VATICAN — Pope Leo XIV made headlines Tuesday when he challenged the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) to “give up planning the consecration of bishops for Lent.” This is only the latest in negotiation tactics used by the Vatican to get the Society to abandon its intentions of creating new bishops without papal permission in July.

The SSPX released a press statement later that same day explaining “the Holy Father’s request is insufficient, as the consecrations will take place on July 1, which is long after Lent and even Easter have ended.” The statement concluded, “giving up our planning of the event would be more of a minor inconvenience than something to get us to cancel it.”