The Catholic Church has declared a schism against the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) following the group's defiance of Pope Leo XIV by ordaining four new bishops without papal approval. This formal break in unity occurred when SSPX, which opposes many modernizing reforms introduced by the Second Vatican Council, rejected the authority of the pope. On Wednesday, the traditionalist Catholic group conducted a five-hour ceremony at an SSPX seminary in Econe, Switzerland, where four new bishops were consecrated without a mandate from Pope Leo XIV. This act incurred automatic excommunication for the new bishops and the consecrating bishop. The SSPX, founded in 1970 by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, has been operating worldwide with its own bishops, priests, seminaries, and religious communities, despite not having canonical status within the Church. Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly described the Second Vatican Council as containing "fundamental elements" of Catholic teaching, while the SSPX rejects several of the council's key reforms, arguing they depart from longstanding Church tradition. The unauthorized consecrations in Switzerland represent a major challenge to Pope Leo’s authority and a setback to his efforts to heal divisions within the Catholic Church. Excommunication is the harshest penalty under Catholic canon law, barring a Catholic from receiving sacraments, getting married, or holding Church office among other measures, and is considered a temporary medicinal penalty by the Church.