The Vatican announced on July 2 that members of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X have been excommunicated after ordaining bishops without papal approval.
The decree places the breakaway right-wing Catholic group into a formal schism with the wider Church.
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The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued the ruling, warning global Catholics that the Switzerland-based society now celebrates sacraments illicitly.
According to the decree, the group cannot validly officiate marriages or hear confessions.
While unauthorized ordinations trigger automatic excommunication, the Vatican extended the penalty to all priests of the society and all lay Catholics who formally adhere to the group.
The society operates worldwide with a reported 733 priests.
The Society of St. Pius X stated on July 1 that it proceeded with the Swiss ordinations due to a shortage of prelates, citing "exceptional circumstances."
Massimo Faggioli, a professor at Villanova University and an expert on the papacy, told Reuters that Pope Leo firmly backs the 1960s reforms of the Second Vatican Council, which the traditionalist group rejects.
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"He has no regrets, no doubts about the fact that this is the Church of Vatican II," Faggioli said.
Faggioli emphasized that the pontiff remains resolute in upholding the landmark council's decisions, which introduced local languages to the Mass.
"He has shown that he doesn't want to compromise on that," he added.
Pope Leo addressed the divisions with the Society of St. Pius X during a media briefing in June, describing them as "painful."
The pontiff reaffirmed that the structural updates from the 1960s council represent "fundamental elements" of modern Catholic doctrine.
He emphasized that the global Church must continue adhering to these historical council directives rather than reversing them.
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"We must move forward," Pope Leo said.
