Pope Urges Traditionalist Group to Halt Bishop Consecrations

ROME — Pope Leo XIV implored a group of traditionalist Catholics on Tuesday to abandon their plan to consecrate new bishops without his approval, labeling the act a schism and a serious sin.

“I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back!” Leo urged in a letter addressed to Rev. Davide Pagliarani, head of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX).

The Pope’s plea came just before the society’s scheduled consecration of four new bishops at an Econe, Switzerland seminary. According to church law, these consecrations are considered schismatic, leading to immediate excommunication for the four bishops and their consecrating bishop.

The SSPX was founded as a counter-reaction to the reforms of the 1960s Second Vatican Council. The council transformed Catholic Church relations with other religions and the laity, and permitted Mass in local languages instead of Latin.

In 1988, SSPX’s founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, consecrated four bishops without papal consent. This breach resulted in Lefebvre’s excommunication along with the four bishops involved, leaving the group without legal status in the church. The Vatican has warned that similar consequences await the new bishops.

In his letter, Pope Leo repeated the Vatican’s offer for dialogue and argued that proceeding with the consecrations would be detrimental to SSPX followers.

“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,” he wrote.

Despite their original schismatic act in 1988, the SSPX has continued to expand, posing a challenge to the Vatican as an independent entity aligned with pre-Vatican II traditions. According to data from SSPX, their network includes two bishops, 751 priests, 264 seminarians, 145 religious brothers, 88 oblates, and 250 religious sisters from 50 countries.