Vatican Threatens Rebel Catholic Group with Excommunication

The Vatican has issued a strong warning to the ultra-conservative Society of St Pius X, stating that the planned consecration of new bishops without the approval of Pope Leo XIV would constitute schism and trigger automatic excommunication from the Catholic Church. It is the first known threat of the church's harshest ecclesiastical penalty during the new pope's pontificate.

Cardinal Victor Fernandez, head of the Vatican's doctrinal office, said such a move would be a "grave offence against God" and a formal break with the pope. Church rules state that new bishops may only be consecrated with the consent of the head of the Catholic Church.

The Society of St Pius X is among the traditionalist Catholic groups that reject the reforms of the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s, including the celebration of Mass in vernacular languages rather than Latin. The organization says it seeks to preserve the traditional character of the liturgy and the old Latin rite.

Relations between the Vatican and the group have been strained for decades. The society's founder, Marcel Lefebvre, was excommunicated in 1988 after ordaining four bishops without the approval of Pope John Paul II. Pope Benedict XVI later lifted the excommunication in an effort to restore dialogue.

The organization's current leadership announced in February that it planned to ordain more bishops in July, saying it needed more church leaders to support its activities around the world.

(reuters, max)