US bishops offer pastoral responses after SSPX excommunications and schism

In the wake of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) being declared schismatic after carrying out illicit episcopal ordinations July 1, several American diocesan bishops have issued statements guiding Catholics on how to respond: pray for unity and avoid attending Mass at SSPX parishes. 

The bishops lamented the SSPX’s decision to go through with the illicit ordinations in Switzerland after the Vatican repeatedly warned against it and Pope Leo XIV made a personal plea. The Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) issued decrees July 2 stating that the six involved SSPX bishops had incurred automatic excommunication and that SSPX clergy members are now in schism and are subject to excommunication. In an unprecedented development, the Vatican also stated that laity who formally adhere to the SSPX are considered excommunicated and in schism as well.  

Archbishop Bernard Hebda of Saint Paul and Minneapolis issued a statement outlining the developments with the SSPX, explaining that one consequence is that the sacraments celebrated by the SSPX are illicit. Moreover, SSPX priests’ ability to hear confessions and witness marriages has been revoked, so their celebration of these two sacraments is invalid. 

Archbishop Hebda said that he has “met many sincere people who worship regularly or occasionally” at local SSPX chapels during his ten years of leadership in the archdiocese, and that he has “been impressed by the strength of their families and their commitment to traditional Catholic values.”

He recognized that these people will be particularly affected by the excommunications and expressed hope that they will not follow the SSPX bishops “in separating themselves from the Successor of Peter, Pope Leo XIV, and from the Church that he humbly leads.” 

St. Ambrose taught that “Where there is Peter, there is the Church,” Archbishop Hebda noted. He pointed out that there are six locations in the archdiocese that offer the Traditional Latin Mass, and that he is confident that the faithful who prefer this liturgy “could find a home here.” He asked the faithful to pray for those in Minnesota who have been affiliated up to this point with the SSPX, especially through the Blessed Virgin Mary’s intercession, and to pray for the unity of the Church. 

New York bishop explains SSPX’s division is not simply about the liturgy

Bishop Terry LaValley of the Diocese of Ogdensburg, New York, issued a similar statement accompanied by an FAQ sheet about the SSPX. 

He explained that the divide between the SSPX and the Catholic Church “is not simply about the celebration of the Mass and the Sacrament.”

“The SSPX repudiates and denounces the teaching of the Second Vatican Council,” he wrote, “in particular, ecumenism, religious liberty, collegiality of the bishops with the pope, and the Church’s understanding of, and relationship with Judaism.” 

He instructed the faithful to avoid participating in activities of the SSPX at the local affiliated church and schools. He also encouraged those who receive sacraments from SSPX priests to look to two local Catholic churches that celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass. He also emphasized that he is open to receiving the SSPX priests who wish to return to full communion with the Church and urged everyone to pray for unity. 

Wisconsin bishop says SSPX bishops’ actions ‘wounded the path to unity’

Bishop Donald Hying of Madison, Wisconsin, urged the faithful not to attend Mass at local SSPX chapels. SSPX priests “cannot exercise legitimate ministry in the Church,” he stated, noting that their celebrations of confession and marriage are invalid. 

Bishop Hying also stated that the SSPX’s schismatic actions and ongoing rejection of papal authority have “wounded the path to unity.”

“Together, let us pray as Jesus did, that the day will come when we ‘may all be one,’” he wrote.

Texas bishop says local SSPX priests cannot minister in any capacity within archdiocese 

Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio, Texas, issued a statement instructing the faithful to stop attending the local SSPX parish and urged them not to financially support the society. He explained the recent statements from the Vatican regarding the SSPX and said that the July 1 actions taken by the society’s clergy “have deeply wounded the unity of the Church.”

He noted that since 2020 he has worked with the clergy assigned to the local SSPX chapel and has previously granted permission for several Catholics who wanted to get married in the chapel. In light of the DDF’s decree, he said, he will no longer grant delegation to SSPX priests to preside at weddings “or to minister in any capacity within the boundaries of the archdiocese.”

“As Catholics, we are to be in union with our Holy Father, the Bishop of Rome and the Vicar of Christ,” Archbishop García-Siller later wrote. “To embrace the unity called for by Christ is to remain attached to the vine and to be in communion with Pope Leo XIV and the hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Join with me in praying for the reunification of all Christians.”

