The EWTN News portal, a primary propaganda organ of the structures occupying the Vatican, publishes a canonical apologia attempting to reconcile the neo-church’s recognition of Orthodox sacraments with its recent declaration of “schism” against the Society of St. Pius X. The article, authored by Victoria Cardiel and dated July 9, 2026, cites “Father” Davide Cito, a professor at the “Pontifical University of the Holy Cross,” and sources within the “Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith” led by “Cardinal” Víctor Manuel Fernández. It argues that the “Orthodox” are not in “formal schism” due to the 1965 “lifting of excommunications” by “Paul VI” and “Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras,” whereas the SSPX has now committed a “formal act of breaking ecclesial communion” through unauthorized episcopal consecrations. This juridical gymnastics exposes the theological bankruptcy of the conciliar sect: it validates the sacraments of schismatics who deny the Papacy, while condemning a group that recognizes the “pope” but rejects the Council, proving that the neo-church’s unity is founded not on the Faith but on adherence to the Second Vatican Council.
The Nullity of the “Declarations” of the Usurpers
The entire edifice of the article rests on the presumed authority of “Pope” Leo XIV (Robert Prevost) and his “Dicastery” under “Cardinal” Fernández. From the perspective of integral Catholic theology, the See of Peter has been vacant since the death of Pius XII in 1958. The line of claimants—John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Francis, and now Leo XIV—are manifest heretics who, by their public adhesion to the Modernist errors of Vatican II (religious liberty, ecumenism, collegiality, liturgical reform), have automatically severed themselves from the Mystical Body. As St. Robert Bellarmine teaches, “A manifest heretic, by that very fact, ceases to be Pope and head… just as he ceases to be a Christian and member of the body of the Church” (De Romano Pontifice, lib. 2, cap. 30). The “declaration of schism” issued by the DDF on July 2, 2026, is therefore a null act, emanating from a paramasonic structure devoid of jurisdiction. It possesses no more canonical force than a decree of a Masonic lodge. The “excommunication” threatened against the SSPX bishops is ipso facto void, for “he who has departed from the faith… cannot depose or remove anyone” (Pope Celestine I, Epist. ad Clerum Constantinopolitanum), a principle confirmed by the invalidity of the “ordinations” performed by the conciliar hierarchy since 1968.
The Heresy of “Imperfect Communion” and the Betrayal of Mortalium Animos
The central theological lie peddled by “Father” Cito is the distinction between the Orthodox (“in communion, though not in full communion”) and the SSPX (“formal schism”). This is the rotten fruit of the false ecumenism condemned by Pius XI in Mortalium Animos (1928): “The Catholic Church… cannot participate in the assemblies of non-Catholics… for to do so would be to give countenance to a false Christianity”. The 1965 “joint declaration” of “Paul VI” and Athenagoras I did not “lift excommunications” in any juridical sense; it was a Masonic handshake between two false religions. The Orthodox churches remain in schism since 1054, denying the Filioque, the Papal Primacy of Jurisdiction, and the Immaculate Conception. They possess no jurisdiction, for jurisdiction comes only from the Roman Pontiff (ex auctoritate Romani Pontificis). As Pius IX teaches in the Syllabus of Errors (Prop. 37), “National churches, withdrawn from the authority of the Roman pontiff and altogether separated, can be established” is an error. The “communicatio in sacris” permitted by the invalid 1983 Code (Canon 844) is a legislative act of the abomination of desolation, directly contradicting Divine Law: “Communicatio in sacris with heretics and schismatics is forbidden by divine law” (Canon 1258, 1917 Code). The article’s claim that “Canon 844 allows Catholics and Orthodox… to receive some sacraments from one another” is an admission that the neo-church has legislated against the First Commandment.
