(Gal 5:13-15) For
you, brethren, have been called unto liberty. Only make not liberty an
occasion to the flesh: but by charity of the spirit serve one another.
For all the law is fulfilled in one word: Thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself. But if you bite and devour one another: take heed you be
not consumed one of another.
“1. The sacred ministers belonging
to the Society of St. Pius X are in schism and must therefore be
considered schismatics (cf. Ecclesia Dei, 5 c; Pontifical Council for
Legislative Texts, Explanatory Note on the Excommunication for Schism
Incurred by Adherents of the Movement of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre,
24.08.1996, 5-6), and are thus subject to the excommunication provided
for by law (can. 1364 § 1 CIC).”
“2. As regards the lay faithful, those who formally adhere to the Society of St. Pius X under the conditions established in the 1996 Explanatory Note of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
(cf. ibidem, 7) — which remains in force and which this Dicastery makes
its own — are to be considered schismatic and excommunicated.”
“3. Finally, the holy People of God
are warned that the sacred ministers of the Society of St. Pius X
unlawfully administer the sacraments, and that the sacrament of penance
they administer and the marriages they witness are invalid.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: The 1996 Note's answer, consistent with general canonical doctrine on formal adherence to schism, distinguishes between:
Material/passive connection — someone who attends SSPX Masses out
of liturgical preference, unease with changes since Vatican II, or
simple habit, without positively embracing the Society's rejection of
the pope's authority. This person is not excommunicated.
Formal adherence — someone who deliberately and knowingly joins
in the SSPX's schismatic position itself: actively supporting the
rejection of papal authority, publicly identifying with the Society's
stance that it may act independently of Rome, or otherwise manifesting
genuine adherence to the schism as such, not just a preference for the
old liturgy.
The theological principle
underneath this (drawn from general canon law on schism, e.g. canon 751
and 1364) is that excommunication for schism requires culpable,
deliberate adherence to the schismatic act or position — not mere
physical presence or sacramental use. A grandmother going to the SSPX
chapel because it's the only place nearby with a reverent old Mass,
without any considered rejection of the pope, doesn't meet the bar.
Someone who signs onto SSPX statements rejecting papal authority, or
otherwise actively identifies with the Society's schismatic
self-understanding, does.
BRIEF HISTORY OF SSPX AND PAPAL INTERACTIONS
The 1988 break (John Paul II)
Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre founded
the SSPX in 1970 in opposition to the Second Vatican Council's reforms,
particularly on ecumenism, religious liberty, and the vernacular Mass.
Fearing his movement would collapse once he died, Lefebvre consecrated
four bishops on June 30, 1988 without papal mandate. Under canon law
this is a schismatic act carrying automatic ("latae sententiae")
excommunication, and Rome so declared it — the founding wound between
the SSPX and Rome. The four newly consecrated bishops were Bernard
Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, and Alfonso
de Galarreta. Benedict XVI's rapprochement attempt
Benedict, long sympathetic to the traditionalist cause, made two major overtures:
2007 — Summorum Pontificum,
liberalizing use of the pre-Vatican II Latin Mass across the whole
Church, removing a key SSPX grievance. January 2009 — He lifted the 1988
excommunications on the four bishops. This blew up almost immediately
into a PR and ecumenical crisis because Swiss TV aired an interview
with Bishop Williamson denying the Holocaust just before the decree
became public. Benedict clarified at the time that lifting the
excommunications did not restore canonical status: SSPX priests still
could not licitly exercise ministry, and the society remained in what
the Vatican called "institutional irregularity" rather than full
communion. Doctrinal talks between the SSPX and the CDF ran 2009–2012
and ultimately collapsed without an agreement.
Francis, despite general wariness of traditionalists, kept extending small faculties:
2015 — During the Jubilee of Mercy,
he declared that confessions heard by SSPX priests were validly and
licitly absolved; this was meant as a one-year gesture but was extended
indefinitely. 2017 — He authorized local bishops to grant SSPX priests faculties to witness marriages according to canonical form.
These
were real, incremental steps toward normalization — but the society
still had no canonical status, no jurisdiction of its own, and Rome
still described it as "irregular" rather than in full communion.
The
unresolved sticking point for decades was generational: the SSPX's own
bishops were aging, and the society insisted it needed to consecrate
new ones to survive institutionally — something only the pope can
authorize.
February 12, 2026 — A meeting between SSPX leadership and Rome failed to produce agreement on this point.
May 13
— Cardinal Fernández (DDF) warned that unauthorized consecrations would
constitute a schismatic act and trigger excommunication.
June 16 — At Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo told journalists he was still weighing a personal appeal to the SSPX to stand down.
