Summary
Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández will meet with Davide Pagliarani, the superior general of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), next week in the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF). The SSPX plans to consecrate new bishops without papal mandate following a request and audience with Pope Leo XIV in August 2025. In response, the Vatican sent a letter negating the possibility of such episcopal ordinations. The meeting aims to find a path for dialogue between the two parties, who have had past discussions involving Cardinal Kurt Koch and Archbishop Guido Pozzo. This situation dates back to the SSPX’s formation in 1970 by Marcel Lefebvre, who was excommunicated in 1988 after consecrating four bishops without papal authorization. Since then, the Vatican has described the society as having “institutional irregularity” rather than a schismatic group. In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI lifted their penalty for illicit episcopal consecrations but still deemed them outside the Church’s canonical structure.
Key Topics
Vatican City, Dicastery for Doctrine of Faith, SSPX
