In a letter to Pope Leo XIV, Superior General of the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) Fr Davide Pagliarani called the July 2 Vatican excommunications of the society “objectively unjust and invalid”.

The excommunications followed the episcopal consecrations of four priests as bishops – Frs Pascal Schreiber of Switzerland, Michael Goldade of the US, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry of France and Marc Hanappier of France – at Écône, Switzerland, on July 1, 2026.

Fr Pagliarani said in the letter: “It appears to us that this decision once more brings to light the profoundly tragic context in which the universal Church finds herself. 

“What the Society of Saint Pius X has done, and will continue to do, is nothing other than an extraordinary initiative for the salvation of souls, amidst the doctrinal and moral confusion into which the Church is plunged. 

“We in no way claim to substitute ourselves for the Church, and we have no ambition other than to remain faithful to her.

“In conscience, we did not believe we could evade the moral duty we owe to souls, as we have already explained, both privately and publicly, to Your Holiness.”

Addressing the Holy Father, the letter stated the Society “promises you today that it will not greet these new sanctions — objectively unjust and invalid — with bitterness or revolt.”

The sentiment echoed the Society’s stance on the excommunications which occurred following the 1988 Écône consecrations, which it also does not recognise.

The Vatican had previously warned that if the SSPX were to proceed in consecrating bishops without Rome’s approval, those involved would incur automatic excommunications. The day before the consecrations, Pope Leo XIV appealed to the Society to refrain from proceeding.

In the July 2 decree issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) declaring the excommunications to be in effect, the four newly consecrated bishops as well as the two consecrating bishops – Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta and Bishop Bernard Fellay – were confirmed to have incurred excommunication.

The decree also stated that clerics and lay faithful were “admonished not to adhere to the schism of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X” as they would by doing so incur the penalty of automatic excommunication.

In an accompanying explanatory note, the DDF said the consecrations were celebrated without pontifical mandate, were against the will of the Holy Father, and were in open violation of canon law.

The note continued: “Therefore, this Dicastery, in the faithful exercise of the functions entrusted to it, considers it necessary to point out that this act constituted the crime of schism, with the canonical consequences for the sacred ministers and for the lay faithful involved.”

It stated that the sacred ministers belonging to the SSPX “are in schism and must therefore be considered schismatics being subject to the excommunication provided for by law.”