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Pope Leo XIV asked a dissident group of traditionalist Catholics on Tuesday to cancel their plan to consecrate new bishops without his consent, labeling the move a schismatic act and a “grave sin.”
“I beg you and I ask you with all my heart: retrace your steps!” Leo wrote in a letter to Reverend Davide Pagliarani, superior of the Society of Saint Pius X.
Leo issued his last-resort plea one day before the fraternity's planned consecration of four new bishops at its seminary in Écône, Switzerland. According to canon law, consecrations constitute a schismatic act, or an intentional break from the unity of the Catholic Church, and carry automatic excommunication for the four bishops and the bishop administering the consecration.
Pagliarani responded by writing a formal letter to Leo asking him to take time before deciding on any sanctions.
“Far be it from us to separate ourselves from the Roman Church. We wish, on the contrary, to serve it by extraordinary means, just as one would assist a mother in distress who requires particular help, even if such help is not understood by all,” wrote Pagliarani.
Grupo pide al papa más tiempo
The ceremony poses the first major crisis for the American pope, who has stressed the need for Church unity since the start of his pontificate. He has worked especially hard to heal tensions with traditionalist Catholics who prefer the old Latin Mass, which were exacerbated in some respects during the pontificate of Pope Francis.
The fraternity, known as the SSPX, was founded in opposition to the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s. Among other things, the council revolutionized the Catholic Church’s relations with other religions and with the laity, and allowed the Mass to be celebrated in vernacular languages instead of Latin.
Its members celebrate the old Latin Mass and have accused the modern Church of being riddled with heresies and errors. The fraternity insists that only the SSPX defends the true faith of Christ and has justified the consecrations, citing a “state of necessity” to serve its faithful.
In response to the pope’s letter, Marc-André Mabillard, the fraternity’s media representative, expressed “great sadness at not being understood by our leader,” and added: “We are not going to change absolutely anything in our plans.”
Asked by phone about the possibility of excommunication, Mabillard said: “We do not fear it. It hurts us immensely, but we believe that the good we seek is greater than the pain that will be inflicted upon us.”
Excomuniones previas y acercamiento
In 1988, the founder of the SSPX, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, consecrated four bishops without papal consent. The Vatican immediately excommunicated Lefebvre and the other four bishops, and the group still has no legal status in the Church today.
The Vatican lifted those original excommunications in 2009 as part of its overture to try to bring the group back under its wing. But the Vatican has warned that a similar fate awaits the new bishops if Wednesday’s consecrations go ahead.
In his letter, Leo reiterated the Vatican’s offer of dialogue and stated that proceeding with the consecrations would be counterproductive for the SSPX faithful.
"I urge you to carefully consider the spiritual good of the faithful, for the schismatic act you would commit would deprive them of the licit, and in some cases even valid, reception of the sacraments," he indicated.
Despite the original schismatic act of 1988, the group has continued to grow and today represents a threat to the Holy See as a parallel, ultra-Catholic, pre-Vatican II church. The SSPX has two bishops, 751 priests, 264 seminarians, 145 religious brothers, 88 oblates, and 250 nuns representing 50 nationalities, according to SSPX statistics.
[Publicidad]