Pope Leo implores SSPX ahead of illicit ordinations: ‘Please turn back!’
The message comes just before the SSPX intends to hold episcopal ordinations that the Vatican has said will be a schismatic act.
In an appeal made public June 30, Pope Leo XIV has personally urged the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) to not follow through with their planned July 1 episcopal ordinations, which lack the Pope’s approval.
“I pray for you, because to tear the seamless garment of Christ is a sin of extreme gravity,” the Pope wrote in the June 29 letter to SSPX Superior General Father Davide Pagliarani.
The Pontiff began the letter by stating that he is addressing Father Pagliarani and through him all of the clergy and faithful connected to the SSPX “with a paternal heart, and aware of the responsibility entrusted to me by the Lord as the Successor of the Apostle Peter.”
The Holy See Press Office published the letter in eight languages, surpassing its typical total of three to four translations of press releases and addresses.
“The Church recognizes the devotion to liturgical life, commitment to priestly formation, apostolic zeal and desire for fidelity to Tradition that characterize many people and communities connected to your Fraternity,” Pope Leo wrote. “This has motivated the attentive and generous attitude that my Predecessors have consistently shown to you.
“In this spirit, and filled with Christian affection, I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back! 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, which they love and seek for their sanctification.”
After the SSPX announced it would hold episcopal ordinations July 1 without the Pope’s approval, the prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Victor Fernandez, met with Father Pagliarani to try to find a tenable path forward. The Vatican proposed a path of dialogue that required the SSPX to suspend the July 1 plan, but the SSPX rejected the proposal.
>> SSPX issues open letter to Pope Leo ahead of consistory, illicit episcopal ordinations <<
Pope Leo emphasized in the letter his prayers for the society and his offer to work toward a solution together, writing: “The Church is open to a path of dialogue and understanding that the Holy Spirit can make possible and fruitful.”
“May the Lord enlighten your consciences and awaken your hearts. With a sorrowful yet hopeful heart, I feel it is my duty, through the authority received from Christ, to ask you to desist from your intended act,” the Pontiff concluded. “I entrust these intentions to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Good Counsel.”
The letter was sent on the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, whom Pope Leo had spoken of during Mass and the Angelus June 29 as spiritual leaders who were especially concerned with maintaining unity among the disciples.
The Pope’s warning that the ordinations would be a schismatic act is consistent with an earlier message from Cardinal Fernandez to the SSPX.
On May 13, the Vatican doctrinal chief had issued a statement warning the same and emphasizing that Pope Leo is praying for the SSPX leaders: “The Holy Father continues in his prayers to ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten those responsible for the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X so that they may reconsider the extremely grave decision they have taken.”
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