Pope Leo XIV is confronting his first major crisis with traditionalist Catholics as a breakaway group attached to the Latin Mass has announced plans to consecrate new bishops without papal consent, threatening a revival of schism.
The Swiss-based Society of St Pius X (SSPX), which operates schools, chapels, and seminaries globally, has been a persistent challenge for the Holy See for four decades, stemming from its opposition to the modernising reforms of the 1960s Second Vatican Council. In 1988, the group’s founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, consecrated four bishops without papal approval, asserting it was vital for the preservation of the church's tradition. The Vatican swiftly excommunicated Lefebvre and the four bishops, and the SSPX continues to hold no legal status within the Catholic Church.
