A controversy has extended from the Vatican to South Texas as San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller told local parishioners not to attend Mass at St. Joseph’s Chapel, warning of actions by a religious offshoot that “have deeply wounded the unity of the Church.”

“I also urge Catholics in the archdiocese to refrain from financially contributing to the Society of Saint Pius X, including participation in their capital campaign to construct a church in Schertz,” the archbishop wrote in a letter shared to social media.

Garcia-Siller’s plea comes as Pope Leo wades through the aftermath of his decision to declare the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) “in schism,” or rupture, after the traditionalist Catholic society which opposes modernizing reforms in the Catholic Church consecrated four bishops without papal consent. Pope Leo responded Thursday by ordering the excommunication of its bishops and priests, in accordance with canon law.

SSPX leaders defended their actions on Friday, writing that the society’s actions were motivated by “nothing other than an extraordinary initiative for the salvation of souls, amidst the doctrinal and moral confusion into which the church is plunged.”

Garcia-Siller, the head of the San Antonio Archdiocese since 2010, nonetheless followed in Pope Leo’s path on Friday, also referring to the society’s actions as “schismatic.” The local archbishop added that for the past six years he has signed off on the marriage sacrament for those seeking to be wed at St. Joseph’s, located along Orland just off Jackson Keller Road, but that he would “no longer grant delegation to the priests of the Society to validly preside at weddings or to minister at any capacity within the boundaries of the archdiocese.”

He added those wishing to continue participating in a traditional Latin Mass service can still do so at Saint Timothy Catholic Church on Saltillo Street.

The archbishop framed his instruction as an attempt to unite the church.

“To embrace the unity called for by Christ is to remain attached to the vine and to be in communication with Pope Leo XIV and the hierarchy of the Catholic Church,” Garcia-Siller wrote.

St. Joseph’s bills itself as the “home of the SSPX in San Antonio.” The parish’s website states the society “firmly embraces a traditional Catholic worldview” and acknowledges the society “often encounters resistance” while declaring that the modernizations of the Catholic Church constitute 
an unprecedented crisis.”

About the Society of Saint Pius X

SSPX was founded in 1970, in opposition to the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council, which enacted several modernizing changes; those included placing greater emphasis on the role of lay people in the church and allowing Mass to be practiced in local languages rather than Latin.

While now a fringe movement on the Catholic right, the SSPX has been a thorn in the Vatican’s side for five decades because it claims to be even more Catholic than the Holy See. The harshness of Vatican’s response suggested that after trying to negotiate with SSPX over three pontificates, the Vatican under Pope Leo XIV had had enough.

The Vatican doesn’t have to decalre the excommunication or issue a decree: It happens automatically. But the Vatican on Thursday declared the excommunications of the biships and also declared the preists to be schismatics and therefore excommunicated.

The Vatican also warned the society’s faithful that they would face the harshest sanctions in the Catholic Church if they “formally adhere” to the group.

Excommunication is the harshest penalty under canon law.