Vatican excommunicates breakaway Catholic bishops after defying Pope Leo XIV

The Vatican has excommunicated bishops from the Society of St. Pius X after the traditionalist Catholic group ordained four new bishops without Pope Leo XIV’s approval. In a decree issued Thursday, the Holy See said the ordinations amounted to a schism and also revoked the group’s permission to administer the sacraments of confession and marriage. The Vatican urged Catholics who attend SSPX Masses to distance themselves from the movement. The decision follows years of tensions between Rome and SSPX, which has rejected parts of the Second Vatican Council’s reforms. The dispute marks an early test for Leo, who had personally asked the group to cancel the ordinations before they went ahead in Switzerland.