Pope Leo XIV sent a personal letter Tuesday to the leader of a breakaway traditionalist Catholic group, begging them not to go ahead with the consecration of four bishops without Vatican approval. The planned ceremony was scheduled for Wednesday in Econe, Switzerland.
According to a report by Fox News, Leo addressed the letter to the Rev. Davide Pagliarani, head of the Society of St. Pius X. In the letter, Leo wrote, "I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back!"
Leo also warned of the spiritual consequences for ordinary members of the group. "I urge you to consider carefully the spiritual good of the faithful, because the schismatic act you are about to undertake would deprive them of the licit, and in some cases, even valid reception of the sacraments," he wrote.
Under Catholic Church law, consecrating bishops without papal approval is considered a schismatic act. It carries automatic excommunication for both the bishops being ordained and the bishop performing the ceremony.
The Society of St. Pius X defended its decision, saying there is a "state of necessity" requiring it to provide bishops for its faithful. The group was founded after the Second Vatican Council, rejecting many of the church's reforms, including the allowance for Mass to be celebrated in local languages rather than Latin.
The situation echoes a confrontation in 1988, when the group's founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, consecrated four bishops without papal approval. The Vatican responded by excommunicating Lefebvre and the four newly ordained bishops. Those excommunications were lifted in 2009 as part of an effort to restore relations. Despite years of dialogue with the Vatican since then, the SSPX has remained outside the church's formal structure.
The dispute marks the first major challenge of Leo's pontificate. Since becoming pope, the American-born pontiff has emphasized healing divisions within the Church, including tensions with traditionalist Catholics who favor the old Latin Mass. The Society of St. Pius X has continued to expand in recent decades, reporting hundreds of priests, seminarians, and religious members across dozens of countries, making it one of the largest traditionalist movements operating outside the Catholic Church's official authority.
The Associated Press contributed to the Fox News report.
