Vatican excommunicates bishops in ultraconservative group, warns faithful of sanctions

The Vatican responded on Thursday to a traditionalist group that consecrated bishops without Pope Leo XIV's authorization.

In its decree, the Vatican declared the Society of St. Pius X in schism and excommunicated six bishops and priests, the Associated Press reported. It declared that the consecrations were a "schismatic act," or intentional rupture within the Catholic Church. 

The Vatican also warned the faithful who participate in the society's Masses to stop, and warned they too could face harsh sanctions, including excommunication. 

The SSPX society, as it's known, celebrates the ancient Latin Mass and opposes the reforms of the modern Catholic Church, reforms it says are filled with heresies and errors. 

The doctrine on Thursday went beyond the minimum sanctions prescribed under the church's canon law to respond to the consecrations of four new bishops at the SSPX seminary in Switzerland. The bishops were consecrated in direct defiance of Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday in a Mass attended by approximately 15,500 people and their children. 

The decree also excommunicated two bishops that participated in the ceremony. The pope had urged the SSPX not to go through with the consecrations for the sake of unity in the church.