Outside the Walls

Dom Alcuin Reid warns against possible SSPX excommunications in a homily for the Sunday after the Ascension, saying Catholics attached to the older liturgical rites have faced exclusion and “ecclesiastical displacement” since Traditionis custodes In these days after the Ascension, as the Paschal candle stands extinguished and we wait in expectation and hope for the consoling fire of Pentecost, the Sacred Liturgy of our Holy Mother the Church gives us a somewhat stark warning about living as faithful witnesses to Christ. “They will put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. And they will do this because they have not known the Father, nor me,” we are informed by the words of Our Lord Himself in this morning’s Gospel. Historically, these words apply to the expulsion of early Christians from the Jewish synagogues as it became clear that Christian faith and life was a substantial development of Jewish belief that the authorities of the time deemed unacceptable. Christianity rightly boasts of and venerates its roots in the Old Covenant, but it remains a fact that the New Covenant fulfils the Old and surpasses it. The Old Covenant no longer suffices. Because of this reality, Christians were expelled from Jewish synagogues and, as we see clearly in the martyrdom of St Stephen (cf. Acts 7), were indeed killed out of a supposedly godly zeal. But what are we to make of this prophecy today? We hear it proclaimed only days after the Holy See has threatened to excommunicate those who plan to consecrate new bishops for the Society of St Pius X, and the new bishops themselves, at the beginning of July. (In spite of much sensational reporting, there is no question of the excommunication of their faithful.) The parallel is not exact: there are many issues involved, and they are complex. But the echo of Our Lord’s prophecy at this time is unnerving, particularly given the zeal with which those who wish to celebrate according to the older liturgical rites of the Church have been excluded from their churches and chapels since the liturgical, historical and pastoral travesty that is the Motu Proprio Traditionis custodes of 2021, which has brought about further disunity and division whilst purportedly seeking unity through the imposition of a ritual uniformity never before known, or required, in the life of the Church. Many are the good and loyal Catholics who have experienced expulsion from their places of worship and the killing off of the sources of grace and pastoral care for themselves and their families at the hands of prelates who, seemingly, “do this because they have not known the Father, nor me.” We ourselves have had to step outside of the system, as it were, in order simply to survive: something no one wishes to do, but which, in extraordinary times, may become truly necessary in conscience. Necessity is the key, as the Society of St Pius X often says. For the older liturgical rites are not a matter of mere aesthetic preference: they are the integral source and summit of our Christian life and mission and guarantee a ritual and doctrinal integrity that is, at best, “watered down” in their successors and which, if we examine the increasingly poisonous fruits of the virus of synodalism that has been unleashed in the Church, is at times utterly compromised, if not downright rejected, by those who would proscribe that which, of its very nature, “remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful.” (Benedict XVI, Letter, 7 July 2007.) Maintaining the rites of the usus antiquior, including the Divine Office, the sacraments and sacramentals, is not a personal “choice”: it is the conviction that, at this time in the history of the Church, they are necessary to guarantee a continuity of faith and life with the Church founded by Christ on the Apostles, at a time when other means do so less effectively or are at times hijacked for ends utterly inimical to the Deposit of Faith. This is not to malign the good will of many of those in authority, or of clergy, religious and laity who have struggled for decades, and who continue to struggle, to be faithful, often in the face of much opposition and, at times, from bishops and other ecclesiastical superiors. Nor is it to question the validity of the newer rites when celebrated correctly. This is, however, to underline the pastoral necessity, that is, the necessity for the salvation of souls, of free access to the Church’s unadulterated rites and teaching: something that the fruits produced by communities who celebrate them make abundantly evident. Sadly, this is a reality which still seems to be ignored. What, then, can we do when the choice seems to be between disobedience and dissolution? This is no small question, and we do well to consult St Thomas Aquinas and other sound theologians on its implications. In doing so, we find that material disobedience to positive law, as distinct from Divine law, can, extraordinarily, be tolerated for a truly necessary good: a father must feed and protect his family. There is no virtue in allowing them to starve to death or to be destroyed by danger. At certain times we must act outside the norm. And, as the fourth