In a letter addressed to Pope Leo XIV, released on July 3, Father Davide Pagliarani, superior general of the SSPX, justified the episcopal consecrations that prompted the Vatican’s decree.

The pope delivered livestreamed remarks, praising the values enshrined in the Declaration of Independence: the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The pontiff's letter stressed religious freedom, the right to life, and the contributions of Catholics and immigrants to American history.

The traditionalist group has been declared in schism with the Catholic Church after an illicit "ordination" of bishops.

Amir Peter, the younger brother of a Catholic priest in Lahore, died July 1 while held on a blasphemy charge, months after doctors declared him mentally unfit to stand trial.

Almost $50 million was used to support the activities of the Holy See in the service of the Holy Father's apostolic mission. U.S Catholics contributed 26.1% of the total.

WASHINGTON – Marking the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, Pope Leo XIV has addressed a letter to the American people. The U.S. bishops are grateful to the Holy Father for his inspiring message, and for his prayers as we commemorate this milestone anniversary of our nation. 

All are invited to read Pope Leo XIV’s message which may be found here.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican declared July 2 that the six bishops involved in the Society of St. Pius X's unauthorized episcopal consecrations had incurred automatic excommunication and said its clergy "are in schism and therefore must be considered schismatics."

The decree from Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, marks the strongest Vatican action against the traditionalist society since its founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, consecrated four bishops without papal approval in 1988, leading to similar Vatican censure.

While the society claims it was compelled to ordain new bishops July 1 in Ecône, Switzerland in order to guarantee to celebrate what they consider the true Mass, Vatican officials and scholars say the dispute that culminated in the excommunications has never primarily been about the traditional Latin Mass.

Founded in 1970 by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in opposition to reforms following the Second Vatican Council, the Society of St. Pius X grew into an international traditionalist movement with hundreds of priests, seminarians and schools around the world. 

While best known for celebrating the pre-Vatican II Latin Mass, the society's disagreements with Rome extend far beyond liturgy and center on its rejection of key teachings of Vatican II, objecting to its declaration on religious liberty.

Speaking to reporters after the consecrations, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, said the Vatican's concern extended far beyond the unauthorized ordinations themselves.

"The fundamental issue, however, is the council – that is, whether or not the Second Vatican Council is accepted," he said. "The history of the Church continues and, as I said before, the Second Vatican Council is a milestone in the Church's history. It must be accepted and implemented in the proper way."

For decades, public discussion surrounding the Society of St. Pius X has focused on its attachment to the pre-Vatican II liturgy. But Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist of religion who has studied the movement for decades and interviewed Archbishop Lefebvre personally, said that narrative misses the central issue.

"I keep reading in the media that the problem is the Latin Mass," he told Catholic News Service July 2. "Liturgy is an important point, but it's not the key point."

The dispute is not that the SSPX prefers the traditional Latin Mass, because many other groups in full communion with Rome celebrate it as well, Introvigne said, but that the fraternity rejects the post-conciliar liturgical reform in ways the Vatican says call into question its acceptance of the Church's authority.

Introvigne recalled the late archbishop telling him that even if the pope restored the pre-conciliar liturgy overnight, his principal objections would remain because his real concerns centered on Vatican II's teaching on religious liberty and the Church's relationship with other religions. 

Those concerns remain at the center of the society's position today.

"I believe a key point here is they want the pope to agree with them that the other religions are 'the work of the devil,'" Introvigne said, and that the public activity of non-Catholic believers "should be prohibited by the state."

There are two notable texts from Vatican II that focus on religious liberty, "Dignitatis Humanae," which recognizes a civil right to religious freedom, and "Nostra Aetate," which encourages dialogue with non-Christian religions while recognizing elements of truth and holiness within them. 

The council's declaration on religious freedom, "Dignitatis humanae," is not about denying the truth of Jesus and the faith, Introvigne said, but is about the importance of every human's freedom to arrive at the truth without state interference or coercion.

The SSPX argues that because the council described its work as "pastoral" and issued no new dogmatic definitions, Catholics are not required to accept every conciliar teaching, particularly where the fraternity believes the council departed from previous doctrine. 

The SSPX argues some teachings are difficult to reconcile with earlier magisterial statements.

The Vatican has consistently rejected that interpretation, saying the Church can evolve in its understanding of the truth and, therefore, its teachings, and the Vatican II texts belong to the Church's authentic and authoritative magisterium.

