Report: Cardinal Müller calls for Vatican response to SSPX
June 27, 2026
An Italian journalist reported today that Cardinal Gerhard Müller “shook up” the extraordinary consistory of the College of Cardinals by calling for a formal response to the Society of Saint Pius X’s latest statements ahead of its scheduled episcopal consecrations.
Cardinal Müller, who served as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2012 to 2017, “proposed that a formal response to the Lefebvrists be prepared, reaffirming that Rome has never abandoned the path of tradition, contrary to their claims,” Nico Spuntoni of Il Giornale reported (English translation).
Spuntoni added:
The cardinal also addressed the implications of one of the scenarios we reported in recent days: should the Society of St. Pius X formally enter into schism following the episcopal consecration of new bishops without a pontifical mandate, many Lefebvrists are expected to seek reconciliation with Rome. He therefore stressed the need to prepare for their reception, proposing a structure modeled on the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, established in 1988 by St. John Paul II to welcome those who wished to return to full communion with Rome after Archbishop Lefebvre’s illicit episcopal consecrations.
Pope Francis suppressed the pontifical commission in 2019.
Cardinal Müller’s June 26 intervention, “like the others, was met without comment,” Spuntoni reported. “Yet, according to sources, after the session concluded several cardinals from across the theological spectrum appeared to agree with his remarks and expressed appreciation for the frankness of the German prelate.”
Spuntoni’s report, if accurate, represents a violation, on at least one cardinal’s part, of the confidentiality expected at the consistory.
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Further information:
- Lo scisma agita il Concistoro: "Dobbiamo rispondere ai lefebvriani" (Il Giornale, 6/27/26)
- Cardinal Müller Shakes Up the Consistory: “We Must Respond to the SSPX” (Diane Montagna's Substack, 6/27/26)
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