Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has issued a public letter expressing support for the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) following the Vatican’s declaration that six of its bishops incurred automatic excommunication after four new bishops were consecrated without papal approval.
According to LifeSiteNews, Viganò addressed the letter to SSPX Superior General Father Davide Pagliarani, offering his “full support” to the Society’s bishops, clergy, and faithful in the wake of the July 2 decree issued by Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
In his letter, Viganò sharply criticized the Vatican’s actions and argued that the Church is experiencing a profound internal division.
“The ruthless decree and the note from the former Holy Office, with their harshness toward those who have the sole ‘fault’ of wanting to remain Catholic, once again reveal the schism underway between the pope and the papacy itself: the conciliar-synodal church that attempts to eclipse the Catholic Church,” Viganò wrote, according to LifeSiteNews.
He further claimed that the Vatican shows leniency toward genuine divisions within the Church while acting harshly toward those who seek to preserve Catholic Tradition.
“While it shows indulgence, if not open complicity, toward true schisms and abuses of every kind, it reserves the stones for those who guard and transmit the faith,” he wrote, echoing remarks previously made by Father Pagliarani. According to LifeSiteNews, the SSPX superior had said the Society received only “a stone” from the Vatican after seeking “a measure of understanding for a sincere case of conscience.”
Viganò also argued that the Society’s continued commitment to its mission demonstrates what he sees as the enduring strength of Catholic Tradition.
“And it is precisely your fidelity that makes evident the failure of the conciliar revolution and the vitality of Tradition,” he wrote, referring to the Society’s longstanding objections to certain teachings and interpretations associated with the Second Vatican Council.
He concluded his message with words of encouragement directed to the SSPX community.
“To the priests, clerics, and lay faithful of the Fraternity founded by the Venerable Msgr. Marcel Lefebvre, allow me, dear Don Davide, to say with affection: Do not let yourselves be troubled. Remain steadfast in the faith, in the immutable doctrine, in the priesthood and in the eternal Holy Mass, faithful to Holy Roman Church, in the luminous witness to Christ the King and Pontiff.”
According to LifeSiteNews, Cardinal Fernández’s decree states that the six SSPX bishops incurred automatic excommunication following the episcopal consecrations carried out without papal mandate. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith also published an explanatory note stating that SSPX priests are considered to be in schism, asserting that confessions they hear and marriages they witness are invalid, while warning that Catholics who formally adhere to the Society could also face excommunication.
The Society of St. Pius X has consistently maintained that consecrating bishops is necessary to preserve its apostolic work because of what it describes as a “state of necessity” within the Church. According to LifeSiteNews, the Society rejects the validity of the canonical penalties imposed against its bishops and clergy.
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