What is the Society of St Pius X? Why Pope Leo excommunicated its bishops
The Vatican declares ‘schism’ in Catholic Church after bishops were ordained without Pope Leo XIV’s approval. The Vatican has declared the Society of St Pius
The Vatican declares ‘schism’ in Catholic Church after bishops were ordained without Pope Leo XIV’s approval. The Vatican has declared the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) to be formally in ‘schism’ with the Catholic Church after the traditionalist group defied Pope Leo XIV by consecrating four bishops without papal approval. A schism is a formal break in the unity of the Catholic Church. It occurs when a person or group rejects the authority of the pope, whom Catholics believe is the successor to St Peter, one of Jesus’ 12 apostles. Recommended Stories list of 1 item list 1 of 1 Vatican expels members of rebel Catholic group over unapproved ordination end of list In a decree issued on Thursday, the Vatican’s doctrinal office said the bishops involved, along with priests and lay members who knowingly adhere to the breakaway movement, had been excommunicated and no longer allowed to be members of the Church. It warned that the Swiss-based group’s celebration of the sacraments is now considered illicit and that it may no longer officiate marriages or hear confessions. The non-approved consecrations mark the latest flashpoint in a decades-long dispute between the Vatican and the SSPX, which broke with Rome after rejecting many of the Catholic Church’s modernising reforms introduced by the Second Vatican Council. Here is what we know What has happened and what is a consecration? On Wednesday, the traditionalist Catholic group SSPX directly defied Pope Leo XIV by consecrating four new bishops without his papal consent. In the Catholic Church, the act of consecrating a bishop is a deeply symbolic religious ritual which confers the Holy Spirit from one bishop to another. During the consecration rite, the presiding bishop physically places his hands on the heads of the new bishops, a gesture that recalls the actions of Jesus Christ towards his apostles.
As part of the ceremony, the newly consecrated men also receive the traditional symbols of their new authority, which include mitre hats and pastoral staffs. The five-hour ceremony was held at an SSPX seminary in Econe, Switzerland, attended by an estimated 16,500 faithful followers. Despite a last-minute appeal from Pope Leo XIV, who warned in a letter on Tuesday that carrying out the consecrations without his approval would amount to a “sin of extreme gravity” that would ultimately harm the faithful, the group proceeded with the event. During a Mass, Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta administered the consecration rite to four new bishops, Pascal Schreiber, Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry and Marc Hanappier. By participating in this ritual without a mandate from the pope, the new bishops and the consecrating bishop incurred automatic excommunication, which is the harshest penalty in the Catholic Church. The SSPX dismissed the resulting penalties, with a priest reading a statement that justified the consecrations as a necessary “sacred duty” to defend the traditional Catholic faith against modernising reforms. What is the Society of St Pius X (SSPX)? SSPX is a traditionalist Catholic movement founded in 1970 by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. It was established in opposition to many of the reforms introduced by the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II), particularly the move away from the traditional Latin Mass and broader efforts to modernise the Church. Today, the SSPX operates around the world with its own bishops, hundreds of priests, seminaries and religious communities. While it considers itself authentically Catholic, the Vatican has long maintained that it has no canonical status (officially recognised) within the Church. In a sermon on Wednesday, the Reverend Davide Pagliarani, the society’s superior general, acknowledged that many would view the consecration as an act of rebellion.
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