The Vatican announced a schism with the Society of St. Pius X and the excommunication of its members from the Church

The Vatican has taken decisive action against the traditionalist “Society of St. Pius X” (SSPX), officially declaring a schism after the group ordained four new bishops without the Pope’s consent. According to AP News, the Vatican responded to this action with extreme severity: in addition to excommunicating the bishops themselves, sanctions were extended to priests and even laypeople who formally support the organization.

The Society of St. Pius X, founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970, is known for its commitment to the Latin Mass and its active rejection of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. “The Society views modern church reforms as riddled with heresy and error,” notes an AP News report. Despite Pope Leo XIV’s calls for unity, the ordination ceremony took place in Ecône, Switzerland, with 15,500 faithful in attendance.

In an official decree, the Vatican characterized the event as an act of schism. The fact that the restrictions affected the sacraments—confessions and marriages performed by SSPX priests are now considered invalid—was met with particular severity. Experts, such as Luigi Casalini of the blog Messa in Latino, called the Vatican’s decision “an act of extraordinary severity,” noting that extending the sanctions to ordinary believers is an unprecedented step.

The Vatican has emphasized its willingness to welcome back believers who decide to renounce their support for the radical wing; however, the procedure for this “return” has not yet been sufficiently worked out. The SSPX leadership, for its part, justifies its actions as a “state of necessity” for the pastoral care of the flock, insisting that it is merely defending the true Catholic faith from modernist distortions.