Switzerland Vatican Defiant Traditionalists
Newly consecrated bishops, from left, Marc Hanappier, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, Michael Goldade and Pascal Schreiber, wearing their miters pray at the end of their consecration ceremony in a tent set up outside the Society of St. Pius X seminary in Econe, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
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Catholic group that defied pope and caused schism defends its actions and casts itself as the victim
The traditionalist Catholics who defied Pope Leo XIV and caused a schism are defending their actions. The Society of St. Pius X is insisting it was merely saving souls and has been the victim of an unjust sanction by the Holy See. The head of the group wrote to Leo a day after the Vatican excommunicated its bishops and priests and warned its faithful to not participate in the schism, or rupture in church unity. The Vatican took action after the group consecrated four new bishops without papal consent, one of the gravest crimes in church law.
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