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Pope pleads with breakaway Catholics before possible schism
dw.com • • world
Key Points:
- Pope Leo XIV has urged the ultra-traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) not to proceed with their planned consecration of bishops, warning that it would be a schismatic act with severe spiritual consequences.
- The pope described the consecration as a "sin of extreme gravity" and emphasized that it would deprive the faithful of valid sacraments, urging dialogue instead.
- Under Catholic Church law, unauthorized consecration of bishops leads to automatic excommunication for all involved, excluding them from sacraments and church fellowship.
- SSPX, founded in 1970 in opposition to reforms from the Second Vatican Council, already conducted ordinations recently but the consecration of bishops is a much more serious violation.
- The society operates worldwide with significant followers but remains without official status in the Catholic Church, maintaining strict traditionalist practices including the Latin Mass and rejecting ecumenism.
