{"id":1339,"date":"2026-07-01T07:08:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T07:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1339"},"modified":"2026-07-01T07:08:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T07:08:24","slug":"defying-pope-leo-xiv-and-risking-schism-traditionalists-go-ahead-with-latin-mass-consecrations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1339","title":{"rendered":"Defying Pope Leo XIV and risking schism, traditionalists go ahead with Latin Mass consecrations"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ECONE, Switzerland (AP) \u2014 With the threat of schism and excommunication hanging over them, a breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics on Wednesday celebrated an ancient Latin Mass in direct defiance of Pope Leo XIV<\/span> to consecrate four bishops without his consent.<\/p>\n

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Bells tolled through the mountain valley of Econe, Switzerland, as the Society of St. Pius X began the solemn ceremony at its seminary. Thousands of people, faithful Catholics who prefer the traditional Latin Mass over modern liturgies, filled the field under cloudy skies as the incense-led procession of hundreds of priests approached the altar under a tent. <\/p>\n

The orderly ceremony, accompanied by organ music and livestreamed on the society\u2019s YouTube channel, went ahead despite a last-ditch appeal by Leo to call it off. In a letter published Tuesday, the American pope warned that consecrating bishops without his approval amounts to a \u201csin of extreme gravity\u201d that will actually harm their faithful.<\/p>\n

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According to church law, the mere act of consecrating a bishop without a papal mandate incurs the harshest penalty in the Catholic Church: automatic excommunication for the four new bishops and the bishop administering the rite. It also amounts to a schismatic act, or an intentional rupture of the unity of the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n

And yet everything about Wednesday\u2019s ceremony had the air of a joyous celebration. The website for its consecration has had a countdown clock running for days. Video clips show seminarians joyfully unloading boxes. Participants will receive a baseball cap with the \u201cEcone2026\u201d seal on it. <\/p>\n

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And in perhaps the most obvious sign of a celebration, registered participants were able to purchase a souvenir set of wine to commemorate the \u201chistoric\u201d event. The 75 Swiss franc ($92.50) \u201cCuvee des Sacres\u201d gift box features pinot noir, Syrah, Petit Arvine and Fendant, each bottle with a bishop-themed label: an image of a bishop\u2019s pointed miter hat, his ring, cross or crozier staff.<\/p>\n

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For the society, known by its acronym SSPX, neither the threat of a declared schism nor an excommunication matters. The SSPX believes it alone is upholding church tradition and the Catholic faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t fear it. It pains us immensely, but we believe that the good we seek is greater than the pain that will be inflicted upon us,\u201d said Marc-Andr\u00e9 Mabillard, media manager for the society.<\/p>\n

In a late response to Leo\u2019s letter, the SSPX superior, the Rev. Davide Pagliarani, urged Leo to wait before declaring any penalty.<\/p>\n

A society founded in opposition to Vatican II<\/h2>\n

The ceremony took place 38 years to the day after the Vatican declared the last consecrations of SSPX bishops a \u201cschismatic act\u201d that incurred automatic excommunication for the bishops.<\/p>\n

The French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre had founded the ultratraditionalist SSPX in opposition to the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Among other things, the 1960s church meetings revolutionized the Catholic Church\u2019s relations with other Christians, Jews and people of other faiths, and allowed Mass to be celebrated in the vernacular rather than Latin.<\/p>\n

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Today, the SSPX celebrates the ancient Latin Mass and has accused the modern church of being rife with heresies and errors, including modernism, liberalism and ecumenism. The society insists that only the SSPX is upholding the true faith of Christ and has justified the consecrations, citing a \u201cstate of necessity\u201d to minister to its faithful.<\/p>\n

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But many Catholics, including conservative and traditional ones, are opposed to the consecrations, viewing them as an act of severe disobedience to the pope that hurts the church.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t serve tradition while disobeying the church and her authority,\u201d said the Rev. Robert Gahl, an ethics expert at the Catholic University of America.<\/p>\n

The St. John Paul II biographer, George Weigel, has written that the SSPX-Vatican divide is about far more than just whether Mass is celebrated in Latin or English.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about \u201ca rejection of the Second Vatican Council\u2019s teaching on the church, salvation, religious freedom, church\u2013state relations, and the church\u2019s relationship to other religions,\u201d Weigel wrote recently in First Things magazine.<\/p>\n

Weigel recalled that Lefebvre was a supporter of the \u201ccollaborationist\u201d Vichy regime in France during World War II. One of its original SSPX bishops denied the Holocaust.<\/p>\n

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The SSPX claims a state of necessity<\/h2>\n

The SSPX has justified the consecrations by invoking a \u201cstate of necessity.\u201d The group says that with only two of the original four bishops surviving, it simply needs more bishops to tend to the needs of a faith community that counts 800 places of worship in 77 countries. <\/p>\n

The group denies that the consecration is a rejection of Leo\u2019s authority or a challenge to his power. Rather, it says the creation of four new bishops is solely to be able to ordain new priests and preside over confirmation ceremonies according to the ancient rite.<\/p>\n

The SSPX has identified the new bishops as Pascal Schreiber of Switzerland, Michael Goldade of the United States, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry of France and Marc Hanappier, also of France.<\/p>\n

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In response to the pope\u2019s letter, Mabillard, media manager for the society, expressed \u201cgreat sadness to not be understood by our leader,\u201d and added: \u201cWe are changing absolutely nothing in our plans.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Winfield contributed from Rome.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP\u2019s collaboration<\/span> with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.<\/p>\n

Read more Colombian election loser threatens \u2018civil disobedience\u2019 if winner does not ditch US citizenship<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics has begun an ancient Latin Mass to consecrate four bishops without papal consent. The Mass is in direct defiance of Pope Leo XIV. The Society of St. Pius X opened a massive ceremony Wednesday at its seminary in the mountain valley of Econe, Switzerland. It has drawn thousands of people who prefer the ancient Latin Mass to the modern liturgies celebrated in most of the Catholic Church. The Vatican has said the ceremony is a schismatic act that incurs automatic excommunication.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-religion"],"yoast_head":"\nDefying Pope Leo XIV and risking schism, traditionalists go ahead with Latin Mass consecrations - Top Moving Pros<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=1339\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Defying Pope Leo XIV and risking schism, traditionalists go ahead with Latin Mass consecrations - Top Moving Pros\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics has begun an ancient Latin Mass to consecrate four bishops without papal consent. 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