‘Nest of Serpents and Scorpions’: Catholic Splinter Group Excommunicated by Pope Leo Refuses To Repent, Bites Back

Pope Leo XIV’s excommunication of a rebel Catholic group, the Society of St. Pius X, marks the greatest crisis of his young papacy — a rupture that shows no sign of healing as the society escalates its defiance of Rome. The leader of the society, Reverend Davide Pagliariani, responded earlier this month to the blow to his group by insisting that the society, which goes by SSPX, is engaged in an “extraordinary initiative for the salvation of souls, amidst the doctrinal and moral confusion into which the Church is plunged.” Reverend Pagliariani predicts that the “Holy Father will discover in the Society of Saint Pius X not a nest of serpents and scorpions, but a small army of loyal sons.”In a subsequent statement issued last week and entitled “Neither Schismatic Nor Disobedient” the SSPX mounted a full-throated defense of their ostensibly rebellious conduct. The group quoted a 15th century theologian’s position that “Disobeying, even obstinately, the Sovereign Pontiff does not constitute a schism. What constitutes a schism is refusing to submit to him as head of the whole Church.”The SSPX added that “It is important to remember that, until the end of the Middle Ages, episcopal consecration was not reserved exclusively to the Pope.” For that reason, the “Fraternity is neither schismatic nor disobedient. The excommunications pronounced against it are without effect, because where there is no crime, there can be no punishment. The wound certainly exists, but we did not inflict it.” The pope levied his punishment — the “wound” lamented by the SSPX — last month after the arch-traditionalist group consecrated four bishops without the Vatican’s approval. Before the fateful ceremony the Bishop of Rome warned the society in a letter that to “tear the seamless garment of Christ is a sin of extreme gravity” and that appointing the bishops would be a “schismatic act.” The society is named after a pope of fierce traditionalist convictions who reigned between 1903 and 194. Pope Leo XIV presides over a prayer vigil. Antonio Masiello/Getty ImagesSSPX was undeterred. It gathered some 20,000 adherents to a meadow in the Swiss Alps — the site of its seminary — and defied Rome by consecrating the bishops. That triggered what the Vatican’s doctrinal office calls an automatic or “latae sententiae” excommunication. It’s the most serious punishment available for errancy. The excommunication reaches not only the clergy involved but also any “formal follower” of the SSPX.Even as Reverend Pagliariani trumpets his group’s “attachment to our Mother, the Roman Church” he insists that “we had asked to be instructed and confirmed in the faith of all time; instead, we have been declared schismatic.” Reverend Pagliariani writes that “We had asked for bread” but instead “received a stone,” referencing a New Testament passage that asks, “Among yourselves, if a father is asked by his son for bread, will he give him a stone?”The Vicar of Christ has retreated for his summer vacation to the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo, about 15 miles southeast of Rome overlooking Lake Albano. Pope Leo will remain at Gandolfo until July 27, and all papal audiences have been suspended until August 5. His use of the pile represents a pivot from his predecessor. Pope Francis eschewed the use of Gandolfo and instead transformed the 17th century estate into a public museum. The SSPX told the Vatican that obeying the pope on the consecration of bishops would amount to accepting the “false doctrines of Vatican II.” That was a global meeting of Catholic bishops convened by Pope John XXIII between 1962 and 1965. Its goal was aggiornamento, or updating the Church for the modern world. The council produced 16 documents that renovated its relationship with its own traditions and with Jews and Protestants.In the wake of Vatican II the Church promulgated the Mass of Paul VI, known as the Novus Ordo, or “New Order.” That replaced the Tridentine or Latin Mass, which was first promulgated by Pope Pius V in 1570. That ancient liturgy is now known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. It is clung to by traditionalists like the SSPX. The Latin Mass has been gaining in popularity, especially among young Catholics.The institution of the Novus Ordo in 1969 precipitated the creation of the SSPX by a French archbishop, Marcel Lefebvre, a conservative firebrand. In 1988, in a preview of recent events, the group was excommunicated by Pope John Paul II for the first time after Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without an apostolic mandate. In 2009 that excommunication was rescinded by Pope Benedict XVI in an effort to encourage unity in the Church.Now Pope Leo’s decree means that the SSPX’s leadership is once again banned from administering sacraments. Lay Catholics who formally share its schismatic positions are cut off from the Church. Yet to be seen is whether this stamp of ideological disapproval could affect the SSPX’s finances. The sect receives no funding from Rome, and instead raises money from its lay members, its more than 100 schools worldwide, and a publishing house.

‘Nest of Serpents and Scorpions’: Catholic Splinter Group Excommunicated by Pope Leo Refuses To Repent, Bites Back

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