Vatican excommunicates ultraconservative breakaway bishops in first crisis for Pope

Summary

The Vatican excommunicated six bishops from the ultraconservative Society of St Pius X , while warning that any lay believers who "formally adhere" to the breakaway Catholic group would suffer the same fate. The Vatican decree comes a day after the traditionalist group consecrated four new bishops, openly defying a plea from Pope Leo XIV to desist and exacerbating a rift dating from 1988 when the group earlier consecrated four bishops. FRANCE 24's Seema Gupta tells us more about this story.