By Fr. Gerald E. Murray
The canonically illegal consecration/ordination (the terms are interchangeable) of four new bishops by two bishops of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X (FSSPX)—who were themselves illegally ordained by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre 38 years ago—is a renewed wound in the Mystical Body of Christ. This schismatic act of disobedience, carried out in open defiance of the public warning of Pope Leo XIV, resulted in the six bishops incurring latae sententiae (automatic) excommunication.
While claiming to defend the traditional faith of the Catholic Church, the newly excommunicated bishops boldly dismiss what the Catholic Church has always taught her children, namely, that the hierarchical nature of Catholicism includes the dogmatic teaching that the Pope is the Supreme Authority to whom all Catholics owe obedience. That obedience, it goes without saying, includes not ordaining bishops when the Pope forbids such ordinations.
Put simply, the Pope is the successor of Peter, the Vicar of Christ. He governs the Church. Obedience to his decision regarding who may or may not receive episcopal ordination is necessary if one wishes to remain a faithful Catholic.
The Holy See instructed the FSSPX earlier this year to refrain from carrying out the illegal ordination of any new bishop on July 1. The FSSPX rejected this instruction. This defiance of Pope Leo is an act of grave disobedience that the Holy See judges to be a schismatic act involving “the rejection of submission to the Supreme Pontiff” (canon 751) by performing an act prohibited by canon law, namely, the ordination of bishops without a papal mandate (canon 1387). These episcopal ordinations involve not merely the absence of a papal mandate, but clear disobedience in direct defiance of Pope Leo.
On the eve of the illegal consecrations, Pope Leo wrote to the Superior General of the FSSPX, Fr. Davide Pagliarani:
With a father’s heart, and aware of the responsibility entrusted to me by the Lord as the Successor of the Apostle Peter, I address you and, through you, the bishops, priests, seminarians, and faithful associated with the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X… [F]illed with Christian affection, I beg and implore you with all my heart: please, turn back! 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, which they love and seek for their sanctification.
The Pope has the authority to determine what constitutes a schismatic act, and he has done so. The FSSPX has no authority to contradict or ignore this papal judgment.
Fr. Pagliarani responded: “Paradoxically, in the present circumstances, we believe it is our duty to do everything possible to mend the seamless garment of Christ, torn by forces and pressures incompatible with a truly Catholic spirit.” Paradoxical indeed! The Superior General of the FSSPX incredibly claims that the FSSPX is going to “mend the seamless garment of Christ.”
No, what he is doing is tearing that garment by committing what he knows the Holy See judged to be a schismatic act. This is akin to an army claiming that it must destroy a village occupied by the enemy in order to save it.
Why did this happen? The FSSPX wants to continue ordaining priests who celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass while refusing to return to full communion with the Pope and the Church. The Fraternity claims that a state of necessity in the Church allows them to ordain new bishops free of blame. They need some younger bishops, they say, in order to continue ordaining new priests in the coming years.
If it were in full communion with the Church, any number of bishops would be willing to ordain the FSSPX seminarians. Instead, the FSSPX has deepened its adoption of a dangerous separatist spirit. Ordaining new bishops against the will of the Pope is a necessary action to provide new priests for the FSSPX only if it plans to continue operating outside the Holy See. Evidently, they do not foresee returning to full communion in the near term.
In the wake of the 1988 schismatic episcopal ordinations by Archbishop Lefebvre, the Holy See provided for the ordination of priests of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, the Institute of Christ the King, and the Institute of the Good Shepherd, all of whom celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass. Full communion with the Roman Pontiff, and obedience to him, is not a discretionary practice that can be set aside by any group in the Church, especially by a group that publicly claims, as the FSSPX does, to be fully Catholic and to submit to the Supreme Authority of the Church.
In my judgment, the FSSPX used the February 2 announcement of the July 1 episcopal ordinations as a tactic, attempting to force the Holy See to accept allowing the ordinations in the hope that the Holy See would want to avoid a schism at all costs. The Holy See offered to continue doctrinal discussions with the FSSPX, but only if the threat of the episcopal ordinations was withdrawn. The FSSPX did not accept this. Demanding a hearing from the Holy See without accepting a very reasonable condition—“cease threatening an act of grave disobedience if Pope Leo does not give you what you want”—is clearly not a manifestation of filial submission to the successor of Peter.
Where will all this lead? The longer the FSSPX operates in defiance of the Holy See, the more deeply a separatist spirit will take root among the FSSPX and the religious and laity who attend their Masses. This will lead to greater antagonism toward Catholics who fulfill their duty to submit to papal authority.
The excommunicated bishops of the FSSPX will be regarded by many sympathizers as the only reliably Catholic bishops. The Pope and the bishops in full communion with him will likely be seen as obstacles to advancing the Church’s mission. This is the danger that arises from departing from the due submission every Catholic owes to the Successor of Peter. Catholics are called to live sub Petro, not contra Petrum.
The FSSPX claims that doctrinal disorders in the Church justify their defiance of the authority of the Roman Pontiff. This reminds me of something my university professor said in a course on the Constitutional History of Medieval Europe: “It all comes down to this question: who the hell is in charge here?” The FSSPX needs to ask itself: Whom did Christ put in charge of the Church? Peter and his successors, or someone else?
An essential aspect of this story is the manifest lack of trust in Divine Providence on the part of Archbishop Lefebvre and his followers. Let us recall that in 1988, the Holy See offered to ordain a member of the FSSPX as bishop if Archbishop Lefebvre accepted reconciliation with the Holy See. This was an unusual concession, given that a society of priests like the FSSPX does not require having a bishop member to carry out ordinations.
Archbishop Lefebvre signed an agreement but retracted it the following day. He later said he was concerned that the Holy See had asked him to submit more names of candidates for episcopal ordination after he had already informed the Holy See of whom he thought should be ordained bishop. He wanted to control who would be the bishop to replace him. That is not how it works in the Catholic Church. The Pope makes the decision because he is the Supreme Authority in the Church.
We must all trust in God’s Providence. Dom Hubert van Zeller wrote: “The word providence… means ‘to see beforehand.’ [God] sees beforehand what is best for us, and we accept what he sends.” The FSSPX manifested a lamentable lack of trust in the providential favor of God shown to those who fulfill His will, which includes submitting to the divinely established authority of the Successor of Peter.
May the Lord bring the wayward shepherds back to full communion with total obedience to the Vicar of Christ.
About the author
Rev. Gerald E. Murray, J.C.D., is a canon lawyer and pastor of the Church of St. Joseph in New York City. His new book (with Diane Montagna), Calming the Storm: Navigating the Crises Facing the Catholic Church and Society, is now available.