VaticanNews portal (January 20, 2026) reports on a private meeting between antipope Leo XIV and leaders of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), presenting it as a “cordial” exchange amid ongoing Vatican investigation into the group’s operations. The article frames this encounter as constructive dialogue, noting the FSSP’s claimed exemption from some restrictions imposed by Bergoglio’s Traditionis Custodes and the current “apostolic visitation” as routine oversight. This theatrical display of pretended unity starkly contrasts with the FSSP’s 38-year history of theological compromise and ceremonial traditionalism devoid of doctrinal integrity.
Canonical Fiction of “Pontifical Right” Societies
The FSSP’s foundational lie permeates this entire spectacle: the fantasy that one can simultaneously reject Archbishop Lefebvre’s defense of Catholic Tradition while maintaining communion with those who have systematically destroyed it. As the Lamentabili Sane (1907) condemned the modernist error that “the Church listening cooperates… with the Church teaching” (Prop. 6), so this group’s very existence constitutes institutionalized hypocrisy. Their 1988 founding by priests breaking with the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) reveals not principled resistance to schism but cowardly submission to conciliar revolutionaries.
The article’s reference to the FSSP being “fully under the Roman pontiff” constitutes theological fraud. No Catholic may licitly submit to usurpers who publicly deny the Social Kingship of Christ affirmed in Quas Primas (1925), which declares: “Rulers of states therefore not refuse public veneration and obedience to the reigning Christ… [for] the entire human race is subject to the authority of Jesus Christ.” Pius XI’s encyclical establishes the non possumus principle – true Catholics cannot accept rulers who reject Christ’s sovereignty. The FSSP’s groveling before antipopes constitutes material cooperation with apostasy.
Liturgical Traditionalism as Bait for Ecclesial Submission
The article’s focus on the FSSP’s “well-attended liturgies” and “steady flow of vocations” constitutes the oldest modernist trick: substituting aesthetic traditionalism for doctrinal fidelity. As the Syllabus of Errors condemns those who claim “the Roman Church became the head of all Churches due to purely political causes” (Prop. 56), so the FSSP reduces Catholicism to ceremonial nostalgia. Their retention of pre-conciliar liturgy while accepting Vatican II’s heresies mirrors the Anglican “Ordinariate” scam – a carefully managed opposition to pacify potential resistance.
This meeting’s timing during an “apostolic visitation” exposes its true purpose: tightening neo-modernist control. The article admits the visitation follows Bergoglio’s Traditionis Custodes, which seeks to eradicate what little Tradition remains. When the FSSP statement calls this investigation “not punitive” but helpful oversight, they parrot the very language used by Communist interrogators during show trials. Their planned “consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary” on February 11 compounds this blasphemy, invoking the discredited “Fatima” narrative – condemned as Masonic psychological warfare in theological analyses of false apparitions.
The Americanization of Apostasy
The article’s emphasis on Minneapolis-born “Father” Berg meeting an American antipope reveals the ethno-political dimension of this crisis. Leo XIV’s alleged “pragmatic leniency” constitutes not mercy but management strategy – offering limited traditionalism to neutralize resistance while maintaining revolutionary changes. This mirrors the Americanist heresy condemned by Leo XIII in Testem Benevolentiae (1899), where adaptation to modernity replaces doctrinal clarity.
The reference to Cardinal Burke’s recent pontifical Mass in St. Peter’s confirms this pattern: controlled opposition leaders given ceremonial crumbs to maintain illusion of continuity. As Pius IX’s Syllabus condemns those claiming “the Roman Pontiff can, and ought to, reconcile himself with progress, liberalism and modern civilization” (Prop. 80), so this meeting exemplifies the conciliar church’s endless appetite for self-contradiction. The FSSP’s obedience to antipopes renders their sacraments increasingly doubtful – for how can those in formal communion with heresy maintain valid orders?
Eschatological Implications of Managed Tradition
The FSSP’s existence proves the conciliar sect’s diabolical disorientation: creating “traditionalist” ghettos to quarantine resistance. Their planned novena and consecration ritual constitutes sacrilege when directed toward the counterfeit “Immaculate Heart” of false apparitions. As theological analysis of false Fatima visions proves, this devotion distracts from true Marian piety centered on her role as Mediatrix of Grace – a doctrine suppressed by Vatican II.
This meeting’s true significance lies in its demonstration of the conciliar sect’s terminal phase: having destroyed the Church’s visible structures, it now fabricates Potemkin villages of tradition to deceive the elect. The article’s closing call for prayers during the “30 days novena” exemplifies this deception – substituting sentimental rituals for the lex orandi, lex credendi principle. Let the faithful recall Pius XI’s warning in Quas Primas: “When God and Jesus Christ are removed from laws and states… the entire human society had to be shaken.” Only absolute rejection of this counterfeit church preserves Catholic integrity.
Source:
Pope Leo XIV meets FSSP leaders amid visitation, ‘Traditionis Custodes’ fallout (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 20.01.2026