The Palmarian Church’s response to the SSPX and the story behind it | Advaticanum

The Palmarian Church, a small sect based in Andalusia, Spain, which believes the true Pope resides among its members, has reacted to the excommunications of the Society of Saint Pius X. In a 14-minute message delivered by “Pope Peter III”, also known as Joseph Odermatt of Switzerland, the church’s position was set out across its various social media channels. Using the papal “We”, Odermatt introduced himself as the “Vicar of Christ and Successor of Saint Peter”, saying he wished to “address all Catholic faithful who are wandering through the spiritual desert after witnessing the collapse and the general excommunication of the followers of Marcel Lefebvre”. He began by claiming that the decree had no validity, since “Pope Gregory XVII”—the church’s founder, Clemente Domínguez y Gómez, who died in 2005—had already excommunicated the group decades earlier. He then turned to Archbishop Ngô Đình Thục, the Vietnamese prelate who illicitly ordained Gómez and his companions to the priesthood …