en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_of_Saint_Pius_X
4 corrections found
It was declared schismatic and excommunicated by the Catholic Church on 2 July 2026
The July 2, 2026 Vatican action did not excommunicate the SSPX as a corporate entity. It applied to the fraternity’s sacred ministers and to lay faithful only if they formally adhere under specific conditions.
Full reasoning
The July 2, 2026 Vatican decree and explanatory note do not say that the Society itself, as an institution, was excommunicated. The official text says:
- "The sacred ministers belonging to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X are in schism ... and are subject to the excommunication prescribed by law."
- "As regards the lay faithful, those who formally adhere ... are to be considered schismatics and excommunicated under the conditions established in the 1996 Explanatory Note."
That is narrower than saying the Society itself "was ... excommunicated." It distinguishes between clergy and lay faithful, and for laypeople it requires formal adherence under specified conditions.
This is also consistent with Pope Benedict XVI's 2009 clarification: "The excommunication affects individuals, not institutions."
So the article overstates the Vatican action by saying the SSPX itself was excommunicated as an entity.
2 sources
- Excommunication decreed for Lefebvrite episcopal ordinations - Vatican News
The Dicastery’s Note says: "The sacred ministers belonging to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X are in schism ... and are subject to the excommunication prescribed by law"; and "those who formally adhere ... are to be considered schismatics and excommunicated under the conditions established in the 1996 Explanatory Note."
- Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church concerning the remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre (March 10, 2009)
Benedict XVI wrote: "The excommunication affects individuals, not institutions."
In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI remitted the excommunications of the four bishops consecrated by Lefebvre
The excommunications were remitted in 2009, not 2007. The official decree is dated 21 January 2009.
Full reasoning
This date is wrong.
The Holy See's decree remitting the excommunication of Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, and Alfonso de Galarreta is explicitly dated 21 January 2009. Pope Benedict XVI later referred to the same measure as "the provision of 21 January 2009."
So the remission did not happen in 2007.
2 sources
- Decree remitting the excommunication "latae sententiae" of the Bishops of the Society of St Pius X
"By virtue of the present Decree I remit the penalty of excommunication ... Rome, from the Congregation for Bishops, 21 January 2009."
- Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church concerning the remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre
Benedict XVI refers to "the extent and limits of the provision of 21 January 2009" and discusses "The remission of the excommunication."
Pope Francis extended ecclesiastical jurisdiction to SSPX-administered confessions (2017) and marriages.
The date for confessions is wrong. Pope Francis granted SSPX priests faculties for valid confessions in 2016; the marriage provisions came in 2017.
Full reasoning
This sentence conflates two different Vatican actions and assigns the wrong year to the first one.
- In Misericordia et misera, dated 20 November 2016, Pope Francis extended to SSPX priests the faculty to validly absolve sins in confession.
- The separate provisions concerning marriages were issued later, in a letter of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei dated 27 March 2017 and published on 4 April 2017.
So the article is incorrect to date SSPX confessional faculties to 2017.
2 sources
- Apostolic Letter Misericordia et misera (20 November 2016)
The letter is dated "20 November 2016" and is the document by which Pope Francis extended the concession regarding SSPX confessions.
- Letter of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" to the Ordinaries of the Episcopal Conferences concerned on the faculties for the celebration of marriages of the faithful of the Society Saint Pius X
The 2017 letter says: "Recently, the Holy Father decided ... to grant all priests of said Society the faculty to validly administer the Sacrament of Penance ... Following the same pastoral outlook ... [he] has decided to authorize Local Ordinaries the possibility to grant faculties for the celebration of marriages ... Rome ... 27 March 2017."
As of 2021, the society has five seminaries
This understates the number of SSPX seminaries in 2021. SSPX sources from 2021 mention the seminary in Goulburn, Australia, meaning there were at least six, not five.
Full reasoning
The article says that in 2021 the SSPX had only five seminaries, excluding Australia.
But SSPX's own 2021 reporting mentions seminarians coming from and entering the seminary in Goulburn, Australia. That means the Australian seminary was active in 2021, so the count could not have been only five.
Current SSPX organizational pages likewise describe the Society as having six international seminaries.
So the article's count of five seminaries in 2021 is incorrect.
2 sources
- Society of Saint Pius X: The 2021 Seminarians | FSSPX News
The 2021 SSPX report says: "There is also an Australian coming from the seminary in Goulburn" and "In spring 2021, there was one entry into the spirituality year in Goulburn."
- Seminaries | Maison Générale
The SSPX's seminaries page lists Ecône, Dillwyn, Zaitzkofen, La Reja, and Flavigny, and its navigation also includes Australia-New Zealand, reflecting the Society's own presentation of six international seminaries.