and then…it excommunicates the newly appointed bishops and all the clergy of the Society of St. Pius X, who are more Roman Catholic than anyone else!?!
We’re used to a Catholicism that’s soft, understanding, inclusive, pluralistic, and accommodating. Today, hearing talk of “schism” and “excommunication” regarding the Society of St. Pius X seems incomprehensible and evokes centuries of history that seem to have been consigned to the past.
In fact, to a casual observer, what happened at the beginning of July is a facet of Roman Catholicism that, after Vatican II, we were no longer accustomed to. Yet it is a facet that is an integral and organic part of Roman Catholicism.
How can all this be explained?
Read it all at the Vatican Files