Vatican excommunicates six Catholic rebels for defying Pope

The Vatican has formally declared the excommunication of six bishops connected to the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) after the breakaway traditionalist Catholic group went ahead with a consecration without papal approval on Wednesday.

In a decree issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Holy See described the ordinations as an “act of a schismatic nature” carried out “without pontifical mandate and against the will of the Supreme Pontiff”, according to a report published by Vatican News.

The decree states that SSPX bishops Alfonso de Galarreta and Bernard Fellay, who performed the consecrations in Écône, Switzerland, along with newly consecrated bishops Pascal Schreiber, Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry and Marc Hanappier, incurred “ipso facto” excommunication.

This is a breaking story and will be updated.