The Priestly Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) announced May 26 the names of the four priests chosen to be ordained bishops in July, weeks after the Vatican doctrinal chief declared warned that the ordinations, which lack papal approval, would “constitute ‘a schismatic act.’”
In its announcement, the SSPX stated that its superior general, Father Davide Pagliarani, maintains that the episcopal consecrations neither challenge nor deny the Pope’s authority over the Church.
“The Superior General reaffirms that the choice and consecration of these elects do not proceed from any desire to claim a power of jurisdiction or to establish a parallel authority within the Church,” the announcement read. “In no way do they constitute a denial of, refusal of, or challenge to the supreme, full, and immediate power of jurisdiction of the Vicar of Christ over the universal Church.”
The four selected men are French priests Father Michel Poinset de Sivry, 42, and Father Marc Hanappier, 36; American priest Father Michael Goldade, 45; and Swiss priest Father Pascal Schriber, 53. The SSPX statement included short biographies of each priest, outlining when they were ordained and where they have served in their priestly ministry.
“In a spirit of respect toward the supreme authority of the universal Church, the dossiers [files/records] of these priests were presented to the Holy Father, together with certain explanations necessary for a proper understanding of this step, within the very particular and exceptional context of these episcopal consecrations,” the SSPX statement read.
The ordinations are set to take place July 1.
They would mark a significant escalation in relations between the SSPX and Rome since the illicit episcopal consecrations Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the SSPX, carried out in 1988 without Pope St. John Paul II’s permission.
The SSPX said the ordinations “will have no other purpose than to ensure the continued administration of the sacraments of Holy Orders and Confirmation, together with those sacramentals reserved to bishops, according to the traditional rite of the Holy Roman Church and the immemorial Faith.”
“The episcopacy to be received by these priests is therefore conceived solely as a service rendered to souls and to the Church amid this unprecedented crisis of the Faith,” the statement concluded. “Our determination to serve the holy Catholic Church remains unwavering, in the consciousness of the imperative duty faithfully and integrally to hand on what we ourselves have received — namely, what the Church has always believed, taught, and practised.”
The SSPX announced in February that it would ordain new bishops this summer despite not having approval from Pope Leo XIV to do so. Several months after meeting with Father Pagliarani in Rome to try to find a solution, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), declared in a May 13 statement published by the Vatican Press Office that proceeding with the ordinations would be schismatic and have grave consequences for those who formally adhere to the schism.
Quoting Pope John Paul II’s 1988 apostolic letter on the SSPX, Cardinal Fernández said, “This act will constitute ‘a schismatic act,’ and ‘formal adherence to the schism constitutes a grave offence against God and entails the excommunication established under Church law.’”
“The Holy Father continues in his prayers to ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten those responsible for the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X,” the cardinal added, “so that they may reconsider the extremely grave decision they have taken.”