The Destruction of Episcopal Consecration in the Roman Rite

Dear Friends in Christ:  

Taking a break from the shocking headlines spotlighting the criminality, corruption, and conflicts of recent days that are bringing our world perilously close to a fiery conflagration, Catholics would do well to focus on a long-ignored but profound crisis that may well be the actual cause of the unrest that is presently engulfing mankind on all sides.  

For some time, Catholics have been bombarded with outrageous scandals, such as pro-LGBTQ advocates being welcomed into the Vatican; blessings still being administered to sodomite and lesbian couples; and communion being administered to people in adulterous unions; etc., etc., etc.   These shameful spectacles are publicly displayed by the train wreck that still calls itself the “Catholic Church.”  Although each and every one of these offenses is truly a disgrace that is harmful to the faithful, they are merely symptoms of a far more profound injury to Catholic souls, which no one of any priestly stature since the late Father Louis Campbell will discuss in public.

What follows is objective and irrefutable proof of the sabotage of the Sacraments, and hence, the cut-off of Sanctifying Grace around the world, by those pretending to be the leaders of the Catholic Church.  Simultaneously, the Sacraments have been substituted by other ceremonies that are completely foreign and hostile to the desired ends of the Sacred Rites instituted by Christ.  We were told that these substitutions were imposed upon the Church by “the pope.”  However, the authorship of these new rites could not have been the work of the Vicar of Christ but an enemy of Christ.  This cover letter and what follows give clear evidence of this treachery, which the readers are encouraged to share with every member of their household (and for that matter, every Catholic they know).  

Please see below three papal constitutions offered for your consideration: 

1) Apotolicae Curae - Leo XIII (1896);

2) Sacramentum Ordinis - Pius XII (1947); and

3) Pontificalis Romani - Paul VI (1968)

These three constitutions cannot be reconciled.  The first two are in agreement, but the third document is in opposition to the first two.  The discrepancy cannot be explained away by the discredited Modernist fiction of “the development of doctrine.”  The first two papal decrees affirm the centuries-old apostolic formula for episcopal consecration; the third document discards the ancient apostolic formula or form in favor of something totally new; hence, it cannot be part of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, but must have come from somewhere else.  The document in question and the manner in which it was promulgated could therefore not have been anything other than a simulation by some other institution impersonating the Church.
  

1) Apotolicae Curae - Leo XIII (1896). 

The purpose of Pope Leo's papal constitution was to settle the matter definitively regarding the invalidity of priestly orders and episcopal orders created by the schismatic Church of England, which the pope declared to be “absolutely null and utterly void.”  While the pontiff judged both the Anglican rites of sacerdotal orders and episcopal orders to be invalid, it is his legislation regarding episcopal orders that is the focus of this brief comparison.  The pope reminded the faithful that the matter and form of a Sacrament are its “sensible signs” and that they must signify what they effect, and must also effect what they signify.  Thus, Leo affirmed that the wording of a sacramental formula must express what the Church intends to effect by the Sacrament.    At the same time, the pope suggested that any change in the formula necessarily signals an intention contrary to what the Church intends, which would be destructive to the Sacrament.   Regarding the formula used in the consecration of bishops in the Roman rite, Pope Leo XIII stated clearly that it must include the key wording that expresses the essence of the episcopacy:

“Receive the fullness [or perfection, or completion] of thy ministry [or priesthood].”  

It was the omission of these words from the rite of episcopal consecration that occurred within the Church of England in the early 1550s, which the pontiff identified as the cause of the nullification of the consecration of Anglican bishops.   Once Pope Leo XIII had issued his judgment on the invalidity of Anglican episcopal orders, he warned all ecclesiastical authorities in the future, regardless of dignity or rank, that his decision would thereafter remain in force, and that no one could legitimately contradict, countermand, weaken, or ignore his determination by any pretext whatsoever.   The recipient of this document is encouraged to read it in its entirety, but if this is not possible right away, a perusal of at least those passages that have been emboldened will provide the reader with the essence of the Pope's message. 

2) Sacramentum Ordinis - Pius XII (1947). 

