The Society of St. Pius X elevated four priests to bishops despite warnings from the Vatican
By Paulina Guzik
OSV News
The Vatican has declared the Society of St. Pius X to be “in schism” after the traditionalist group consecrated four bishops without the papal mandate, marking the most serious rupture in the church since Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre’s unauthorized episcopal consecrations in 1988.
In a bombshell move, the Vatican also declared sacraments of penance and marriage invalid if they proceeded within the society.
The decree also said, “Clerics and lay faithful are warned not to adhere to the schism of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, as they would ipso facto incur the penalty of latae sententiae excommunication.”
In a case of history repeating itself after the 1988 excommunication of the society’s founder along with four bishops he then consecrated without the papal mandate, the Vatican on July 2 excommunicated four SSPX bishops consecrated without the authorization of the pope at the society’s seminary in Econe, Switzerland, along with two bishops leading the liturgical celebration July 1.
“Despite the warnings addressed to the Superior General” of SSPX, Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta led the consecration liturgy on July 1, accompanied by Bishop Bernard Fellay, and thus “committed an act of a schismatic nature through the episcopal consecration of four priests, without pontifical mandate and against the will of the Supreme Pontiff,” the Dicastery of the Doctrine of Faith said in a July 2 decree, released in Italian.
The rebel bishops, the DDF said, “have ipso facto incurred a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See,” with latae sententiae meaning “automatic,” or “by the deed itself” in Latin.
Bishops excommunicated
The four newly consecrated SSPX bishops — Fathers Pascal Schreiber, Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry and Marc Hanappier — were also excommunicated, the DDF said in a document signed by Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, prefect of the DDF; Archbishop John Kennedy, secretary of the disciplinary section; and Msgr. Armando Matteo, secretary of the doctrinal section of the dicastery.
The apostolic mandate is required to proceed with bishops’ consecrations, which the society did not have for the July 1 ceremony — a fact that the society publicly acknowledged.
At the episcopal consecrations, Father Foucauld Le Roux, secretary general of the society, read the declaration in which the society “sets forth the reasons justifying these consecrations in the current circumstances of the church,” claiming “The authorities of the church have been animated by a spirit contrary to that of the faith, and act against holy tradition.”
Father Davide Pagliarani, superior general of the society, in his homily on July 1 called the consecration an “exceptional” measure “proportionate to this necessity” and in line with “a duty to keep the faith that the church has always taught.”
Saying that “some might consider that we are facing a dilemma,” Father Pagliarani said SSPX did not choose “between faith and the church.”
The explanatory memorandum that followed the decree from the DDF included measures affecting both ministers of the society and lay faithful, preceded by the note that from the time of St. Paul VI “until the most recent discussions held at this Dicastery, the multiple attempts to bring the adherents of the movement initiated by Archbishop Lefebvre back into full communion with the Catholic Church have proven futile.”
Noting that “this situation has been further aggravated by the recent episcopal consecrations celebrated without pontifical mandate, against the will of the Holy Father, in open violation of canon law,” the dicastery said that the “act constitutes the crime of schism, with canonical consequences for the sacred ministers and lay faithful involved.”
‘Refusal of submission’
In a memorandum signed by the same group of prelates as the decree, the DDF said that “the sacred ministers belonging to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X are in schism and must therefore be considered schismatic,” citing the 1988 letter of St. John Paul II “Ecclesia Dei” and the 1996 Explanatory Note from the Pontifical Council (now Dicastery) for Legislative Texts on the excommunication for schism incurred by the adherents of the movement of Archbishop Lefebvre (1905-1991).
According to Canon 751, “schism is the refusal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him.”
For decades — since 1988, when St. John Paul excommunicated the society’s founder, Archbishop Lefebvre and four bishops consecrated without papal mandate in his “Ecclesia Dei” apostolic letter — the Vatican had sought several ways to reintegrate SSPX members into the life of the Catholic Church.
Pope Benedict lifted the excommunications of the four bishops in 2009, opening the way for more regular talks.
During the 2015-2016 Year of Mercy, Pope Francis made special provisions to validate the absolution offered by SSPX priests through the sacrament of confession.
After the Holy Year ended, he extended that provision “lest anyone ever be deprived of the sacramental sign of reconciliation through the church’s pardon.”
In April 2017, the late pontiff continued pursuing initiatives aimed at a reconciliation with the SSPX by allowing the groups’ bishops to ensure the validity of marriages celebrated in the traditionalist communities.
The canonist remembered that on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Pope Leo urged the superior of the society to retreat from the path of division and refrain from moving forward with the schismatic act “because to tear the seamless garment of Christ is a sin of extreme gravity.”
“Concerned for the faithful who may not understand the immense spiritual harm associated with separation from communion with the pope and the Church, the Holy Father made this sad but necessary move to declare excommunication, which merely reveals the dramatic consequences of this schismatic act,” Father Dohnalik told OSV News.
The DDF noted in the memorandum that “all the faithful are exhorted to remain steadfast in communion with the Roman Pontiff, with the Bishops in communion with him and with the whole Church” and to “abstain from participating in the celebrations and activities” promoted by SSPX.