Cardinal Gerhard Müller and Cardinal Robert Sarah, two prominent supporters of the Traditional Latin Mass, have spoken out against the decision of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) to defy the Vatican and ordain new bishops on July 1.
The decision to proceed with the episcopal consecrations without papal approval was confirmed in a Feb. 18 letter, penned by SSPX superior general Father Davide Pagliarani a week after his Feb. 12 meeting with Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF).
In the letter, the Catholic traditionalist group said it could not “accept the perspective and objectives” for resumed dialogue proposed by the DDF prefect, insisting the July 1 consecrations would “not constitute a rupture of communion” with the Church.
The SSPX, which exclusively celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass, maintains doctrinal differences with certain teachings and reforms of the Second Vatican Council, particularly with regard to religious freedom and the Church’s approach to other faiths.
Under canon law, a bishop who consecrates another bishop without a papal mandate and the person who receives that consecration incur automatic excommunication.
Müller, who served as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) from 2012 to 2017, issued a lengthy Feb. 21 statement, saying “personal sensitivities should take a back seat” for the good of Church unity.
“If the Society of St. Pius X is to have a positive impact on Church history, it cannot fight for the true faith from a distance, from the outside, against the Church united with the pope,” Müller wrote.
Highlighting the importance for SSPX to recognize papal authority “not only in theory but also in practice,” the German prelate said the society must submit to the teaching authority of the Church “without preconditions.”
“No orthodox Catholic can invoke reasons of conscience if he withdraws from the formal authority of the pope regarding the visible unity of the sacramental Church in order to establish an ecclesiastical order not in full communion with him,” Müller said.
Over the weekend, Sarah, who served as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 2014 to 2021, also shared his “deep concern and sadness” after SSPX confirmed its decision to ordain new bishops without a papal mandate.
“Is it to desire the salvation of souls to tear apart the mystical body of Christ in a way that may be irreversible? How many souls are in danger of being lost because of this new division?” Sarah lamented in a Feb. 22 Le Journal du Dimanche article.
“We are told that this act is intended to defend tradition and the faith,” he added. “I know how much the deposit of faith is sometimes despised today by those very people whose mission it is to defend it.”
The African prelate ardently appealed for SSPX to be united to the Church founded by Jesus Christ and entrusted to the care of the apostles, particularly St. Peter, the first pope, and his successors.
“Can we really do without following Christ in his humility unto the cross? Is it not a betrayal of tradition to take refuge in human means [and] maintain our works, however good they may be?” he said.
The proposed July 1 date for the episcopal consecrations coincides with the anniversary of the 1988 excommunication of SSPX founder Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre for consecrating four bishops without permission of Rome.