Although the July 2 decree represents the strongest Vatican action against the fraternity in decades, it also follows a familiar pattern. After Archbishop Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without papal approval in 1988, St. John Paul II declared the act schismatic but simultaneously established a commission to facilitate reconciliation with traditionalist Catholics. Pope Benedict XVI later lifted the bishops' excommunications to reopen dialogue, and Pope Francis granted SSPX priests faculties to validly hear confessions and provided for the recognition of marriages.

Vatican officials have repeatedly coupled canonical sanctions with invitations to return to full communion, a pattern that many observers expect will continue under Pope Leo XIV despite the recent rupture.

Cardinal Fernández had proposed dialogue earlier this year focused on Vatican II and the minimum requirements for full communion, according to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Vatican conditioned those talks on the fraternity abandoning plans to consecrate new bishops.

Instead, the society proceeded.

Thousands gathered July 1 at the society's seminary in Ecône as Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta consecrated four new bishops despite repeated Vatican warnings that doing so would constitute a schismatic act.

A day earlier, Pope Leo made an extraordinary personal appeal.

"Please turn back!" he wrote in a brief message. He warned that proceeding would "tear the seamless garment of Christ" and described the planned consecrations as "a sin of extreme gravity."

The society nevertheless insists it has no intention of leaving the Catholic Church.

During the consecration Mass, Father Davide Pagliarani, superior general of the SSPX, rejected accusations that the fraternity was separating itself from Rome.

"We cannot choose between the faith and the Church," he said. "We belong to the Church because we have the same faith."

He argued that the fraternity was acting not against the Church but for her good, insisting that its bishops were preserving Catholic tradition during what the society calls an unprecedented crisis in the Church.

For Introvigne, however, the dispute ultimately concerns authority more than liturgy.

"Some of the questions the society asked were valid questions," he said. "The problem is when the society started not only asking questions, but substituting itself for the pope and also giving the answers." 

That, he said, is where theological disagreement became schism.

"The pope has tried everything possible to reconcile them," Introvigne said. "But everything possible is not equal to everything." 

The Church can continue dialogue, he said, "but it cannot allow people to replace the authority of the pope with their own." 

The Vatican's July 2 decree declared that the six bishops had been automatically excommunicated upon the act of consecration without papal authority. It also stated that clergy belonging to the SSPX "are in schism and therefore must be considered schismatics." 

Introvigne said that this level of excommunication was what he expected because "it's clear that generosity and kindness didn't work out," referring to the previously lifted excommunications by Pope Benedict XVI and restoration of some priestly faculties by Pope Francis.

Lay faithful who "formally adhere" to the fraternity likewise incur excommunication, although canonists say the decree leaves open questions about what constitutes formal adherence. Seeing as SSPX sees itself as a part of the Catholic Church, they do not retain membership data, Introvigne said. The society's website claims to have 600,000 members, but the theologian estimates the true number of lay people who attend Mass with the society regularly to be between 30,000 and 40,000. 

Introvigne also believes the movement has already reached its high-water mark.

"Another personal opinion, which I'm sure the society would dispute, is that this movement is past its prime and this schismatic attitude is not a sign of strength but it's a sign of weakness," he said.

He argued that the fraternity was most successful when it could portray itself as defending traditional Catholics from Pope Francis' restrictions on the celebration of the Latin Mass. With Pope Leo widely viewed as a unifying figure, Introvigne said, much of that momentum has faded.

"In other words, many Catholics will gladly embrace a conservative position, but not a fundamentalist position," he said. 

In the months leading up to the consecrations, Pope Leo devoted a series of Wednesday general audience talks to explaining the principal documents of Vatican II, signalling the same fidelity as his predecessors demonstrated to the council's teachings. 

Introvigne believes the latest rupture represents less a new beginning than a return to a familiar place.

"It puts the clock back to 1988," he said, adding that, despite the excommunications, he expects dialogue to continue eventually. 

Cardinal Parolin told journalists July 1 that he hopes "dialogue can resume and that we may truly find a solution here as well." Introvigne also said the cycle is unlikely to end with the latest excommunications. 

"The dialogue, at least under the table, will continue," he said. "But to have a meaningful dialogue, some things should change," including, he suggested, changes in the fraternity's leadership.

Despite the Vatican's sweeping action against the SSPX, Introvigne does not believe the fraternity represents the greatest challenge facing Pope Leo's pontificate.

