Fears of Catholic schism as defiant sect ordains ultra-conservative bishops

The four bishops ordained without Vatican approval prostrate themselves during the Society of Saint Pius X ceremony on Wednesday. Photograph: Cyril Zingaro/EPA View image in fullscreen The four bishops ordained without Vatican approval prostrate themselves during the Society of Saint Pius X ceremony on Wednesday. Photograph: Cyril Zingaro/EPA Fears of Catholic schism as defiant sect ordains ultra-conservative bishops Consecrations by Society of Saint Pius X bring automatic excommunication for bishops – and crisis for Pope Leo A rebel group of ultra-conservative Catholics has defied Pope Leo by ordaining bishops without his consent, which they declared a “sacred duty” despite it causing their automatic excommunication. In a ritual-filled ceremony on Wednesday streamed live from the Swiss village of Ecône, the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) went ahead with the consecrations of four bishops, one from Switzerland , one from France and two from the US. Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, who himself was consecrated without papal consent in 1988, placed his hands on the head of the four new bishops, a ritual laying of the hands that Catholics believe confers the Holy Spirit from one bishop to another. Under Catholic church law, all five now face automatic excommunication. The SSPX, founded in 1970 in Ecône to oppose liberalising changes in the Catholic church, is a considered a threat to Pope Leo’s leadership since it represents a parallel, ultra-Catholic church. View image in fullscreen The ordinations in Ecône, Switzerland, were described by the pope as a ‘schismatic act’. Photograph: Cyril Zingaro/EPA The pontiff had made a last-ditch effort to persuade the society to halt the ordinations, calling them a “schismatic act” and a “sin of extreme gravity” . But, as the mass began on Wednesday, a priest read aloud a statement defending the consecrations while lamenting the Catholic church’s deviation from tradition. “Therefore before God we consider it a sacred duty toward holy church and toward souls to proceed with the consecration of bishops who are entirely faithful to her holy tradition and to her constant magisterium,” the priest said. “We consider every punishment and censure brought to bear against this step will have no validity.” Organ music played and a large crowd gathered to watch as hundreds of priests processed through the mountain village towards the society’s seminary, where the ordinations were carried out. View image in fullscreen Nuns pray during the mass organised by the Society of Saint Pius X. Photograph: Cyril Zingaro/EPA View image in fullscreen Crowds of people attending the ordination and mass in Ecône on Wednesday. Photograph: Cyril Zingaro/EPA Despite being a splinter group, the SSPX has a wide reach, gaining a significant following in the US, where it has a large operations base in Kansas, as well as in France, Argentina and other countries. The order has nearly 1,500 priests, seminarians and other vocational members. The society r