The SSPX: Controlled Opposition Within the Neo-Church
The article inadvertently reveals the true nature of the SSPX. “Father” Cito states: “The problem has never been simply the liturgy. The issue touches upon fundamental doctrinal aspects related to the Second Vatican Council and ecclesial communion.” This is a tacit admission that the SSPX recognizes the claimants to the Papacy as legitimate Vicars of Christ while rejecting their Council—a theological impossibility. The SSPX has never been “traditionalist” in the integral sense; it is a pressure valve within the conciliar sect, founded by a bishop (Lefebvre) ordained by the Freemason Liénart, consecrated by the Modernist Cardinal Lercaro, and explicitly acknowledging the “pope” in the Canon of the Mass. The recent “schism” declaration is theater: the neo-church sacrifices its controlled opposition to consolidate the Vatican II revolution. The “faculties” granted by “Francis” in 2019 for confessions and marriages were never valid, for a heretic cannot grant jurisdiction. As the Defense of Sedevacantism file demonstrates, citing Bellarmine and Canon 188.4 of the 1917 Code: “Every office becomes vacant by the mere fact… if the cleric publicly defects from the Catholic faith.” The SSPX’s “validity” was always a mirage sustained by the neo-church for its own purposes; its “invalidity” today is declared by an antipope for the same purpose.
The Kingship of Christ vs. The Dialogue of Antichrist
The article’s framework—balancing “recognition” of Orthodox “sacraments” against “suppression” of SSPX “sacraments”—is pure naturalism. It treats the Church as a juridical NGO managing franchises, ignoring the Social Reign of Christ the King proclaimed by Pius XI in Quas Primas (1925): “His reign encompasses not only Catholic nations… but also all non-Christians, so that most truly the entire human race is subject to the authority of Jesus Christ”. The “Orthodox” are not “separated brethren” with “valid sacraments”; they are schismatics outside the Ark of Salvation, whose “priesthood” is sterile without jurisdiction and mission from the true Pope. The neo-church’s “ecumenical dialogue” is the synagoga Satanae denounced by Pius IX in the Syllabus (Prop. 55): “The Church ought to be separated from the State, and the State from the Church”—here applied to the separation of the Church from Christ the King. By recognizing Orthodox “marriages,” the conciliar sect legitimizes a false church, leading souls to perdition. By “excommunicating” the SSPX, it enforces submission to the Council of Apostasy. Both acts serve the same master: the Prince of this World.
The Silence on Grace, the Noise on Law
Not a word in the EWTN article mentions the state of grace, the indissolubility of marriage as a divine law, the necessity of the Sacrament of Penance for salvation, or the Final Judgment. The entire discourse is bureaucratic: “faculties,” “canonical mission,” “juridical consequences of the Roman pontiff,” “ecclesial communion.” This is the language of the Lamentabili Sane Exitu condemned Modernists, who reduce the Church to a sociological entity and the sacraments to juridical transactions (Prop. 41: “The sacraments arose as a result of the interpretation by the Apostles… under the influence of circumstances”). The “professor of canon law” Cito speaks as a civil lawyer, not a theologian. He cites the “Council of Trent” on the necessity of faculties for Confession and Marriage, yet ignores that Trent presupposes a true hierarchy. The conciliar sect has no hierarchy, no mission, no faculties—only the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place (Matt. 24:15).
Conclusion: Two Wings of the Same Apostasy
The EWTN article is a masterpiece of diabolical disinformation. It presents the neo-church’s recognition of Orthodox schismatics as “mercy” and its condemnation of the SSPX as “justice,” when both are acts of a usurping structure that has no authority, no Faith, and no sacraments. The Orthodox are in schism; the SSPX is in the neo-church; the conciliar “Vatican” is the synagoga Satanae. The only canonical reality is the Vacant See. The only valid sacraments are those administered by bishops and priests who hold the integral Catholic Faith, reject Vatican II, and operate without communion with the antipope in Rome. “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). The truth is that the structures occupying the Vatican are the Great Apostasy foretold by St. Paul (2 Thess. 2:3). All their “declarations,” “faculties,” and “canons” are waste paper. Non praevalebunt.
Source:
Why does the Vatican recognize Orthodox marriages but not those of the SSPX? (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 09.07.2026