The Vatican has excommunicated all members of the ultra-conservative SSPX group
The Vatican has officially excommunicated a group of ultra-conservative Catholics from the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), who caused a serious schism in the Roman Catholic Church.
The conflict arose after members of the organization unilaterally ordained new bishops without the consent of Pope Leo, which constituted a direct challenge to ecclesiastical authority.
Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, head of the Holy See’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, confirmed that these actions are classified as schismatic in nature.
According to canon law, such acts are subject to automatic excommunication, which means complete exclusion from ecclesiastical communion.
The Vatican has taken an unprecedentedly tough stance, extending the punishment not only to the organizers of the ordinations but also to all SSPX priests and laypeople formally affiliated with the group.
Previously, Pope Leo had made repeated attempts to persuade representatives of the Society to halt the ceremony, characterizing their intentions as a “schismatic act” and a “sin of extreme gravity.”
Despite the pontiff’s appeals, the Society of St. Pius X insists on its own interpretation of the situation.
Representatives of the organization stated that the ordination of bishops who are “fully faithful” to the “tradition” of the Catholic Church is a “sacred duty” for them.
According to observers’ estimates, about 16,500 people gathered for the solemn ceremony in the Swiss village of Ecône.
Representatives of Italian far-right and neo-fascist political parties were spotted among the participants, creating additional political pressure on the government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
The society, which numbers approximately 1,500 priests and seminarians, enjoys significant support worldwide, and the number of its followers is estimated to be between 150,000 and 200,000.
The group wields the greatest influence in the United States, France, and Argentina, where it actively promotes anti-reformist ideas.
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