The Pope launches a final warning to the Lefebvrists to avoid a schism

RomePope Leo XIV has sent a letter to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, known as the Lefebvrians, asking them not to consecrate four new bishops without pontifical mandate, as planned in Switzerland this Wednesday, which would cause a schism in the Church. "I urge you to carefully consider the spiritual good of the faithful, as the schismatic act they would commit would deprive them of the lawful and, in some cases, even valid reception of the sacraments they cherish and seek for their own sanctification," writes Leo XIV. "In this spirit, and full of Christian affection – continues the pontiff –, I implore and ask you with all my heart: turn back!"

The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X was founded in 1970 by the French bishop Marcel Lefebvre, who died in 1991, and brings together faithful who adhere to a strict interpretation of the liturgical and doctrinal tradition of the Catholic religion. It rejects the reforms of the Church since the Second Vatican Council, follows the Tridentine rite, which is characterized by the use of Latin and a highly codified liturgy that even leads the priest to deliver the homily with his back to the faithful, facing the altar.

This religious community has not consecrated new bishops since 1988, when the founder of the fraternity initiated a schism by ordaining four bishops without Rome's approval, which led Pope John Paul II to automatically excommunicate them all. Later, Benedict XVI forgave them and lifted the excommunication of the prelates, who had since then remained in a discreet background.

Lefebvre's followers now aspire to ordain four more bishops, an exclusive competence of the Pope, alleging the "state of necessity" for the survival of the organization. In May, they even announced the names of the new bishops to be appointed on July 1 without Leo XIV's permission. These are the Swiss Pascal Schreiber, the American Michael Goldade, and the French Michel Poinsinet de Sivry and Marc Hanappier.

The announcement by the Lefebvrians has been received in Rome as a challenge to Leo XIV. In May, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Argentine Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, also reiterated in writing that these episcopal ordinations "do not have the corresponding pontifical mandate" and constitute a "grave offense".

In the pontiff's letter, written in French and addressed to the superior general of the Fraternity, Davide Pagliarani, Leo XIV defends that "the Church recognizes the adherence to liturgical life, the commitment to priestly formation, the apostolic zeal, and the desire for fidelity to tradition that characterize many people and communities linked to this fraternity," but asks the Lefebvrists to refrain from carrying out the schismatic act of episcopal consecrations without pontifical mandate, which would be considered "a sin of extreme gravity".

The third woman at the head of a Vatican ministry

Amidst this crisis, the pontiff has appointed this Tuesday Alessandra Smerilli, a Salesian nun and economist, to head the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development, where she served as secretary since 2021. Smerilli, 51, thus becomes the third woman in history to head a Vatican ministry.

The others are Sister Simona Brambilla, prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life, and Mexican Montse Alvarado, who from November will become the first lay woman to lead Vatican communications as prefect of the Dicastery for Communication. The rise of all of them is part of a strategy promoted by Pope Francis, with which women have been incorporated into positions of responsibility in the Vatican in recent years. However, both Brambilla and Smerilli hold their positions accompanied by two men as pro-prefects.