The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) has filed an appeal with the Vatican against the decree that declared the traditionalist group in schism with the Catholic Church for consecrating four bishops without papal authorization.

According to a statement from the society — whose members are known as Lefebvrists — the appeal was submitted to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on July 11, nine days after the group was declared to be in schism.

The SSPX statement, published July 13, says that “through this appeal, the society wishes to exercise the right that the Church recognizes for any person who considers himself harmed by an administrative act to request its rectification, in a spirit of respect toward ecclesiastical authority and of faithful adherence to justice, truth, and the good of the Church.”

It adds that the appeal is "the prior requirement before the eventual filing of a hierarchical recourse" and "has the effect of suspending the execution of the decree, in accordance with Canon 1353 of the Code of Canon Law."

Canon 1353 states that an appeal or recourse against a judicial sentence or against a decree that imposes or declares any penalty has a suspensive effect.

“The Society of St. Pius X places this request in the hands of the competent authorities and entrusts this procedure to the prayers of all the faithful,” the statement concludes.

The appeal follows a letter the Lefebvrists addressed to Pope Leo XIV, published July 3, in which they reject the excommunications decreed by the Vatican after the illicit consecration of the four new bishops — measures they called “objectively unjust and invalid.”

Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, prefecte emeritus of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, has publicly contradicted one of the most controversial aspects of the Explanatory Note published by that same dicastery on 2 July regarding the canonical situation of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX). Against the Vatican document’s claim that confessions administered by priests of the Fraternity are invalid, Müller maintains that these sacraments are “valid, but illicit”.

Directly asked about the validity of confessions administered by priests of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, the former prefect of the Doctrine of the Faith replied without hesitation

“Confessions are valid, but illicit. The power to forgive or retain sins is conferred through the sacrament of Holy Orders. Its exercise can only be restricted by the bishop or by the Pope, in accordance with the provisions of canon law.”

This statement directly contradicts the interpretation upheld by the current prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and coincides, in its practical conclusion, with the objections raised by various canonists, who have maintained that the Explanatory Note does not expressly revoke the faculties granted by Pope Francis allowing priests of the Fraternity to validly absolve.

Müller also did not endorse the Note’s claim regarding the invalidity of marriages celebrated by the Fraternity. He recalled that marriage arises from the consent of the spouses and mentioned exceptional situations in which the canonical form may be supplied. Although he advised against approaching priests of the FSSPX for the celebration of marriage because they are not in full communion with the Church, he avoided stating that such marriages are invalid.

Although he admitted that many faithful are drawn to the Fraternity because they believe that Catholic doctrine and liturgical tradition are preserved there with greater fidelity, Müller maintained that this fact is not enough to justify a situation of separation from Rome.

“Many may feel sympathy for the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X because they believe that the Catholic faith and the liturgy are preserved there in the face of many abuses present in modernist circles. But that does not constitute a justification,” he stated.

The cardinal insisted that ecclesial unity does not depend on liturgical preferences, but on communion with the Successor of Peter.

“There may be errors in the Church, but there is no Catholic unity apart from the Pope,” he declared.

In that context, he expressly defended the legitimacy of the pontificate of Leo XIV.

“One cannot correct an abuse by using false means. That Leo XIV exists and is the true and legitimate Pope is something that no one can really call into question without calling their own Catholic faith into question,” he concluded.