Pope Leo XIV's first major showdown with a breakaway Catholic movement ended Thursday with the Vatican declaring the Society of St.Pius X in schism and excommunicating bishops who defied the pontiff by ordaining new bishops without his approval.The Vatican acted one day after the Society of St.
Pius X (SSPX) consecrated four new bishops at its seminary in Écône, Switzerland, despite a personal appeal from Leo urging the group to abandon what the Catholic Church called a "schismatic act."In a decree released Thursday, the Holy See excommunicated the four newly consecrated bishops as well as the two bishops who took part in the ceremony, declaring the ordinations a schism, or an intentional break from the Catholic Church.The decision comes after decades of efforts by successive popes to reconcile with the traditionalist movement, which rejects many of the reforms adopted during the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, including allowing Mass to be celebrated in local languages instead of Latin.POPE LEO PLEADS WITH BREAKAWAY CATHOLIC GROUP NOT TO COMMIT 'SIN OF EXTREME GRAVITY'Newly consecrated Bishops, from left, Marc Hanappier, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, Michael Goldade and Pascal Schreiber wearing their miters and holding their pastoral staffs, stand at the end of their consecration ceremony in a tent set up outside the Society of St.Pius X seminary in Econe, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
(AP Photo/Baz Ratner)Only the pope has the authority to approve the consecration of Catholic bishops, a practice meant to preserve the Church's unity and its line of succession from the apostles.The sanctions also reverse concessions the Vatican had granted the SSPX in recent years as it tried to bring the group back into full communion with Rome.According to the decree, the group can no longer validly administer the sacraments of confession and marriage, and the Vatican urged Catholics attending SSPX Masses to separate themselves from the movement.Pope Leo XIV waves d...