The superior general of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) issued a public statement to Pope Leo XIV on May 14, the day after the Vatican prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) warned that the SSPX’s planned episcopal ordinations would “constitute ‘a schismatic’ act” because the society’s planned ordinations lack papal approval.
The situation resembles that of the 1988 episcopal consecrations that the SSPX’s founder Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre carried out without papal approval, incurring automatic excommunication on himself and the four involved clergy. That situation sparked decades of strain between the Vatican and the society.
“Most Holy Father, for more than fifty years, the Society of Saint Pius X has endeavoured to set before the Holy See a matter of conscience in the face of the errors that are destroying Catholic faith and morals,” Father Davide Pagliarani, the superior general, wrote. “Regrettably, all the discussions entered into have remained without result, and none of the concerns expressed have received any truly satisfactory response.”
The SSPX included a “Declaration of Catholic Faith” that Father Pagliarani said “seems to us to correspond to the minimum indispensable to be in communion with the Church, and to truly call ourselves Catholics and, consequently, your sons.”
The publication of the statement and declaration follow months of tension between the Vatican and the SSPX, after the SSPX announced it would consecrate new bishops July 1 with or without the Pope’s permission, called the papal mandate.
The SSPX’s May 14 statement does not address whether the society will proceed with the episcopal consecrations.
Father Pagliarani previously said he has sought an audience with Pope Leo but has not received a response. However, DDF prefect Cardinal Victor Fernández met with Father Pagliarani in Rome shortly after the initial announcement regarding the consecrations and proposed renewed talks with the SSPX on several theological concerns — with the condition that the consecrations would be suspended. SSPX leaders considered the proposal but rejected it in February, opting to move ahead with the consecrations.
Cardinal Fernández, reiterating the Vatican’s previous communications on the issue, said in a May 13 statement that the scheduled ordinations lacked the required papal mandate and would therefore be “a schismatic act.”
“Formal adherence to the schism constitutes a grave offence against God and entails the excommunication established under Church law,” the cardinal wrote.
Father Pagliarani wrote in his May 14 statement to the Pope that for over 50 years, “the only solution truly considered by the Holy See has appeared to be that of canonical sanctions.”
“To our great regret, it seems to us that canon law is thus being used, not to confirm in the Faith, but to lead away from it,” he continued. “In the text that follows, the Society of Saint Pius X is glad to express to You, filially and sincerely, its devotion to the Catholic Faith, concealing nothing, either from Your Holiness or from the Universal Church. The Society places this simple Declaration of Faith in Your hands.”
After saying the declaration meets what the SSPX considers the minimum requirements for communion with the Church, Father Pagliarani concluded, “We have no other desire than that of living and being confirmed in the Roman Catholic Faith.”
The declaration affirms the authority of the pope, the Catholic Church as the one true Church, theology of the Mass, requirements for worthy reception of the Eucharist, the moral law within the Decalogue and the Sermon on the Mount, Mary’s role in the Redemption, theology of Christ as sole Mediator, Redeemer, and Savior of the world, and the necessity of Baptism.
“It is in this Faith and in these principles that we ask to be instructed and confirmed by Him Who has received the charism to do so,” the declaration concludes. “With the help of Our Lord, we would rather die than renounce them. It is in this immutable Faith that we desire to live and die, in the hope that it may give way to the direct vision of the immutable eternal Truth.”
Cardinal Fernández had concluded his May 13 statement by emphasizing Pope Leo’s prayers for the SSPX leaders.
He said Pope Leo continues to ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten SSPX leaders so they reconsider what the Vatican described as an “extremely grave decision.”