Leo had time for ecumenical guests. He had time for global speeches, institutions, delegations, and dialogues. The one group facing imminent canonical annihilation received the papal hand at the eleventh hour.
On June 30, Leo XIV received the delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and spoke in the polished language of postconciliar ecumenism.
He called Constantinople a “sister Church.” He spoke of Bartholomew with gratitude and warmth. He remembered his visit to the Phanar. He recalled deepening mutual friendship. He praised the desire to advance toward full unity among Christians. He pointed to Nicaea, the Nicene Creed, the 1700th anniversary, and the road toward 2033. He spoke of peace, technology, creation, human dignity, and cooperation among Christians for the future of humanity.
Every phrase moved smoothly. Friendship. Closeness. Exchange. Journey. Unity in legitimate diversity. Common witness. Cooperation.
One day earlier, he addressed the SSPX.
There the language changed.
The Society received no “sister” language. No praise for mutual friendship. No warm public memory of meetings. No shared journey toward fuller unity. No recognition of “legitimate diversity.” No patient path toward 2033. No public honor for Catholic fidelity under pressure.
Instead, the letter came as a last-hour plea: “please turn back.” The planned consecrations were called a schismatic act. The faithful were warned that they could be deprived of licit and, in some cases, valid sacraments. The seamless garment of Christ was invoked. The authority received from Christ was asserted. The message was clear: stop, or Rome will strike.
That contrast is the whole story.
Rome can speak to the Orthodox as brothers in Christ while they remain separated from Roman authority, reject papal supremacy as Catholics understand it, and live outside visible submission to the Roman Pontiff. Rome can speak with tenderness, gratitude, and patient ecumenical hope.
Then Rome turns toward Écône and discovers severity.
Continue reading at Hiraeth in Exile