Pope Leo XIV Urges Traditionalist Catholics to Halt Schismatic Plans

On Tuesday, Pope Leo XIV implored a faction of traditionalist Catholics to abandon their intention to consecrate new bishops without his authorization. He described the act as schismatic and a ‘sin of extreme gravity.’

In a heartfelt letter addressed to Rev. Davide Pagliarani, the leader of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), Pope Leo urged, ‘I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back!’

The pope’s appeal came a day before the SSPX was set to consecrate four bishops at its seminary in Econe, Switzerland—a move considered schismatic under church law, leading to automatic excommunication for the involved bishops and the officiating bishop.

The SSPX was formed in response to the Second Vatican Council’s reforms in the 1960s. These changes included improving the Catholic Church’s interaction with other religions and the laity, and permitting Mass in local languages instead of Latin.

In 1988, SSPX founder Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre performed unauthorized bishop consecrations, which the Vatican swiftly condemned by excommunicating Lefebvre and the four bishops. Today, SSPX lacks legal status within the Catholic Church.

The Vatican has cautioned the new bishops against similar repercussions. Leo repeated the Vatican’s offer for dialogue, warning that the planned consecrations could undermine the spiritual welfare of SSPX members.

‘I urge you to consider carefully the spiritual good of the faithful because the schismatic act you are about to undertake would deprive them of the licit, and in some cases, even valid reception of the sacraments,’ he wrote.

An ordination ceremony for the SSPX faithful took place in Econe, Switzerland, where priests received blessings from newly ordained priests. Despite past schismatic acts, SSPX remains a growing entity, acting as a parallel, ultra-Catholic, pre-Vatican II church.

SSPX currently includes two bishops, 751 priests, 264 seminarians, 145 religious brothers, 88 oblates, and 250 religious sisters from 50 nationalities, as reported by SSPX statistics.