Society of St Pius X Plans to Ordain Four Bishops on July 1

The Society of St Pius X plans to ordain four new bishops on July 1, The Guardian reported. Two of the bishops are French, one is Swiss and one is American. Pope Leo stated last week that he is considering making another appeal to the group not to proceed.

He said the ordinations represent the SSPX’s choice and that if it moves ahead the church must move forward. Under Catholic canon law, ordaining bishops without Vatican authorization is grounds for immediate excommunication. The SSPX states its planned ordinations do not proceed from any desire to claim a power of jurisdiction or to establish a parallel authority within the Church.

The SSPX was founded in Switzerland in 1970. It claims more than 500,000 people worldwide attend its masses and states it has nearly 1,500 priests, seminarians and other vocational members. The group maintains a large base of operations in Kansas and exclusively practices the Latin mass.

In 1988 the SSPX ordained bishops and the Holy See excommunicated those who participated, including founder Marcel Lefebvre. Pope Benedict lifted the excommunications in 2009 and granted greater permission for the Latin mass. Pope Francis later abolished a commission that had negotiated with the SSPX while recognizing its sacraments as valid for marriage and confession.

The SSPX discourages women from wearing trousers and often requires head coverings in church. It rejects doctrines from the second Vatican council of 1962-1965. The group states it completely rejects the false claim that it teaches or practices antisemitism.

The Guardian contacted the Holy See and the SSPX for comment and neither responded.