The Vatican has taken a strong stance against the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, declaring the group in schism and excommunicating its bishops and priests. This move comes after the SSPX consecrated four new bishops without the pope’s consent, which the Vatican considers a schismatic act.

Background

The SSPX was founded by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970 in opposition to the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The group celebrates the ancient Latin Mass and opposes the modernizing reforms of the Catholic Church, which it considers to be rife with errors and heresies.

The Vatican’s doctrine office has gone above and beyond the minimal sanctions foreseen by the church’s canon law to respond to the consecrations. The decree excommunicates the four new bishops and the two bishops who participated in the ceremony, and declares the consecrations a schismatic act.

The Vatican has also warned the faithful who attend SSPX Masses to stop, declaring that those who adhere formally to the society are considered schismatic and excommunicated. The sacraments of confession and marriage administered by SSPX priests are also considered invalid.

Implications

The sanctions imposed by the Vatican suggest that the Holy See has had enough of the SSPX’s defiance. The group has grown in recent decades, with six bishops, 751 priests, 264 seminarians, and 250 religious sisters representing 50 nationalities. The SSPX has accused the Catholic Church of being rife with errors, such as modernism and liberalism, and claims to be upholding the true faith of Christ.

Original reporting: Dallas TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.