The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) said a “cordial and sincere” meeting took place on 12 February 2026 between its prefect, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, and Fr. Davide Pagliarani, superior general of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X (SSPX/FSSPX), with the approval of Pope Leo XIV.

Plurality of Religions

According to the DDF communiqué, the discussion addressed points the SSPX had raised in letters—especially from 2017 to 2019—including debate over how to understand God’s will in relation to the plurality of religions.

The reference to the “plurality of religions” alludes to debate sparked during the pontificate of Pope Francis, particularly after the 2019 Abu Dhabi Document on Human Fraternity, which stated that the “pluralism and diversity of religions” are “willed by God.” Critics, including figures within the SSPX, argued that the phrase risked suggesting that God positively wills religious diversity in the same way He wills the truth of Christianity. Vatican officials later clarified that the statement refers to God’s permissive will—that is, God allows religious diversity within the context of human freedom and history—while affirming that the fullness of revelation subsists in Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church.

Fernández proposed a structured theological dialogue with a defined methodology, focusing on questions the Vatican says still require clearer precision. Among the topics cited were the distinction between an act of faith and the “religious submission of mind and will,” as well as the different levels of assent owed to various documents of the Second Vatican Council and how those texts should be interpreted. The DDF also said it was willing to take up a list of issues the SSPX outlined in a 17 January 2019 letter.

Minimal Requirements for Full Communion

The stated goal of the proposed process is to identify the minimum doctrinal points required for full communion with the Catholic Church, as a basis for outlining a future canonical status for the Society, while leaving other matters for further study.

At the same time, the communiqué issued a firm warning: the Holy See reiterated that ordaining bishops without a papal mandate would constitute a decisive rupture of ecclesial communion—a schism—with “grave consequences” for the SSPX as a whole. For that reason, the Vatican said the dialogue would require the Society to suspend any announced plan for episcopal ordinations.

Pagliarani is expected to present the proposal to the SSPX governing council and then communicate a response to the DDF. If the reply is positive, both sides would agree on concrete steps, stages, and procedures. The communiqué closed by asking Catholics to pray for the process, invoking the Holy Spirit as the source of genuine ecclesial unity.

In sum: an opening, a framework, and a red line

This DDF communiqué does three things at once:

1. Signals an opening: Rome is willing to pursue a serious theological dialogue with clear methods and defined topics.
2. Defines the aim: determine what is minimally required for full communion and a stable canonical status for the Fraternity.
3. Draws a firm boundary: episcopal ordinations without papal mandate would be schism, and dialogue presupposes suspending the announced plan to do them.