Pope cautions SSPX bishop consecrations may deepen church split

Pope Leo XIV warned that the Society of St. Pius X’s plan to consecrate four priests as bishops on 1 July, without a papal mandate, could push the group toward schism. The Vatican previously stated on 13 May that such ordinations would be a schismatic act and would incur automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication. The ceremony is slated for the SSPX seminary in Écône, Switzerland, and the Pope appealed for the group to remain in communion, stressing the importance of the Second Vatican Council’s teachings.

Commentators note that the SSPX’s recent declaration rejects core Catholic doctrines, including the continuity of the Old and New Covenants and the Church’s teaching on salvation. George Weigel highlighted several theological contradictions in the SSPX’s stance, underscoring the broader doctrinal dispute that underlies the ordination controversy.