Schism caused by Society of Saint Pius X ordaining four bishops without consent presents first crisis for Pope Leo

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The Vatican has excommunicated a rebel group of ultra-conservative Catholics who defied Pope Leo by ordaining bishops without his consent, creating a schism in the Roman Catholic church.

In a statement on Thursday, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, who heads the Holy See’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, said the group from the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), founded in the Swiss village of Écône in 1970, had “committed an act of a schismatic nature” which, under canon law, was punishable with automatic excommunication.