Connecticut bishop extends support to affected families

Bishop Frank Caggiano of Bridgeport, Connecticut, also issued a statement. The diocese includes the area of Ridgefield, where the SSPX’s Christ the King Parish is located. Bishop Caggiano expressed “deep sadness” about the recent events concerning the SSPX and explained what the Vatican has declared about the clergy of the society being schismatic. He acknowledged that the news was particularly difficult for those who have attended SSPX liturgies, noting that he has come to know a number of them. 

“I have been moved by their love for the beauty of the sacred liturgy, their devotion to our Catholic tradition, and the seriousness with which they seek to raise their children in the faith. My heart goes out to them at this painful moment, and I want them to know that they remain very much a part of our diocesan family,” Bishop Caggiano wrote. 

“I also wish to offer a word of reassurance,” he continued. “This excommunication does not fall upon those who have simply attended these liturgies out of a sincere desire to worship and who have never intended to reject the authority of the Holy Father or the teaching of the Church. What the Church now asks is straightforward: knowing the situation as it now stands, the faithful of the Catholic Church can no longer take part in the liturgies of the Society, for to do so knowingly would be to share in a separation from the Successor of Peter.”

He extended an invitation for the faithful who previously attended SSPX churches to come home, listing a number of churches in the diocese that celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass. He also urged the faithful to pray for those in the SSPX, for Pope Leo XIV, and for unity in the Church. He expressed gratitude that Pope Leo has offered a way for any SSPX priest or affiliated laity to come back into full communion, saying the diocese “stands ready to welcome them with open arms and great tenderness.”

Bishops continue to speak out

Other bishops who have spoken out include Bishop James Johnston, Jr. of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri, who said it is “imperative” that Catholics do not abandon efforts toward full communion and that the illicit ordinations are “a source of grief”; Archbishop Shawn McKnight of Kansas City, Kansas, who emphasized that faithful who have affiliations with the SSPX are loved by the Church and also advised the faithful to cease attendance at SSPX parishes; and Bishop Douglas Lucia of Syracuse, New York, who warned about the sinful nature of formally adhering to the schism. 

The Vatican’s announcement “without a doubt forbids Roman Catholics of good standing to participate in and to receive the Sacraments from bishops and priests associated with the Society of Saint Pius X,” or association with SSPX churches, chapels, and schools,” Bishop Lucia said. “The only exception provided for in Canon Law is danger of death,” per canon law. 

“I grieve over the wound that has been inflicted on Christ's body, the Church, and its effect on the spiritual good of the faithful,” Bishop Lucia said. “Although today's action relates to a specific event, I would caution that such wounds occur in the Church, when people's pain and concerns are ignored and the universal call to holiness is subjugated to personal agendas. I continue to pray that efforts will be made at all levels of Church governance to heal such a breach. I regret that the communion and trust that has been built in my seven years as bishop here in Syracuse is now so imperiled, but there cannot be accord when discord has been sown.”

He emphasized his prayers for unity and that he would welcome anyone from the SSPX who does not want to be a part of the division. 

How the SSPX responded to the excommunications

The SSPX has stated that the Vatican’s censure and punishment are invalid. SSPX Superior General Father Davide Pagliarani issued a letter July 3 addressed to Pope Leo saying that the SSPX promises the Holy Father “that it will not receive these new sanctions — objectively unjust and invalid — with bitterness or revolt.”

“These recent condemnations, like those of the past, strike at what we hold most dear: our attachment to our Mother, the Roman Church,” he added. He said that the SSPX will offer up the suffering caused by the sanctions for the good of the Church and for the Pope. 

“We are certain that one day You yourself, or one of Your successors, will wish to adopt the program of Saint Pius X: ‘To restore all things in Christ,’ Instaurare omnia in Christo,” he wrote. Father Pagliarani wrote that at that point, the Pope will find in the SSPX “a small army of loyal sons” as well as “authentically Catholic souls whose bond with the Church was never founded upon the shifting sands of an ambiguous dialogue, but upon the rock of the faith of Peter.”

Father Pagliarani said the SSPX is praying for the Blessed Virgin Mary’s intercession and that the Pope will change course as soon as possible.  

“In the meantime, if You are able, despite Your recent decision, bless us as Your sons,” he wrote. “For us, nothing has changed, and nothing ever will change.”