Once Again a Bishop Lies! Says SSPX 'In Schism'

 I was reading an article questioning whether or not Mel Gibson is a Traditionalist. Whilst discussing Mel's father, Hutton, who was a sedevacantist, the author linked to a list of schismatic churches, communities and organisations. The list is dated 21 November 2022. Since I accessed it through the website of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, I would assume that it was authored or at least authorised by His Grace the Archbishop, John Charles Wester, who has been the Ordinary of Santa Fe since 2015.

The heading on the list reads: 'NOTICE - List of Schismatic Churches | Religious Communities | Organizations NOT Affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church'. The heading is followed by this paragraph:

Attention Roman Catholics: If you, or any of your Roman Catholic family members or friends, have been attending services or receiving sacraments in the following churches, please know they are NOT recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. It is not licit for Catholics to attend Mass or to receive sacraments at these churches, for the Roman Catholic Church does not recognize them as valid. In order to be Roman Catholic, a church must be in union with the Holy Father, the successor of St. Peter, and the local bishop of the diocese. The following churches do not accept the Holy Father or meet this criteria. Most Reverend John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe, has not appointed any pastors or priests to the churches, communities or organizations listed below: 

 It is a fascinating list, cataloguing a diverse range of wannabe Catholic groups from the Apostolic Catholic Church of the Holy Grail, through Bread of Life Catholic Charismatic Church of Canada, Christ the King Independent Catholic Church, Guardian Angels Mission Old Catholic Church of Antioch, Our Lady Queen of Angels Liberal Catholic Church / Traditional Catholic, to St. Peter’s Holy Catholic Church – Anglican Rite.

This is just a selection. Who knew that Santa Fe was such a Mecca for religious weirdos and cultists?

However, the last Church on the list is what caught my eye and prompted this post. It is Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church (Society of St. Pius X), 5800 Ouray NW, Albuquerque, NM.

The Priests at Ss Peter & Paul pray for His Grace at every Mass they say, which I seriously doubt the pastors of any of the other groups on the list do.

Rome has never declared the FSSPX to be in schism. All the dealings, dialogues and discussions between the SSPX and Rome have been handled by Dicasteries other than the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity which deals with schismatics and heretics claiming the name Christian. 

Francis granted faculties to the Priests of the SSPX to hear confessions and granted Ordinaries the right to delegate to the Priests of the Society the authority to witness marriages. Schismatics cannot be granted faculties or witness marriages!

In fact, just last month, Bishop Vitus Huonder, Bishop Emeritus of Chur, who retired to an SSPX House with Francis's explicit permission reported that Pope Francis said SSPX priests ‘are not schismatics’.

Thus, in no way can the SSPX be considered to be in schism, no matter what His Grace says!