The EWTN News portal reports on a June 30, 2026 article by Kate Quiñones detailing a letter from the “Nordic Bishops’ Conference” — signed by the “Bishop” Erik Varden of Trondheim and others — declaring that “there is no exception” for Catholics in Nordic countries from the “universal law of the Church” prohibiting membership in Freemasonry. The piece centers on Pål Nes, editor-in-chief of EWTN Norway and a convert from Freemasonry, who celebrates this “clarification” as resolving decades of confusion caused by a purported “Nordic exception” myth and by “public statements and pastoral practice” such as “Bishop Emeritus” Bernt Eidsvig’s 2025 remark that he would not refuse “holy Communion” to Freemasons. The “bishops” claim to have consulted the “Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith” in September 2025, receiving an “unequivocal” response. The “pastoral provisions” include instructing Catholic “Freemasons” to relinquish membership and abstain from the “Eucharist” until they do, and forbidding Catholic institutions from collaborating with Masonic lodges. This theater of “clarification” by manifestly non-Catholic authorities serves only to reinforce the legitimacy of the conciliar sect’s usurped hierarchy while the true Church remains in sede vacante since 1958.
The Usurped Hierarchy Has No Jurisdiction to Bind or Loose
The entire premise of the article rests on the assumption that the “Nordic Bishops’ Conference” and the “Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith” possess legitimate authority to teach, govern, and sanctify. From the perspective of integral Catholic faith, this is the primary and fatal error. Since the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, the See of Peter has been vacant. John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Francis, and now “Leo XIV” (Robert Prevost) are not true popes but manifest heretics who, by their public adhesion to the Modernist errors of Vatican II — religious liberty, ecumenism, collegiality, the new Mass — have ipso facto severed themselves from the Church and lost all jurisdiction. As St. Robert Bellarmine teaches: “A manifest heretic, by that very fact, ceases to be Pope and head… he may be judged and punished by the Church” (De Romano Pontifice, lib. 2, cap. 30). The “Defense of Sedevacantism” file confirms: “A Pope-manifest heretic loses his office automatically… by notorious and publicly manifested heresy, the Roman Pontiff… is deprived ipso facto of his personal jurisdiction even before any declaratory sentence by the Church.” Consequently, “Bishop” Varden, “Bishop” Hansen, “Bishop Emeritus” Eidsvig, and the entire “Dicastery” are private individuals with zero ecclesiastical authority. Their “letters,” “clarifications,” and “pastoral provisions” are canonically null and void — irritae et inanes (null and void). They bind no conscience.
The Conciliar Sect’s Inherent Masonic Nature Renders Its Condemnation of Freemasonry Hypocritical
The article presents the “bishops'” statement that “the theological and philosophical principles of freemasonry are incompatible with confession of the Catholic faith” as a courageous stand. In reality, the conciliar sect is the realization of the Masonic program within the visible structures of the Church. The Syllabus of Errors (Pope Pius IX, 1864) condemns as error: “The Roman Pontiff can, and ought to, reconcile himself, and come to terms with progress, liberalism and modern civilization” (Error 80). Vatican II’s Dignitatis Humanae (religious liberty), Nostra Aetate (false ecumenism), and Gaudium et Spes (accommodation to the world) are the de facto reconciliation with “progress, liberalism and modern civilization” that Pius IX anathematized. The “False Fatima Apparitions” file exposes the Masonic operation: “Stage 3 (1958-2000): Takeover of the narrative by modernists, concealment of the Third Secret, ecumenical reinterpretation.” The “bishops” who now “clarify” opposition to Freemasonry are the same men who implement the Masonic ideals of universal brotherhood without Christ the King, religious indifferentism, and the separation of Church and State — precisely the errors condemned in the Syllabus (Errors 55, 77-79). Their “clarification” is a tu quoque distraction: they condemn the external lodge while the internal lodge — the conciliar hierarchy — has occupied the Vatican for six decades.
The Convert’s “Conversion” Is to a False Church and an Invalid Mass
Pål Nes is portrayed as a model of integrity: “I could not become Catholic and remain a Freemason… I am deeply grateful for his clarity, and also for his courage in saying it plainly.” Tragically, Nes has not converted to the Catholic Church but to the “Church of the New Advent,” the neo-church. The “priest who guided me” — “Father” Ole Martin Stamnestrø — was almost certainly ordained in the invalid Paul VI rite (1968), which altered the form and intention of the sacrament of Holy Orders, rendering it doubtful at best, null at worst. The “Mass” at which Nes “serves” is the Novus Ordo Missae, a Protestantized “table of assembly” that denies the propitiatory sacrifice of Calvary, the Real Presence as defined by Trent, and the priesthood as alter Christus. As Pius XI teaches in Quas Primas: “Christ as Redeemer acquired the Church with His Blood, and as Priest offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins and eternally offers it.” The neo-church’s “Eucharist” is not this sacrifice. Nes has exchanged one Masonic-inspired system (the lodge) for another (the conciliar sect), mistaking the “solemnity, ritual, and symbolism” of the Novus Ordo for the lex orandi, lex credendi of the True Mass. His “clean and honest decision” was made on false premises provided by an invalid “priest” and a schismatic hierarchy.
