The Vatican confirmed on Thursday the excommunication of six bishops of the Saint Pius X fraternity, confirming the “schism” with Rome of this traditionalist movement.
• Also read: 9,000 faithful gathered despite the 4th wave in France
• Also read: Alleged rape of minors in the Vatican: a priest proclaims his innocence
“The sacred ministers belonging to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius
This Catholic community founded by French bishop Marcel Lefebvre, with around 600,000 faithful worldwide, consecrated four of these bishops in Switzerland on Wednesday.
The Saint Pius
Its faithful are attached to a strict interpretation of the doctrinal and liturgical tradition, notably the “Tridentine” rite mass, which is characterized by the use of Latin and a priest officiating with his back to the assembly.
She thus reproduced on Wednesday this act of “schismatic” significance at the origin of a first break with the Vatican in 1988, while saying “regret” having had to act without the authorization of the Pope.
“I beg you from the bottom of my heart: reconsider your decision! » Pope Leo
The four new bishops – the French abbots Michel Poinsinet de Sivry and Marc Hanappier, the American abbot Michael Goldade and the Swiss abbot Pascal Schreiber – are thus excommunicated, as well as the last two bishops the fraternity had until now, Alfonso de Galarreta and Bernard Fellay.
The Dicastery of the Faith clarified Thursday that “clerics and lay faithful are admonished not to adhere to the schism of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, because they ipso facto incur the penalty of excommunication.”
As in 1988, the bishops were consecrated without assigned jurisdiction, which according to the Fraternity excludes any schism and any excommunication. But the Vatican considers that consecrating a bishop without the agreement of the pope results in automatic excommunication of bishops (consecrated and consecrating) and characterizes a “schismatic act”.
