Vatican excommunicates followers of global Catholic sect

Vatican excommunicates hundreds of thousands of splinter sect followersImage source, EPAImage caption, Worshippers at a Mass organised by the Society of Saint Pius X in Switzerland on WednesdayByCatherine WyattBBC religious affairsPublished1 hour agoMore than half a million Christians who are part of a conservative Catholic splinter sect, the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), have been excommunicated by the Vatican.On Wednesday the sect, named after Pope Pius X known for his resistance to modernisation, consecrated four new bishops in Geneva against Pope Leo XIV's direct instruction.In response, the Society's total of six bishops were excommunicated - and, in a highly unusual move, the Vatican said all the group's lay members "are to be considered schismatic and excommunicated".It added, however, that those who left the group and wished to return to the Roman Catholic Church would be welcomed back "with sincere affection".Controversial bishops ordained as Pope warns of 'schism' in Catholic ChurchPublished1 day agoWho is Robert Prevost, the new Pope Leo XIV?Published9 May 2025The SSPX was founded in 1970 in opposition to the modernising reforms made by the Roman Catholic Church in the 1960s, at what was known as the Second Vatican Council. The Society is thought to number around 600,000 worshippers globally. In response to the Vatican's decree, Rita Reid, an SSPX worshipper from Jersey in the Channel Islands, said: "It actually makes me feel quite strong. "Before the consecrations yesterday I said to my husband, 'Do you know what? Even if they excommunicate us, go ahead, bring it on, it's not going to make one bit of difference.'"The Society rejects changes made to how Mass is celebrated - for example it still holds its services in Latin rather than everyday language, and priests face the altar rather than the congregation.In SSPX Masses the communion bread has to be given straight into the...