Instead, he pointed to ongoing tensions in Germany, where bishops and lay organizations continue to advocate for women's ordination and sacramental recognition of same-sex unions.

"I believe the challenge is on the other side," he said. "I believe Pope Leo is more concerned with the movements in the German church than with the Lefebvrists."

Those demands, he said, are also ones "Pope Leo cannot accept," raising the possibility of another rupture within the Church -- this time from the opposite end of the theological spectrum.

"It will not be enormous," he said. "But it will be as significant as schism, and perhaps more significant than this one on the right."

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican declared July 2 that the six bishops involved in the Society of St. Pius X's unauthorized episcopal consecrations had incurred automatic excommunication and said its clergy "are in schism and therefore must be considered schismatics."

The decree from Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, marks the strongest Vatican action against the traditionalist society since its founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, consecrated four bishops without papal approval in 1988, leading to similar Vatican censure.

While the society claims it was compelled to ordain new bishops July 1 in Ecône, Switzerland in order to guarantee to celebrate what they consider the true Mass, Vatican officials and scholars say the dispute that culminated in the excommunications has never primarily been about the traditional Latin Mass.

Founded in 1970 by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in opposition to reforms following the Second Vatican Council, the Society of St. Pius X grew into an international traditionalist movement with hundreds of priests, seminarians and schools around the world. 

While best known for celebrating the pre-Vatican II Latin Mass, the society's disagreements with Rome extend far beyond liturgy and center on its rejection of key teachings of Vatican II, objecting to its declaration on religious liberty.

Speaking to reporters after the consecrations, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, said the Vatican's concern extended far beyond the unauthorized ordinations themselves.

"The fundamental issue, however, is the council – that is, whether or not the Second Vatican Council is accepted," he said. "The history of the Church continues and, as I said before, the Second Vatican Council is a milestone in the Church's history. It must be accepted and implemented in the proper way."

For decades, public discussion surrounding the Society of St. Pius X has focused on its attachment to the pre-Vatican II liturgy. But Massimo Introvigne, an Italian sociologist of religion who has studied the movement for decades and interviewed Archbishop Lefebvre personally, said that narrative misses the central issue.

"I keep reading in the media that the problem is the Latin Mass," he told Catholic News Service July 2. "Liturgy is an important point, but it's not the key point."

The dispute is not that the SSPX prefers the traditional Latin Mass, because many other groups in full communion with Rome celebrate it as well, Introvigne said, but that the fraternity rejects the post-conciliar liturgical reform in ways the Vatican says call into question its acceptance of the Church's authority.

Introvigne recalled the late archbishop telling him that even if the pope restored the pre-conciliar liturgy overnight, his principal objections would remain because his real concerns centered on Vatican II's teaching on religious liberty and the Church's relationship with other religions. 

Those concerns remain at the center of the society's position today.

"I believe a key point here is they want the pope to agree with them that the other religions are 'the work of the devil,'" Introvigne said, and that the public activity of non-Catholic believers "should be prohibited by the state."

There are two notable texts from Vatican II that focus on religious liberty, "Dignitatis Humanae," which recognizes a civil right to religious freedom, and "Nostra Aetate," which encourages dialogue with non-Christian religions while recognizing elements of truth and holiness within them. 

The council's declaration on religious freedom, "Dignitatis humanae," is not about denying the truth of Jesus and the faith, Introvigne said, but is about the importance of every human's freedom to arrive at the truth without state interference or coercion.

The SSPX argues that because the council described its work as "pastoral" and issued no new dogmatic definitions, Catholics are not required to accept every conciliar teaching, particularly where the fraternity believes the council departed from previous doctrine. 

The SSPX argues some teachings are difficult to reconcile with earlier magisterial statements.

The Vatican has consistently rejected that interpretation, saying the Church can evolve in its understanding of the truth and, therefore, its teachings, and the Vatican II texts belong to the Church's authentic and authoritative magisterium.

Although the July 2 decree represents the strongest Vatican action against the fraternity in decades, it also follows a familiar pattern. After Archbishop Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without papal approval in 1988, St. John Paul II declared the act schismatic but simultaneously established a commission to facilitate reconciliation with traditionalist Catholics. Pope Benedict XVI later lifted the bishops' excommunications to reopen dialogue, and Pope Francis granted SSPX priests faculties to validly hear confessions and provided for the recognition of marriages.

Vatican officials have repeatedly coupled canonical sanctions with invitations to return to full communion, a pattern that many observers expect will continue under Pope Leo XIV despite the recent rupture.

