The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) states that the bishops it will consecrate "will not assume any jurisdiction against the will of the Pope" and therefore "will not be schismatic."

ACN

Published: February 19, 2026.

The Society of Saint Pius X has reiterated two points:

That it will consecrate new bishops next July.

That they will not be "schismatic."

It explained that, "based on all traditional theology and the constant teaching of the Church, an episcopal consecration not authorized by the Holy See, when it is not accompanied by either a schismatic intention or the conferral of jurisdiction, does not constitute a rupture of communion with the Church."

The argument is set forth in Annex II, which it sent to the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and which we reproduce below.

ORDER AND JURISDICTION: THE INANITY OF THE ACCUSATION OF SCHISM.

February 19, 2026.

The Society defends itself against all accusations of schism and maintains, based on all traditional theology and the constant teaching of the Church, that an episcopal consecration not authorized by the Holy See, when it is not accompanied by either a schismatic intention or the conferral of jurisdiction, does not constitute a rupture of the communion of the Church.

The constitution Lumen Gentium on the Church states in Chapter III, no. 21, that the power of jurisdiction is conferred by episcopal consecration at the same time as the power of orders.

The decree Christus Dominus on the pastoral ministry of bishops in the Church states the same in its preamble, no. 3.

And this affirmation is reiterated by the 1983 Code of Canon Law, in canon 375 § 2.

Now, in the Church, the reception of episcopal jurisdiction depends, by divine law, on the will of the Pope, and schism is defined precisely as the act of someone who arrogates jurisdiction autonomously and without regard for the Pope's will. Therefore, according to these documents, an episcopal consecration performed against the Pope's will would necessarily be a schismatic act.

This argument, which seeks to conclude that future episcopal consecrations within the Society would be schismatic, is based entirely on the postulate of the Second Vatican Council according to which episcopal consecration confers both the power of Holy Orders and the power of jurisdiction.

However, in the opinion of pastors and theologians whose authority was recognized at the time of the Second Vatican Council, this postulate is not traditional and lacks a solid foundation.

During the Council, Cardinal Browne and Archbishop Luigi Carli demonstrated this in their written commentaries on the outline of the future constitution Lumen Gentium.

Archbishop Dino Staffa did the same, basing his argument on the most reliable sources of Tradition.

Pius XII declared on three occasions—in Mystici Corporis in 1943, in Ad Sinarum Gentem in 1954, and in Ad Apostolorum Principis in 1958—that the ordinary episcopal power of governance enjoyed by bishops, and exercised under the authority of the Supreme Pontiff, is communicated to them directly, that is, without the mediation of episcopal consecration, by the Supreme Pontiff himself: “immediate sibi ab eodem Pontifice Summo impertita.” If this power is conferred upon them immediately by the sole act of the Pope’s will, it is unclear how it could derive from consecration.

This is all the more true since the majority of theologians and canonists absolutely deny that episcopal consecration grants the power of jurisdiction.

And Church discipline contradicts this view.

Indeed, if the power of jurisdiction is conferred through consecration, how is it that an elected Supreme Pontiff, who has not yet been consecrated a bishop, possesses by divine right the fullness of the power of jurisdiction, as well as infallibility, from the very moment he accepts his election?

Following this same logic, if it is consecration that confers jurisdiction, residential bishops appointed but not yet consecrated, even though already established at the head of their diocese as true pastors, would have no power of jurisdiction nor any right to participate in councils, when in fact they do possess these two prerogatives before their episcopal consecration.

As for titular bishops, who do not have authority over any diocese, they would have been deprived for centuries of the exercise of a jurisdictional power which, according to Lumen Gentium, they would have received by virtue of their consecration.

If it is objected that consecration already confers a power of jurisdiction properly speaking, but that it requires the intervention of the Pope to be exercised concretely, we respond that this distinction is artificial, since Pius XII clearly affirms that it is the power of jurisdiction in its essence that is immediately communicated by the Pope, who, therefore, does not merely fulfill a necessary condition for the proper exercise of said power.

The bishops who will be consecrated on July 1 as auxiliaries of the Society will therefore not arrogate to themselves any jurisdiction against the will of the Pope, and will in no way be schismatic.

Note: Regarding the penalty of excommunication, the Fsspx has pointed out that Canon Law itself establishes that it does not apply when there is a state of necessity, as is the current case.