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Sunday, February 8, 2026

Thank God for Bishop Strickland and His Defense of the SSPX!


Bishop Strickland: The Church is facing a ‘real emergency’

Every Texan knows this story:

Long before we knew about politics, before we knew the arguments, before we knew how to quibble over details, we were taught something in school that shaped our bones. At the Alamo, there came a moment when there were no more letters to send, no reinforcements coming, no negotiations left to try. The enemy was at the gates. Surrender had been demanded. And everyone knew what surrender would mean.
So the commander – William Barrett Travis – gathered his men – not to inspire them, not to give a pep talk, but to tell them the truth. He drew a line in the dirt. On one side of that line was safety – at least for the moment. On the other side was almost certain death. And he said, in effect: “Choose.” Only one man stepped back. The rest stepped forward.

That line in the sand was not drawn to start a rebellion. It was drawn to end illusions. Crossing it did not guarantee victory – it guaranteed fidelity. And whether we like it or not, that is where the Church stands right now.

The Church is in an emergency. Not an emergency invented by commentators, not a mood manufactured by social media, not hysteria.

A real emergency – measured not in feelings, but in facts. An emergency measured by silence where there must be answers. In tolerance where there must be correction. In shepherds who refuse to name wolves, while those who simply want to guard the flock are treated as a problem.

Let me be very clear: this is not about personalities. It is not about preferences. It is not about clinging to the past. It is about survival – not of an institution, but of the priesthood, the sacraments, and the Catholic Faith as it has been received, handed down, and guarded for centuries.

When men who openly contradict Catholic teaching are tolerated, promoted, even celebrated – while those who hold fast to tradition are restricted, sidelined, or ignored – something is upside down.

When confusion is indulged and fidelity must beg to survive, authority has stopped doing what authority exists to do....

[And here's the central point of the article]

I am speaking here of the Society of St. Pius X.

They are not asking for novelty. They are not asking for power. They are asking for bishops – because without bishops there are no priests, and without priests there are no sacraments, and without sacraments the Church does not survive in any meaningful way.

[Read the rest at Pillars of Faith]

7 comments:

  1. Off-topic, and I'm not sure if it's been posted before: please pray for Fr. Tom Collins. He had a stroke a couple weeks ago and is recovering, but it sounds like recovery will be a long and difficult road.

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    1. Thanks for the heads up, Nick. We saw Father about a month ago when we went to The Homestead and had lunch with him. He was still recovering from his pacemaker surgery at the time. I'm so sorry to hear about his latest health challenge, but when I find out more, I hope we can visit. He has been such a gift to us and certainly to the Church. I'm calling the Poor Clares and asking for their prayers.

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    2. He is indeed a gift to the Church. I still remember when he celebrated Mass just for my wife and me at the Shrine after I called asking about a weekday Mass... I was quite happily surprised that all it took was two people requesting Mass for him to leap into priestly action!

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  2. If Bp Strickland is of the same mind as SSPX, why doesn’t he go over there and join the unmandated consecrations himself and put himself in the same danger of excommunication that the SSPX bishops are facing?

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  3. Can’t a Bishop or Cardinal in good standing go ahead right now and walk the plank and proceed with the consecrations?

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    1. That's what Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer did in 1988. He was retired but joined in the consecration and received Rome's declaration of excommunication which from all indications today was invalid. So I suppose the same could happen again this July. I would be happy to see the consecration take place with a number of bishops in good standing joining in. Will that happen? Seems unlikely, but the Holy Spirit is full of surprises as Francis said. Wouldn't that be a sight to see: Bishop Strickland, Bishop Schneider, Bishop Cordileone, and other good bishops joining in the consecration? Let the reset begin!

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