Return to The Reign of Mary No. 201
The Reign of Mary
No. 201: Letter from the Editor
August 11, 2026
Feast of St. Philomena
Dear Readers,
Praised be Jesus and Mary!
Praised be Jesus and Mary. The recent news in traditional circles over the past few months has dealt with the consecration of four priests as bishops of the Society of St. Pius X, performed in Econe, Switzerland, on July 1. There have been numerous articles, podcasts, tweets, blogs, etc., both pro and con, published on the matter. It is not our purpose in this magazine to weigh in extensively on the controversy (although we do provide an excellent article on the subject from the website NovusOrdoWatch.org). I do, however, have one simple question to ask of the SSPX and its adherents.
Shortly after the consecrations, one of the newly-consecrated bishops gave a sermon in which he stated that what is coming out of the Vatican since the Second Vatican Council represents, not just a new religion, but a new church. Of course, that is what we have been saying for the past 50+ years. The logical question, then, is: How can a man be the head of both the Roman Catholic Church and, at the same time, be head of a non-Catholic sect (the Conciliar or Novus Ordo Church)? Can two bodies have the same head?
The clearly illogical nature of the SSPX position vis-à-vis the false pope becomes more apparent with each passing day. What is truly tragic is the fact that so many Catholics attend their Masses without caring about their theological contradictions. Their only concern is to receive the sacraments and be able to attend the true Mass. What they don’t consider, however, is the fact that their children (and they) are listening to sermons, Sunday after Sunday, year after year, that promote a clearly non-Catholic way of thinking about the Papacy — one that is at odds with the teaching of Catholic theology for the past 2,000 years.
For our part, let us be grateful for the grace to recognize the heretical nature of Vatican II and the consequent lack of any Catholic authority on the part of those who promote it. “Blessed the eyes that see what you see!” (Luke 10:23). At the same time, let us never forget that it is not sufficient to possess the true Faith — we must especially live it. The words of a recent Sunday Gospel (7th Sunday after Pentecost) apply to all of us: “Not everyone who says to Me: ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father in heaven shall enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 7:21). We must do the will of God to be saved.
It is only through the grace of God, given to us through the hands of Our Blessed Mother, that we will persevere. St. Alphonsus Maria Liguori tells us that final perseverance is the “grace of graces” and that it can only be obtained by constant prayer for that blessing. Let us, then, humbly and earnestly pray daily to Jesus and Mary for the grace of final perseverance in the true Faith.
In Jesus and Mary,
Fr. Benedict Hughes, CMRI (Email)