Fr Davide Pagliarani released a formal declaration of Catholic faith on May 14, the feast of the Ascension of Our Lord, presenting it to Pope Leo XIV as the minimum required to remain in communion with the Church amid ongoing tensions between the Society of St Pius X and the Holy See.
The document, issued from the SSPX headquarters in Menzingen, Switzerland, comes one day after Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, warned that the Society’s planned episcopal consecrations in July without pontifical mandate would constitute a schismatic act. The Vatican’s May 13 statement said the announced episcopal ordinations lacked the requisite papal mandate and would constitute “a schismatic act”.
It follows decades of dialogue between the Society and Rome that have so far failed to achieve full canonical regularisation.
In the letter accompanying the declaration, Fr Pagliarani writes: “For more than 50 years, the Society of St Pius X has endeavoured to set before the Holy See a matter of conscience in the face of the errors that are destroying Catholic faith and morals. Regrettably, all the discussions entered into have remained without result, and none of the concerns expressed have received any truly satisfactory response.”
He continues: “For more than 50 years, the only solution truly considered by the Holy See has appeared to be that of canonical sanctions. To our great regret, it seems to us that canon law is thus being used, not to confirm in the Faith, but to lead away from it.”
The superior general states that the Society places “this simple Declaration of Faith” in the hands of the Holy Father, describing it as corresponding “to the minimum indispensable to be in communion with the Church, and to truly call ourselves Catholics and, consequently, your sons”.
The declaration affirms core Catholic doctrines with particular emphasis on several points. On the Church’s uniqueness it states: “There is only one Faith and one Church by which we may be saved. Outside the Roman Catholic Church, and without the profession of Faith that she has always taught, there is neither salvation nor remission of sins.”
It insists on the missionary mandate: “The mandate received by the Apostles, to preach the Gospel to every man and to convert every man to the Catholic Faith, remains binding until the end of time… ‘He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be condemned.’ Therefore, to renounce the fulfilment of this mandate constitutes the gravest of crimes against humanity.”
Regarding the Roman Pontiff, the text recalls the teaching of Vatican I: “The Holy Ghost was not promised to the successors of Peter that they might make known, by His revelation, a new doctrine, but that, by His assistance, they might inviolably keep and faithfully expound the revelation transmitted by the Apostles, that is, the Deposit of the Faith.”
On the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the declaration affirms: “The Holy Mass is the perpetuation in time of the Sacrifice of the Cross… The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass can in no way be reduced to a mere commemoration, to a spiritual meal, to a sacred assembly celebrated by the people, to the celebration of the Paschal mystery without sacrifice, without satisfaction of divine justice, without expiation of sins, without propitiation, and without the Cross.”
It also addresses contemporary moral questions directly, stating: “Sins of impurity that are against nature are of such gravity that they always and in every circumstance cry to God for vengeance… A couple practising this vice must be helped to free themselves from it, and can in no way be blessed – formally or informally – by ministers of the Church.”
The declaration concludes: “It is in this Faith and in these principles that we ask to be instructed and confirmed by Him Who has received the charism to do so. With the help of Our Lord, we would rather die than renounce them. It is in this immutable Faith that we desire to live and die.”
The Society of St Pius X was founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970 to preserve the Traditional Latin Mass and priestly formation in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. It announced in February 2026 that it intended to proceed with new episcopal consecrations on July 1, saying that a grave state of necessity required the safeguarding of its episcopal ministry.
The Society has grown significantly in recent decades, with seminaries, priories and schools across multiple continents. The current declaration follows the Society’s February announcement of plans to consecrate new bishops in July, citing a state of necessity for the continuation of its apostolic work.
Fr Pagliarani’s text is presented as a filial act of fidelity rather than confrontation, while firmly restating positions long held by the Society on doctrine, liturgy and ecclesiology. It arrives at a delicate moment in relations between the SSPX and the Holy See, with the Vatican having reaffirmed in recent days that unauthorised episcopal consecrations would incur the penalty of excommunication.