A Priest in San Antonio is laicized and excommunicated for willful disobedience and blatant disrespect

 

San Antonio priest laicized, excommunicated after calling Popes Francis and Leo ‘usurpers’

written by Simone Orendain 

In this file photo, Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio is seen during a march in El Paso March 24, 2025. In a letter dated Aug. 14, 2026, Archbishop García-Siller publicized the laicization of John Mary Foster, a former priest that has been found guilty of schism for refusing submission to the pope. The archbishop also warned Catholics not to follow Foster or support the Mission of Divine Mercy, a group Foster founded that involves sharing alleged prophetic messages. (OSV News photo/Bob Roller)

(OSV News) — A priest of the Archdiocese of San Antonio who was “found guilty of schism” has been removed from the clerical state and excommunicated, according to the archbishop of the archdiocese.

Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller announced Aug. 14 that a tribunal of canon lawyers authorized by the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith found John Mary Foster guilty of “a crime against the faith for his refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff.” 

In the letter announcing the April 20 sentence, the archbishop said, “Mr. Foster has chosen to reject the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church by his words and actions. He has publicly referred to Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV as ‘usurpers.'”

Foster was ordained a priest in 1987 for the Congregation of St. John, an international religious community based in France. In 2001, he founded an organization called Mission of Divine Mercy. Based in Canyon Lake, Texas, the group has offered retreats and sacramental ministry, with a lay branch called Amici Christi. In 2009, Foster was incardinated in the San Antonio diocese after ministering in Laredo, Texas.

Problematic alleged ‘messages’

In 2010, Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller’s predecessor, Archbishop José H. Gómez, who oversaw the San Antonio Archdiocese from 2005-2010 before taking leadership of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, granted the Mission of Divine Mercy the status of an approved Catholic apostolate. Foster was granted a special assignment to serve as its director. The apostolate, which claims six current members, was not a canonically erected religious community.

The Mission of Divine Mercy’s members include Sister Maria Amapola de Jesús, who claimed to receive messages from God and Mary beginning in 2016. Prior to the message’s first publication in 2024, Archbishop García-Siller said he had been supportive of the group’s efforts and had “enjoyed a positive relationship” with Foster and the Mission of Divine Mercy members.

In a March 2024 letter to the faithful, Archbishop García-Siller explained he had asked the group “to refrain from publishing any alleged prophetic message until they were reviewed to ensure they were not harmful to the people of God” because they “include many scandalous claims and false teachings.”

In February 2024, the group began publishing messages online without the archbishop’s approval. Archbishop García-Siller met with Foster after the first published message and requested that the group remove it from its website, but the group did not comply and proceeded to publish others. The archbishop’s March 2024 letter notified the archdiocese that he had removed Foster’s faculties for public ministry. He also suppressed the Mission of Divine Mercy’s apostolate status.

Refused obedience to bishop

The group continued to post alleged messages through at least July 2026. Foster said to Archbishop García-Siller in an email sent before a March 6, 2024 posting, “After prayerful discernment with our little community, we believe we are called to continue publishing the messages we believe God is giving us for the good of His Children. We deeply regret the pain that this will cause you, and how it will be perceived.  We are doing it out of a desire to obey God and serve His Church.”

The message posted March 6, 2024, was addressed to Catholic bishops and said, “You have not only let the smoke of Satan infiltrate into My Sanctuary; but you have allowed a whole army of demons to take your places. And you have allowed the usurper to sit on the chair of My Peter.”

In the Aug. 14, 2026, letter, Archbishop García-Siller noted that Foster’s excommunication was “latae sententiae,” meaning he automatically incurred it through his own schismatic acts.

“Despite being offered countless opportunities to repent and to cease his schismatic actions and teachings, Mr. Foster has chosen the path of disobedience. I have prohibited him from publicly celebrating Mass, yet he continues to do so,” the archbishop said.

When celebrating Mass, Foster “intentionally omits the name of Pope Leo XIV, as he did with Pope Francis, from the Eucharistic Prayer. In doing so, he publicly manifests his separation with the Church and the successor of Saint Peter,” the archbishop explained.

Faithful prohibited from association with group

Archbishop García-Siller addressed the faithful directly, saying, “In my fraternal care for you as your shepherd, I encourage you to guard your heart and mind against those who seek to separate you from the Catholic Church.”

He said he is prohibiting “all Catholics from attending any Mass or any liturgical activity or event” held by Foster or at the suppressed group’s location and warned the faithful that participating in such “is a formal act of disobedience.” 