June 26–27
— An extraordinary consistory of cardinals discussed the looming
crisis; Cardinal Müller proposed a commission to help SSPX clergy/laity
who might want to return to full communion if a schism occurred.
June 29–30
— Leo sent SSPX Superior General Fr. Davide Pagliarani a personal
letter: "to tear the seamless garment of Christ is a sin of extreme
gravity," pleading with him to turn back. Pagliarani responded
courteously but did not yield, and SSPX media stated they were changing
nothing in their plans. America Magazine
July 1, 2026
— At the SSPX seminary in Écône, Switzerland, bishops Alfonso de
Galarreta and Bernard Fellay (the very men whose 1988 excommunications
Benedict XVI lifted in 2009) consecrated four new bishops — Pascal
Schreiber, Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, and Marc
Hanappier — before a crowd of roughly 15,000–17,000. All six bishops
involved thereby incurred automatic excommunication a second time for
de Galarreta and Fellay. Notably, the ordination oath still referenced
obedience to "the Apostle Peter, the Holy Roman Church and Pope Leo
XIV," underscoring the SSPX's self-understanding that it is not
formally separating, even as canon law says otherwise.
31. Just as fire is destructive of straw, so are
pure tears destructive of all material and spiritual impurity.
July 1, 2026
(Rev 11:19) And
the temple of God was opened in heaven: and the ark of his testament
was seen in his temple. And there were lightnings and voices and an
earthquake and great hail. (Rev 12:1) And
a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the
moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.
The nuncio invited Venezuelans to face this moment with trust in God
and mutual support. “Now is the time to lift our eyes to heaven,
as the Pope always invites us to do, to find strength and the
consolation of God,” he noted.
He then encouraged the whole of society to mobilize in favor of those most affected by the catastrophe.
“This is also the moment for charity, the moment for solidarity, the
moment to help all the victims, all those affected, to make present
through concrete gestures the closeness and charity of the Lord as
well,” he expressed.
In the final part of his address, Monsignor Ortega made an appeal for
unity in facing the reconstruction of the country after the earthquake.
“It is time to rebuild together, together to move forward from this sad situation,” he affirmed.
The nuncio concluded his message with a prayer for the deceased, the
injured, and all those suffering the consequences of the quake,
entrusting the Venezuelan people to the protection of Our Lady of
Coromoto.
“A very special prayer for the victims, for the deceased, for their
families, for the injured, for those who are suffering, and may we all
take refuge in the protection of the Lord and also in the protection of
our Mother, the Virgin of Coromoto. May God bless you,” he concluded.
In 17th-century Venezuela, the leader of the Coromoto people was
unexpectedly chosen by Our Lady to help bring the Gospel to his tribe.
Like Jonah fleeing God’s command, this chief tried—twice—to escape what
Mary asked of him.
The first time Mary appeared, in 1651, she invited him to be baptized
and to lead his people into the Christian faith. The chief listened…
but only halfway. Afraid that becoming Christian might weaken his
authority or change how others saw him, he refused baptism and
discouraged his people from receiving it as well. Some went forward
anyway. Many followed his hesitation.
A year later, in 1652, Mary returned. Once again, she gently asked him to be baptized. And once again, he resisted.
But Mary, like any loving mother, did not give up.
Before leaving, she placed in his hand a tiny image of herself holding
the Child Jesus—no bigger than a fingernail. Not long afterward, the
chief was bitten by a poisonous snake and seemed close to death. In
that moment, everything became clear. Remembering Mary’s promise that
baptism would lead him to heaven, he urgently asked to be baptized.
He survived. And his heart was changed.
Word of the beautiful Lady spread quickly, and devotion to her grew.
Soon after the chief’s conversion, the rest of the Coromoto people were
baptized as well. A church was built in Mary’s honor in the nearby town
of Guanare in the 1700s, and centuries later, a shrine was erected at
the very site of her second apparition. Today, both are minor
basilicas, and the original tiny image—the relic Mary herself left
behind—is preserved there.
That image is one of the most mysterious and intimate Marian relics in
the world. When it was carefully studied during a restoration in 2009,
experts discovered that its details—like the crowns worn by Mary and
Jesus—perfectly reflect the indigenous culture of 17th-century
Venezuela. Even more astonishing, the image does not appear to be
painted on the paper. Like Our Lady of Guadalupe’s tilma, it seems to
hover upon it, without ink soaking into the fibers. How it was made
remains a miracle.
In 1942, the bishops of Venezuela declared Our Lady of Coromoto the
nation’s patroness. Pope Pius XII confirmed this in 1949. She is
celebrated on September 8, September 11, and February 2.
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