SSPX talks pose greatest challenge of Leo’s pontificate to date
Commentators warned that if Pope Leo gives in to SSPX demands, even partially, it would show the strength of far-right Catholics after the papacy of Pope Francis.
The Vatican faces a renewed showdown with one of its most persistent critics after the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) said it would consecrate new bishops, threatening a new schism hardly a year after the election of Pope Leo XIV.
Rome has declared itself ready for dialogue with the Swiss-based SSPX, whose four bishops consecrated in 1988 without Vatican approval were excommunicated. But the SSPX would have to call off the episcopal ordinations scheduled for 1 July.
Cardinal Victor Fernández, head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, set this condition at a meeting with SSPX superior general Fr Davide Pagliarani on 12 February. The latter then returned to Switzerland, saying he would consult his advisors and publish his reaction soon.
What happens after that could define Pope Leo’s papacy.
Small in numbers but loud in messaging, the SSPX celebrates Mass exclusively in the old rite and opposes both the religious liberty and interreligious dialogue promoted by the Second Vatican Council.
Its two surviving bishops are over 70, so appointing new ones – with or without Vatican approval – is the only way to ordain new priests and keep the group alive. If it does not, it is condemned to slowly disappear.
A Vatican statement after the meeting between Fernández and Pagliarani said the dialogue concerned “the different degrees of adherence required by the various texts of the Second Vatican Council and its interpretation”.
But an SSPX statement added that Cardinal Fernandez had insisted the Council’s resolutions “could not be corrected”.
One view says the Vatican signalled openness to dialogue but would offer only small concessions. Since the SSPX considers the traditionalist option the only path to salvation, it would probably lose interest in the talks and consecrate the new bishops anyway.
The SSPX thinks even Pope Leo does not fully grasp its opposition to reform. “It’s not just a question of lace and incense,” said Fr Alain Lorens, an SSPX priest in Paris. “It’s a question of theology.”
A more negative view sees the SSPX challenging the new papacy to start compromising on acceptance of the Second Vatican Council. If Pope Leo XIV gives in, even partially, it shows the strength of far-right Catholics after the papacy of Pope Francis.
“This is the worst possible time to start negotiating again over Vatican II,” said Massimo Faggioli, professor in ecclesiology at Trinity College, Dublin.
The Pope, whose personal motto is In Illo uno unum (“In the one Christ we are one”), has largely followed Pope Francis but has taken a more conciliatory line with some of his critics.
Talks with the SSPX could encourage other critics of recent Vatican decisions to revive their pressure, Faggioli suggested: “There are a lot of Catholics who would like to jettison Vatican II.”
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