A Year Into His Papacy, Leo XIV Faces His First Great Crisis With Traditionalists as Many Fear a New Schism

A schism in Leo’s way?

13 months ago, American Cardinal Robert Prevost became Pope Leo XIV. And now, still in the infancy of his papacy, he faces his first major crisis: traditionalist Catholics are in open revolt.

A dissident group that still practices the traditional Latin Mass announced ‘plans to consecrate new bishops without papal consent’ in what many fear may be a start of a schism.

JUST IN: The Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X (SSPX) announced today his intention to proceed with episcopal ordinations on July 1, saying the decision followed receipt of a letter from the Holy See that “in no way” responds to the Fraternity’s requests:… pic.twitter.com/6qpOaKEQKk

— Diane Montagna (@dianemontagna) February 2, 2026

Associated Press reported:

“The Swiss-based Society of St. Pius X, which has schools, chapels and seminaries around the world, has been a thorn in the side of the Holy See for four decades, founded in opposition to the modernizing reforms of the 1960s Second Vatican Council.

In 1988, the group’s founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, consecrated four bishops without papal consent, arguing that it was necessary for the survival of the church’s tradition. The Vatican promptly excommunicated Lefebvre and the four other bishops, and the group today still has no legal status in the Catholic Church.”

The group has continued to grow and aggregate Catholics who are attached to the pre-Vatican II traditional Latin Mass.

“For the Vatican, papal consent for the consecration of bishops is a fundamental doctrine, guaranteeing the lineage of apostolic succession from the time of Christ’s original apostles. As a result, the consecration of bishops without papal consent is considered a grave threat to church unity and a cause of schism, since bishops can ordain new priests. Under church law, a consecration without papal consent incurs an automatic excommunication for the person who celebrates it and the purported new bishop.”

The decision of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X to consecrate new Bishops on July 1 demonstrates the impossibility of any dialogue with the Holy See.

The Vatican’s refusal to comply with the Society’s requests confirms a double standard:

On the one hand, synodality… pic.twitter.com/gqZN15Fi0r

— Arcivescovo Carlo Maria Viganò (@CarloMVigano) February 2, 2026

Independent reported:

“The Vatican had previously sought reconciliation with the SSPX, fearing the emergence of a parallel church. Pope Benedict XVI, in 2009, lifted the excommunications of the surviving bishops and eased restrictions on celebrating the old Latin Mass as an overture to all Catholics attached to the ancient rite.

[…] Tensions with traditionalist Catholics deepened further in subsequent years, particularly during the pontificate of Pope Francis, who reversed Benedict’s reform, allowing wider celebration of the old Latin Mass, arguing it had become a source of division within the church.”

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