Secrecy over sex abuse permeates traditionalist Catholic group whose leaders were excommunicated by Pope Leo
<p>A controversial “fraternity” of priests whose leaders were recently excommunicated by Pope Leo XIV — and that maintains a quiet presence in the Chicago area with a church in west suburban Oak Park and a priory on the Northwest Side — fashions itself as an authentic practitioner of Catholicism.</p><p>But the Society of Saint Pius X, perhaps known best for embracing the old Latin mass and other practices and beliefs often described as “traditionalist” or “conservative,” shares an unfortunate characteristic with many of the more mainstream Catholic religious orders: a history of alleged child sexual abuse.</p><p>While some of the troubles are known publicly — including in France where the media has reported on a priest from the society who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2023 for sexual misconduct against 27 minors — it’s unclear how widespread they’ve been within the international organization, often referred to as SSPX.</p><p>The group’s website decries the scourge of sexual abuse, saying it’s “concerned with the safety of all those who are members and guests of our various organizations and institutions. We are completely committed to protecting the safety of everyone who attends our chapels, schools, camps, outings, or events.
Reported by 1 outlet — Chicago Sun-Times. See all sources ↓
<p>A controversial “fraternity” of priests whose leaders were recently excommunicated by Pope Leo XIV — and that maintains a quiet presence in the Chicago area with a church in west suburban Oak Park and a priory on the Northwest Side — fashions itself as an authentic practitioner of Catholicism.</p><p>But the Society of Saint Pius X, perhaps known best for embracing the old Latin mass and other practices and beliefs often described as “traditionalist” or “conservative,” shares an unfortunate characteristic with many of the more mainstream Catholic religious orders: a history of alleged child sexual abuse.</p><p>While some of the troubles are known publicly — including in France where the media has reported on a priest from the society who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2023 for sexual misconduct against 27 minors — it’s unclear how widespread they’ve been within the international organization, often referred to as SSPX.</p><p>The group’s website decries the scourge of sexual abuse, saying it’s “concerned with the safety of all those who are members and guests of our various organizations and institutions. We are completely committed to protecting the safety of everyone who attends our chapels, schools, camps, outings, or events. Abuse of any kind is never to be tolerated under any circumstance.”</p><p>But the SSPX website doesn’t maintain a public list of credibly accused members in the United States like many religious orders currently in good standing, from the Augustinians, to which Pope Leo belongs, to the Carmelites, Dominicans and Jesuits, to which the late Pope Francis belonged.</p><p> SSPX leaders wouldn't provide names or a tally of their alleged offenders when asked by the Chicago Sun-Times.</p><p>Many victims of the church’s decades-old abuse crisis say they support public disclosure of credibly accused clergy through church-based sex offender registries as a means of healing, and of ensuring better accountability from the church that was once much more mired in secrecy on this subject.</p><p>But popes have left the handling of such disclosures up to individual dioceses, which are church jurisdictions helmed by a bishop and based on geography, and individual religious orders, which usually follow in the mold of a saint and have their own leaders. SSPX is not technically a religious order — and even before the latest crisis it carried an “irregular” status within the broader church — but has similarities.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center> <div class="Enhancement-item" data-crop=""> <figure class="Figure"><a class="AnchorLink" id="image-7a0000" name="image-7a0000"></a> <picture data-crop="medium"> <source type="image/webp" width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d0292dd/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5000x2806+0+263/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fb9%2F41%2F06dd6151407dafa770c8c1d829e1%2F2283600109.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4173970/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5000x2806+0+263/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fb9%2F41%2F06dd6151407dafa770c8c1d829e1%2F2283600109.jpg 2x" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <source width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/20efc69/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5000x2806+0+263/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fb9%2F41%2F06dd6151407dafa770c8c1d829e1%2F2283600109.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <img class="Image" alt="New bishops are consecrated for the Society of Saint Pius X earlier this month, prompting Pope Leo XIV to excommunicate the group's leaders." srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/20efc69/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5000x2806+0+263/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fb9%2F41%2F06dd6151407dafa770c8c1d829e1%2F2283600109.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/2d31e2f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5000x2806+0+263/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fb9%2F41%2F06dd6151407dafa770c8c1d829e1%2F2283600109.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275" data-src="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/20efc69/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5000x2806+0+263/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fb9%2F41%2F06dd6151407dafa770c8c1d829e1%2F2283600109.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" > </picture> <div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>New bishops are consecrated for the Society of Saint Pius X earlier this month, prompting Pope Leo XIV to excommunicate the group’s leaders.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Fabrice Coffrini / AFP via Getty Images</p></div></div> </figure> </div> </div><p>Italian sociologist Massimo Introvigne, who has studied the group, says: “They have had some cases of sex abuses but not more than other Catholic groups.
Read the full report at Chicago Sun-Times ↗
Why it matters
A world story we're tracking; its significance and source trust firm up as more outlets confirm it.
- What's the story?
- <p>A controversial “fraternity” of priests whose leaders were recently excommunicated by Pope Leo XIV — and that maintains a quiet presence in the Chicago area with a church in west suburban Oak Park and a priory on the Northwest Side — fashions itself as an authentic practitioner of Catholicism.</p><p>But the Society of Saint Pius X, perhaps known best for embracing the old Latin mass and other practices and beliefs often described as “traditionalist” or “conservative,” shares an unfortunate characteristic with many of the more mainstream Catholic religious orders: a history of alleged child sexual abuse.</p><p>While some of the troubles are known publicly — including in France where the media has reported on a priest from the society who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2023 for sexual misconduct against 27 minors — it’s unclear how widespread they’ve been within the international organization, often referred to as SSPX.</p><p>The group’s website decries the scourge of sexual abuse, saying it’s “concerned with the safety of all those who are members and guests of our various organizations and institutions. We are completely committed to protecting the safety of everyone who attends our chapels, schools, camps, outings, or events.
- How widely is it covered?
- 1 outlet, average source rating 6.0/10.
- When was it last updated?
- 2m ago.
How outlets are framing the same story
Here's how each outlet is covering the story — compare their headlines and timing at a glance.
- Coverage card1 outlet1CoverageScouting report
Secrecy over sex abuse permeates traditionalist Catholic group whose leaders were excommunicated by Pope Leo
Sources1TypeCoverageChicago Sun-Times