The archbishop also urged the faithful not to financially support Foster or the Mission of Divine Mercy. He implored them to join him in praying for Foster, “that he will repent and seek reconciliation with the Roman Catholic Church and be able to once again receive the sacraments of the Church.”

Simone Orendain is an OSV News correspondent. She writes from Chicago.

Archbishop James Checchio statement on SSPX. Reminds faithful that the Archdiocese of New Orleans indeed has valid & licit Traditional Latin Masses

 

A Statement from Archbishop Checchio on the SSPX Excommunications

July 3, 2026

by Archbishop James Checchio

Having heard that the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X consecrated four new bishops this week against the explicit will of our Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, and with disregard of his public cries for unity and his prior request for them to not proceed with the consecrations, I was truly disheartened. Whenever there is division in the Church, the entire body of Christ is affected. “If one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it,” (1 Cor. 12:26)
 
In response, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has issued a very strong decree detailing the excommunication of all the bishops involved in the illicit consecrations. Moreover, the decree detailed that any clergy and lay faithful who continue to adhere to the schism of the SSPX also incur the penalty of excommunication. While this sounds like a strong penalty, we must always remember that excommunication is not intended to be permanent but is a charitable call to repentance and reconciliation.
 
This is particularly pertinent to the people of the Archdiocese of New Orleans given that there are two SSPX Chapels located within the archdiocese.  Of note, the decree stipulates that all clergy of the SSPX from this day forward are to be held as schismatics until they repent and are reconciled to the Body of Christ. Thus, the sacraments that they celebrate are henceforth illicit, and more significantly, the absolutions they offer in the Sacrament of Penance and the Marriages they witness are invalid. This is especially noteworthy because while Pope Francis had previously extended the faculties for these two sacraments to the priests of SSPX, the DDF has noted that they can no longer validly celebrate them. 
 
This is a significant moment in our Church’s history, and it is especially a time for us to unite in prayer for our brothers and sisters in the SSPX. Prayer and renewed unity are the only answers to division. I know there to be many faithful and sincere people in the archdiocese who attend liturgical celebrations in the SSPX. Their commitment to traditional values and their emphasis on strong family lives are very commendable. But now, more than ever, they need our prayers that they do not follow in the footsteps of those bishops who have placed themselves outside the Barque of Peter.
 
I want to offer a word of encouragement and invitation to those members of the SSPX who so dearly love the Traditional Latin Mass but who also wish to be in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church, both clergy and lay faithful. You most certainly have a place here in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. To the priests who serve in these chapels, my prayers and openness to you are united to the Sacred Heart of Jesus’ desire that we may be one. To the lay faithful who attend liturgies in these chapels, as well, I beg you to seek the counsel of priests of our Archdiocese as you discern the Lord’s call to abide in communion with Peter and the Church Christ founded.  We have several locations that offer the Usus Antiquior of the Roman Rite, and I am confident you can and will find a home if you wish. I have already visited one of these communities for Sunday Mass and will visit another in the coming weeks. The people are inspiring and I am sure you will find them so too. Please, come and be reconciled to God.
 
Our Holy Father Pope Leo, in his opening address to the cardinals at the most recent consistory said, “I need your support: strong, explicit, and public.” My brothers and sisters, this also applies to all of us as members of the Body of Christ. Our support of the Holy Father must be strong, explicit, and public. We've known this truth from the beginning of our Church:  Ubi Petrus ibi ecclesia—where Peter is, there is the Church.
 
Pray for those who are hurt or confused by these most recent occurrences, pray for the clergy and all lay faithful of the SSPX that they might seek to be reconciled to Christ and His Church, pray for unity among all Christians, pray for unity in our own Archdiocese, and especially, join me in praying for our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV. Please pray for me too, and know of my love, prayers and gratitude for you all!  

Should a Catholic go to Mass with the SSPX today; probably not a good idea

 

EWTN News explains: As a Catholic, can you attend an SSPX Mass?

 By Daniel Payne for EWTN News

The traditionalist group has been declared in schism with the Catholic Church after an illicit “ordination” of bishops.

The new illicitly ordained Catholic bishops — French Marc Hanappier, French Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, American Michael Goldade and Swiss Pascal Schreiber — stand next to Swiss traditionalist Catholic Bishop of the Society of Saint Pius X Bernard Fellay during a schismatic consecration in Econe, western Switzerland, on July 1, 2026. | Credit: Fabrice COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

The Vatican this week issued a decree declaring that the bishops involved in the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X’s illicit consecrations have incurred automatic excommunication and that the group is in schism with the Church.

