The Society of St Pius X has received a public defence from the controversial Archbishop Jan Paweł Lenga, retired Archbishop Emeritus of Karaganda in Kazakhstan, following its 1 July episcopal consecration of four bishops without a papal mandate.

In a lengthy statement published in English by SignoftheCross Media, Archbishop Lenga denounced the Holy See’s excommunication decree in uncompromising terms, describing it as evidence that the Vatican had “departed from Christ and from the faith”. His intervention is the first public endorsement of the Society by a bishop since the “maximalist” sanctions imposed on the SSPX following the illicit episcopal consecrations.

Opening his statement, the retired archbishop contrasted the Society’s episcopal consecration with what he described as the state of the contemporary Church. “It was worth seeing the consecration of the bishops of the Society of St Pius X: what peace, what joy, what prayerful atmosphere, what solemnity!” the archbishop said. “Nothing like that can be seen in the post-conciliar Church anymore. In contrast, the Vatican is in chaos.”

Archbishop Lenga argued that the Society had sought reconciliation with Rome for many years but claimed those efforts had failed because of those now holding senior positions within the Vatican. He went on to accuse senior Church leaders of abandoning their pastoral mission, alleging that they were more concerned with enforcing canon law than safeguarding the faith.

“They appeal to canons – which were written to prevent heresies, to prevent schism – yet these cardinals and bishops themselves are in schism. They are the ones who should be excommunicated, because they no longer have anything at all in common with the Church of Christ.”

The former Archbishop of Karaganda also rejected suggestions that the Society had broken communion with the Holy See, insisting instead that it remained faithful to the Petrine ministry. “They do not wish to be separated from the See of Peter,” he said. “They are not separating themselves from Peter; rather, the false Peter has separated himself from them.”

His criticism extended directly to Pope Leo XIV, whom he referred to by his secular surname. “Prevost’s approval of the excommunication is proof that he no longer represents the Church that follows Jesus and leads people to salvation,” Archbishop Lenga declared.

The retired archbishop repeatedly defended the Society’s founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, portraying him as a bishop who foresaw the dangers facing the Church after the Second Vatican Council. He argued that the Society’s attachment to the Church’s traditional liturgy and doctrine represented fidelity rather than rebellion, while describing the post-conciliar reforms as a departure from the Church’s authentic mission.

Referring to the episcopal consecration itself, he praised both the liturgy and the homily delivered during the ceremony.

“The homily at the ordination Mass of the new bishops was in the spirit of Cyril of Alexandria and in the spirit of those who suffered at the hands of people during their lives,” he said. “It was in the spirit of Saint Athanasius.”

Archbishop Lenga concluded by insisting that the Vatican’s penalties had no spiritual effect on the Society and urged its members to remain steadfast despite the sanctions. “Remain faithful to Christ,” he said. “Some will call into question the sacraments you administer, but remain faithful to Christ, and whoever endures to the end will be saved.”

While the archbishop’s statement is likely to be welcomed within SSPX circles, Archbishop Lenga has long occupied a controversial position within the wider Church because of his own disciplinary history.

Following his retirement, the Diocese of Włocławek in Poland imposed restrictions on the retired archbishop after a series of public interventions directed against Pope Francis. The disciplinary measures prohibited him from preaching at Mass and speaking to the media, although Archbishop Lenga immediately rejected the sanctions by granting a televised interview in which he said he intended to continue speaking publicly.

Fr Artur Niemira, chancellor of the Diocese of Włocławek, said at the time that Bishop Wiesław Mering had imposed the restrictions to prevent scandal among the faithful. According to the Polish Catholic news agency KAI, the sanctions followed Archbishop Lenga’s refusal to mention Pope Francis by name during Mass and were to remain in force pending a judgment by the Holy See.

His criticism of Pope Francis had already become well known. The Polish journal Więź reported that he had described Pope Francis as a “usurper and heretic”, quoting him as saying: “Bergoglio preaches untruth, preaches sin, and does not preach a tradition that lasted so many years, 2,000 years… He proclaims the truth of this world and this is the truth of the devil.”

The Polish bishops’ conference also distanced itself from his interventions after he appeared on Polish television in 2020. Its spokesman, Fr Paweł Rytel-Andrianik, emphasised that Archbishop Lenga was not a member of the conference and that “the statements of Archbishop Lenga cannot be identified in any way with the Polish episcopal conference. They cannot be treated as positions of Polish bishops.”

Born in present-day Ukraine in 1950, he was ordained secretly in 1980 during Soviet persecution of the Church before serving as Apostolic Administrator of Kazakhstan following the collapse of the Soviet Union. He later became Archbishop of Karaganda, remaining in office until Pope Benedict XVI accepted his resignation in 2011.