EWTN News portal reports on the ceremony of conferring the pallium by the American antipope, Leo XIV, on four new archbishops from the United States, including Ronald Hicks of New York and James Checchio of New Orleans. The event, described by participants as a “surreal” and “historic” meeting with the “first American pope,” was accompanied by an outpouring of emotionalism and naturalistic hopes for a “Church on mission” and “youthful energy.”
This ceremony is not merely a liturgical formality but the crowning of the conciliar revolution: the investiture of men who will perpetuate the apostasy of Vatican II under the guise of apostolic authority.
The Pallium and the Succession of Vacantis
The pallium, in the theology of the true Church, is a symbol of the metropolitan’s participation in the pastoral authority of the Vicar of Christ. It signifies the communio with the Chair of Peter, representing the jurisdiction and unity of the universal Church. As St. Thomas Aquinas notes, the pallium is the sign of the plenitudo pontificalis officii (fullness of pontifical office) delegated to primates and metropolitans.
However, the fundamental question of the Faith is not the aesthetic beauty of the rite, but the validity of the one conferring it. According to the immutable principles of Catholic ecclesiology, a manifest heretic cannot hold ecclesiastical office. As St. Robert Bellarmine definitively teaches in De Romano Pontifice, “a Pope who is a manifest heretic, by that very fact ceases to be Pope and head, just as he ceases to be a Christian.” The line of usurpers beginning with John XXIII, who subverted the Faith through the introduction of modernism, ecumenism, and religious liberty, has never possessed the authority to bind or loose. The current occupant of the Vatican, Leo IV (Robert Prevost), as a member of this conciliar sect, is an antipope. Therefore, the conferral of the pallium is a simulacrum—a counterfeit sign conferring no supernatural jurisdiction. The “oath of fidelity” mentioned by Checchio is an oath of fidelity to the destruction of the Church.
The Cult of Personality and the “First American Pope”
The article is saturated with the cult of personality and nationalistic pride, hallmarks of the conciliar sect’s democratization of the sacred. The pilgrims are not primarily concerned with the state of their souls or the preservation of the true Mass; they are excited to see an “American” on the Chair of Peter. The emphasis on Leo XIV’s nationality is a reduction of the universal Catholic Church to a geopolitical entity, a concept condemned by Pope Leo XIII in Immortale Dei, where he asserts that the Church is not circumscribed by national boundaries but is a society embracing all nations.
Archbishop Hicks states: “Iʼm still pinching myself… I thought the experience was beautiful, powerful, holy, sacred, and even a bit surreal.” This emotionalism is the substitute for supernatural faith. Where the pre-conciliar Church demanded intellectual assent to defined dogmas, the neo-church demands emotional “experiences” and “surreal” encounters. The focus is on the “youthful energy” of the new archbishops and their “relatability,” a clear indication that the conciliar church prioritizes natural charisma and worldly management skills over the supernatural gifts of the Holy Ghost required for a bishop (2 Tim 1:6-7).
Modernist Shepherds and the “Church on Mission”
The article reveals the true nature of these “new shepherds” through their own words. Leo XIV’s message to Hicks is quoted: “He wants us to be a Church on mission. He wants us to make sure that what Christ himself has asked us to do is done in the spirit of love and in the spirit of charity.” This is the language of the modernist apostolate. The “mission” of the Church is defined not by the mandate to teach all nations and administer the sacraments (Matt 28:19-20), but by a vague, sentimental “spirit of love” devoid of the rigor of dogma.
Archbishop Checchio expresses gratitude for the return to the traditional method of conferring the pallium (placing it on the shoulders), noting: “It’s a beautiful opportunity to make an oath of fidelity to him in his presence, as we shepherd our people in his name.” This statement is a masterclass in modernist ambiguity. To “shepherd in his name” implies a mandate from a legitimate superior. Since the modernist antipope has no such authority, these men are shepherds without a true mission, leading the faithful into the wilderness of indifferentism. The “healing” mentioned by layman Glynn Stephens Jr. is impossible without the true sacraments and the true Faith; it is merely a psychological bandage for a spiritually hemorrhaging institution.
The Liturgical Abomination and the Synagogue of Satan
The ceremony took place in St. Peter’s Basilica, now frequently referred to as the “abomination of desolation” (Matt 24:15) due to its occupation by heretics and the perpetuation of the Protestant-Mass (Novus Ordo). The gathering of “bishops, priests, laity, and cardinals from all over the world” is not the unity of the Catholic Church, but the unity of the synagoga Satanae (synagogue of Satan). As Pope Pius IX warned in the Syllabus of Errors, the Church’s authority has been usurped by secret societies and modern states. The “many languages” heard in the basilica are not the harmony of the true Faith, but the confusion of Babel, where the true doctrine of the Redeemer is drowned out by the babel of “dialogue” and “ecumenism.”
The pilgrims’ excitement about “youthful energy” and “new surges of youth” coming back to Mass is a testament to the success of the modernist deception. These youth are not returning to the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, but to the “table of assembly” that denies the propitiatory sacrifice of Calvary. They are returning to a religion of man, not of God.
Conclusion
The conferral of the pallium by the American antipope Leo XIV upon the new archbishops of the United States is a tragic yet necessary manifestation of the Great Apostasy. It confirms that the structures occupying the Vatican are entirely dedicated to the destruction of the integral Catholic Faith. The emotionalism, the nationalistic pride, and the focus on “mission” over dogma are the hallmarks of a counterfeit church. The true Church, the Ark of Salvation, endures in the faithful who reject the conciliar revolution and adhere to the unchanging Tradition of the ages, awaiting the restoration of the true Papacy and the triumph of Mary’s Immaculate Heart through the consecration of Russia to the true Faith.
Source:
‘A bit surreal’: American pilgrims join new archbishops in Rome for pallium Mass (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 29.06.2026