Rome —
Pope Leo XIV has made a last-ditch appeal to a rebel group of traditionalist Catholics who plan to ordain bishops without his approval, saying they will be committing a “sin of extreme gravity” if they proceed.
Just over a year into his tenure, Leo is facing the first major challenge of his papacy from the Society of Saint Pius X, a group that rejects reforms made by the Catholic Church in recent decades – including allowing Mass to be celebrated in languages other than Latin – and is expected to ordain four bishops on Wednesday at its seminary in Écône, Switzerland.
The ordinations, the pope told them, would be a “schismatic” act. If they go ahead, the new bishops will be excommunicated, or officially excluded from the sacraments of the church.
“I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back!” the pope wrote in an 11th hour letter to the society, known as the SSPX. “I pray for you, because to tear the seamless garment of Christ is a sin of extreme gravity. May the Lord enlighten your consciences and awaken your hearts.”
