Switzerland Vatican Defiant Traditionalists
Newly consecrated bishop Michael Goldade delivers his blessing at the end of his 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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The Vatican has responded aggressively to a traditionalist society that consecrated bishops without the pope’s consent. The Vatican on Thursday declared that the Society of St. Pius X had formally broken with the Catholic Church and it excommunicated its bishops. It also warning its faithful they also could face the harsh sanctions. The Vatican went above and beyond the minimal sanctions foreseen by the church’s canon law to respond to the consecrations Wednesday of four new bishops at the society’s seminary in Switzerland. The Vatican has excommunicated the four new bishops and the two bishops that participated in the ceremony. It declared that the society had created a schism, or intentional rupture with the church.
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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