century martyrs of Abitene teach us so eloquently, sacramental starvation is not tolerable: sine dominico, non possumus (without the Sunday Eucharist, without the liturgy and the sacraments, we simply cannot live). But first and foremost, we must pray. In the context in which we find ourselves, the counsel of this morning’s Epistle is particularly pertinent: “Keep sane and sober for your prayers,” St Peter insists. So too he urges us: “Above all hold unfailing your love for one another, since charity covers a multitude of sins. Practice hospitality ungrudgingly to one another. As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” Prayer, charity, hospitality and mutual service are most certainly necessary at all levels of the Church in our times, and persevering in each of them will bring many graces, particularly for those who are persecuted or who, as it were, find themselves “ecclesiastically displaced”. In these days when we await the coming of the Counsellor whom Our Lord promises to send us from the Father, we can, then, each redouble our prayers that the Spirit of Truth shall truly inhabit those in authority and, as we shall sing in the Sequence of Pentecost, flecte quod est rigidum, fove quod est frigidum, rege quod est devium. (Bend what is inflexible, warm what is chilled, correct what has gone astray.) Not only should we beg Almighty God to send the Holy Spirit to melt the hearts that govern the Church, we should also implore Him in particular to fill the Holy Father with His sevenfold gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord in the exercise of his unenviable but utterly crucial duty to protect the integrity of the Deposit of Faith and the unity of the Church under it, of which the Sacred Liturgy is the living source and sacramental. The Holy Father needs our prayers at this time! Let us begin praying earnestly that, through the inspiration and gifts of God the Holy Spirit, charity and Truth will prevail on all sides and all talk of excommunication shall cease; that true hospitality will be shown; and that those who have been given the gift of the episcopacy and papacy will employ them, as good stewards, in the service of all their flock after the example of the Good Shepherd Himself (cf. Jn 10). With the help of our prayers, through the power of God the Holy Spirit, this can yet come to pass. Dom Alcuin Reid is the Prior of the Monastère Saint-Benoît in Brignoles, France, www.monasterebrignoles.org

Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of Astana in Kazakhstan, has said that excommunicating the SSPX would be “not synodal” and warned that, if the Pope were to excommunicate the Society, “this will go down in history as a huge error of rigidity”. Speaking to EWTN’s The World Over with Raymond Arroyo, the 65 year old […] Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of Astana in Kazakhstan, has said that excommunicating the SSPX would be “not synodal” and warned that, if the Pope were to excommunicate the Society, “this will go down in history as a huge error of rigidity”. Speaking to EWTN’s The World Over with Raymond Arroyo , the 65 year old prelate spoke openly about the planned July episcopal consecrations by the Society of St Pius X, which have led to reports that the entire Society and its faithful could find themselves excommunicated. Bishop Schneider pointed to what he described as a contradiction in the approach, saying that the Vatican is “promoting the inclusivity of synodal methods and are generous with the German Synodal Way” as well as being “generous with the Communist Chinese Party to grant them to ordain bishops there”, whilst coming down with full ecclesial force on the Society of St Pius X. The bishop further said that he had written to the Pope asking him to give the SSPX permission to consecrate bishops “as a first step to integrate them, to create an atmosphere of mutual trust”. He also appealed directly to the Pope during the interview, saying: “Holy Father, please avoid such a wound in the Church which you can avoid.” Throughout the interview, Bishop Schneider was notably more forgiving towards the Society than other prelates have been when discussing the its canonical irregularity. He said that he did not think they were “schismatics” and that they “love the Pope, pray for the Pope, and want simply to have the guarantee to transmit the faith of all times without any ambiguity”. When the topic turned to whether the concerns of the SSPX were purely related to their attachment to the Tridentine Mass, the bishop responded by saying “the problem is deeper”. Acknowledging their criticisms of parts of the Second Vatican Council, he said: “There are ambiguities in some council texts. There are ambiguities in the post-conciliar Magisterium.” He also appeared grateful for the role played by the Society in raising such questions about the Second Vatican Council, telling Arroyo that “we must be honest, and therefore we must be thankful to the Society of Pius X to address it publicly”. Appointed a bishop at the age of 49 by Pope Benedict XVI, Bishop Schneider has long been associated with the traditional Latin Mass and the communities attached to it. In 2015 he was appointed by the Holy See to carry out visitations to two SSPX seminaries. After the visit, he stated that “there are no serious reasons to deny the clergy and faithful of the Society of Saint Pius X official canonical recognition”. At present, every indication points towards the Society of St Pius X consecrating bishops on July 1, with a website recently created requiring attendees to complete compulsory registration “for security reasons”. Photo by: Monegasque2 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48468039