In his papal constitution, Sacramentum Ordinis, Pope Pius XII reaffirmed what Pope Leo had established 51 years earlier and gave additional impetus to the formulas that must be employed in the ordination of deacons, the ordination of priests, and the consecration of bishops.  One of the main purposes of the pope's constitution was to clarify that if the “ceremony of handing over the sacred instruments” of the Mass (the chalice and paten) were accidentally omitted, that the unintended exclusion of this detail would not invalidate the Sacrament of priestly orders.  The church had added the ceremony to the ordination of priests in the Roman rite fifteen centuries after Christ had conferred holy orders and episcopal orders upon His first bishops, the Apostles.  Therefore, the Church could lawfully decide whether or not the ancillary rituals she herself had added to the ordination ceremonies in the Roman rite were still necessary to the Sacrament originally established by Our Savior, Jesus Christ.  However, the primary interest of this study concerns what the pontiff defined as the ancient and necessary Apostolic formula for the valid consecration of bishops in the Roman rite.  The form authoritatively required by Pope Pius XII to be pronounced by the consecrating bishops while placing their hands on the head of the consecrand (priestly candidate about to be consecrated as a bishop), is specified according to the following words: 

“Perfect in Thy priest the fullness of Thy ministry, and clothing him in all the ornaments of spiritual glorification, sanctify him with Heavenly anointing.” 

While invoking his Apostolic Authority, Pope Pius XII mandated this ancient formula, which had been handed down by the Apostles since the founding of the priesthood by Christ Our Lord. Pope Pius XII settled the question for all time regarding the exact and necessary formula for the valid consecration of bishops in the Roman rite.  In promulgating this edict on 30 November 1947, the pontiff further warned all those in the future never to dare to infringe upon or contravene his constitution.  In 1950, the noted theologians Felix Cappello, and Jean Herve both stated that Pius XII's constitution on the Sacrament of Holy Orders satisfied all the criteria for an infallible definition. 

3) Pontificalis Romani - Paul VI (1968). 

Then, 21 years later, during a revolutionary era of change that shifted into high gear just three years after the close of the Second Vatican Council, Paul VI quietly overthrew 2000 years of ecclesiastical tradition as well as recent definitive papal teachings on episcopal orders when he issued his 1968 constitution, Pontificalis Romani.  In this decree, Paul VI completely disregarded two pontifical mandates regarding the essential wording of the formula for the consecration of bishops, and he opted instead for a completely different form that he claimed was based upon the “Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus of Rome.”  What is particularly curious about the selection of this work as the basis for a completely new rite of episcopal orders is that it supposedly would have been composed around the time that Hippolytus had organized his own election as an antipope and rival to the true pontiff, Callixtus (217-222).  Thereafter, Hippolytus would not be reconciled with the Church and its rightful head until approximately 233, two years before his death.  Regardless, on the flimsy basis of the writings attributed to Hippolytus, whose authorship of the wording shown below is actually controverted, Paul VI issued a new formula for episcopal orders, which he justified by the absurd claim that it would, “express better the effects of the sacrament.” It reads as follows:

“And now pour forth on this chosen one that power which is from you, the governing Spirit, whom you gave to your beloved Son Jesus Christ, whom he gave to the holy Apostles, who founded the Church in every place as your sanctuary, unto the glory and unending praise of your name.”

Nowhere in the new formula is the essence of episcopal consecration expressed, “Perfect in Thy priest the fullness of Thy ministry.”  Rather, Paul VI justified the evisceration of the Apostolic rite by a vague passage from Vatican II, which states that the Sacraments (whose formulas have remained essentially unchanged for nearly 2000 years) should now, “be drawn up so that they express more clearly the holy things which they signify.”  The council states further that, “Christian people, as far as possible, should be able to understand them [the Sacraments] with ease and to take part in them fully, actively, and as befits a community.”  But Paul VI never explained how his replacement formula for the consecration of bishops―which has displaced the key expression that designates the essence of the episcopacy―now substituted with a new ambiguous formula, “express[es] more clearly the holy things which they signify.”  

Perhaps in the future there can be an investigation to determine what connections actually existed between the new rite of episcopal orders and the writings of Hippolytus.  But more to the point of this inquiry, it has yet to be determined why it was beneficial to the sacramental life of the Church to replace the Apostolic formula for the consecration of bishops with an obscure inscription from a one-time antipope, resulting in the removal of words necessary for the validity of the episcopacy, upon which the priesthood, the Eucharist, Penance, and Extreme Unction are totally dependent, in the Roman rite.  Again, and this bears repeating―as many researchers have asked―why would Paul VI have deemed it necessary to jettison 2000 years of sacramental theology and sacred tradition that formed the basis of episcopal consecration―the very underpinning of the entire Sacramental structure of the Roman rite of the Catholic Church―by throwing out specific wording declared by two popes to be essential for the validity of the consecration of Catholic bishops for the Roman rite?  So far, no explanation has been forthcoming from the Vatican as to why these changes were made, who actually requested the changes, or how the clear teachings of two 20th-century holy popes could have been so casually cast aside.  Perhaps the best answer to this mystery can be found in Matthew 13:28: “An enemy hath done this.”  For it is the logical conclusion from the information to be presented by this news bulletin that the visible structures of the Catholic Church have been under enemy occupation since 28 October 1958. 