Cardinal Fernández had proposed dialogue earlier this year focused on Vatican II and the minimum requirements for full communion, according to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The Vatican conditioned those talks on the fraternity abandoning plans to consecrate new bishops.

Instead, the society proceeded.

Thousands gathered July 1 at the society's seminary in Ecône as Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta consecrated four new bishops despite repeated Vatican warnings that doing so would constitute a schismatic act.

A day earlier, Pope Leo made an extraordinary personal appeal.

"Please turn back!" he wrote in a brief message. He warned that proceeding would "tear the seamless garment of Christ" and described the planned consecrations as "a sin of extreme gravity."

The society nevertheless insists it has no intention of leaving the Catholic Church.

During the consecration Mass, Father Davide Pagliarani, superior general of the SSPX, rejected accusations that the fraternity was separating itself from Rome.

"We cannot choose between the faith and the Church," he said. "We belong to the Church because we have the same faith."

He argued that the fraternity was acting not against the Church but for her good, insisting that its bishops were preserving Catholic tradition during what the society calls an unprecedented crisis in the Church.

For Introvigne, however, the dispute ultimately concerns authority more than liturgy.

"Some of the questions the society asked were valid questions," he said. "The problem is when the society started not only asking questions, but substituting itself for the pope and also giving the answers." 

That, he said, is where theological disagreement became schism.

"The pope has tried everything possible to reconcile them," Introvigne said. "But everything possible is not equal to everything." 

The Church can continue dialogue, he said, "but it cannot allow people to replace the authority of the pope with their own." 

The Vatican's July 2 decree declared that the six bishops had been automatically excommunicated upon the act of consecration without papal authority. It also stated that clergy belonging to the SSPX "are in schism and therefore must be considered schismatics." 

Introvigne said that this level of excommunication was what he expected because "it's clear that generosity and kindness didn't work out," referring to the previously lifted excommunications by Pope Benedict XVI and restoration of some priestly faculties by Pope Francis.

Lay faithful who "formally adhere" to the fraternity likewise incur excommunication, although canonists say the decree leaves open questions about what constitutes formal adherence. Seeing as SSPX sees itself as a part of the Catholic Church, they do not retain membership data, Introvigne said. The society's website claims to have 600,000 members, but the theologian estimates the true number of lay people who attend Mass with the society regularly to be between 30,000 and 40,000. 

Introvigne also believes the movement has already reached its high-water mark.

"Another personal opinion, which I'm sure the society would dispute, is that this movement is past its prime and this schismatic attitude is not a sign of strength but it's a sign of weakness," he said.

He argued that the fraternity was most successful when it could portray itself as defending traditional Catholics from Pope Francis' restrictions on the celebration of the Latin Mass. With Pope Leo widely viewed as a unifying figure, Introvigne said, much of that momentum has faded.

"In other words, many Catholics will gladly embrace a conservative position, but not a fundamentalist position," he said. 

In the months leading up to the consecrations, Pope Leo devoted a series of Wednesday general audience talks to explaining the principal documents of Vatican II, signalling the same fidelity as his predecessors demonstrated to the council's teachings. 

Introvigne believes the latest rupture represents less a new beginning than a return to a familiar place.

"It puts the clock back to 1988," he said, adding that, despite the excommunications, he expects dialogue to continue eventually. 

Cardinal Parolin told journalists July 1 that he hopes "dialogue can resume and that we may truly find a solution here as well." Introvigne also said the cycle is unlikely to end with the latest excommunications. 

"The dialogue, at least under the table, will continue," he said. "But to have a meaningful dialogue, some things should change," including, he suggested, changes in the fraternity's leadership.

Despite the Vatican's sweeping action against the SSPX, Introvigne does not believe the fraternity represents the greatest challenge facing Pope Leo's pontificate.

Instead, he pointed to ongoing tensions in Germany, where bishops and lay organizations continue to advocate for women's ordination and sacramental recognition of same-sex unions.

"I believe the challenge is on the other side," he said. "I believe Pope Leo is more concerned with the movements in the German church than with the Lefebvrists."

Those demands, he said, are also ones "Pope Leo cannot accept," raising the possibility of another rupture within the Church -- this time from the opposite end of the theological spectrum.

"It will not be enormous," he said. "But it will be as significant as schism, and perhaps more significant than this one on the right."

CNS' Vatican Access video interview with religion sociologist Massimo Introvigne