By Paulina Guzik
VATICAN CITY (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 Écône, 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.
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 Fernández, 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 they 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.”
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.”
According to point five of the 1996 Explanatory Note, the “latae sententiae excommunication for schism concerns those of the lay faithful who ‘formally adhere’ to the said schismatic movement,” noting that the “formal adherence to the schism” must “imply two complementary elements.” One is of “internal nature,” consisting in “freely and consciously sharing the substance of the schism,” that following SSPX’s founder’s path “is placed above obedience to the Pope” and the second of “external nature,” the most evident sign of which will be “the exclusive participation in the Lefebvrian ‘ecclesial’ acts, without taking part in the acts of the Catholic Church.”
According to canon lawyer Father Jan Dohnalik, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Kraków, Poland, the line “exclusive participation” means that “occasional participation of the lay people does not mean automatically participating in the schism –but consciously and permanently choosing to participate in SSPX liturgies does. For instance if a family or friend of the bishop consecrated without the papal mandate just came to that July 1 Mass to participate, they are not automatically in schism with the Catholic Church, but if they deliberately choose to participate in SSPX liturgies in the future, ignoring the papal power of the Roman Pontiff – that’s participating in a schism.”
The long list of documents regarding SSPX spanning almost four decades prove the long process of the Vatican to try to reach an agreement with the traditionalist group.
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 their bishops to ensure the validity of marriages celebrated in the traditionalist communities.
Bishop Galarreta is an embodiment of the Vatican’s longtime mercy toward SSPX. He was consecrated as a bishop by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1988 and was excommunicated by St. John Paul, but in 2009, Pope Benedict declared the remission of the excommunication. And now in 2026, he has been excommunicated for the second time after leading the liturgical celebration of the bishops’ consecrations on July 1.
After the July 1 ceremony, the Vatican took measures to extend its decree to the whole society, including the laity, and said that lay faithful “who formally adhere to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X … are to be considered schismatic and excommunicated.”
The Holy See warned that “the sacred ministers of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X are administering the sacraments illicitly,” declaring invalid the sacrament of penance and marriage administered by SSPX priests.
The celebration of the Mass and the confection of the Eucharist, because they are done by an ordained priest, are still valid, though illicit. The sacraments of penance and marriage need an authorization, or faculty, which the society lacks.
According to Canon 966, “The valid absolution of sins requires that the minister have, in addition to the power of orders, the faculty of exercising it for the faithful to whom he imparts absolution” – a priest can be given this faculty “either by the law itself or by a grant made by the competent authority.”
According to Canon 1111, “As long as they hold office validly, the local ordinary and the pastor can delegate to priests and deacons the faculty, even a general one, of assisting at marriages within the limits of their territory” – with bishops consecrated without the papal mandate, the local authority to grant such faculty is not in place.
Father Dohnalik pointed out that the faithful of the Church must be warned that receiving the holy sacraments in the Society of St. Pius X “is associated with a real threat to the life of faith, and that such important sacraments as penance and marriage are simply invalid.”
“The Church, as a caring mother, will welcome with sincere affection and lively solicitude all those who wish to return to full communion,” the DDF prelates concluded, pointing to the apostolic nuncios as ones that “will have procedures that the Ordinaries can use in different cases.”
The canon lawyer emphasized in a conversation with OSV News that the move coming from the pontiff whose episcopal motto is “In Illo uno unum” – or literally “In the One, we are one” – was a much needed step for the unity of the Church.
“Precisely because the unity of the Church is so dear to the Holy Father’s heart, he had to announce the threat posed by this tragic step taken by the Lefebvrists,” Father Dohnalik said, adding that the pope was acting “as a good shepherd who does not shy away from danger but wants to protect his flock.”
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.
(Paulina Guzik is international editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @Guzik_Paulina)
