Fr William Jenkins on the 'Synodal Papacy' and the 'general appeal' of The WM Review
The Superior of the Society of St Pius V and main contributor to the show What Catholics Believe referred to our recent article on the ‘synodal papacy.’
The Superior of the Society of St Pius V and main contributor to the show What Catholics Believe referred to our recent article on the ‘synodal papacy.’
(WM Round-Up) – Fr William Jenkins, Superior of the Society of St Pius V and popular YouTube personality, referred to our recent article on the synodal papacy, and praised the approach of The WM Review.
In the 27 August edition of What Catholics Believe, Thomas Naegele and Fr Jenkins discussed whether and how Leo XIV should be seen as continuing the legacy of Francis and his other recent predecessors.
They also discussed the important issue of the validity of the Novus Ordo sacramental rites.
In relation to the first topic, Jenkins referred to the self-identification of the post-conciliar claimants to the papacy as “the Bishop of Rome.” He noted that that the Roman Pontiff is indeed the Bishop of Rome – but explained, with reference to our recent article on this very topic, how their use of this title is loaded with ecumenical meaning.
He also spoke very positively about the approach taken by The WM Review and suggested that it was the basis of the “general appeal” which this website enjoys:
Thomas Naegele: Father, you mentioned Leo XIV. There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of news on him coming out every day. He seems to be taking a different approach than Francis. But do you think, Father, overall that he’s continuing his predecessor’s path of ecumenism that you mentioned?
Fr William Jenkins: I do, I do. He’s very much along the line of “the Bishop of Rome, the Bishop of Rome, the Bishop of Rome.” Like John Paul II before him, like Francis before him, he’s very much thematic on the line of “the Bishop of Rome.” That’s him, who he is, that’s his role.
Well, you know, the Pope is the Bishop of Rome, we know that. But there has been an effort over time, certainly with Francis, to squelch that, to minimize that. He even had the title “Vicar of Christ” struck, crossed out, from his list of titles. Francis did. So this is the move, and it’s a move toward ecumenism. It’s all a move toward ecumenism.
John Paul II took a survey back in his day about what the “non-Catholic Christian churches” found irksome about Catholicism. And of course, the papacy – the real papacy—was one of them. And Francis then followed up on that.
What they’ve been doing is basically dismantling the papacy, deforming the papacy. They’re trying to concoct [or] recreate, a papacy which fits into an ecumenical landscape of Christian religions, where the Bishop of Rome is “first among equals,” as the Orthodox say.
In other words, he has an order of a certain dignity, but he has no real authority. He’s equal in the area of authority, and in honour he perhaps comes first, right? He has a certain place in the procession, but it doesn’t afford him any more or less authority than the community gives him. The idea is to try to push the idea that the papacy is an ecclesiastical or a human construct, a historical development – that it was not established by Christ, and that Christ did not endow Peter with the authority of a pastor.
This is totally antithetical to Catholicism and the Catholic concept of the papacy. Totally. You take that away, you destroy Catholicism. But that’s what they’re taking away.
And Leo is himself engaged in that process right now. In fact, The WM Review had an article recently. (Their articles are well written. They’re very thoughtful – not vitriolic, not combative, not polemical – but very much a statement of the facts. And I think that’s why it has a general appeal, actually. I certainly appreciate that.)
And [this article was on] the fact that Leo is basically continuing this “Bishop of Rome” drumbeat of John Paul II and Francis. The direction it’s going in is an ecumenical – well, you can’t even call it [an ecumenical] papacy, because it’s not the papacy that we as Catholics believe in, and know that Christ established. It’s an artificial construct of ecumenism, of the modernists.
Validity of the sacraments
This is not the first time Fr Jenkins has honoured us with such praise and recommendations. In March 2025, he recommended to his viewers our work on the validity of the Novus Ordo sacramental rites.
“I would direct whoever is asking such questions to a site called The WM Review. […]
“For those who are concerned enough, interested enough, to do some research, going to The WM Review would be a good place to start, and read what they have to say there. I must say, I find it thoughtful and compelling.”
The 27 August 2025 video under present discussion also deals with this important issue of sacramental validity, and the necessity of conditionally ordaining/consecrating those who have putatively received Holy Orders in the Novus Ordo rites.
Jenkins himself is the author of a foundational article on the topic, titled “The New Ordination Rite: Purging the Priesthood in the Conciliar Church.” This article, published in 1981 in the SSPX periodical The Roman Catholic, critiqued Michael Davies’ book The Order of Melchisedech, and demonstrated that it had overlooked key aspects of the question.
We have addressed aspects of this specific debate with Davies, and The Order of Melchisedech’s legacy, elsewhere:
What Catholics Believe also enjoys the same sort of “general appeal” which he mentions, being viewed and appreciated of Catholics of various “positions” in the post-conciliar period.
We are honoured to receive such praise and recommendations from Fr Jenkins, and thank him for his kind words.
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Further reading:
Fr Isaac Mary Relyea doubles down on WM Review, Novus Ordo Watch – endorses Father Coleridge Reader
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The best thing about these guys is they know more than at least 2 popes! Glory be!