The illicit ordinations occurred in Écône, Switzerland, on July 2 after Pope Leo XIV had urged the group to “turn back” and refrain from carrying out the unauthorized rite.

The SSPX is a controversial fraternity of priests known for their strict traditional celebration of the Latin Mass and opposition to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

The group for years has enjoyed a canonically irregular status within the Church, and the faithful have generally been permitted to attend Masses held by SSPX priests. Yet the declaration of schism has raised questions about whether or not Catholics can still attend those liturgies without incurring canonical penalties.

The Vatican recognizes that the faithful may be able to attend an SSPX Mass without suffering excommunication, so long as there is no “formal adherence” to the SSPX.

Formal adherence was described in an important 1996 explanatory note from the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, on the “Excommunication for Schism Incurred by Members of Bishop Marcel Lefebvre’s Movement,” which was cited in the new decree’s own explanatory note.

It described two key components: an internal one of freely and consciously sharing the substance of the schism and an external one of making outward expression of that choice, such as the exclusive participation in SSPX Masses.

Notably, in the 1996 note, Vatican officials recognized “that occasional participation in liturgical acts or activities of the Lefebvrian movement — without adopting the movement’s attitude of doctrinal and disciplinary disunity — is not sufficient to constitute formal adherence to the movement.”

It added that in pastoral practice, it is necessary “to take into account the person’s intention and how that inner disposition is translated into action,” and such situations should “be judged on a case-by-case basis by the competent authorities.”

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on July 2 sent a letter to bishops worldwide outlining the means by which clergy and faithful who have taken part in the schism with the Church can return to full communion with the faith.

The letter stipulated that penalties for lay faithful who belong to SSPX “cannot be presumed automatically, but must be assessed case by case.”

The dicastery said that “imputably” in the matter “requires full awareness and deliberate consent.”

Some cases in which laypeople are not considered “imputable,” the dicastery said, include those who have attended SSPX Masses “only for liturgical or spiritual reasons,” along with those who “do not reject the magisterium or the authority of the Roman pontiff.”

‘Strongly discouraged’ for risk of schism, scandal

Nevertheless, the new decree’s explanatory note strongly admonishes the faithful “to remain firmly united with the Roman pontiff, with the bishops in communion with him, and with the entire Church … and to refrain from participating in the celebrations and activities organized by the aforementioned Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X.”

Ronald Bolster, an associate professor of theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville and dean of the theology school there, said it would be “inappropriate and strongly discouraged to participate in the liturgies and activities” of the SSPX.

To do so, he argued, “would imply support for their schismatic act.”

“Participation could also be a cause of scandal, causing others to consider that such participation is appropriate, and more broadly, suggest that the laws of the Church and the authority of the vicar of Christ can be dismissed or disregarded without consequence,” he said.

William Newton, a theology professor and the chair of Franciscan University’s theology department, also argued that Catholics who attend SSPX Masses “collaborate” in the schism, though he noted that there are degrees of responsibility associated with it.

“Certainly, the culpability for this collaboration can vary as with any sin, because of ignorance or lack of freedom of will,” he said.

“However, the schismatic character of the SSPX has been confirmed by the Church, so ignorance, while still possible, cannot be assumed,” he added.

He noted that there are “alternative valid Masses available to the faithful,” which he said, “makes the choice to attend an SSPX Mass that much more likely to be willful collaboration with schism.”

The faithful “should not attend a Mass of the SSPX,” he argued.

Bolster described the schism event as a “most unfortunate situation.”

He urged Catholics to “join Pope Leo in praying that the concerns which have motivated this division can be addressed without further loss of unity. “

Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was last month even firmer in saying Catholics should not attend SSPX Masses.

In his exclusive interview with EWTN News just days before the illicit consecrations, the cardinal was asked what faithful drawn to SSPX Masses should do if a schism follows. Müller said forcefully that they “shouldn’t go and cannot participate in the Masses of schismatic priests and bishops.”

Vatican formally declares the SSPX has committed an "act of schismatic nature" and incurs "ipso facto" the "latae sententiae" excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See

 

The Lefebvrite episcopal ordinations took place in Switzerland  (AFP or licensors)

Vatican

• Vatican
• Holy See
• dicastery
• faith

Excommunication decreed for Lefebvrian episcopal ordinations

A document signed by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, defines the rite celebrated on 1 July as an “act of a schismatic nature,” with an explanatory note providing details of the grave canonical sanction of excommunication.

