Rogue Catholic group threatens schism with Vatican, plans to raise new bishops without Rome’s approval

A traditionalist group of Catholic priests that has been at odds with the Vatican for decades threatened a full schism with Rome this weekend, saying it plans to consecrate bishops without approval from the Holy See.

The Priestly Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) says it plans to move forward with the consecrations on July 1. The SSPX exclusively celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass and has taken issue with certain reforms in the Second Vatican Council.

SSPX superior general Father Davide Pagliarani says he requested an audience with Pope Leo XIV in August to request new bishops for the society. Instead, the group received a letter from the Vatican that iy says “does not in any way respond to our requests.”

SSPX currently has two serving bishops: Bishop Bernard Fellay, a former superior general of the society, and Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, according to EWTN.

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SSPX founder Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre was excommunicated in 1988 by Pope John Paul II after he ordained four bishops without the Vatican’s approval.

The four bishops were also excommunicated, but Pope Benedict XIV and Pope Francis sought to gradually return the group into the folds of the Church.

Francis allowed SSPX members to hear confessions and conduct marriages, but said they would not have an official ministry until they accepted the reforms laid out in Vatican II.

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Pagliarani has insisted that the society does not seek schism with the Vatican. He stated in November 2024, the 50th anniversary of Lefebvre’s founding of SSPX, that “the Society of Saint Pius X does not seek first and foremost its own survival: it seeks primarily the good of the universal Church.”

Pagliarani then quoted Lefebvre, saying, “This sole aim remains ours today, just as it was 50 years ago: ‘That is why, without any rebellion, bitterness, or resentment, we continue our work of priestly formation under the guiding star of the ever-present Magisterium, convinced that we cannot render a greater service to the Holy Catholic Church, to the Sovereign Pontiff, and to future generations.’”

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The Catholic Herald reported Monday that the SSPX had been in talks with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith throughout last year, indicating that Monday’s announcement may reveal a breakdown in conversation.