The Vatican announced Thursday, July 2, that priests and members of the breakaway Catholic group Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) are in schism and excommunicated after ordaining four new bishops without papal approval and defying warnings from Pope Leo XIV. The ordinations took place on Wednesday, July 1, despite a final appeal from the pope to reverse the decision.
Excommunication Decree and Scope
The Vatican's doctrinal office published a decree stating that the four newly consecrated bishops are excommunicated, along with the two bishops who participated in the ordination ceremony. Excommunication means they are excluded from the sacraments of the church. The office added in an explanatory note that priests belonging to the society and lay members who formally adhere to the group are also in schism and excommunicated. The decree warns all clerics and lay faithful not to formally follow the society, as they will automatically incur the penalty of excommunication.
Papal Warning and Aftermath
In a final appeal to the group on Tuesday, Pope Leo XIV had warned that the ordinations would be a schismatic act and a sin of extreme gravity. The Vatican's ruling is wide-ranging in clamping down on the group. The pope has not commented publicly since the ordinations were carried out. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, expressed deep sorrow, stating that the ordinations break the unity of the Church and incur very specific sanctions, fundamentally excommunication.
Conditions for Reinstatement
Later Thursday, the doctrinal office set out steps needed for priests to be allowed back into regular church life, including writing personally to the pope asking for the excommunication to be lifted, according to Vatican News. Priests must also sign a profession of faith and make a pledge not to publicly attack the pontiff and his teachings, among other conditions.
Background of SSPX and Previous Sanctions
The SSPX was founded in 1970 in Switzerland by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a French prelate, but was officially suppressed by the Bishop of Fribourg five years later. In 1988, the group ordained four bishops without papal approval, leading to their excommunication at that time. The latest action goes further than the 1988 sanctions, which were limited to the bishops. While Pope Francis had previously allowed the society to administer the sacraments of marriage and confession, the latest Vatican ruling states that any marriage or confession offered by the group will now be considered invalid.
Church Unity and Doctrinal Disputes
The note says that the Church, as a caring mother, will welcome with sincere affection and active care all those who wish to return to full communion. At the heart of the splintering was opposition to church reforms introduced in the 1960s by the Second Vatican Council. The Lefebvrists do not accept the council's teachings on religious freedom, ecumenism, and reforms to Catholic worship, such as celebrating Mass in languages other than Latin. One of the major reforms at the council was a condemnation of all forms of antisemitism.
During his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV has made church unity a priority, with the foundation stone being the link between the pope and bishop. On June 16, the pope pointed out to journalists that the Lefebvrists refuse to accept certain fundamental elements of the Church, beginning with several points of the Second Vatican Council. On the planned ordinations, he stated that if that is the choice they make, he is sorry, but the church must move forward.
Presence in the United States
The group has an active presence in the United States, with a headquarters in Missouri and a seminary for training priests in Dillwyn, Virginia. One of the bishops newly ordained on Wednesday is Father Michael Goldade, who leads that seminary. Goldade stated at a service after the ordinations that the modernist church is a desert that kills everything that it touches.
