Lefebvrists answer Pope after excommunication as Redemptorist schism looms

Key Points:

• The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) responded to Pope Leo XIV's excommunication of four bishops ordained without Vatican approval, with Superior General Father Davide Pagliarani calling the condemnation "objectively unjust and invalid" and expressing sorrow over the rift.
• SSPX justifies the ordinations due to the advanced age of current bishops and the need for future priests, while still seeking the Pope's blessing and leaving open the possibility of dialogue to heal the division, similar to efforts under Pope Benedict XVI.
• Cardinal Vicar Baldassare Reina emphasized the Church's resilience through historic crises and urged local parishes to strengthen engagement with families and youth to counter traditionalist influences.
• The schism has heightened tensions among conservative American Catholic voters, particularly within the MAGA camp, following previous political clashes with Pope Leo XIV.
• A new potential schism is emerging with the Transalpine Redemptorists in Scotland, who plan an unauthorized episcopal consecration on July 25, with their superior general denouncing the current papacy as led by "enemies of God," signaling further fragmentation within traditionalist Catholicism.