The Vatican has excommunicated all members of the ultra-conservative Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) after the group ordained four bishops without Pope Leo's consent, creating a schism in the Roman Catholic Church. The move, announced on Thursday by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, head of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, marks the first major crisis for Pope Leo, who was elected in May last year.
The Vatican stated that the SSPX had committed an act of a schismatic nature, punishable by automatic excommunication under canon law. All priests of the society and Catholics who formally adhere to the group are now excommunicated. The Vatican also reversed concessions on sacraments made by the late Pope Francis, meaning confessions and marriages administered by SSPX priests are invalid.
Pope Leo had made a last-ditch effort to prevent the ordinations, calling them a schismatic act and a sin of extreme gravity. However, the SSPX insisted that ordaining bishops faithful to Catholic tradition was a sacred duty. An estimated 16,500 people attended the ceremony in Écône, Switzerland, including members of far-right political groups.
The SSPX, founded in 1970, rejects key reforms from the Second Vatican Council, including the use of local languages in Mass. Despite being a splinter group, it has attracted 150,000 to 200,000 followers worldwide, particularly in the US, France, and Argentina. The excommunication is the first clash between the Vatican and the SSPX since 1988, when founder Marcel Lefebvre was excommunicated for ordaining bishops without papal approval.
Vatican observers suggest Pope Leo prioritises church unity and will not appease traditionalists. The excommunication is seen as a firm stance to encourage repentance among the faithful, though the SSPX hopes to gain traction from the global far-right resurgence.