Vatican News

The bishops of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, Alfonso de Galarreta and Bernard Fellay—respectively principal consecrator and co-consecrator—and the newly consecrated bishops Pascal Schreiber, Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, and Marc Hanappier have incurred “ipso facto” the “latae sententiae” excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See for having carried out “an act of a schismatic nature”: the “episcopal consecration of four presbyters, without pontifical mandate and against the will of the Supreme Pontiff.”

This was stated in a decree released on July 2 and signed by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and countersigned by the two Secretaries of the same Dicastery.

The decision came twenty-four hours after the solemn ceremony celebrated in Écône, Switzerland, on the morning of July 1, 2026.

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s decree establishes that, in the act of carrying out the consecration, both the consecrators and those consecrated incurred the prescribed excommunication.

The painful epilogue was the consequence of the decision taken by the Lefebvrites against the will repeatedly expressed by Pope Leo XIV.

The excommunication newly separates the bishops and priests of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X from the Church of Rome.

As for the lay faithful, those who formally adhere to the Fraternity are to be considered excommunicated.

Decree of Excommunication

Further details are contained in an “Explanatory Note,” published by the Dicastery at the same time as the decree of excommunication, which is reproduced in full below:

The Dicastery’s Note

From the time of Saint Paul VI up to the most recent talks, held recently at this Dicastery, the many attempts to bring the members of the movement begun by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre back into full communion with the Catholic Church have proved vain.

This situation has been further aggravated by the recent episcopal consecrations celebrated without pontifical mandate, against the will of the Holy Father, and in open violation of canon law.

Therefore, this Dicastery, in the faithful exercise of the functions entrusted to it, considers it necessary to state that this act constituted the delict of schism, with the canonical consequences for the sacred ministers and lay faithful involved. Indeed, as was already declared in 1988, “such disobedience—which implies in practice the rejection of the Roman primacy—constitutes a schismatic act” (cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Ecclesia Dei, 3).

https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/it/motu_proprio/documents/hf_jp-ii_motu-proprio_02071988_ecclesia-dei.html

In this regard, from now on:

1. The sacred ministers belonging to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X are in schism and must therefore be considered schismatics (cf. Ecclesia Dei, 5 c; Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Explanatory Note on the excommunication for schism incurred by those adhering to the movement of Bishop Marcel Lefebvre, 24.08.1996, 5-6) and are subject to the excommunication prescribed by law (can. 1364 § 1 CIC).

2. As regards the lay faithful, those who formally adhere to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X are to be considered schismatics and excommunicated under the conditions established in the 1996 Explanatory Note of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts (cf. ibidem, 7), which remains in force and which this Dicastery adopts as its own.

https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/intrptxt/documents/rc_pc_intrptxt_doc_19960824_vescovo-lefebvre_it.html.

3. Finally, the holy People of God are warned that the sacred ministers of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X administer the sacraments illicitly, and that the sacrament of penance administered by them and marriages assisted by them are invalid.

The Church, as a caring mother, will welcome with sincere affection and lively solicitude all those who wish to return to full communion. The Apostolic Nuncios will arrange the procedures that Ordinaries may use in the various cases.

Finally, all the faithful are urged to remain steadfast in communion with the Roman Pontiff, with the Bishops in communion with him, and with the whole Church (cf. Lumen Gentium, 22; can. 751 CIC), and to refrain from taking part in celebrations and activities promoted by the aforementioned Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X.

Explanatory Note to Decree of Excommunication

The deed is done; SSPX consecrates bishops without Papal mandate; an act of schism, disobedience and incurring automatic excommunication

 

Society of Saint Pius X consecrates four new bishops without papal mandate  (ANSA)

Church

• Holy See
• Pope Leo XIV
• bishops

Lefebvrians consecrate four new bishops without a papal mandate

At the headquarters of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X in Switzerland, Bishops Alfonso de Galarreta and Bernard Fellay preside over the episcopal consecration, and the Superior General declared: "Any penalties or censures imposed for this act have no value whatsoever."

By Salvatore Cernuzio 

The seamless garment of Christ, which Pope Leo XIV had urged in a heartfelt letter on June 29 "not to tear apart," has now, in the Vatican's view, been torn.