Linguistic Deception: Bureaucratic Language Masks the Absence of the Supernatural
The article’s language — and the “bishops'” letter — is saturated with bureaucratic, horizontal terminology: “clarification,” “pastoral provisions,” “collaboration,” “guidelines,” “universal law,” “Dicastery.” There is not a single reference to the supernatural motives of the Faith: the glory of God, the salvation of souls, the kingship of Christ, the reality of hell, the necessity of grace. The “bishops” write: “The call of Our Lord Jesus Christ, ‘Come, follow me’ (Mt 4:19), presupposes readiness to leave behind other attachments that stand in the way of wholehearted discipleship.” This is Protestantized “discipleship” language, devoid of the Catholic doctrine of extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, the necessity of the sacraments, the state of grace, and the Final Judgment. The Syllabus condemns: “The teaching of the Catholic Church is hostile to the well-being and interests of society” (Error 40) — the neo-church inverts this, making the Church subservient to “society.” The “clarification” is a managerial memo, not a pastoral act of a true shepherd. Lex loquendi, lex credendi — the language of the neo-church reveals its naturalistic, Modernist faith.
The “Nordic Exception” Myth Was Fostered by the Conciliar Hierarchy Itself
The article admits: “Many prominent Catholics in Norway ‘have been associated with Freemasonry, including laypeople and clergy’… ‘public statements and pastoral practice have sometimes contributed to uncertainty,’ Nes observed, citing a 2025 instance where Bishop Emeritus Bernt Eidsvig of Oslo… said ‘that he would not refuse holy Communion to Freemasons.'” This is not a “myth” but the logical fruit of the conciliar sect’s principles. If the “Church” teaches religious liberty (Vatican II), ecumenism with false religions, and that the State is not subject to Christ the King (Quas Primas explicitly condemns this: “When God and Jesus Christ… were removed from laws and states… the foundations of that authority were destroyed”), then why should Freemasonry be incompatible? The “Nordic exception” was the honest application of Vatican II’s errors. The current “clarification” is a tactical retreat to preserve credibility, not a return to Truth. As the “False Fatima” file notes: “Disinformation strategy: Stage 3… ecumenical reinterpretation.” The “bishops” now “clarify” only because the contradiction became too glaring — not because they have recovered the Faith.
Canon 188.4 and Cum ex Apostolatus Officio: The “Bishops” Themselves Have Vacated Their Offices
The “Defense of Sedevacantism” file cites Canon 188.4 (1917 Code): “Every office becomes vacant by the mere fact and without any declaration by reason of tacit resignation… if the cleric: … 4. Publicly defects from the Catholic faith.” Fr. McDevitt confirms: “Joining, or enrolling in, a non-Catholic sect is not required to establish the publicity which the canon demands.” Public defection occurs through formal heresy. The “Nordic bishops,” by their public adherence to Vatican II’s heresies (religious liberty, ecumenism, new Mass), have ipso facto vacated any office they may have once held. Pope Paul IV’s Bull Cum ex Apostolatus Officio declares: “…if at any time it shall appear that any Bishop… or any Cardinal… or even the Roman Pontiff… has defected from the Catholic Faith or fallen into some heresy: (i) his promotion or elevation… shall be null, void, and of no effect.” The “bishops'” “clarification” on Freemasonry is an act of private individuals, devoid of canonical effect. They judge others while they themselves stand judged by the immutable law of the Church.
The True Remedy: The Social Kingship of Christ, Not Managerial “Clarifications”
Pius XI in Quas Primas identifies the plague: “This plague is the secularism of our times, so-called laicism… It began with the denial of Christ the Lord’s reign over all nations.” The remedy is not a “Dicastery” memo but the public, social reign of Christ the King: “Let rulers of states therefore not refuse public veneration and obedience to the reigning Christ… if they wish to maintain their authority inviolate and contribute to the increase of their homeland’s happiness.” The conciliar sect, by embracing the separation of Church and State (Error 55 of the Syllabus), has caused the Masonic infiltration of society. Freemasonry thrives where Christ the King is dethroned. The “bishops'” letter is a symptom of the disease, not the cure. Only a true Pope, true bishops, and the True Mass can restore the Reign of Christ. Until the sede vacante ends, all “clarifications” from the usurpers are vox et praeterea nihil — voice and nothing more.
Conclusion: A Theatrical Distraction from the Abomination of Desolation
The EWTN article, the “Nordic bishops'” letter, and Pål Nes’s testimony form a coherent narrative of the conciliar sect’s self-legitimation. They present a “firm stance” on a secondary issue (Freemasonry) to obscure the primary apostasy: the loss of the Faith, the invalidity of the sacraments, the vacancy of the Holy See, and the enthronement of the “abomination of desolation” in the holy place (Matt 24:15). The “clarification” changes nothing. The “bishops” remain heretics. The “Mass” remains invalid. The “convert” remains outside the Ark of Salvation. Non praevalebunt (Matt 16:18) — but not because of the neo-church’s managerial memos. The gates of hell shall not prevail against the true Church, which endures in the catacombs of Tradition, adhering to the Mass of all time, the doctrine of Trent, and the vacancy of the See of Peter. Viva Cristo Rey!
Source:
Former Freemason and Catholic convert celebrates Nordic bishops’ clarification on Freemasonry (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 30.06.2026