In the complicated and dense debate on the new episcopal consecrations in the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX), [sic] is it really so extraordinary to ask for episcopal continuity for a consolidated pastoral reality when the Church has already created similar structures for communities?
There is one subtle difference. The SSPX does not ask for their own bishops with jurisdiction (as is the case for several of the examples given). The SSPX is a priestly society whose governing structure reports to the local ordinary to the extent the ordinary does not ask their members to violate Apostolic Tradition. The bishops in the SSPX are limited to ordinations, confirmations, blessing holy oils, and, now for the second time, consecrating bishops of similarly limited function. The SSPX was created to preserve the Apostolic Tradition (vs. the new tradition being created as changed since Vatican II) without disrupting the hierarchy of the Church. The post Vatican II popes want to replace Apostolic Tradition with new practices. Abandoning or changing Apostolic Tradition is against the charter of the SSPX.