July 2 statement, Archbishop Gustavo Garc\u00eda-Siller<\/a> instructed Catholics in the Archdiocese of San Antonio to stop attending Mass at St. Joseph\u2019s Church.<\/p>\nHe also revoked permissions previously granted to SSPX priests to officiate marriages and urged the faithful to refrain from financially supporting the society \u2014 including its ongoing campaign to build a new church in Schertz.<\/p>\n
Days later, however, the grave tone Garc\u00eda-Siller conveyed hung heavy inside St. Joseph\u2019s Church.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“What did we do wrong?” the Rev. Stephen Zigrang asked parishioners during a July 5 homily before adding, “It’s a free country, right? You can come to Mass. All are welcome.\u201d In a later homily, Zigrang told parishioners \u201cthe excommunication does not apply,\u201d based on the belief that the bishops were consecrated out of necessity \u201cto continue the work of the society.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The conflicting messages highlight a long-simmering dispute that has reached a boiling point for many Catholic traditionalists. While the Vatican says the unauthorized episcopal ordinations severed the Society’s communion with Rome, SSPX leaders maintain they have not changed their beliefs or practices \u2014 and argue they are simply continuing to preserve Catholic tradition.<\/p>\n
In a July 20 sermon, Zigrang read aloud a statement from SSPX Superior General Davide Pagliarani, who denounced the Vatican’s declaration.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis condemnation, wholly unjust, represents an immense humiliation for people who have no other aim than to defend the true Faith and to work for the salvation of souls,\u201d the statement read. \u201cUltimately, it is Tradition itself, which we cherish above all else, that is excommunicated in all those who embody it. It is evident that, before God, such a condemnation cannot be valid, for it would condemn what lies at the very heart of the life of the Church.\u201d<\/p>\n
Why was the Society of St. Pius X formed?<\/p>\n
Jason King, a Catholic ethicist and theologian at St. Vincent College, said the conflict is often misunderstood as a debate over the Traditional Latin Mass.<\/p>\n
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In the 1960s, Catholic bishops and other delegates gathered for the Second Vatican Council. It would lead to one of the most significant updates the Catholic Church has seen in modern times.<\/p>\n
Before the Second Vatican Council, King said the Church\u2019s prevailing mindset was \u201c\u2018You’re either in the church and saved, or you’re outside the church and you’re going to hell.\u2019 And pretty much all other religions, all other Christians and most of modern society was in that \u2018going to hell\u2019 basket.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Second Vatican Council deliberately softened that framework, adopting a more open position toward other Christian denominations, religions and engagement with modern society. And while the Church maintained the stance that it possessed the \u201cfullness\u201d of Christian truth, it acknowledged that other Christian denominations contained pieces of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cVatican II discerned there’s some good stuff in the modern world,\u201d King said. \u201cThere are places of divergence, but because you have those overlapping similarities, there\u2019s good things in other religions, good things in other Christians.\u201d<\/p>\n
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According to King, that didn\u2019t sit well with Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who viewed the Catholic Church\u2019s reforms as a dangerous departure from traditional Catholic teachings. \u201cWhen that position took over at the Second Vatican Council, Lefebvre was like, \u2018That’s dangerous. We have the truth. We’re the right way. You’re leading people astray by saying there’s good things outside (the church).\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
In response, Lefebvre founded the Society of St. Pius X in 1970 and consecrated four bishops in June 1988 \u2014 a move that also led to the Holy See\u2019s first condemnation of the society.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat created an immense tension at that point,\u201d King said, although there was \u201csignificant overlap in basic doctrines.\u201d<\/p>\n
What led to the Society\u2019s excommunication?<\/p>\n
Those differences simmered for decades as successive popes sought to reconcile the Society with Rome. King said the Vatican repeatedly attempted to accommodate and engage with the Society before the conflict reached a boiling point, with the Vatican concluding that the latest unauthorized bishop consecrations represented a definitive break in Church unity.<\/p>\n
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The Vatican decided it couldn\u2019t hold on to a \u201cfalse unity,\u201d King said. He argued that the conflict is not over the older form of the liturgy itself, but over communion with the Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council.<\/p>\n
Zigrang, however, portrayed the Vatican’s announcement as the latest chapter in a long-simmering dispute rather than a decisive separation.<\/p>\n
\u201cArchbishop Lefebvre consecrated the four bishops, and we were out of the church, OK? We\u2019re not Catholic. Pope Benedict came. You\u2019re OK now. Pope Francis came. You\u2019re kind of OK. Pope Leo? You\u2019re not OK anymore,\u201d he told parishioners, referring to the Society’s changing relationship with recent pontiffs before asking, “What did we do different?”<\/p>\n
He also sought to reassure congregants that neither they nor Society clergy had been excommunicated and encouraged them to remain steadfast despite criticism from friends and relatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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“The problem is, of course, family, friends … they’ll look at us crooked,” he said. “But just smile, right? Say, ‘We like the old Mass.'”<\/p>\n
King said those differing interpretations reflect the heart of the dispute.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From the Vatican’s perspective, the unauthorized consecration of bishops without papal approval represents a rejection of the pope’s authority and the unity of the Catholic Church. From the Society’s perspective, preserving what it sees as authentic Catholic tradition justified the extraordinary action.<\/p>\n
Whether those positions can eventually be reconciled remains uncertain. For now, however, Zigrang told parishioners to \u201cContinue as we’ve been doing … no matter what.”<\/p>\n
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King said the Vatican’s position now appears settled, although the Holy See has laid out a path for the Society to return to Catholic communion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Catholic Church still engages in dialogue with other Christian religions. There may be some eschatological hope that they\u2019ll come together. But I think (the Catholic Church is) trying to build relationships, understanding and collaboration down the road.\u201d<\/p>\n
The remaining question, King said, is whether the Society of St. Pius X will ultimately seek renewed communion with Rome, or if it will continue further down a path of separation.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt some point,\u201d he said, \u201cSSPX will have to make a decision about how far along this road they’re going to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Since the Vatican declared the Society of St. Pius X schismatic, Zigrang has departed St. Joseph\u2019s Church to serve as a resident priest at Queen of Angels Priory in Dickinson, Texas. Zigrang addressed the congregation one last time before leaving San Antonio for his new post.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy do we need the church to go to heaven? \u2026 Of course, our chances for heaven are much better if we remain secure in the arms of the Catholic Church, despite the recent disasters.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Neither Zigrang nor representatives for St. Joseph\u2019s responded to the Express-News\u2019 requests for comment. The Express-News also reached out to the Archdiocese of San Antonio, led by Archbishop Gustavo Garc\u00eda-Siller, which pointed the publication to earlier statements.<\/p>\n
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