The Society of St Pius X has opened official registration for pilgrims wishing to attend the priestly ordinations and episcopal consecrations at Écône this summer, with organisers insisting that registration will be compulsory “for security reasons”. A new multilingual website launched by the seminary authorities says: “Access to the ceremonies is reserved for registered attendees. […] The Society of St Pius X has opened official registration for pilgrims wishing to attend the priestly ordinations and episcopal consecrations at Écône this summer, with organisers insisting that registration will be compulsory “for security reasons”. A new multilingual website launched by the seminary authorities says: “Access to the ceremonies is reserved for registered attendees. Please complete your registration below.” The ceremonies, which will take place from June 29 to July 2 at the International Seminary of Saint Pius X in Switzerland, are expected to attract thousands of faithful from across Europe and beyond. Visitors are asked to register according to their category, including “Faithful”, “Clergy”, “Organised Group” and “Press / Media”. The website describes the gathering as four “days of grace” centred on the priestly ordinations and episcopal consecrations in the “majestic setting of the Écône meadow”. A countdown clock on the homepage marked 43 days remaining before the ceremonies at the time of publication. The programme published by the organisers provides one of the clearest indications yet of the scale and detailed planning surrounding the event. Priestly ordinations will begin on Monday, June 29, with a Pontifical Mass of Ordination scheduled for 9am in the meadow at Écône, followed by first blessings from the newly ordained priests and Pontifical Vespers with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The following day will include a series of first Masses celebrated by the newly ordained priests at various locations around the seminary grounds. The schedule published online includes Masses to be celebrated by Fr Bunge, Fr Braun, Fr Richter and Fr Hernanz. The episcopal consecrations themselves are due to take place on Wednesday, July 1, beginning at 9am, followed later in the day by Pontifical Vespers and Benediction. A final Pontifical Mass celebrated by one of the newly consecrated bishops is scheduled for Thursday, July 2. The website also includes a dedicated section titled “Our Future Bishops”, inviting visitors to “discover the priests who will receive episcopal consecration at Écône” and to “support them with your prayers and encouragement”. No further official details about the candidates for episcopal consecration had been published in the section at the time of writing. The launch of the portal appears intended not only to organise pilgrim access but also to coordinate accommodation and transport for the large international crowds expected to travel to the Swiss Alps. The organisers have published accommodation listings under sections marked “Private hosts” and “Partner hosts”, while a dedicated carpooling system allows pilgrims to offer or request transport. Users are instructed to create accounts in order to participate in the ride-sharing system, which allows searches “by city”. The seminary authorities have also published extensive logistical guidance under a “Plan my visit” section, including travel information, maps and practical instructions for pilgrims attending the ceremonies. The scale of the preparations points to the significance of the upcoming consecrations for the Society of St Pius X, founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970. Écône has occupied a central place in the history of the Society since Archbishop Lefebvre established the seminary there following the reforms after Vatican II. The Swiss seminary became internationally known in 1988 when Archbishop Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without papal mandate alongside Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer, prompting Rome to declare that the bishops involved had incurred automatic excommunication. The Vatican later lifted the excommunications of the surviving bishops in 2009 under Pope Benedict XVI, although the Society’s canonical situation within the Church remains unresolved. The forthcoming consecrations have already attracted widespread interest internationally, particularly because episcopal consecrations at Écône remain comparatively rare and historically significant events in the life of the Society. The new registration system now makes clear that attendance at the ceremonies will be tightly controlled through advance accreditation and organised access procedures. Image credit: DICI – http://www.dici.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/econe_11.jpg, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53945183

