Fr. Davide Pagliarani, center, superior general of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X is pictured during the society's general chapter in Econe, Switzerland July 12, 2018. With him are Bishop Alfonso de la Galarreta, left, and Fr. Christian Bouchacourt. (CNS/Courtesy fsspx.news)

Traditionalist Catholic group doubles down on illicit consecrations, setting course for potential schism

Vatican

Despite a Vatican offer of renewed theological dialogue, the Society of St. Pius X says it will consecrate bishops without papal approval, presenting the pope with a major test of church unity.

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Editors' Choice

Pope Leo XIV sprinkles ashes during Ash Wednesday Mass at the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome Feb. 18, 2026. (CNS/Lola Gomez)

In Focus

Pope Leo opens Lent with call for repentance from a world 'in flames'

During his first Ash Wednesday as pope, Leo framed Lent as a communal reckoning with personal and structural sin.

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Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Fr. Davide Pagliarani, superior general of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, are pictured at the Vatican Feb. 12. (OSV News/Courtesy Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith)
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Vatican

Fr. Davide Pagliarani, center, superior general of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X is pictured during the society's general chapter in Econe, Switzerland July 12, 2018. With him are Bishop Alfonso de la Galarreta, left, and Fr. Christian Bouchacourt. (CNS/Courtesy fsspx.news)

Traditionalist Catholic group doubles down on illicit consecrations, setting course for potential schism

Despite a Vatican offer of renewed theological dialogue, the Society of St. Pius X says it will consecrate bishops without papal approval, presenting the pope with a major test of church unity.

Pope to Legionaries of Christ: Authority in religious life is not 'domination'

In his Feb. 19 address to participants of the religious congregation's General Chapter, the pope said that authority in religious life should serve as a means of "animating common life" centered on Christ, while "avoiding any form of control that does not respect the dignity and freedom of persons."

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Pope Leo XIV sprinkles ashes during Ash Wednesday Mass at the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome Feb. 18, 2026. (CNS/Lola Gomez)
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In South Africa's coal belt, girls disappear — and Catholic sisters quietly pull them back

As illegal mining spreads through abandoned shafts in South Africa, Catholic religious women risk their lives to rescue girls coerced into sex and early marriages in communities the state struggles to protect.

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Left: The prophet Joel, depicted in a painting from circa 1481-87 by Martín Bernat y Miguel Ximénez. Right: Christ Salvator Mundi, depicted in a 1505 painting by Quinten Metsys. (Wikimedia Commons images)
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Do I listen to Joel or Jesus this Ash Wednesday?

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