Catholic bishop urges support for excommunicated SSPX group

Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Kazakhstan on Monday supported an excommunicated traditionalist group in a lengthy public statement. Pope Leo XIV in July excommunicated the Society of Saint Pius X, or SSPX, and thousands of its adherents after the group consecrated its own bishops without papal approval. The well-known Schneider previously served as the Vatican’s official visitor to SSPX and urged the pope to give his approval. Schneider’s statement, published by religion reporters on Monday, was his first public comment on the situation, marking an unusual instance of a bishop criticizing the pope.

Schneider framed the group’s decision to flout the pope’s directions as a dilemma between preserving Catholic faith and being recognized by the pope. Schneider argued that SSPX was right to question the Vatican’s vague doctrinal statements, and that its insistence on clear teaching was a great service to the Catholic Church. 

SSPX disagrees with many of the Catholic church’s decisions stemming from the Vatican II council in the 1960s, especially the decision to allow Mass services in local languages rather than Latin. The group also condemns the popes’ participation in interfaith meetings starting in the 1960s.

Schneider argued that the modern Catholic Church regarded obedience to the pope as more important than doctrinal clarity, and possibly as more important than God’s divine revelation. Rare circumstances might even require a faithful person to disobey church law, he said. Schneider acknowledged that the pope would have to turn away from many reforms going back to the 1960s to acknowledge and address SSPX’s concerns.

One day, a new pope would appreciate the group’s work and accept it back into the Catholic Church, Schneider said. The group has previously been excommunicated and then received back—Pope Benedict XVI in 2009 lifted an excommunication order against the group that had been in place since the 1980s.

Has Pope Leo XIV responded to the fiery statement? The pontiff hadn’t issued a public response to Schneider as of Tuesday morning. It was unclear if Leo would rebuke or punish Schneider for supporting an excommunicated group and undermining his religious authority. While Leo has taken many stances similar to his predecessor, Pope Francis, he also commended at least one bishop who was an outspoken critic of Francis.

Dig deeper: Read my prior report on the SSPX excommunication for more details.