Pope Leo XIV excommunicates six Pius Brotherhood bishops, prompting backlash

Pope Leo XIV declared the automatic excommunication of six bishops of the ultraconservative Pius Brotherhood after they carried out an illicit ordination of four new bishops in Écône, Switzerland. The Vatican said the action violated canon law and invoked latae sententiae penalties.

The Brotherhood responded with an open letter describing the sanction as “objektiv ungerecht und ungültig” (objectively unjust and invalid) and insisting they remain faithful members of the Roman Catholic Church, decrying a “moralische Verwirrung” (moral confusion) inside the Church.

Archbishop Georg Gänswein, former aide to Pope Benedict XVI, criticized Pope Francis’s 2021 restrictions on the Latin Mass, stating, “Ich glaube, Papst Franziskus hat einen Fehler gemacht, ohne es zu merken” (I believe Pope Francis made a mistake without realizing it). He recalled Benedict’s attempts to reconcile with the Brotherhood and described the group’s stance as “entsetzlich” (horrific).