️ Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday appealed to a group of ultra-traditionalist Catholics not to proceed with its planned consecration of bishops on Wednesday, an act that could trigger a full schism with the Vatican.

️ The group, the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), was founded in 1970 by Catholics who opposed the liberal reforms introduced by the 1960s Second Vatican Council.

️ In a letter to SSPX superior Rev. Davide Pagliarani, the pope wrote: "I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: Please turn back!" calling the plan a schismatic act and a "sin of extreme gravity."

️ The pontiff reiterated the Vatican's readiness for dialogue and warned of negative impacts: "I urge you to consider carefully the spiritual good of the faithful, because the schismatic act you are about to undertake would deprive them of the licit, and in some cases, even valid reception of the sacraments."

️ Under Catholic Church law, any consecration of bishops not authorized by the Vatican results in automatic excommunication of both the newly consecrated bishops and those who consecrated them.

️ The SSPX already celebrated the ordination of five new priests on Monday near its seminary in Econe, Switzerland, but bishop consecration is seen as a much graver violation.

️ In 1988, SSPX founder Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre consecrated four bishops and was immediately excommunicated along with the new bishops, a measure lifted in 2009.

️ The SSPX operates in over 75 countries, claiming more than 750 priests and nearly half a million faithful, but still has no legal status in the Catholic Church.

Source: www.dw.com