Unholy Orders: 50 Years of Invalid Ordinations in the Novus Ordo Church

No valid priests or bishops in 50 years…

Unholy Orders:
50 Years of Invalid Ordinations in the Novus Ordo Church

It was exactly 50 years ago today, on June 18, 1968, that the head of the Vatican II Sect — “Pope” Paul VI, Bp. Giovanni Battista Montini — signed an “apostolic constitution” to change the Roman Catholic rite of ordination. The changes he introduced touched not only some of the more peripheral ceremonies but the very substance of the sacrament itself. The very words which Pope Pius XII, in 1947, had definitively decreed were necessary for the validity of the sacrament of holy orders, were changed by Paul VI in such a way as to render the ordination of priests doubtful and the consecration of bishops definitely invalid (although even a doubtful rite, in any case, must be considered invalid in practice, per Catholic teaching).

Since all sacraments other than baptism and holy matrimony ultimately depend on valid bishops, invalidating the rite of episcopal consecration was all the Modernists needed to do to ensure Catholics would be deprived of most of the sacraments in the long run, especially the Holy Eucharist/Mass and absolution in the confessional.

The document Paul VI released to change the sacrament of holy orders for the Roman rite is called Pontificalis Romani and purports to be an apostolic constitution. The full text can be read here:

To prove the invalidity of Paul VI’s ordination rite, we provide a plethora of links further down below, but just to give you a quick preview, see for yourself how badly Montini butchered the essential form of the consecration of bishops, thus totally destroying the sacrament:

Traditional Roman Catholic form, per Pope Pius XII (1947):

  • “Comple in Sacerdote tuo ministerii tui summam, et ornamentis totius glorificationis instructum coelestis unguenti rore sanctifica.“
    [Translation:] “Perfect in Thy priest the fullness of thy ministry and, clothing him in all the ornaments of spiritual glorification, sanctify him with the Heavenly anointing.”

Modernist Novus Ordo form, per Antipope Paul VI (1968):

  • “Et nunc effunde super hunc Electum eam virtutem, quae a te est, Spiritum principalem, quem dedisti dilecto Filio Tuo Iesu Christo, quem Ipse donavit sanctis Apostolis, qui constituerunt Ecclesiam per singula loca, ut sanctuarium tuum, in gloriam et laudem indeficientem nominis tui.“
    [Translation:] “So now pour out upon this chosen one that power which is from you, the governing Spirit whom you gave to your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, the Spirit given by him to the holy apostles, who founded the Church in every place to be your temple for the unceasing glory and praise of your name.”

Not only does the bogus Novus Ordo form totally replace the words decreed by Pius XII as essential to validity, they do not even in any way express that what is taking place is the consecration of a bishop! They do not even ask the Holy Ghost to make the ordinand into a bishop! Instead, even if one were to say that the totally abstruse phrase “Spiritum principalem” (“Governing Spirit”) is a clear reference to the Holy Ghost, the fact remains that it is not stated just what the Holy Ghost is supposed to be doing. God the Father is being asked to “pour out” the Holy Ghost (or at least that “Governing Spirit”) — but to do what? To what end? We’re not told. The Holy Ghost is poured out also in baptism, in confirmation, and in ordinations of deacons and priests, for example.

Paul VI’s claim that he was introducing these changes “in order to restore the texts of the rite to the form they had in antiquity, to clarify expressions, or to bring out more clearly the effects of the sacraments” (Pontificalis Romani) is beyond laughable; it is, in fact, insulting to the intelligence of the informed reader. In any case, just over 20 years prior, Pope Pius XII had noted that “ancient usage must not be esteemed more suitable and proper, either in its own right or in its significance for later times and new situations, on the simple ground that it carries the savor and aroma of antiquity” (Encyclical Mediator Dei, n. 61).

A sacramental form that does not express what it is supposed to accomplish is definitely invalid, as the articles about the invalidity of Novus Ordo ordinations below demonstrate.