The suppression by Paul VI of what the Church had handed down from the Apostles to Pius XII directly contradicted the stern warnings against any attempts to change the Sacraments, first issued by Pope Saint Pius X, who declared, 58 years before Montini’s assault on episcopal orders:

“[I]t is well known that to the Church there belongs no right whatsoever to innovate anything touching on the substance of the sacraments” (Pius X, Ex quo, nono, 26 December 1910). 

Then, echoing his holy predecessor, Pope Pius XII also decreed:

“… the Council of Trent teaches [that] the seven sacraments of the New Law have all been instituted by Jesus Christ, our Lord, and the Church has no power over the ‘substance of the sacraments’ …” (Pius XII, Sacramentum Ordinis, 30 November 1947). 

In June 1968, the bishops should have all been aware of the serious prohibitions cited above against anyone attempting to vitiate the form of a Sacrament.  Yet, when Montini promulgated his constitution, Pontificalis Romani, he did not merely “fine tune” the formula, but completely eviscerated the rite of episcopal orders in the Roman rite.  

Mysteriously, the “Shepherds of the Church” said nothing.  Why did nearly all of the bishops simply lay over and play dead?   The uncomfortable answer may be gleaned by a process of elimination, and an increasing awareness of the unsavory lifestyles of the Roman clergy, going back to the mid-1800s.  The most likely explanation for the total capitulation by the hierarchy to this attack on the episcopacy is looking more and more like large-scale blackmail of the episcopal hierarchy beforehand, not unlike what has happened to the US Congress in our time.  Of course, these questions invariably lead to other suspicions surrounding the legitimacy of the election of Paul VI himself during the Papal Conclave of 1963.  But this is another subject for a future essay.  In contrast, the reality of the destruction of episcopal orders for the Roman rite in 1968, is not something unknowable, hidden by secrecy, obfuscation, or rumor.  Rather, it is out in the open, for all to see.  Therefore, it is hoped that a comparison of the three attached documents summarized above, conducted by those desirous of the truth, will lead to a greater realization among the faithful regarding the severity of the ecclesiastic crisis, especially in the Roman rite.  This will be a hard pill for many to swallow, not just in the Novus Ordo parishes, but for those attached to the “Latin Mass” centers operated by the Fraternity of Saint Peter and the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest, where virtually 100% of their clergy have been “ordained” by bishops invalidly consecrated in the bogus episcopal rite of the destroyer, Paul VI.  Moreover, the faithful loyal to the Society of Saint Pius X have not been insulated from this apocalyptic betrayal, as the SSPX for years has been admitting “priests” into its ranks without requiring them to undergo conditional ordination by a bishop consecrated in the pre-1968 rite of episcopal orders.  Incredibly, in the December 2005 and January 2006 editions of “The Angelus,” the flagship publication for the SSPX, the society attempted to defend the validity of the blatantly invalid formula for episcopal consecration issued by the devilish antipope, Paul VI.  In this monumental capitulation to the “conciliar church,” the society is justifying the hellish practice of tampering with the Sacraments unleashed in the aftermath of Vatican Council II that has led to the nearly total destruction of the sacramental life for the faithful of the Roman rite.  Impressive “Latin Masses” offered by “priests” who have been the unwitting victims of invalid ordinations, reduces these ceremonies to no more than elaborate pantomimes of the Holy Sacrifice.  

By the Mercy of God, may many more souls come to understand the extreme jeopardy in which their eternal salvation has been placed by this “abomination of desolation.” And may they begin to work toward, and pray for a heavenly solution to this hierarchical catastrophe at the commanding heights of what used to be the visible structures of the Catholic Church.

Sincerely yours in Christ the King,

Gary Giuffré

Director, Traditional Catholics of Houston, Inc.

Sponsoring Organization for

Saint Jude Shrine

International Latin Mass Center

3103 North Main Street

Stafford, Texas 77477

PS:  Please also see the link to Father Louis Campbell's public sermon on this issue, first delivered from his pulpit at Saint Jude Shrine over 20 years ago, entitled, “A Kingdom Brought To Desolation.”