The Diocese of Salford has formally opened the cause for the beatification and canonisation of Pedro Ballester, the 21-year-old Opus Dei member who died of cancer in 2018 and could become the Catholic Church’s first Gen Z Saint The Diocese of Salford has formally opened the cause for the beatification and canonisation of Pedro Ballester, the 21-year-old who died of cancer in 2018 and is now on the path to becoming the Catholic Church’s first Gen Z saint. In a statement issued on 13 May, the Diocese of Salford said: “We are pleased to announce the opening of the Cause for the Beatification and Canonisation of Pedro Ballester, a young Manchester man whose life of faith and witness continues to inspire many.” Pedro died on 13 January 2018 at the age of 21. Born in Manchester in 1996 to Spanish parents, he later grew up in Harrogate before studying chemical engineering at Imperial College London. The diocese said that “shortly after beginning university, Pedro was diagnosed with advanced pelvic cancer” and that he “accepted his illness with remarkable faith, offering his suffering for the Pope, the Church and all souls, and bearing his condition with deep serenity and trust in God”. The Church will now investigate whether Pedro lived a life of heroic virtue. Evidence will be gathered concerning Pedro’s life, writings and reputation for holiness before documentation is eventually sent to Rome for examination by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. The diocese said that Pedro’s “reputation for holiness has grown significantly” in the years since his death, adding that the postulator of the cause, Fr Paul Hayward, had formally requested the opening of proceedings. Bishop John Arnold of Salford has invited the faithful to submit “personal testimonies, memories and any writings attributed to him, such as letters or diaries” to assist the investigation. Pedro Ballester was a numerary member of Opus Dei, having joined the institution as a teenager after attending classes of Christian formation at Greygarth Hall in Manchester. His family had ties to Opus Dei, and he was known among friends for combining academic ability with an outgoing and sociable personality. After achieving top grades in his A-levels, Pedro began studying at Imperial College in 2014. Within months he developed severe back pain and was diagnosed with advanced pelvic cancer. He later transferred his studies to the University of Manchester while receiving treatment, though deteriorating health repeatedly interrupted his degree. For much of the following three years he underwent intensive treatment at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, as well as specialist treatment in Heidelberg, Germany. Fr Joseph Evans, chaplain of Greygarth Hall, who accompanied Pedro during the final stages of his illness, previously told the press: “Pedro was very much an ordinary person with defects and struggles. Sometimes the suffering got him down, particularly that it went on for so long. At times he would cry. He could be occasionally irritated or react against what he considered excessive sentimentality. But his struggle was very real and exceptionally brave.” Pedro met Pope Francis during a visit to Rome in 2015 after a temporary improvement in his condition. In the final months of his life he spent periods living at Greygarth Hall surrounded by fellow members of Opus Dei, friends and relatives, while continuing treatment in Manchester. According to Opus Dei, more than 500 people attended his funeral Mass at the Holy Name Church in Manchester, celebrated by Bishop Arthur Roche, now a Cardinal and Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. In a homily delivered after Pedro’s death, Fr Evans said: “Suffering was the curriculum, the syllabus, which Pedro was given to study, not in some abstract, intellectual manner, but in the most personal, flesh and blood manner you can imagine. And he passed with distinction.” If Pedro’s cause advances, he would become one of the youngest British candidates for sainthood in modern times and could become the first “Gen Z” person to be canonised. Jack Valero, head of communications for Opus Dei in Great Britain, told AdVaticanum: “It’s wonderful to see how God is drawing out new models of holiness among young people in the last few years: Carlo Acutis, Pier Giorgio Frassati, Sister Clare Crockett, and now Pedro Ballester. They show us that holiness is possible in the 21st century, even from a very young age, and that holiness leads to deep happiness. Pedro was above all a very happy person, even in the middle of his suffering. He is becoming another role model for many young Catholics today.” In the aftermath of Pedro’s death, a group of friends established a website “with the hope that one day Pedro will be counted among the saints in the Catholic Church”. Hundreds of people from all over the world have posted stories of spiritual and physical graces received which they attribute to the intercession of Pedro.

