Challenge to the Church: The Case of Archbishop LeFebvre

By Yves Congar, OP, Edited by Andrew Likoudis

In 1976, as Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre’s defiance of Rome broke into open crisis, the Dominican ecclesiologist Yves Congar, OP, whose work shaped the Second Vatican Council, answered with this short, penetrating book. In it, he shows that what Lefebvre refused was nothing less than the authority of the Church and her understanding of her own nature, and he traces the deeper crisis behind the Écône movement.

Published on the fiftieth anniversary of its first appearance, this new edition arrives just as Écône once again proceeds to illicit episcopal consecrations. Congar’s case for Tradition as the living faith of the Church, not a frozen monolith, speaks directly to a wound that has never closed.

Paperback: $14.95 | Kindle: $9.99

TESTIMONIALS

“Here is a new edition of a penetrating book by Congar, which comes at just the right time. Written in simple language, it provides the essential insights needed to understand the errors and dead ends of Archbishop Lefebvre’s schismatic movement.” — JOSEPH FAMERÉE, SCJ, Professor Emeritus of Theology, Catholic University of Louvain

“Yves Congar offers a masterful and deeply charitable examination of one of the most consequential ecclesial controversies of the twentieth century. With theological precision and pastoral wisdom, he challenges readers to embrace both fidelity to tradition and obedience to the living Church.” — DR. SEBASTIAN MAHFOOD, OP, co-author with DR. RONDA CHERVIN of Catholic Realism

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Yves Congar (1904–1995) was among the most influential Catholic theologians of the twentieth century. A pioneer of ecumenism and of the theology of Tradition and the laity, he was silenced under Pius XII, then rehabilitated as a peritus at the Second Vatican Council, where his thought shaped its central documents. John Paul II created him a cardinal in 1994.

 
 

 

 
 

 

ABOUT THE EDITOR

Andrew Likoudis is a Catholic scholar and entrepreneur with degrees in Communication from Towson University and Business Administration from the Community College of Baltimore County. He has served as a fellow at Johns Hopkins University and at Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses initiative. His professional experience includes a role as a business development administrative assistant at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. Additionally, he has nearly a decade of experience providing hospitality hosting with Airbnb.

In the summer of 2025, Andrew served as a full-time summer intern at EWTN, where he wrote long-form commentary and analysis for the National Catholic Register, with a particular focus on the post-conclave Church and reform. He holds a Master of Arts in Catholic Studies from Franciscan University.

Andrew is the founder and president of the Likoudis Legacy Foundation, a research institute dedicated to ecumenism and interreligious dialogue, and serves as editor-in-chief of its journal, The Kydones Review. He has written for Catholic Review, Where Peter Is, Catholic World NewsFellowship and Fairydust Magazine, and Philosophy Now. His academic interests focus on the sociological intersection of faith and culture, also hosting a column, Nature and Grace, at Patheos.com. He has edited six books on Catholic ecclesiology and the papacy, and has compiled and edited over ten volumes in total.

Andrew is a member of the International Marian Association, and an associate member of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, the Mariological Society of America, and the Society for Catholic Liturgy. He additionally serves as a young adult community representative on the Lay Pastoral Council of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and is a dedicated parishioner at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, America’s First Cathedral.

One of nine siblings from New York’s Finger Lakes region, Andrew is the grandson of Catholic apologist and President Emeritus of Catholics United for the Faith James Likoudis, and the nephew and godson of Paul Likoudis, longtime editor of The Wanderer. During school, Andrew balanced academics, athletics, and the performing arts—appearing in two plays, singing for several years in chorus and talent shows, and even auditioning for The Voice. He later sang Gregorian chant at the National Shrine of St. Alphonsus and, later, polyphony at the Baltimore Basilica.

Outside of his professional endeavors, Andrew enjoys kayaking, cooking, basketball, dancing bachata, and playing chess.

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