Cubao bishop creates support team for followers of excommunicated priestly group

MANILA, Philippines — The Diocese of Cubao has announced the creation of a specialized pastoral support network and counseling services for the faithful who follow the newly excommunicated Priestly Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX).

In a pastoral letter dated July 6, Cubao Bishop Elias Ayuban said the diocese would assemble a specialized group of priests and lay leaders to provide "information, counseling, and pastoral assistance" to individuals who follow the excommunicated order.

“I entrust these instructions to your prayerful cooperation. Let us act with pastoral prudence, doctrinal clarity and brotherly charity. We renew our fidelity to Christ and the Church and pray for Pope Leo XIV, whom the Lord has set over his flock as shepherd and guardian of the unity of the Church,” Ayuban’s pastoral letter read.

“Most importantly, let us fervently pray for unity. As we place our hope in the prayer of Jesus, we beg the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, that we may be one body in Christ and the wounds of division may be healed,” it added.

Ayuban said the Diocese of Cubao would continue celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal while also exploring ways to offer additional Masses to make them more accessible to devotees, in compliance with the Apostolic Letter "Traditionis Custodes."

The prelate also urged the clergy and faithful of the Diocese of Cubao to welcome returning traditionalists with patience, charity and understanding following the Church's instruction not to attend SSPX liturgies.

“Through preaching and catechism, may we avoid condemnation but approach the matter with pastoral tact and sensitivity. As we encourage the priests and lay faithful of the Society to seek reconciliation with the Church, we shall together collaborate and reflect on concrete opportunities and means for dialogue,” Ayuban said.

On July 2, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a latae sententiae excommunication against the SSPX after it ordained four bishops without papal authority.

Before this, Pope Leo XIV warned that the ordination of bishops without the approval of the pontiff would constitute a schismatic act.

Covered by the excommunication are the clergy and the people who "adhere" to the order.

What is the SSPX? The order, founded by the excommunicated Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970, is dedicated to preserving the traditional 1962 liturgy and pre-Second Vatican Council practices.

The traditionalist group rejects many of the Second Vatican Council's reforms, particularly its teachings on ecumenism, religious liberty and liturgical renewal.

The group has previously ordained bishops without papal approval, leading to the excommunication of those bishops and Lefebvre.

Before the order's excommunication, the SSPX was considered "canonically irregular" because it operated outside the regular canonical structures of the Catholic Church.

The order has chapels and mission stations across the Philippines where its priests celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass.