A decades-long rupture inside the Catholic Church is approaching a decisive new flash point as the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), a traditionalist priestly fraternity, is now days away from defying Rome with a move the Vatican says will automatically trigger excommunication.

The SSPX is scheduled to consecrate four new bishops on July 1 at its seminary in Écône, Switzerland, despite repeated warnings from the Vatican that carrying out the ordinations without papal approval would constitute a "schismatic act." Vatican officials have made clear that under canon law, both the bishops performing such ordinations and those receiving them would incur automatic excommunication.

The standoff has become one of the earliest tests of Pope Leo XIV's leadership, raising the prospect of a renewed institutional break between Rome and a movement that has operated in a precarious canonical gray zone since it began in 1970.

Leo, whose papacy began in May 2025, recently made a personal appeal to the group to reverse course, warning that the planned consecrations risk deepening divisions within the Catholic Church, but the SSPX has continued preparations for the ceremony and has publicly defended its decision, saying it would "rather die than renounce" its principles.

Last month, the group named the four priests it plans to consecrate—including American Father Michael Goldade—arguing that, with only two bishops left, the move is necessary to ensure its future ministry.

The brewing schism reflects a wider debate within global Catholicism, pitting traditionalist factions that seek to preserve older liturgical and theological practices against church leaders who have embraced reforms introduced since the 1960s.

Newsweek has contacted the SSPX and the Vatican for comment via email.

SSPX Returns to Path of Excommunication

The SSPX announced in February that it was planning to ordain bishops without papal approval, one of the most serious offenses in Catholic canon law.

In May, the Vatican's head of discipline, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, warned that the move would result in excommunication for those involved, meaning they would not be allowed to receive sacraments, would be banned from holding official ministry or positions of authority, and could not officially perform liturgical functions.

The dispute carries particular weight because of its historical parallels. In 1988, French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who founded the Society of St. Pius X, consecrated four bishops without the approval of Pope John Paul II. The Vatican declared the act schismatic and announced the excommunication of Lefebvre; Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer, who was the co-consecrating bishop; and the four newly ordained bishops:

• Bernard Fellay (Switzerland)

• Bernard Tissier de Mallerais (France)

• Richard Williamson (England)

• Alfonso de Galarreta (Spain)

In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications of the surviving bishops as part of an effort to improve relations with the society. Still, the SSPX has never been fully reintegrated into the Catholic Church and remains in what the Vatican has described as a state of "canonical irregularity."

Origin of the Decades-Long Dispute

Lefebvre founded the SSPX in 1970 in response to changes introduced after the Second Vatican Council, the landmark 1962-1965 gathering that reshaped many aspects of Catholic life.

The archbishop and his supporters argued that reforms to the liturgy, ecumenism and relations with other religions departed from long-standing Catholic tradition. While the group remained committed to Catholic doctrine and papal authority, it increasingly found itself at odds with successive popes over the direction of the church.

More recently, the society has objected to Fiducia Supplicans, a 2023 Vatican declaration that opened the door to nonliturgical blessings for same-sex couples and others in "irregular" relationships, a move traditionalists viewed as a departure from established practice.

In the decades that followed the 1988 consecrations, the Vatican has pursued periodic efforts to improve relations with the SSPX. Earlier this year, the Vatican offered to reopen theological talks with the group, with a goal of resolving their long-standing disagreements and finding a path to full communion with Rome. However, it said the discussions would require the society to abandon its plans for new bishop consecrations, which the group has repeatedly refused to do.

Why SSPX Says It Won't Back Down

Father Davide Pagliarani, the society's superior general, has defended the move as both "realistic and reasonable," citing the number of faithful who attend SSPX masses and the need for bishops to ordain priests and administer confirmations.

Indeed, SSPX figures suggest the movement has continued to expand. The society said it had 582 priests in 2015, which increased to 733 by 2025. In the same period, its network of priories increased from 131 to 184, and its places of worship increased from 447 to 798.

According to the SSPX, in the United States alone, it had 124 priests serving 115 chapels and about 30,000 faithful. The data, from 2024, is the most recent available.

Newsweek previously spoke with a Toronto Catholic who argued in favor of the consecrations because of the society's growth.

José LoMonaco, who organized the delivery of a letter to his local archbishop, Cardinal Frank Leo, urging him to intervene in the dispute, said: "In order to ordain traditional priests in the traditional Roman rite, traditional bishops are needed. The SSPX currently has two bishops approaching their 70s. Without bishops, the SSPX cannot continue. That's why we support the decision to consecrate new bishops."

The society's surviving bishops are Fellay, 68, and de Galarreta, 69. Tissier de Mallerais died in 2024 at the age of 79. Williamson, meanwhile, was expelled from the SSPX in 2012 after "refusing to show due respect and obedience to his lawful superiors," the group said. He died in January 2025 at the age of 84.

The SSPX has invoked what it calls a "state of grave necessity," arguing that unresolved doctrinal disputes with Rome justify moving ahead without papal approval.

Last month, Pagliarani wrote to the pope, saying the group had warned the Vatican for more than 50 years of modernist "errors that are destroying Catholic faith and morals" and lamenting that the only response had "appeared to be that of canonical sanctions."

What Pope Leo Has Said

Throughout the dispute, Vatican officials have stressed the importance of preserving unity within the church, arguing that the consecrations risk creating a deeper rupture with Rome.

The pope himself spoke about the feud for the first time last week, telling journalists that while he was "considering making another appeal to say: 'Do not do this, let us try to live in communion within the church," the decision to proceed belonged to the SSPX.

"Certainly, division among Christians is always a painful point. But they refuse to accept certain fundamental elements of the church, starting with several points from the Second Vatican Council," he said, according to the National Catholic Reporter.

In response, the SSPX pointed to remarks by Bishop Athanasius Schneider, who argued that although recent popes acted in "good faith," the reforms opposed by the society had been a "disaster."

Four Priests Set for Consecration

These are the four priests set to be ordained as bishops on July 1:

• Michael Goldade (United States)

• Pascal Schreiber (Switzerland)

• Michel Poinsinet de Sivry (France)

• Marc Hanappier (France)

All have held prominent leadership positions within the SSPX and belong to a younger generation than the bishops consecrated in 1988, with their ages ranging from 36 to 53 years old. The incoming bishops signal what appears to be a generational transition in the movement's leadership.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: John Fitzpatrick and Shakeema Edwards.

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