Members of traditionalist Catholic group in schism, excommunicated, Vatican says

Pope Leo's Vatican has formally broken with the Society of St. Pius X, ruling Thursday that the group's clergy and lay followers have fallen into schism and been excommunicated. The rupture follows the society's decision to consecrate new bishops without the pope's consent.

The ceremony drew a massive crowd to Écône, where a reported 15,000 or more turned out to watch. Hundreds of priests in robes filed through the village, holding candles and crosses and swinging incense, before reaching a pasture where organizers had erected a large tent.

The ruling came from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which oversees doctrine for the Church's 1.4 billion members. Under the decree, any sacraments the Swiss-based movement administers are now unlawful, so its priests can no longer validly witness marriages or hear confessions.

Only a pope can approve the making of new bishops, a rule meant to preserve an unbroken line back to Christ's twelve apostles. Breaking it brings automatic excommunication. What surprised many observers was how far the penalty reached, extending beyond those at the ceremony to every priest in the society and any Catholic who formally adheres to it.

At the root of the conflict is the society's refusal to accept the Second Vatican Council, the 1960s assembly that reformed the global Church, opened dialogue with Jews and other Christians, and allowed Mass to be said in local languages instead of Latin. Leo, who calls the divide "painful," maintains that those reforms are not up for debate.