Vatican News portal (December 19, 2025) announces that antipope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of “Cardinal” Vincent Nichols and appointed Richard Moth as the new “Archbishop” of Westminster. The article provides Moth’s biographical details: born in Zambia in 1958, ordained in 1982 for Southwark archdiocese, served as military ordinary from 2009-2015, and transferred to Arundel-Brighton by Jorge Bergoglio. This administrative reshuffling within the conciliar sect epitomizes the institutionalization of apostasy through simulated sacramental acts.
Simulated Hierarchy in Service of the Counter-Church
The very concept of papal appointment collapses when exercised by one occupying the Holy See illegitimately. As Pius XII’s Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis (1945) decreed: “During the vacancy of the Apostolic See, no innovation is to be made in the governance of the universal Church” – a principle rendered permanent by the apostasy of post-1958 usurpers. The “resignation” of Nichols and Moth’s “appointment” constitute administrative theater within what St. Robert Bellarmine termed ecclesia non vera (a non-true church) when describing Protestant sects (De Ecclesia Militante, III.2).
Moth’s 1982 ordination occurred under the invalid Pontificalis Romani rite promulgated by Paul VI in 1968. As the Sacred Congregation for the Sacraments declared under Pius XI: “If the rite is changed to introduce a new rite which does not signify the due sacramental effects, the sacrament is rendered invalid” (Decree on Ordination, 1947). The elimination of the porrectio instrumentorum and other essential form alterations means Moth’s “priesthood” lacks ontological reality – making his subsequent roles as “judge,” “vicar general,” and “bishop” juridical fictions.
Theological Subversion Through Lexical Manipulation
The article’s language reveals the neo-church’s naturalistic ecclesiology. The term “pastoral governance” replaces potestas iurisdictionis (power of jurisdiction), reducing apostolic authority to managerial oversight. Describing Moth as “shepherd” while omitting any reference to his duty to tradere depositum fidei (guard the deposit of faith – 1 Tim 6:20) exposes the sect’s rejection of the Church’s divine constitution.
Vatican News’ description of Moth’s formation path contains damning omissions:
“He received priestly formation at St John’s Seminary in Wonersh… obtained a Licentiate in Canon Law”
No mention of Thomistic theology, moral philosophy, or patristics – the pillars of authentic seminary education mandated by Leo XIII’s Depuis le jour (1899). The focus on canon law reflects the sect’s reduction of religion to bureaucratic process, fulfilling Pius X’s warning that modernists would replace theology with “juridical and historical science” (Pascendi, 6).
Symptomatic Apostasy in Episcopal Consecrations</hoth's 2009 "episcopal consecration" as military ordinary compounds the sacramental invalidity. The conciliar sect's rite – crafted by Annibale Bugnini's Consilium – deliberately omits the imperative form “Accipe Spiritum Sanctum” (Receive the Holy Spirit) essential for valid consecration, as declared by Pope Eugene IV’s Exultate Deo (1439). This renders all post-1968 “bishoprics” sacramentally null, transforming dioceses into administrative zones devoid of grace.
The article’s biographical timeline proves Moth’s full assimilation into the conciliar revolution:
- 1982 ordination under invalid rite
- Service in Southwark tribunal promoting annulment factory practices condemned by Pius XI as “soul-murder” (Casti Connubii, 1930)
- 2015 appointment by Bergoglio – a heretic manifestly outside the Church per Canon 188.4 (1917 Code)
Omission as Dogmatic Heresy
The Vatican News piece contains no mention of Moth’s doctrinal positions – unsurprising given the sect’s allergy to defined truths. His tenure in Arundel-Brighton saw:
- Implementation of “synodal” processes violating Pius VI’s condemnation of the “democratization of the Church” (Auctorem Fidei, 1794)
- Ecumenical initiatives with Anglican heretics directly contradicting Pius XI’s Mortalium Animos (1928)
- “LGBT+ ministry” affirming intrinsic disorder against Pius XI’s Divini Redemptoris (1937)
This silence confirms the sect’s operational principle: doctrine is irrelevant to governance. As Pius IX’s Syllabus condemned: “The Church ought to be separated from the State, and the State from the Church” (Error 55), so the neo-church separates governance from truth.
Ecclesiological Nihilism in Action
The appointment mechanism itself constitutes apostasy. The 1983 “code” used by antipope Leo XIV bases episcopal appointments on bureaucratic expediency rather than the candidate’s defense of faith. Contrast this with Pius X’s mandate: “A bishop must be… prepared to suffer all things for the defense of the faith” (Exhortation to New Bishops, 1908). Moth’s career reveals no instance of doctrinal combat – only administrative compliance.
The article concludes by inviting readers to “support us in bringing the Pope’s words into every home” – blasphemous when “the Pope” is an antipope. This fulfills Pius X’s prophecy: “The modernists substitute for the divine preacher a new apostle who they think must correspond to modern consciousness” (Pascendi, 40).
Source:
Pope Leo appoints Richard Moth as new Archbishop of Westminster (vaticannews.va)
Date: 19.12.2025