Haus Jakob

On February 2, 2026, “Don” Davide Pagliarani, the Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), one of the major “Recognise and Resist” (R&R) groups, announced that they will consecrate new bishop(s) on July 1, with or without the permission of Robert Prevost, whom the SSPX recognises collectively as a valid and legitimate “pope”—“Pope” Leo XIV. As of February 12, after a meeting between “Don” Pagliarani and “Cardinal” Víctor Manuel Fernández in Rome, the “papal” permission for the SSPX to consecrate new bishops still has not been given explicitly.

Following “Don” Pagliarani’s announcement, numerous “priestly” members of the SSPX argue that there is a state of emergency and of necessity for them to consecrate new bishops for the salvation of souls, and the survival of the so-called “Traditional” Catholicism. “Bishop” Bernard Fellay draws an analogy between a fire truck with no gas or an ambulance that has an accident itself on its way to save a patient, and the inability of the priests, prelates, and catechists of the Vatican II Church to preach orthodox doctrines and save souls. “Fr.” Bernard de Lacoste compares the Vatican II Church (mistaken by him for the Holy Catholic Church) to a sinking boat with a pierced hull taking on water from all sides.

The Roman Catechism teaches that the one true Church of Lord Christ is marked by holiness and Apostolicity (pp. 108, 109, 111). Firstly, regarding Apostolicity, it cannot be Catholicism without the adherence to Apostolic Tradition. A person who “is not a great friend of Tradition” or who preaches something “that a Catholic should prefer martyrdom rather than accept [it]” cannot be Catholic. On the one hand, such a person cannot validly and legitimately hold an office in the Holy Mother Church, because he is not a member of the Church in which he is to hold the office (Roman Catechism, p. 104). On the other hand, accusing a person, recognised as an ecclesiastical superior, of what members of the SSPX have accused “Cardinal” Fernández and “Pope” Francis of, is an act of disobedience and schism, which is sufficient to exclude the accuser himself from the Church’s pale. To hold such opinions on people like “Cardinal” Fernández and “Pope” Francis, one must first stop recognising them as a legitimate cardinal or pope, after a period of prayerful and humble discernment.

Secondly, the Church is marked by holiness because, unlike any man-made institutions, the Holy Mother Church has been instituted by Christ, as His body, to be forever united to “her holy Head” (Roman Catechism, p. 109). Christ has promised that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against” His Church (Matt. 16:18), so that “this one Church cannot err in faith and morals, since it is guided by the Holy Ghost,” at the command of Christ (Roman Catechism, p. 111). Even though it is possible that, in the end times, the number of living Church members could be reduced to zero (Luke 18:8), the Holy Catholic Church will never be disabled from saving souls. Even without a Pope, or a single bishop or priest alive, a soul can nevertheless be saved by a Baptism conferred with water, using the form ego te baptízo in nómine Patris, et Fílii, et Spíritus Sancti, and with the intention of the Church; a mortal sin can nevertheless be forgiven through an act of Perfect Contrition made by the sinner.

To compare the Holy Mother Church to a fire truck with no gas, or an ambulance having an accident, or a sinking boat in the middle of the ocean is a direct denial of the holiness of the Church, as well as the faithfulness of Christ. Just as our Lord has said thus about the slothful and unprofitable servant, that he shall be “cast…out into the exterior darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 25:30), the clergy who are unable to fulfil their duties are automatically excluded from the Church. Upon their death, they will be condemned into the exterior darkness, namely hell, and their suffering will be both extreme and endless. The Church, however, stays holy, full of “the graces of the Holy Spirit and the riches of the divine bounty” (Roman Catechism, p. 109). The boat of Jesus Christ our Lord can never be overwhelmed by the storm. Conversely, a church that is unable to save souls or a church crippled by an “accident” is never the Holy Catholic Church.

Therefore, the fallacy of the SSPX and the wider R&R movement is that they do not truly obey the hierarchy they recognise to be Catholic. They refuse to celebrate the liturgies approved, propagated, and celebrated by those they recognise as “popes.” They doubt the saving power of the church they recognise as the one true Church of Christ. In the name of “Tradition,” they make the most scandalous innovations. If you are reading this, you have received an invitation. You have been invited to pray. Pray for the conversion of sinners, particularly the members of R&R groups. Pray that God will grant us the next Pope in His good time.

To know more about the errors of the SSPX, the SSPX-MC, and Similar Groups: