Catholic 'cult' with sinister past that was banished by Vatican is 'resilient' in the UK
The Vatican has excommunicated the breakaway Society of Saint Pius X after it defied Pope Leo XIV, triggering sweeping bans and warnings for followers
Daily Star, UK/July 11, 2026
By Andréa Oldereide
The Vatican has launched a dramatic crackdown on a breakaway Catholic group with a small but organised foothold in Britain. The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) is a traditionalist movement founded in 1970 by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
Viewed by many as a sinister cult due to its history with antisemitism and rigid practices, such as forcing women and girls to wear a veil, has long existed in a tense “irregular” relationship with Rome, rejecting key reforms of the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) from the 1960s.
But on Thursday the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) declared the SSPX to be in a formal state of schism, after the group defied direct orders from Pope Leo XIV and carried out unauthorised bishop ordinations in Switzerland.
The “cult” sparked outrage when the SSPX - running low on living bishops - consecrated four new bishops at its seminary in Écône, Switzerland, without papal approval. Marc Hanappier, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, Michael Goldade, and Pascal Schreiber were all consecrated.
Under Catholic Canon Law, ordaining a bishop without a papal mandate carries automatic excommunication (latae sententiae). As a result, the Vatican followed up with an unusually sweeping response.
The Holy See declared all six SSPX bishops are excommunicated, all 751 SSPX priests worldwide are schismatic and excommunicated, It further warned followers who “habitually participate” and “formally adhere” to SSPX doctrinal positions that they may also face excommunication, the Associated Press reported.
In a further escalation, the Vatican also removed previous concessions and declared all sacraments offered by SSPX priests - including confessions and marriages - are now religiously invalid. SSPX leader Fr Davide Pagliarani rejected the decree, calling the sanctions “objectively unjust and invalid”, and insisting the ordinations were necessary to preserve the “true Mass”, EWTN News reported.
“Excommunication is one of the Catholic Church’s most serious canonical penalties, as it places someone outside full communion with the Church,” Brandon Taylor, Research Fellow in the School of Psychology and Humanities at the University of Lancashire, exclusively told the Daily Star. “However, the Vatican has made clear that simply attending an SSPX Mass does not automatically result in excommunication.”
He further explained: “The key distinction is between occasional attendance and formally identifying with, or embracing, the movement’s rejection of Church authority.” Asked how this will hit lay Catholics attending SSPX chapels in places like London and Preston, he said: “For most laypeople, the immediate impact is likely to be more symbolic than practical.
“Those closely identified with the SSPX now face a clearer choice between remaining with the movement or remaining fully in communion with Rome. However, many committed members already believe the institutional Church has departed from authentic Catholic tradition, so the decree is unlikely to change many minds.”
The SSPX is best known for insisting on the Tridentine Latin Mass (dating back to 1570) rather than the modern Novus Ordo Mass usually celebrated in local languages. But Taylor said the row goes far deeper than language at the altar.
He said: “The Latin Mass is the most visible symbol of the dispute, but the disagreement runs much deeper. At its heart, this is a conflict over authority, tradition and the interpretation of the Second Vatican Council.
“Many traditionalists object not only to the liturgical reforms but also to aspects of Vatican II concerning ecumenism, religious freedom and the Church's relationship with the modern world.” Taylor believes the group’s British network is unlikely to vanish overnight, even after Rome’s dramatic move.
He said: “The SSPX has a long-established presence in the UK, with chapels and congregations across England, Scotland and Wales. My research has shown that these communities have historically been sustained by strong lay networks, which suggests they are likely to remain resilient despite this latest decree.
“While it may discourage some people on the margins, it is unlikely to cause the movement to disappear.” SSPX is controversial because it rejects the Catholic Church’s Vatican II reforms and tries to preserve a pre-1960s worldview that many see as extreme.
Critics say this includes tolerating or repeating antisemitic rhetoric and conspiracy theories. This includes older SSPX material invoking the “deicide” charge, warnings about “International Judaism”, and keeping the traditional Good Friday prayer phrase “perfidious Jews” that Rome removed decades ago.
The group has also been linked to high-profile Holocaust denial through former SSPX bishop Richard Williamson, who in 2009 claimed there were no Nazi gas chambers (the SSPX later distanced itself and expelled him in 2012). The movement is also accused of promoting strict social isolation from the modern world, with hardline lifestyle expectations around modest dress, traditional gender roles and avoidance of mainstream entertainment.
Theologically, it is known for rigid beliefs such as a strict reading of “no salvation outside the Church”.
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