️ The Vatican has declared that priests and lay Catholics belonging to a breakaway right-wing group, the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), are in schism and excommunicated after the group ordained bishops without Pope Leo XIV's approval.

️ In a decree issued Thursday, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Catholic Church's top doctrinal watchdog, stated that the Swiss-based SSPX is now illicitly celebrating sacraments. The group cannot validly officiate marriages or hear confessions, the decree said.

️ The decree came a day after the SSPX consecrated four new bishops, defying a personal plea from Pope Leo not to do so. Under strict Catholic policy, only the pope may authorize bishop consecrations to maintain the church's link to Jesus's 12 apostles.

️ The decree excommunicated the two bishops who led the unauthorized ordinations in Switzerland on Wednesday, along with the four priests involved. However, the Vatican went further, declaring that all SSPX priests and Catholics who "adhere formally" to the group are now in schism and excommunicated.

️ Schism denotes a severe, formal rupture within the Catholic community. The SSPX, with about 600,000 followers worldwide, comprises fundamentalist Catholics who strongly oppose the liberal reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.

️ The SSPX did not immediately respond to the excommunications. On Wednesday, it said it proceeded with the ordinations without papal approval "owing to exceptional circumstances." In a letter Monday, Pope Leo warned that "to tear the seamless garment of Christ is a sin of extreme gravity" and pleaded, "please turn back!"

️ Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin told journalists Wednesday that the Church felt "deep sorrow" over the ordinations, saying, "An act of this kind deeply wounds the unity of the Church." Unauthorized bishop ordinations result in automatic excommunication until repentance.

Source: www.aljazeera.com