Vatican excommunicates breakaway Catholic bishops who defied Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV's first awesome showdown pinch a breakaway Catholic activity ended Thursday pinch nan Vatican declaring nan Society of St. Pius X successful schism and excommunicating bishops who defied nan pontiff by ordaining caller bishops without his approval.

The Vatican acted 1 time aft nan Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) consecrated 4 caller bishops astatine its seminary successful Écône, Switzerland, contempt a individual entreaty from Leo urging nan group to wantonness what the Catholic Church called a "schismatic act."

In a decree released Thursday, nan Holy See excommunicated nan 4 recently consecrated bishops arsenic good arsenic nan 2 bishops who took portion successful nan ceremony, declaring nan ordinations a schism, aliases an intentional break from nan Catholic Church.

The determination comes aft decades of efforts by successive popes to reconcile pinch nan traditionalist movement, which rejects galore of nan reforms adopted during nan Second Vatican Council successful nan 1960s, including allowing Mass to beryllium celebrated successful section languages alternatively of Latin.

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Newly consecrated Bishops, from left, Marc Hanappier, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, Michael Goldade and Pascal Schreiber wearing their miters and holding their pastoral staffs, guidelines astatine nan extremity of their consecration ceremonial successful a shelter group up extracurricular nan Society of St. Pius X seminary successful Econe, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Only nan pope has nan authority to o.k. nan consecration of Catholic bishops, a believe meant to sphere nan Church's unity and its statement of succession from nan apostles.

The sanctions besides reverse concessions nan Vatican had granted nan SSPX successful caller years arsenic it tried to bring nan group backmost into afloat communion pinch Rome. According to nan decree, nan group tin nary longer validly administer nan sacraments of confession and marriage, and nan Vatican urged Catholics attending SSPX Masses to abstracted themselves from nan movement.

Pope Leo XIV waves during nan Angelus noon dream from nan model of his workplace overlooking St. Peter's Square, astatine nan Vatican, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

The action comes conscionable days aft Leo made a uncommon individual entreaty to nan group's leader, nan Rev. Davide Pagliarani, urging him to cancel nan consecrations.

"I plead pinch you and inquire you pinch each my heart: please move back!" nan pope wrote successful a missive to Pagliarani connected Monday, informing nan planned ordinations would deepen nan decades-old section betwixt Rome and nan SSPX.

The conflict is nan first awesome trial of Leo's pontificate. Since becoming pope, nan American-born pontiff has emphasized treatment divisions wrong nan Catholic Church, including reaching retired to conservatives and traditionalists who felt alienated during Pope Francis' papacy.

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During Wednesday's consecration ceremony, Pagliarani insisted nan ordinations were carried retired not successful guidance to nan pope but successful work to nan Church.

"We are accused of not respecting nan pope," Pagliarani said. "But it is precisely because we emotion nan pope arsenic nan vicar of Christ, arsenic nan caput of nan church, that we don’t want to spot nan pope humiliated anymore, connected nan broadside of mendacious shepherds representing mendacious religions."

Pope Leo XIV delivers his connection arsenic he celebrates a Mass wherever he confers nan pallium connected recently appointed metropolitan archbishops, successful St. Peter's Basilica, astatine nan Vatican, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Founded successful 1970 by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, nan Society of St. Pius X has agelong opposed what it considers theological errors introduced by nan Second Vatican Council. Lefebvre was excommunicated successful 1988 aft consecrating 4 bishops without nan support of Pope John Paul II successful a astir identical confrontation.

Those excommunications were lifted successful 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI successful an effort to reconstruct dialogue, though nan SSPX ne'er returned to afloat communion pinch Rome and has remained extracurricular nan Church's general structure.

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Despite that status, nan nine has continued to grow, reporting hundreds of priests, seminarians and belief members serving followers successful dozens of countries, making it 1 of nan largest traditionalist Catholic movements operating extracurricular nan Vatican's authority.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.