BREAKING Cardinal Fernandez Meets with SSPX Leader at the Vatican with Warning that Ordinations Could Cause Schism

On February 12, a dialogue took place between the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, and Father Davide Pagliarani, Superior General of the SSPX, the priestly fraternity more commonly known as the Lefebvrians, named after Bishop Marcel Lefebvre, who established the association in the 1970s in opposition to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The Holy See proposed to the Society of Saint Pius X to initiate a theological dialogue
This morning, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Fernández, met in the Vatican with the superior of the SSPX, Pagliarani, following contacts initiated after the Society's announcement in early February that it would consecrate new bishops. A statement signed by the cardinal refers to the proposal for "a path of specifically theological dialogue" and the request to suspend ordinations, which would imply "a decisive rupture of ecclesial communion."

A “cordial” and “sincere” meeting, held with the “approval” of Pope Leo XIV, characterized by the proposal to initiate “a specifically theological dialogue” and concluded with a clear recommendation: that the Society of Saint Pius X suspend the decision on the announced episcopal ordinations because this “would imply a decisive rupture of ecclesial communion (schism) with grave consequences for the Society as a whole.”

The meeting with the Argentine cardinal was announced on February 4th as the first concrete result of "contacts" between the Holy See and the SSPX aimed at "avoiding disagreements or unilateral solutions to the issues that have emerged." This last step was emphasized in a statement from the Holy See Press Office published on February 3rd, the day after the Society announced upcoming episcopal consecrations. It was Pagliarani himself, during a ceremony held at the SSPX seminary in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, France, who announced that he would entrust the community's two bishops, the Spaniard Alfonso de Gallareta and the Swiss Bernard Fellay, with the task of "proceeding with new episcopal consecrations" on July 1st, without the Pope's approval. This would have been a replica of the June 30, 1988, gesture by Archbishop Lefebvre, when he ordained four bishops, incurring a latae sententiae excommunication . Two of the four were Fellay and de Gallareta. The Superior General's statement from early February referred to a letter sent to the Holy See expressing "the Society's particular need to ensure the continuity of the ministry of its bishops," and emphasizing that up to that point no response had arrived from Rome.

Today, however, the Prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith and the Superior of the SSPX met in the Palace of the Holy Office. Details of the meeting are reported in a statement signed by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, which states that "after clarifying several points presented by the SSPX in various letters, sent particularly between 2017 and 2019—among others, the question of divine will regarding the plurality of religions was discussed—the Prefect proposed a path of specifically theological dialogue, with a very specific methodology, regarding issues that have not yet been sufficiently clarified." Among these topics: "The difference between an act of faith and 'religious submission of mind and will,'" and "the different degrees of adherence required by the various texts of the First Vatican Ecumenical Council and its interpretation." At the same time, it was proposed to “address a series of topics listed by the FSSPX in a letter of January 17, 2019.”

"This process," the statement continues, "would aim to highlight, in the topics discussed, the minimum requirements for full communion with the Catholic Church and, consequently, to outline a canonical statute for the Fraternity, along with other aspects to be further explored."

The Holy See also reiterated that "the ordination of bishops without the mandate of the Holy Father, who holds supreme ordinary power, which is full, universal, immediate, and direct, would imply a decisive rupture of ecclesial communion (schism) with grave consequences for the Society as a whole." Therefore, "the possibility of holding this dialogue presupposes that the Society suspend the decision regarding the announced episcopal ordinations."

The Superior General of the SSPX "will present the proposal to his Council and give his response to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith." "In the event of a positive response, the steps, stages, and procedures to be followed will be mutually agreed upon," the document emphasizes. At the end of the document, a prayer request is made "to the entire Church" to accompany "this journey, especially in the coming times, with prayer to the Holy Spirit," the "principal architect of the true ecclesial communion desired by Christ."
 FULL TEXT OF THE STATEMENT FROM THE DICASTERY FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH HERE