Joshua McElwee
VATICAN CITY, May 13 (Reuters) – The Vatican on Wednesday urged a Catholic group dedicated to the old Latin Mass to cancel plans to appoint new bishops without the consent of Pope Leo, warning that the move would lead to excommunication from the 1.4 billion-member church.
During Leo’s pontificate, the Vatican’s doctrinal office told the Switzerland-based Society of St. Pius
Cardinal Victor Fernandez, director of the office, said in a statement that the planned ordination ceremony would mark “a grave offense against God and lead to excommunication from the Church.”
The Society of St. Pius
The Council also allowed Mass to be celebrated in the local language, which until then had been celebrated only in Latin. The association rejected the change, citing a desire for the mystique and formality of the Latin ceremony.
An excommunicated person is considered completely separate from the church. Until they repent, they cannot receive the sacraments or hold church offices. If they died during excommunication, they would not be able to receive a Catholic burial.
The Society of St. Pius X, which says it has 733 priests around the world, has had tense relations with the Vatican for decades.
Its late founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, was excommunicated in 1988 after he appointed four bishops without the permission of then-Pope John Paul II.
John Paul’s successor, Benedict XVI, sought a renewed dialogue with society and lifted the four remaining excommunications.
The current leadership announced in February plans to appoint new bishops in July without Vatican approval, citing the need for more bishops to lead society.
The church’s strict teaching is that only the pope can authorize the ordination of new bishops, maintaining the church’s connection with the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, considered the first priests and bishops.
Ordination without papal consent results in automatic excommunication of the ordained person and the officiating bishop.
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Crispian Balmer, Alexandra Hudson)
