Defying Pope Leo XIV and risking schism, traditionalists go ahead with Latin Mass consecrations
ECONE, Switzerland — A breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics directly defied Pope Leo XIV by consecrating four bishops without his consent Wednesday, dismissing the resulting excommunications and schism by declaring it was a “sacred duty” to defend the Catholic faith.
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The Society of St. Pius X, which opposes the modernizing reforms of the Catholic Church, went ahead with the consecrations at its seminary in Econe, Switzerland, despite a last-ditch appeal by Leo to call it off. The American pope warned that consecrating bishops without his approval amounts to a “sin of extreme gravity” that will actually harm their faithful.
And yet bells tolled through the mountain valley as hundreds of priests processed to the altar under a tent at the start of the solemn but celebratory service, which was attended by thousands of faithful Catholics who prefer the traditional Latin Mass over modern liturgies.
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The ceremony was livestreamed on the society’s YouTube channel, with simultaneous translation in several languages in a highly organized extravaganza that underscored the society’s international reach and appeal to conservative, traditionalist Catholics wary of the modern, secular world.
At the start of the Mass, a priest read aloud a statement justifying the consecrations as a necessary defense of the faith and criticizing how the Catholic Church today had deviated from tradition.
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