In addition to changing the sacramental form of priestly and episcopal ordination, in his document Pontificalis Romani Paul VI also abolished the major order of subdeacon and all of the minor orders (acolyte, exorcist, lector, and porter), none of which are sacraments, but whose denial was condemned by the Council of Trent and flies in the face of the Modernists’ favorite lie to seek to restore things to “antiquity”:

…[F]om the very beginning of the Church the names of the following orders and the duties proper to each one are known to have been in use, namely those of the subdeacon, acolyte, exorcist, rector, and porter, though not of equal rank; for the subdiaconate is classed among the major orders by the Fathers and the sacred Councils, in which we also read very frequently of other inferior orders.

Can. 2. If anyone says that besides the priesthood there are in the Catholic Church no other orders, both major and minor, by which as by certain grades, there is an advance to the priesthood: let him be anathema.

(Council of Trent, Session 23; Denz. 958, 962)

Rome has spoken; the case is closed.

But before anyone suggests that somehow Paul VI’s constitution “isn’t binding”, we must point out that in it he clearly invokes his supposed (but non-existent) “apostolic authority” and requires that this new rite be used in place of the prior, Catholic one:

By our apostolic authority we approve this rite so that it may be used in the future for the conferral of these orders in place of the rite now found in the Roman Pontifical. It is our will that these our decrees and prescriptions be firm and effective now and in the future, notwithstanding, to the extent necessary, the apostolic constitutions and ordinances issued by our predecessors and other prescriptions, even those deserving particular mention and amendment.

(Antipope Paul VI, “Apostolic Constitution” Pontificalis Romani; underlining added.)

According to a decree of the Novus Ordo Sacred Congregation of Rites dated August 15, 1968, Montini’s new rite of ordination became obligatory for the entire Latin church as of Easter Sunday, April 6, 1969. So we know for sure that since at least this date, the Novus Ordo church has not validly consecrated a single bishop in the Roman rite, and probably not ordained a single valid priest, either.

The repercussions are unfathomable — but they explain a lot about the state of the New Church. The sacraments are largely gone, so there is simply no grace there, and it shows.

But the true Catholic Church cannot give evil or harmful or invalid sacramental rites to her faithful. Such an idea would contradict the promise of infallibility and indefectibility given by our Blessed Lord. That Paul VI was able to invalidate a sacramental rite, therefore, is further evidence that he was not a true Pope and that the Vatican II Sect of which he was the head is not the Catholic Church of Pope Pius XII and his predecessors.

Consider the following clear teachings:

If anyone says that the ceremonies, vestments, and outward signs, which the Catholic Church uses in the celebration of Masses, are incentives to impiety rather than the services of piety: let him be anathema.

(Council of Trent, Session 22, Canon 7; Denz. 954)

Certainly the loving Mother [the Church] is spotless in the Sacraments, by which she gives birth to and nourishes her children; in the faith which she has always preserved inviolate; in her sacred laws imposed on all; in the evangelical counsels which she recommends; in those heavenly gifts and extraordinary graces through which, with inexhaustible fecundity, she generates hosts of martyrs, virgins and confessors.

(Pope Pius XII, Encyclical Mystici Corporis, n. 66)

The Church is infallible in her general discipline. By the term general discipline is understood the laws and practices which belong to the external ordering of the whole Church. Such things would be those which concern either external worship, such as liturgy and rubrics, or the administration of the sacraments…. If she [the Church] were able to prescribe or command or tolerate in her discipline something against faith and morals, or something which tended to the detriment of the Church or to the harm of the faithful, she would turn away from her divine mission, which would be impossible.

(Jean Herrmann, Institutiones Theologiae Dogmaticae, Vol. 1, p. 258)

Try to apply this to the Novus Ordo Church, and you realize very quickly that it leads to absurdity. It is simply undeniable that the Vatican II Church has defected, has given evil, has destroyed the sacraments, and has been a scandal to the faithful rather than the embassy of salvation. In the Catholic Church, however, the Pope is “the citadel and bulwark of the Catholic faith” (Pope Pius IX, Encyclical Qui Nuper, n. 3). No one could seriously say this about the antipopes of the Vatican II Church. It follows with logical necessity, therefore, that Paul VI was not a true Pope but an impostor, as were his predecessor John XXIII, who started the false church, and his successors John Paul I, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and now Francis I.

As the late Fr. Carl Pulvermacher, OFM Cap., is sometimes quoted as having said, “Once there are no more valid priests, they’ll permit the Latin Mass.” Think about that!

The many links we provide below will help you as you research these issues.

