On March 19, 2026, an article published by Communio features an in-depth interview between the prominent German theologian Jan-Heiner Tück and Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, the former Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. In this exchange, Müller addresses the ongoing tension with the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), asserting that the Second Vatican Council represents a continuity of tradition rather than a doctrinal break. He emphasizes that a “graded assent” to the Council is not a valid Catholic option, as true communion requires full recognition of the Magisterium and the Pope’s authority.
Müller also rejects the “state of emergency” plea, arguing that the survival of a specific group does not justify illicit ordinations. He contends that followers already have access to essential sacraments and reminds the SSPX that Christ’s promise of endurance belongs to the universal Church under Peter, not to independent societies. What follows is an excerpt from the interview.
Recommended Book: Gerhard Cardinal Müller (2021). The Pope: His Mission and His Task. The Catholic University of America Press. Link: https://amzn.to/4dSlZ8K.
Tück: In February, the Superior General of the Society, Davide Pagliarani, announced that he would consecrate bishops on 1 July, even if necessary, without a papal mandate. This prompted an immediate reaction from the Roman Curia. Cardinal Fernández’s offer to resume talks on doctrinal differences and to discuss the different degrees of adherence required by the conciliar documents, but to suspend the episcopal ordinations, was surprisingly quickly rejected by the General Council of the Society. Is there now a danger of a schism?
Müller: The talk of a graded assent to the Council is somewhat problematic. What can be meant is only the objective assent in the sense of the classical doctrine of the theological degrees of certainty and not that an individual or a group chooses according to subjective criteria what they wish to accept or reject, so that the Magisterium no longer has the final say on what is Catholic or heretical. No one can demand of the Pope that he live in unity with them and their like-minded associates. Rather, the opposite is true: a true Catholic lives in unity with the Pope and the bishops in hierarchical and sacramental communion with him. Everyone brings schism upon themselves through the free decision not to recognise the Pope’s authority, either in theory or in practice. Canonical disobedience is not made any better by asserting that one is not opposing the Pope, even if one claims one must consecrate bishops for the sake of the salvation of souls. This also has nothing to do with the right intention, which is necessary for the valid administration of the sacraments. For one is the intention of a validly ordained bishop to want to confer episcopal ordination on a suitable candidate, which – formulated anti-donatically – is valid and (ex opere operato) effectively confers grace in the ordained person. But the other is the fact that here a sin is committed against the communal character of the episcopal authority, which is guaranteed by the Pope as the perpetual principle and foundation of the unity of the Catholic Church. Excommunication for this grave offense against the unity of the visible Church also entails, as a mortal sin, the exclusion from the life of grace, from communion with God and from the hope of eternal life. Hopefully, the Superior of the SSPX, along with his co-responsible leaders, is aware of this connection. They cannot excuse themselves before God by claiming a state of emergency, since none of their followers is deprived of the sacraments of baptism and penance, which are necessary for salvation. It is not a state of emergency that, without illegally consecrated bishops, their priestly society would not be able to continue. For Jesus Christ promised the continuation of the Church until the end of history only to the universal Church, which he built upon the rock of Peter, to whom he also handed over the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and, together with the other Apostles, the power to bind and loose. What God wants to say to the SSPX, in view of the advanced age of their two remaining bishops, is to turn away from the wrong path of distancing themselves from the Church and self-isolation amongst like-minded people, and to entrust themselves with confidence to the guidance of the Successor of Peter, to whom the Lord of the Church has personally entrusted the care of his flock. Speaking personally and fraternally, I am confident that, with Pope Leo XIV, a good and just, but also dogmatically sound solution can be found.
Recommended Book: Gerhard Cardinal Müller (2021). The Pope: His Mission and His Task. The Catholic University of America Press. Link: https://amzn.to/4dSlZ8K.
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