[Mershon]

"The Pontiff himself had no direct involvement."

Motu proprio - From JPII himself. That is "no direct involvement."

Second, read Ecclesia Dei Adflicta and Vatican I, especially about the Pope having full and immediate JURIDICAL power.

Unless and until these are lifted, as a Catholic, you are bound to accept them, or you lapse into private judgment. Stop repeating the same tired, old SSPX propaganda. Yes, Lefebvre excommunicated himself. Read Ecclesia Dei Adflicta.

[ultima ratio]

I was referring to the motu proprio--which merely announced something had supposedly taken place and had kicked-in automatically. He himself refers to the late sententiae. But he never himself officially declared the Society excommunicated nor schismatic--only unofficially in a letter, and wrongly, by the way. Canon Law, remember, had its own caveats to disobedience--and it is the Pope's own law, trumping even the motu proprio as authoritative. It was a canon of Canon Law providing for the "state of necessity" that the Archbishop properly evoked. Therefore no penalty was ever sustained. That is the bottom line canonically, however much p.r. Rome puts out to the contrary.