Breakaway Catholic group rejects Vatican talks, indicating collision course for pope

A breakaway Catholic traditionalist group has rejected the Vatican’s offer of dialogue, setting the stage for a potential showdown with Pope Leo XIV over its plans to consecrate new bishops without papal approval.

The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) stated in a letter to Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the Vatican’s doctrine chief, that the Holy See’s warnings of sanctions and schism “is hardly compatible with a genuine desire for fraternal exchanges and constructive dialogue.”

Founded in opposition to the Second Vatican Council’s reforms of the 1960s, the SSPX maintains strict adherence to pre-Vatican II traditions, including celebrating Mass exclusively in Latin. The group formally broke with Rome in 1988 when its founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, consecrated four bishops without papal consent, claiming it was necessary to preserve traditional Catholic practices. This act led to immediate excommunications and left the group without official status within the Catholic Church.

Despite its irregular canonical position, the SSPX has experienced significant growth over the decades. The organization now includes 733 priests, 264 seminarians, 145 religious brothers, 88 oblates, and 250 religious sisters worldwide. This expansion represents a challenge to Vatican authority, as the SSPX effectively operates as a parallel church structure outside official Catholic hierarchy.

Earlier this month, the SSPX announced plans to consecrate four new bishops on July 1. The group explained this decision as a matter of practical necessity, noting that only two bishops remain from the original group consecrated in 1988. SSPX leaders maintain these new bishops are essential to minister to their growing global community.

The impending consecration presents the first major crisis for Pope Leo XIV, who has worked to ease tensions with traditionalist Catholics that had intensified under his predecessor, Pope Francis. While the SSPX remains outside full communion with the Holy See, many traditionalist Catholics who are loyal to Rome but sympathetic to the SSPX are closely observing how the new pope handles this situation.

In an attempt to prevent the crisis from escalating, Cardinal Fernández invited Rev. Davide Pagliarani, the SSPX superior, to the Vatican for discussions on February 12. The cardinal proposed theological dialogue about Vatican II, conditional on the SSPX suspending its planned consecration ceremony.

In his response published Thursday on the SSPX website, Pagliarani reminded the Vatican that he had suggested similar dialogue in 2019 but received no reply. He argued that meaningful discussions are impossible under the current conditions, particularly with threats of sanctions looming.

“Indeed, the hand extended to open the dialogue is unfortunately accompanied by another hand already poised to impose sanctions,” Pagliarani wrote. “There is talk of breaking communion, of schism, and of ‘serious consequences.'”

Acknowledging the fundamental doctrinal differences regarding Vatican II that separate the SSPX from Rome, Pagliarani instead appealed to the Vatican to act with charity toward the substantial number of Catholic faithful who attend SSPX churches.

“The society is an objective reality: it exists,” Pagliarani stated. “This same society asks you only to be allowed to continue to do this same good for the souls to whom it administers the holy sacraments.”

The Vatican has not yet issued an official response to the SSPX letter.

This confrontation highlights the ongoing tensions within Catholicism between traditionalists and reformers, a divide that has persisted since the Second Vatican Council. For Pope Leo XIV, who has positioned himself as more sympathetic to traditionalist concerns than his predecessor, this challenge tests his ability to maintain church unity while upholding papal authority.

Should the SSPX proceed with the consecrations without papal approval, it risks deepening the existing rift and potentially triggering new ecclesiastical penalties. The situation has garnered significant attention among Catholics worldwide, especially those concerned with questions of tradition, authority, and the future direction of the Church.