The Church Has Spoken: The SSPX Is in Schism

In my recent interview with theologian Dr. Jacob Phillips, I said, “I know that the Orthodox are in schism, but it’s not been made clear at all that the SSPX are in schism. Isn’t it the Church’s responsibility to be really clear about that?”

Well, after the July 1 episcopal consecrations carried out without papal approval, the Church has now spoken with unmistakable clarity.

On July 2, the Holy See issued two documents (I will share them below1). Together they state that, by consecrating four bishops without papal approval and against the explicit will of the Pope, the SSPX committed a formal act of schism. As a result, Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, the four newly consecrated bishops, and Bishop Bernard Fellay are declared to have incurred automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication.

The Dicastery further declares that SSPX clergy are now to be regarded as being in schism, warns that lay Catholics who formally adhere to the Society also incur excommunication, states that SSPX priests administer the sacraments illicitly and that their confessions and marriages are invalid, and urges all Catholics to remain in communion with the Pope and avoid participating in SSPX liturgies or activities, while assuring those who return that they will be welcomed back into full communion with the Church.

Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
Decree – July 2, 2026

Prot. No. 99/2009

DECREE

Despite the warnings addressed to the Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, by carrying out an act of a schismatic nature through the episcopal consecration of four priests without a pontifical mandate and against the will of the Supreme Pontiff, has ipso facto incurred the penalties provided for in canon 1387 and canon 1364 §1 of the 2021 Code of Canon Law.

Therefore, I declare, with full juridical effect, that both the aforementioned Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta and Pascal Schreiber, Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, and Marc Hanappier have ipso facto incurred the latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.

I further declare that Bishop Bernard Fellay, by participating directly in the liturgical celebration as a co-consecrating bishop and thereby publicly adhering to the schismatic act, has incurred the latae sententiae excommunication provided for in canon 1364 §1 of the 2021 Code of Canon Law.

Clerics and lay faithful are warned not to adhere to the schism of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, lest they themselves ipso facto incur the penalty of latae sententiae excommunication.

From the Palace of the Dicastery, July 2, 2026.

Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
Explanatory Note – July 2, 2026

Prot. No. 99/2009

EXPLANATORY NOTE

From the time of Pope Paul VI until the most recent discussions held at this Dicastery, the many attempts to restore those adhering to the movement begun by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre to full communion with the Catholic Church have proven unsuccessful. This situation has been further aggravated by the recent episcopal consecrations carried out without a pontifical mandate, against the will of the Holy Father, and in open violation of canon law. Therefore, this Dicastery, in the faithful exercise of the responsibilities entrusted to it, considers it necessary to declare that this act constitutes the canonical crime of schism, with the corresponding canonical consequences for the sacred ministers and lay faithful involved. Indeed, as was already declared in 1988, “such disobedience—which carries with it a practical rejection of the Roman Primacy—constitutes a schismatic act” (cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Ecclesia Dei, no. 3).

Accordingly, from this point forward:

• Sacred ministers belonging to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X are in schism and must therefore be regarded as schismatics (cf. Ecclesia Dei, no. 5c; Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Explanatory Note on the Excommunication for Schism Incurred by Adherents of the Movement of Bishop Marcel Lefebvre, August 24, 1996, nos. 5–6), and are therefore subject to the excommunication established by law (can. 1364 §1 CIC).

• With regard to the lay faithful, those who formally adhere to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X under the conditions established in the 1996 Explanatory Note of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts (cf. ibid., no. 7), which remains in force and which this Dicastery hereby adopts, are likewise to be regarded as schismatics and excommunicated.

• The holy People of God are further advised that the sacred ministers of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X administer the sacraments illicitly, and that the sacrament of Penance administered by them and the marriages at which they assist are invalid.

• The Church, as a loving mother, will receive with sincere affection and pastoral solicitude all those who desire to return to full communion. The Apostolic Nuncios will provide the procedures that local Ordinaries may employ in individual cases.

Finally, all the faithful are exhorted to remain steadfast in communion with the Roman Pontiff, with the bishops in communion with him, and with the whole Church (cf. Lumen Gentium, no. 22; can. 751 CIC), and to refrain from participating in celebrations and activities promoted by the aforementioned Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X.

From the Palace of the Dicastery, July 2, 2026.

Whether one agrees with these decisions is, in one sense, beside the point. For years many Catholics have argued that the Church had never clearly declared the SSPX to be in schism. Whatever one thinks of the decision itself, that argument is no longer available.

The Church has now made its judgment unmistakably clear.