This morning, Wednesday, July 1, in Ecône, Switzerland—the headquarters of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X (FSSPX)—the Lefebvrists, followers of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, consecrated four new bishops without a papal mandate. 

They did so even though the new bishops answered affirmatively to the liturgical question, "Habetis mandatum apostolicum?" ("Do you have the Apostolic Mandate?"). They justified the consecrations as necessary to ensure the continuity and very survival of their society, despite the Holy See's efforts at dialogue and repeated warnings against proceeding with what it viewed as a schismatic act. Those warnings came from Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, as well as from Pope Leo XIV himself in a letter issued two days before the consecrations.

The Ceremony at Ecône

More than 1,000 priests, religious men and women, and about 15,000 people attended the ceremony, which began at 9:00 a.m. in a large white marquee next to the FSSPX seminary. The event was livestreamed in six languages on the society's official website, where a countdown to the ceremony had been running in recent days, accompanied by commemorative merchandise and other related events.

The four bishops consecrated today are Pascal Schreiber, a 53-year-old Swiss priest ordained at Ecône in 1998; Michael Goldade, originally from North Dakota and raised in Kansas, United States; Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, 42; and Marc Happier, 36, both French.

The main celebrant performing the consecrations was Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, with Bishop Bernard Fellay serving as co-consecrator. They are the two surviving bishops among the four originally consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre on June 30, 1988. According to Catholic canon law, carrying out such consecrations without a papal mandate incurs latae sententiae (automatic) excommunication.

Superior General Pagliarani's Address

At the beginning of the liturgy, the Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X, Fr. Davide Pagliarani, delivered a brief address saying, "We are prepared to pay any price to save the Church."

Read also

13/05/2026

Cardinal Fernández to Pius X Society: Ordaining new bishops is schismatic act

According to the Superior General, it is therefore "a most serious duty" to "hand on the grace of the episcopate to these priests."

"We consider that any penalties or censures imposed for this act have no value whatsoever," he added.

For the Lefebvrists, their superior concluded, today is "a historic day" and "a celebration." For the universal Church, however, it is a day on which, in the Vatican's assessment, an old wound has been reopened—the wound of division.

Pope Leo XIV makes final appeal to SSPX.

 

breviary with photo of founder of the Society of Saint Pius X  (AFP or licensors)

Pope

• Pope Leo XIV

Pope’s final appeal to Society of Saint Pius X: Do not tear the seamless garment of Christ

The letter sent by Pope Leo XIV to the Superior General of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X is dated 29 June, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, two days before the Lefebvrites'’ announced episcopal consecrations without a pontifical mandate, which would constitute a new schismatic act.

Vatican News

As he had announced in recent days during his meeting with journalists at Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo has made a final appeal to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, urging it not to proceed with the consecration of four new bishops without a pontifical mandate, scheduled to take place in Écône, Switzerland, on the morning of 1 July.

“With a paternal heart, and aware of the responsibility entrusted to me by the Lord as the Successor of the Apostle Peter, I address you and, through you, the bishops, priests, seminarians and faithful connected to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X,” Pope Leo XIV writes. “The Church recognizes the devotion to liturgical life, commitment to priestly formation, apostolic zeal and desire for fidelity to Tradition that characterize many people and communities connected to your Fraternity. This has motivated the attentive and generous attitude that my Predecessors have consistently shown to you.”

“In this spirit, and filled with Christian affection, I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back!” the Pope continues. “I urge you to consider carefully the spiritual good of the faithful, because the schismatic act you are about to undertake would deprive them of the licit and, in some cases, even valid reception of the Sacraments, which they love and seek for their sanctification.”

“The Church is open to a path of dialogue and understanding that the Holy Spirit can make possible and fruitful,” the Pope writes in the letter, which was composed in French and addressed to the Superior General of the Fraternity, Fr. Davide Pagliarani. “I pray for you, because to tear the seamless garment of Christ is a sin of extreme gravity. May the Lord enlighten your consciences and awaken your hearts. With a sorrowful yet hopeful heart, I feel it is my duty, through the authority received from Christ, to ask you to desist from your intended act. I entrust these intentions to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Good Counsel.”

The Pope is thus once again calling on the Lefebvrites' to refrain from carrying out the schismatic act of episcopal consecrations without a pontifical mandate. Significantly, the central argument advanced in the letter concerns the spiritual welfare of the faithful attached to the Society of Saint Pius X, since such an act would render the sacraments, they receive illicit and, in certain cases—namely sacramental confession and marriage—even invalid.