Invalid: The Unholy Orders of the Vatican II Church

  • Absolutely Null and Utterly Void: The 1968 Rite of Episcopal Consecration by Fr. Anthony Cekada
    Examines the criteria for validity, Eastern Rite formulas, ancient Christian texts, early doubts about validity, “governing Spirit” vs. “fullness of the priesthood,” substantial change, arguments from context, papal approval. Answer to SSPX/Angelus and Sel de la Terre articles by Fr. Pierre-Marie favoring validity. Extensive bibliography.
  • Why the New Bishops are Not True Bishops by Fr. Anthony Cekada
    A two-page summary of the above-linked study “Absolutely Null and Utterly Void”.
  • Still Null and Still Void: Replies to Objections by Fr. Anthony Cekada
    Replies to objections from Br. Ansgar Santogrossi, OSB, Fr. Pierre-Marie de Kergorlay, OP, and Fr. Alvaro Calderon, SSPX, against the above-linked study “Absolutely Null and Utterly Void”.
  • New Bishops, Empty Tabernacle by Fr. Anthony Cekada
    Response to an editorial by Abbé Grégoire Celier which employs some novel and bizarre principles to defend the validity of the 1968 Rite of Episcopal Consecration.
  • Saved by Context? The ’68 Rite of Episcopal Consecration by Fr. Anthony Cekada
    Rejoinder to the popular objection that the larger context provided by the 1968 rite of bishops’ ordination gives clear expression to the sacramental form and hence suffices for validity.
  • They Are Really Not Bishops: Response to Rev. John Hunwicke by Novus Ordo Watch
    A three-part response to a series of blog posts by “Fr.” John Hunwicke, in which he attempted to prove that episcopal ordinations according to the 1968 Novus Ordo rite must be considered valid.
  • Paul VI’s Ordinal is Invalid: Part B—Study of the Episcopate by Abbé Henri Mouraux
    Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre’s friend and collaborator Abbé Mouraux examines the famous phrase ‘governing spirit’ and considers its impact on the validity of the new rite of episcopal consecration. This text was originally published in 1991.
  • The New Ordination Rite: Purging the Priesthood in the Conciliar Church by Fr. William Jenkins, SSPV
    A response to certain arguments advanced by Michael Davies in his book The Order of Melchisedech, this article examines the Novus Ordo rite of priestly ordination in light of Catholic theology and concludes that it is doubtful at best and therefore must be considered invalid in practice. Contains shocking information about how the “reform” of the rite came about.
  • The Validity of the 1968 Rite of Ordination by Mr. John S. Daly
    A direct refutation of Michael Davies’ arguments for the validity of the Pauline ordination rite. This is Chapter 9, Section (B) of Daly’s book Michael Davies – An Evaluation, pp. 355-395 (free download at link above).
  • Is Paul VI’s New Rite of Episcopal Consecration valid? Fr. Álvaro Calderón’s Answer by The WM Review
    Some claim that ‘the SSPX accepts Novus Ordo priests as valid,’ and anyone concerned about orders must be a sedevacantist. But Fr. Álvaro Calderón’s 2014 article shows it’s more complex than that.
  • Document Library at Rore Sanctifica
    Many more articles and studies on the various issues pertaining to the validity question of the Novus Ordo ordination rites can be found at this web site, in English, French, and Russian.

These are the documents you will want to read carefully if you wish to explore this important theological question for yourself. Though the subject matter is somewhat technical, it is not too difficult to follow. Print materials that discuss the new rite of ordination are the following (not all of which are by sedevacantist authors, so be careful):

For those who prefer to watch rather than read, True Restoration has made a video available in which Fr. Anthony Cekada explains the theology that proves that the Novus Ordo rite of episcopal consecration is invalid:

Relevant and Related Catholic Magisterial Documents:

What many may not know: The Lefebvrist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) considers the Paul VI rite of episcopal consecration to be valid (for proof, see their Angelus article on the matter here, but be aware that it has been refuted in the articles we link above). This means that if a Novus Ordo priest converts to the SSPX, he will not be re-ordained by the SSPX unless perhaps he personally insists on it. So, beware if you attend SSPX Masses (which you shouldn’t do, anyway)!

