Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The group rejects the modern Catholic Church, with one bishop claiming that “the modernist church is a desert that kills everything it touches.”
The Vatican announced a sweeping crackdown on a breakaway traditionalist group after it defied the pope.
On Thursday, the Catholic Church’s top doctrinal office declared that all priests and formal followers of the Society of St. Pius X are now excommunicated, CNN and Reuters reported.
The severe penalty came after the Swiss-based group ordained four new bishops on Wednesday without papal approval.
According to Reuters, the Vatican’s decree states that the ultra-traditionalist movement is now in a formal state of schism.
Church law strictly dictates that only the pope can authorize new bishops. This ensures the unbroken line back to the apostles. Breaking it brings automatic spiritual expulsion.
Sacraments declared invalid
This move marks a massive escalation compared to past disputes. In 1988, unauthorized ordinations only triggered sanctions for the specific bishops involved.
Now, the Vatican is casting a wider net.
The new decree severely restricts the group’s daily operations. The Vatican warned that any marriages or confessions handled by the society are completely “invalid.”
The breakaway group, also known as the Lefebvrists, claimed it had to proceed with the secret ordinations. On Wednesday, representatives stated the choice was made “owing to exceptional circumstances” to ensure they had enough leaders.
Rejecting modern reforms
At the heart of the bitter split is a decades-long rejection of modern Catholic history. The society completely rejects the reforms of the Second Vatican Council from the 1960s, which introduced local languages to the Mass and condemned antisemitism.
Pope Leo XIV has made maintaining global church unity a defining goal of his leadership. Before the ceremony, the pope warned that the ordinations would be a “schismatic” act and a “sin of extreme gravity.”
Experts say the pontiff is drawing a firm boundary. Massimo Faggioli, a papacy expert at Villanova University, told Reuters that Leo has zero interest in compromising on the historic 1960s reforms.
The breakaway group remains defiantly committed to its traditional path. Father Michael Goldade, a newly ordained bishop from the group’s Virginia seminary, lashed out after the ceremony, claiming that “the ‘modernist church’ is a desert that kills everything that it touches.”
