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U.S. Cardinal Raymond L. Burke distributes holy Communion during a traditional Latin Mass at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter's Basilica Oct. 25, 2025, during the "Summorum Pontificum" pilgrimage, approved by Pope Leo XIV.
CNS photo/Lola Gomez
February 18, 2026
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CNS photo/Samuel H. Kress Collection via National Gallery of Art
Supporters of the traditional Latin Mass have urged Catholics not to confuse their movement with the more controversial Society of St. Pius X, commonly referred to as SSPX, whose leaders currently risk excommunication by threatening to ordain their own bishops.
“We’ve waited patiently for Pope Leo to consider relaxing Latin Mass restrictions — the SSPX has now thrown a hand grenade into this,” said Joseph Shaw, chairman of the London-based Latin Mass Society, part of an international network of traditionalist groups.
“We’ve absolutely no influence over their reasoning and timing, and their approach is completely separate. But we risk being lumped together by people who don’t care one way or the other.”
The lay Catholic spoke during a packed Feb. 12 symposium on liturgical renewal in London. The meeting coincided with Vatican talks between Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for Doctrine of the Faith, and Fr. Davide Pagliarani, superior general of the SSPX, which announced plans Feb. 2 to appoint bishops without a papal mandate.
Shaw said he still hoped for some “quiet and subtle, but rapid” concession on the traditional Mass by Pope Leo XIV, but feared the SSPX’s move would harden attitudes among some bishops and cardinals, who could now view all Latin Mass enthusiasts as “tainted with disapproval.”
Meanwhile, similar fears were expressed by a senior Dominican theologian, who said he hoped the SSPX’s threatened move might nevertheless provide a “new momentum” for resolving disagreements.
“The SSPX are not schismatics — they pray for the pope, and we should represent their position fairly,” said Fr. Dominic White, prior of Blackfriars in Oxford. “However, they have issues with the Second Vatican Council, and there’s a danger other Latin Mass supporters will be confused with them.”
Founded in 1970 by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the SSPX celebrates the traditional Latin, or Tridentine, Mass predating Vatican II (1962-1965), but also rejects the council’s liturgical changes and approaches to ecumenism and religious freedom.
The society’s planned July 1 consecrations echo a 1988 crisis when Archbishop Lefebvre appointed four bishops without papal approval and was declared excommunicated by St. John Paul II.
(Jonathan Luxmoore writes for OSV News from Oxford, England.)
A version of this story appeared in the February 22, 2026, issue of The Catholic Registerwith the headline "SSPX controversy clouds Latin Mass debate".
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