The SSPX did not always accept the 1968 ordination rite as valid, by the way. They announced their about-face in December of 2005, which just so happened to be a few months after Joseph Ratzinger became “Pope” Benedict XVI. The fact that Ratzinger himself was the first papal claimant to have been “ordained a bishop” in the Novus Ordo rite of Paul VI (on May 28, 1977) surely has nothing to do with the matter (wink, wink). One SSPX bishop, however, the Most Rev. Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, to this day does not accept the validity of the Paul VI rite of holy orders. On June 29, 2016, Bp. Tissier stated in a public ordination sermon: “Obviously, we cannot accept this new, tampered-with ordination rite, which casts doubts on the validity of numerous ordinations [done] according to the new rite” (see “Bishop Tissier disputes Validity of Novus Ordo Ordinations” and “SSPX Bishops on Bishops and ‘Bishops'”).

At whatever stage in your efforts to make sense of the Vatican II mess you may currently find yourself, please do not neglect this all-important topic, no matter how emotionally disturbing you may find it. Nothing is gained by turning a blind eye to a real and far-reaching problem, but potentially everything may be lost. That this issue is not simply a “sedevacantist thing” is shown by the fact that the SSPX used to consider the Novus Ordo ordinations doubtful or invalid as well, and many other non-sedevacantists still do today.

Sometimes the objection is made that “Eucharistic miracles” in the Novus Ordo Mass prove the validity of Paul VI’s new sacramental rites (at least for Mass and ordinations). However, this objection is inadmissible for a number of reasons:

  • Unless and until the Catholic Church rules such a phenomenon as miraculous, it is not a miracle but only an alleged miracle. Obviously, any evidence from the Novus Ordo Sect is inadmissible since this would assume at the outset that the Novus Ordo Sect is the Catholic Church, which is the very issue under dispute. In other words: We could not possibly know whether any alleged Eucharistic miracle truly is a miracle because the proper Church authority that could rule on the matter is currently absent or hidden/impeded.
  • Sacramental validity is a matter of Sacred Theology. But empirical data a posteriori (after the fact) is not admissible data. In theology, you proceed from general principles to particular conclusions (deductive method); you do not reason from particular cases to a general conclusion (inductive method).
  • Our Lord warned us against false miracles, the kind that would deceive even the elect if God did not prevent it. Interestingly enough, He spoke this warning in the context of people claiming that Christ is present where He is not: “Then if any man shall say to you: Lo here is Christ, or there, do not believe him. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible) even the elect. Behold I have told it to you, beforehand” (Mt 24:23-25).

The issue of sacramental validity in the Novus Ordo Sect is obviously a matter of most grave concern, and people who dismiss or ignore the issue do so at their own and others’ peril. Those who think this is a temptation to despair, couldn’t be more wrong. It should actually strengthen our Faith in the true Catholic Church because we are witnessing the fulfillment of prophecy:

The prophecies of the Apocalypse [book of Revelation] show that Satan will imitate the Church of Christ to deceive mankind; he will set up a church of Satan in opposition to the Church of Christ. Antichrist will assume the role of Messias; his prophet will act the part of Pope; and there will be imitations of the Sacraments of the Church. There will also be lying wonders in imitation of the miracles wrought in the Church.

(Rev. E. Sylvester Berry, The Church of Christ: An Apologetic and Dogmatic Treatise [Baltimore, MD: Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, 1955], pp. 65-66; underlining added; italics removed.)

It is very important that we view all these developments since the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958 in the overall context of the Catholic Church suffering her very own Mystical Passion, in imitation of her Divine Head before He returns in glory:

Only in light of this do all these strange developments make sense.

But just as the true Catholic Church cannot die, neither can her sacraments. For those who are wondering what they are to do now, we have compiled a very helpful guide:

God does not abandon us, even if we do not have easy access to the true sacraments. The love and mercy of God are for everyone, at all times, and if we cannot obtain sanctifying grace through the ordinary channels of the sacraments, we can always obtain it through perfect contrition:

As our Blessed Lord said to Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, before rasing his daughter back to life: “Fear not, only believe” (Mk 5:36).

Paul VI’s invalid ordination rite of 1968 proves that the Vatican II Sect is a fraud.

Image sources: istockphoto.com / vatican.va (screenshot)
Licenses: paid / fair use

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