For the first time publicly, Leo has weighed in on the upcoming July 1 consecrations of the Society of St. Pius X.
While speaking in Italian with reporters outside Castel Gandolfo Tuesday, Leo threatened to “move on” from the situation if they do not accept certain aspects of the Second Vatican Council.
“We have invited them, and I am still considering making another appeal, to say: ‘Do not do this. Let us try to live communion of the Church.’ But it is their choice,” he said, per EWTN News. “They must understand what it means for them and for the Church.”
Leo also said that “division among Christians is always a painful matter,” while adding that the SSPX “refuse(s) to accept certain fundamental elements of the Church, beginning with various points of the Second Vatican Council. And if they make those choices, I am sorry. But we must move forward.”
The Dispatch
Discussions between the SSPX and the Vatican took place under Francis with Cardinal Gerhard Müller, who was serving as the Prefect of the Congregation (now Dicastery) for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF). Talks collapsed in June 2017 when Müller imposed requirements that the Society said were impossible to accept.
Pagliarani met with current DDF head, Tucho “Kissy” Fernandez, on February 12 to discuss the “minimum requirements for full communion with the Catholic Church.” In a letter published less than a week later, Pagliarani — who has repeatedly sought an audience with Leo — told Fernandez, “we both know in advance that we cannot agree doctrinally, particularly regarding the fundamental orientations adopted since the Second Vatican Council.”
Leo’s remarks do not bode well for those such as Bishop Athanasius Schneider, who has urged Leo to meet with the group and to give his “blessing” for the consecrations. They also suggest that he will issue an excommunication should the Society proceed without his imprimatur.
This story is developing…
