VATICAN CITY: The Society of St Pius X has been declared in schism after consecrating four bishops without Pope Leo XIV’s approval, the Vatican said.
The Vatican’s doctrinal office issued the decree on Thursday after the traditionalist Catholic group held the consecration ceremony at its seminary in Econe, Switzerland.
The decree said the bishops involved, along with priests and lay members who knowingly adhered to the breakaway movement, had been excommunicated and could no longer remain members of the Catholic Church.
The Vatican said the group’s celebration of sacraments was now illicit. It also said the SSPX could no longer officiate marriages or hear confessions.
The ceremony was attended by an estimated 16,500 followers, according to the source report. Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta consecrated Pascal Schreiber, Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry and Marc Hanappier during the Mass.
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Pope Leo XIV had warned in a Tuesday letter that consecrating bishops without papal approval would amount to a “sin of extreme gravity,” the report said.
The SSPX was founded in 1970 by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. It has opposed several reforms introduced.
Second Vatican Council, including changes linked to the traditional Latin Mass and the Church’s engagement with the modern world.
The dispute mirrors a 1988 crisis, when Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without approval from Pope John Paul II. The Vatican declared that the act was schismatic and excommunicated Lefebvre and the four bishops.
