Pope's Appeal Ignored by Traditionalists
Four new bishops of the ultra-traditionalist Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X were consecrated on Wednesday in southwestern Switzerland despite an urgent appeal from Pope Leo XIV. Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin described the unauthorized ceremony in the Alpine village of Écône as a schismatic act that has deeply wounded the unity of the Catholic Church.
Under canon law, the priests and bishops who took part in the ceremony incur automatic excommunication unless and until the situation is resolved in accordance with Church law.
The Vatican had already warned the Society of this consequence in May. On Monday, Pope Leo XIV personally wrote to the fraternity's superior, Davide Pagliarani, urging him to cancel the consecrations. Under canon law, only the Pope may authorize the consecration of bishops, thereby safeguarding apostolic succession.
The Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X, which says it has 733 priests worldwide, has long rejected several reforms introduced by the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, including the celebration of Mass in local languages rather than exclusively in Latin.
The fraternity's leadership defended the consecrations, arguing that it needed a sufficient number of bishops to ensure the continued functioning and governance of its worldwide structures.