These ultra--conservative bishops defied Pope Leo
01/07/2026-23:30 01/07/2026-23:40 חדשות Channel Guardian News דיווח
A rebel group of ultra-conservative clergy has defied Pope Leo by ordaining four new bishops in Switzerland. Subscribe ► youtube.com
The ordinations, which the pope had warned would be a “sin of extreme gravity”, mean automatic excommunication from the Catholic church. The group, the Society of St Pius X, was formed in Switzerland in 1970 to reject church reforms – most notably the celebration of mass in languages other than Latin. In recent years, the order has gained a significant following in the US and across the world and has nearly 1,500 priests, seminarians and other vocational members. Under church law, consecrating a bishop without the pope’s approval incurs catholicism’s harshest punishment: excommunication for the new bishops as well as for the bishop who ordained them. The group’s defiance further strains the church’s fraught relationship with rightwing Catholics and could be the first significant crisis for Pope Leo, who has prioritised church unity. The ceremony’s livestream was in French, with the society’s YouTube channel also offering simultaneous translation into English, German, Italian and Polish. During the offertory, a QR code appeared onscreen for those following remotely to make donations. Members of the Italian neofascist party Forza Nuova, and new far-right party Futuro Nazionale were among the crowd. Tap the link to read more about how the sect’s defiance could provoke a crisis for the pope ► theguardian.com
#pope #popeleo #romancatholic #societyofstpiusx #religion
The ordinations, which the pope had warned would be a “sin of extreme gravity”, mean automatic excommunication from the Catholic church. The group, the Society of St Pius X, was formed in Switzerland in 1970 to reject church reforms – most notably the celebration of mass in languages other than Latin. In recent years, the order has gained a significant following in the US and across the world and has nearly 1,500 priests, seminarians and other vocational members. Under church law, consecrating a bishop without the pope’s approval incurs catholicism’s harshest punishment: excommunication for the new bishops as well as for the bishop who ordained them. The group’s defiance further strains the church’s fraught relationship with rightwing Catholics and could be the first significant crisis for Pope Leo, who has prioritised church unity. The ceremony’s livestream was in French, with the society’s YouTube channel also offering simultaneous translation into English, German, Italian and Polish. During the offertory, a QR code appeared onscreen for those following remotely to make donations. Members of the Italian neofascist party Forza Nuova, and new far-right party Futuro Nazionale were among the crowd. Tap the link to read more about how the sect’s defiance could provoke a crisis for the pope ► theguardian.com
#pope #popeleo #romancatholic #societyofstpiusx #religion
