Rome - The Catholic Church is facing an open rupture as the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X ignores direct instructions from Rome. A schism is becoming more and more concrete as the followers of the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre confirmed on May 17, 2026 that the Society of St. Pius X will consecrate new bishops in Switzerland on July 1, 2026 on its own authority. The Vatican regards these episcopal ordinations as an official secession.
Will there be a schism in the Vatican?
The Society of St. Pius X is planning the controversial ceremony on a meadow in Écône in Switzerland, on the exact spot where Marcel Lefebvre performed ordinations back in 1988. According to an official announcement by the Lefebvrians, the Society of St. Pius X is expecting almost 15,000 faithful and around 1,300 priests, monks and nuns from all over the world to attend the event. The Vatican last warned the Society of St. Pius X on May 13, 2026 that episcopal ordinations without a papal mandate are invalid. According to the news agency Afp, the Holy See emphasized that such an act would result in excommunication under canon law.
The followers of Marcel Lefebvre responded to the warnings with a letter of protest to Pope Leo XIV. In the letter, the Lefebvrians explained that the Society of St. Pius X had been unsuccessfully pointing out errors that were destroying Catholic morality for over fifty years. However, the Vatican responded to these concerns of the Lefebvrians exclusively with sanctions.
Environment, war and artificial intelligence
Away from the conflict with the Lefebvrians, Pope Leo XIV addressed the public at Regina Caeli in St. Peter's Square on May 17, 2026. On the occasion of ‚Laudato Si‘ week, Pope Leo XIV called for more commitment to creation and peace. Pope Leo XIV regretted that wars had greatly slowed down progress in the environmental sector in recent years.
Pope Leo XIV also used the World Day of Social Communications to call for clear ethical guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence. According to the news agencies Rainews24 and Ansa, Pope Leo XIV emphasized that every technological innovation must respect human truth. Communication in the age of artificial intelligence must always protect human voices and faces.
