Cardinal Müller calls for Vatican response to SSPX, new commission for those seeking ‘full communion’
Referencing a condemnation of Protestantism at the Council of Trent, Cdl. Müller told the consistory the same verdict applies to 'the Lefebvrists of our time' ahead of the consecrations.
Cardinal Gerhard MüllerWikimedia
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Mon Jun 29, 2026 - 7:25 am EDT
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VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Gerhard Müller has urged the College of Cardinals to respond to the SSPX’s “Profession of Catholic Faith,” which he said amounted to a “scandalous accusation” that Rome has abandoned the Catholic faith, while proposing a new structure to receive members seeking “full communion” with Rome after the planned episcopal consecrations on July 1.
On June 27, Italian journalist Nico Spuntoni reported that the issue of the SSPX consecrations emerged during the extraordinary consistory of cardinals in Rome on June 26, when Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller called on the Holy See “to reject” what he described as “the scandalous accusation that the Roman Church has departed from the Catholic faith.” Müller also proposed the creation of a commission to assist clergy and faithful who may seek reconciliation with Rome following the planned episcopal consecrations Wednesday in Écône, Switzerland. The intervention came after Pope Leo XIV had encouraged frank discussion during the gathering of cardinals.
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READ: Pope Leo defends synodality, tells cardinals ‘I need your support: strong, explicit, and public’
“It is our duty by virtue of our office, both individually and as a college, to reject the scandalous accusation that the Roman Church has departed from the Catholic faith,” Müller said in his address to the consistory. Referring to the planned consecration of bishops without papal mandate, he added: “In the face of the schismatic act of episcopal consecration carried out without the prior grant of communio with the Pope, there must be no ambiguity.”
The whole speech was published by Vatican journalist Diane Montagna.
Müller likely delivered his address during the first phase of the consistory’s opening session, which focused on proclaiming the Gospel in today’s world. Each cardinal was permitted up to three minutes to address the questions assigned for discussion.
In the first part of his speech, Müller preached Leo’s decision to gather the cardinals annually in Rome in order to listen and decide together how to govern the universal Church.
“I thank the Holy Father for reaffirming the fundamental role of the College of Cardinals for the universal Church. From Irenaeus of Lyons to the First Vatican Council, the primacy of the Pope was not spoken of as though it belonged to an isolated individual, but rather as the primacy of the Church of Rome,” Müller said.
Soon after, he criticized the organization of the consistory, which – as LifeSiteNews also pointed out – resembled the pseudo‑democratic management typical under Pope Francis.
“In every depiction and photograph of the councils, the plenary discussion is shown. Accordingly, the free exchange of views, preceded by carefully prepared interventions, ought to precede group work and should be accorded greater space than is presently the case,” the German cardinal stated.
Prior to the gathering of the cardinals in consistory, the SSPX distributed a 154-point “Profession of Catholic Faith” to all members of the College of Cardinals. Müller argued that the profession of faith contained accusations against the Church that require an explicit response from the Church.
Müller argued that the SSPX has accused the Catholic Church of having departed from the Traditional faith, which he described as “scandalous.” He therefore urged the Pope and the cardinals to respond “by virtue of our office, both individually and as a college.”
The prelate also proposed establishing a commission modelled on the former pontifical commission Ecclesia Dei to facilitate those who, after embracing what he described as a “schismatic position,” namely the episcopal consecrations, wished to restore “full communion” with the Roman Pontiff.
While advocating sensitivity in dealing with individuals, Müller drew a distinction between pastoral practice and ecclesial unity.
“The boundary into schism is definitively crossed when the ministry of the Bishop of Rome, as the visible principle and enduring foundation of the Church’s unity in revealed truth, is violated,” he stated. Müller then cited Polish Cardinal Stanislaus Hosius during the Council of Trent who, speaking of the “Protestants of his own day,” said: “He is not a Catholic who is at variance with the Roman Church in the doctrine of the faith.”
“[H]is words apply equally to the Lefebvrists of our own time,” the cardinal charged.
The SSPX is scheduled to consecrate four new bishops on July 1 at its international seminary in Écône. The ceremony will take place without pontifical mandate, recalling the episcopal consecrations performed in 1988 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
As Spuntoni reported, Müller’s intervention was received without public discussion during the consistory, although several cardinals were said to have expressed “appreciation” afterwards for Müller’s frankness and considered his proposal worthy of attention.
Following the episcopal consecrations carried out by Lefebvre in 1988, Pope John Paul II established the Ecclesia Dei commission to assist those wishing to remain attached to the Traditional liturgy while preserving full communion with the Holy See. That commission continued its work until it was suppressed in 2019 under Pope Francis.
In 2021, Pope Francis issued Traditionis Custodes, introducing new restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass within the Catholic Church. According to Spuntoni, discussion within the College of Cardinals now appears to favor a “more accommodating approach” toward communities considered in “full communion” with Rome that celebrate the older liturgical rites while accepting the authority of the Second Vatican Council.
The extraordinary consistory opened with the absence of three key cardinals – Joseph Zen, Peter Erdő, and Wilhelm Eijk – who represent an already diminished conservative wing of the College of Cardinals.
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