Argentina’s Catholic bishops have warned that worsening economic conditions are driving growing numbers of middle-class families to seek help from Church charities Argentina’s Catholic bishops have warned of a deepening social crisis as increasing numbers of middle-class families turn to Church charities for food and assistance amid worsening economic conditions. Archbishop Marcelo Daniel Colombo, president of the Argentine Episcopal Conference, said Church agencies were seeing a sharp rise in demand from people who, until recently, had not required support. “There are people from the lower middle class who are coming to ask for help from Caritas,” Archbishop Colombo told Futurock radio. “Many who are poor today were helping us at Caritas a few months or years ago. We are also very distressed by the increase in the number of middle and lower-class people coming to ask for help.” The archbishop also warned of rising homelessness across the country. “The number of people experiencing homelessness is very alarming,” he said. Argentina is currently in a period of economic instability, with inflation, unemployment and cuts to public spending putting growing pressure on households. Catholic charities and diocesan agencies have reported increased demand at parish soup kitchens and food distribution centres in recent months. Archbishop Colombo defended the principle of social justice and stressed the responsibility of the state to support the vulnerable. “Social justice is the dimension of support provided by the state to those who are vulnerable,” he said. “No one should be left out of social life when they lack the necessities to live.” The archbishop also rejected suggestions that the Church was acting as a political opposition to President Javier Milei’s government. “I think that sometimes some sectors of the leadership believe that the Church is a political opposition, and the truth is that we are not,” he said. “We try to offer our perspective where our poorest people are invisible.” The bishops’ conference has already intervened publicly over concerns surrounding funding for disability care. In April, the conference sent a letter to Argentina’s health minister, Mario Lugones, warning that Church-run institutions caring for disabled people were facing severe financial strain because of delayed and insufficient state payments. “Many of them are in an extremely serious economic crisis, due to the delay and insufficiency of state contributions, which has generated deficits that compromise essential aspects of care, such as food, medicines and the payment of salaries of those who dedicate their lives to the care of people with disabilities,” the bishops wrote. Concerns over deteriorating social conditions were echoed this week during a meeting between Church representatives and several Peronist mayors from Greater Buenos Aires. Among those attending were Jorge Ferraresi of Avellaneda, Mariel Fernández of Moreno, Andrés Watson of Florencio Varela, Ariel Sujarchuk of Escobar, Fernando Espinosa of La Matanza and Pablo Descalzo of Ituzaingó, alongside Gabriel Katopodis, infrastructure minister for the Province of Buenos Aires. Following the meeting, Ferraresi said participants had shared “the harsh assessment of the situation in our neighbourhoods and the need for all sectors to join forces to bring work and food to the homes of every Argentine family”. Archbishop Colombo later confirmed that the bishops were considering further dialogue initiatives in response to the crisis. Born in Buenos Aires in 1961, Archbishop Colombo studied canon law at the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas after his ordination to the priesthood in 1988 for the Diocese of Quilmes. He later served as rector of the diocesan seminary and held several legal and pastoral roles before being appointed Bishop of Orán by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. In 2013, Pope Francis transferred him to the Diocese of La Rioja before appointing him Archbishop of Mendoza in 2018. He became president of the Argentine bishops’ conference in November 2024 after previously serving as vice-president and second vice-president of the body. There is a historical precedent in Argentina for interventions from the Catholic hierarchy. When the country gained independence at the beginning of the 19th century, the Church was deeply embedded in the formation of the Argentine state. Juan Manuel de Rosas, the longtime governor of Buenos Aires who dominated Argentine politics between 1829 and 1852, enjoyed the support of the Church, with the exception of the Jesuit order, whom he expelled from the country. Many bishops also supported the rise of Juan Domingo Perón in the 1940s, though relations soured in the 1950s as Perón pursued anti-Catholic policies. The military dictatorship of the 1970s and 1980s was a particularly contentious time for the Church, with clerics at times unsure where to lend their support. This was perhaps most famously seen in the kidnapping of Jesuit priests Orlando Yorio and Franz Jalics, who, it has been claimed, were abducted after Jorge Bergoglio, later Pope Francis and then provincial superior of the Jesuits, withdrew protection from the priests. In the country’s more than 40 years of democracy, the Church has continued to make itself heard, opposing the secularisation introduced by President Raúl Alfonsín in the 1980s and leading the charge to defend the rights of the unborn during subsequent presidencies. Archbishop Colombo’s opposition therefore follows a well-trodden pattern, though it is noticeable that he is deliberately avoiding direct “political opposition” and instead focusing on the plight of the poor.

