VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Raymond Burke has said the Catholic Church is not in a “state of emergency” and expressed concern over the Society of St. Pius X’s planned episcopal consecrations.
On June 29, Burke said that the current situation in the Catholic Church does not constitute a “state of emergency,” rejecting the principal canonical argument advanced by the SSPX to justify its planned episcopal consecrations without a pontifical mandate. Speaking in an interview conducted by Michael Haynes and published by PerMariam, the American cardinal also welcomed Pope Leo XIV’s decision to convene a second extraordinary consistory this year, while expressing reservations about its format and discussing the Holy See’s approach to the SSPX.
“Certainly the present situation does not constitute a state of emergency because in fact the idea behind that is that the faithful who are in the SSPX can’t live their Catholic faith in the Church without having a church within the Church,” Burke said.
He added that, despite the serious difficulties facing the Church, Catholics must remain faithful within her visible structure, stating: “No situation justifies doing something that is intrinsically evil.”
READ: Pope Leo begs SSPX not to consecrate bishops: ‘Turn back!’
Strictly speaking, the SSPX argues there exists a “state of necessity” more than a “state of emergency.” According to the Code of Canon law, a state of necessity is a situation in which a lesser norm may be violated in order to avoid the more serious violation of a higher norm – typically one connected to divine law, such as the salvation of souls, which is the highest norm.
Canon law does not permit the suspension of the legal order (as would occur in a so-called state of exception); it only allows, in narrowly defined circumstances, the violation of a specific provision to safeguard a superior good. This is why both the old and the new Code of Canon Law explicitly recognize necessity as a circumstance that can remove or diminish culpability, and why it is considered a legitimate canonical category (cf. new canons 1323, 1324, 1345; and old canon 2205 §2).
Burke’s remarks come two days before the SSPX is scheduled to proceed with its episcopal consecrations on July 1 without papal approval. Addressing the canonical implications, the former prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura said that ordaining bishops without a pontifical mandate incurs latae sententiae excommunication for those who knowingly and willingly participate in the act.
In response to Haynes’s question, “Do you think the Holy See is able to make some last-minute intervention with the Society?” Burke clarified that he is “not involved at all in the question from the point of view of the Holy See.”
Nevertheless, he added that he does not “get the impression that there’s going to be any, so to speak, last minute outreach to them. It seems to me, at least the way I understand it, that the approach is to let them go ahead and do this.”
He continued: “I’m still hoping that the Holy See would designate a cardinal or two, or even three cardinals, to meet with any members of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X. For many of them this is very troubling too because they see it as a schismatic act, but they could be reconciled, and that’s what we have to work for.”
At the same time, Burke dismissed press speculation that the Holy See might declare all members of the SSPX excommunicated. According to the cardinal, such a measure would not be justified because many members of the Society, including priests, “don’t have this schismatic spirit: they just love the Tradition of the more ancient usage of the Roman Missal.”
Even if today Rome denies the existence of a state of necessity, the Church’s own hierarchy has repeatedly acknowledged – over six decades – an objective and systemic crisis in doctrine, liturgy, discipline, and faith.
This crisis had been described by Pope Paul VI as “self‑demolition” and “the smoke of Satan” entering the Church and by Pope John Paul II as the spread of “true and proper heresies” and liturgical tampering. Pope Benedict XVI offered the most systematic theological reading of the crisis, identifying deep causes such as loss of faith, distorted ecclesiology, and the rise of a “hermeneutic of discontinuity” that reads Vatican II as a rupture rather than continuity.
On June 26, Cardinal Gerhard Müller urged the College of Cardinals to issue an explicit response to the SSPX’s recent Profession of Catholic Faith, which he described as a “scandalous accusation” claiming that “the Roman Church has departed from the Catholic faith.”
He argued that such a charge cannot go unanswered and insisted that the cardinals, individually and collectively, have a duty to refute it. Müller also warned that the SSPX’s planned July 1 episcopal consecrations, undertaken without papal mandate, constitute a “schismatic act” that must be addressed “with no ambiguity,” proposing the creation of a new commission – similar to the former Ecclesia Dei – to assist clergy and faithful who wish to maintain full communion with Rome.
Speaking about the extraordinary consistory gathered in Rome on June 26-27, Burke welcomed Pope Leo XIV’s decision to continue convening regular meetings of the College of Cardinals. He said such gatherings provide an opportunity for cardinals “to get to know one another and to discuss important questions with regard to the Church,” describing the Pope’s emphasis on the institution of the consistory as “very positive.”
However, Burke reiterated concerns about the “synodal” format adopted during the meetings, in which discussions are conducted primarily in small groups rather than through the traditional open debate involving all cardinals. He contrasted the current method with the historic practice, under which every cardinal could hear interventions and respond publicly.
READ: Archbishop Viganò decries Cardinal Müller’s condemnation of SSPX position
According to Burke, the broader concept of synodality also remains insufficiently defined. “The whole question of synodality remains unresolved,” he said, adding that it is “not clear what it means” and that it “certainly has no history in the life of the Church.” He called for “a critical examination” of whether the concept is appropriate as a method of ecclesial consultation.
The cardinal also observed that the official program of the June consistory concentrated largely on social and global concerns rather than some of the Church’s internal crises. Reflecting on the purpose of such meetings, Burke argued that discussions among cardinals should produce concrete pastoral outcomes. While acknowledging the value of dialogue, he said that conversations should lead to “some pastoral action, some better way of caring for souls,” adding that such practical results were “not always evident.”