Vatican declares breakaway Catholic group in schism, issues mass excommunication
By Joshua McElwee
VATICAN CITY, July 2 (Reuters) — The Vatican on Thursday declared that priests and lay Catholics affiliated with a breakaway right-wing group that consecrated bishops without the pope's approval are now in a state of formal schism and excommunicated from the 1.4-billion-member global Church.
In an unusually sweeping decree, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith — the Church's top doctrinal watchdog — also warned the faithful worldwide that the Swiss-based Society of St. Pius X now administers sacraments illicitly, meaning marriages officiated by its priests are invalid and confessions heard by them carry no spiritual weight.
The ultra-traditionalist group, which has long rejected key teachings of the Second Vatican Council and insists on celebrating the Latin Mass exclusively, can no longer validly perform these rites, the decree stated.
The action is rooted in a fundamental Church rule: only the pope can authorize the consecration of new bishops. This authority is understood as essential to preserving the unbroken line of apostolic succession dating back to Jesus' 12 apostles, considered the first priests and bishops.
VATICAN DECREE GOES FURTHER THAN EXPECTED
Under Church law, unauthorized episcopal ordination is so grave that it triggers automatic excommunication — a severing of communion that bars individuals from receiving sacraments until they repent and seek forgiveness. Thursday's decree confirmed that the two bishops who led Wednesday's unauthorized ordination in Switzerland, along with the four priests who became new bishops, have been excommunicated.
But the Vatican surprised observers by going further: it ruled that all priests of the Society of St. Pius X, as well as any Catholic who “adheres formally” to the group, are now considered in schism and automatically excommunicated. A schism represents a formal and severe rupture within the Catholic community, far more serious than simple disobedience.
The Society of St. Pius X rejects the core reforms of the Second Vatican Council, the landmark 1960s gathering that sought to modernize the Church, repair relations with Jews and other Christian denominations, and allow the Mass to be celebrated in local languages rather than solely in Latin. The group’s followers, often called Lefebvrists after their founder Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, argue that the Latin rite preserves a necessary sense of mystery and formality.
The Society claims about 733 priests worldwide. Its leadership, which has long had tense and often hostile relations with the Vatican, said it needed to ordain new bishops to ensure enough prelates to lead the movement. Thursday's decree, however, effectively isolates the group from the mainstream Church, potentially deepening its internal divisions and spurring debates among traditionalist Catholics about loyalty to Rome.
The move also carries significant implications for the broader Catholic landscape. Analysts say it may pressure other dissident groups to clarify their own positions, while reinforcing the authority of Pope Leo in enforcing doctrinal discipline. For ordinary Catholics, the decree clarifies that participation in Society activities — even attending its Masses — could put them outside the Church’s communion.
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Crispian Balmer)