Bishop Peter Dai Bui of Phoenix has sharply criticised The Trojan Horse in the Catholic Church, a book backed by Cardinal Gerhard Müller which argues that the Synod on Synodality seeks to undermine the Church’s hierarchical structure Bishop Peter Dai Bui, auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Phoenix, has written a scathing criticism of the book The Trojan Horse in the Catholic Church , published by the lay group Catholics for Catholics (CforC). The Trojan Horse in the Catholic Church is written under the pseudonym “Father Enoch” by a priest-author, with Cardinal Gerhard Müller writing the foreword. The book, written in the form of a two-part essay entitled “Replacing the Hierarchical Structure of the Church” and “Overturning the Moral Order”, seeks to explain how the Synod on Synodality is intended to undermine the governing hierarchy of the Church. In the book, Fr Enoch writes that “the first goal of the Synod is to invert the hierarchical structure of the Church as instituted by her Founder and our Saviour, Jesus Christ” because it “undercuts the authority or sacred power with which He endowed the Apostles and their successors in office, the bishops: to teach, to govern, and to sanctify”. Fr Enoch argues that this attempt to overturn the hierarchy of the Church found its roots in the pontificate of Pope Francis. He writes that during the Francis era it appeared that “nothing had changed in the Vatican”, while in fact “a quiet revolution had been taking place”. Fr Enoch argues that this revolution originated in the 2014 Synod on the Family and the subsequent 2016 Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia , reaching a crescendo in the 2023 Synod on Synodality. Fr Enoch takes issue with the term “synodality”, quoting Cardinal Burke saying that it has “no history in the doctrine of the Church and for which there is no reasonable definition”. He also argues that “the hierarchical structure of the early Church [was] deeply embedded already in the early second century”, making its removal contrary to Christianity. The second part of the book focuses on the “homosexual agenda”, particularly Amoris Laetitia , Fiducia Supplicans and various actions taken by the German Synodal Way. The essay is a damning assessment of the pontificate of Pope Francis, portraying much of it as a “push for the homosexualist agenda”. In his response, Bishop Peter Dai Bui argues that synodality is “as old as Emmaus, as old as the Council of Jerusalem, where the apostles and the whole community gathered to discern together and wrote”. He specifically uses the example of Emmaus as an illustration of synodality, where the two disciples were “trying to make sense of a catastrophe they could not yet name”. Bishop Dai Bui defends synodality as not being a challenge to the deposit of faith, which “cannot be subject to revision by any synod, any council, or any pope”, but rather as the Church asking itself how to “walk with human beings whose lives are complicated, wounded and often far from the fullness of what the Church proclaims?” On Catholics for Catholics specifically, the article claims that it is “not a theological institute and it holds no magisterial standing”. It also argues that Cardinal Müller’s reflections are “contested by others who were present in the same room”. Responding to the criticism, Catholics for Catholics pointed to what it described as the contradiction of a bishop criticising the opinions of a lay group while defending synodality as an exercise in listening to the laity. John Yep, president of Catholics for Catholics, stated: “Why is the bishop reprimanding us as lay Catholics trying to defend the Faith?” He also pointed out that while Catholics for Catholics is not a theological institute, “the former head of the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, as well as its very accomplished author, would most definitely qualify as theologians who carry weight.” Referencing the bishop’s use of the story of Emmaus, Yep commented: “If Jesus Christ would have received that ‘Synod Report’ [the final report of Study Group 9, which addressed homosexual behaviour] on the road to Emmaus, he would have said the same thing – or worse – than what he told the two disciples when they erred in their understanding. ‘O Stulti!’, Christ said, which literally means ‘O stupid or foolish ones.’ I wonder if Christ would say the same thing today to any bishop promoting this new ‘synodal Church.’” Catholics for Catholics, with the assistance of its supporters, has been able to send a copy of The Trojan Horse in the Catholic Church to every bishop in the United States and to more than a quarter of the country’s priestly population. Yep argued that Bishop Bui’s attempt to discredit the book had resulted in greater support, adding: “For that, we are grateful.” Bishop Peter Dai Bui was appointed auxiliary bishop of Phoenix by Pope Leo XIV in December 2025 and received episcopal consecration the following February. A native of Vietnam, his family fled the country after the war and arrived in the United States when he was a child. He was ordained a priest in 2003 and was initially a member of the Legionaries of Christ. He later left the congregation and was incardinated into the Diocese of Phoenix in 2009.