- The Vatican has declared the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) in schism, saying it had formally broken with the Catholic Church, and excommunicated its bishops and priests after the group consecrated four new bishops without papal consent.
- The Holy See's doctrine office went beyond minimum sanctions, declaring the consecrations a "schismatic act" and extending excommunications to the four new bishops, the two participating bishops, and approximately 750 SSPX priests, also invalidating their sacraments of confession and marriage.
- The Vatican warned that faithful who formally adhere to the SSPX could also be considered schismatic and excommunicated, potentially affecting thousands of rank-and-file members.
- The SSPX, founded in 1970 in opposition to the Second Vatican Council's modernizing reforms, justified the consecrations by citing a "state of necessity" to minister to its faithful, while expressing shock and calling the Vatican's sanctions "unjust."
- This aggressive response from Pope Leo XIV's Vatican, which had previously attempted outreach, highlights the ongoing challenge posed by the SSPX, a growing "parallel, ultra-Catholic, pre-Vatican II church" that claims to uphold the true faith.
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