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Pope Leo XIV has excommunicated the ultra-conservative Society of St. Pius X after the group consecrated four new bishops in Switzerland without papal permission. According to the Vatican’s ruling, the bishops in question have been excommunicated, as have the movement’s priests and the laypeople who formally affiliate with it.
The measure affects a community that has an estimated 600,000 members worldwide and is also active in Antwerp. Priest Louis Bochkoltz called the decision “very sad” in an interview with CNN World, but maintains that the ordination itself is valid.
Strong reaction from Rome
Rome had already warned the movement on several occasions that a unilateral episcopal ordination without papal blessing would have serious canonical consequences. Nevertheless, Pius X went ahead, prompting the Vatican to intervene swiftly and decisively. According to the decree, this constitutes a schismatic act: anyone who formally remains affiliated with the group risks excommunication and may no longer receive or administer the sacraments. The Vatican added that a return to the Church remains possible, but only through a formal act of repentance.
Church lawyers emphasize that excommunication does not mean that someone is “thrown out” of the Church . Rather, the person in question is placed in a sort of limbo, in which they may no longer administer or receive the sacraments. According to that same logic, baptism remains indelible.
An old Schism, new tensions
Marcel Lefebvre’s movement has existed since the 1960s and opposed the reforms of Vatican II, such as the liturgy in the vernacular and the renewed relationship between the Church and the faithful. In 1988, a previous unauthorized episcopal ordination had already led to excommunication.
Since then, Pius X has remained a sensitive issue for Rome, partly due to criticism of far-right symbolism and anti-Semitism. At the same time, the movement is larger today than ever and attracts a striking number of young people, which only increases the tension with the official Church. The SSPX (Society of Saint Pius X) opposes, above all, the introduction of the Mass in the vernacular, ecumenical rapprochement with other Christians and religions, and a more modern view of religious freedom.
Bochkoltz himself insists that his brothers simply remain faithful to the Catholic creed. “We pray for the pope every day,” he says, though he acknowledges that relations with Rome have once again been deeply damaged.
©Christian Harb via Unsplash