Vatican Excommunicates Lefebvrist Bishops

The Vatican has excommunicated bishops of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), who consecrated four new bishops on 1 July in Ecône, Switzerland, without a papal mandate, according to Vatican News.

A decree from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith described the act as "schismatic in nature", since it was carried out against the will of Pope Leo XIV.

Automatic excommunication (latae sententiae) applies to the consecrators, Alfonso de Galarreta and Bernard Fellay, as well as to the newly consecrated bishops Pascal Schreiber, Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry and Marc Hanappier. Lay faithful who formally affiliate with the Society are also considered excommunicated.

The ordinations went ahead despite repeated calls from the Vatican and a personal letter from Pope Leo XIV urging the Society to abandon its plan. More than 1,000 priests, monks and nuns, along with approximately 15,000 faithful, attended the ceremony.

The Society's superior, Davide Pagliarani, said during the event that the new ordinations were necessary to preserve the community. He also said, according to Statement.com, that any ecclesiastical sanctions would be invalid.

(vaticannews, bak)