A future pope will 'welcome us back', says priest from excommunicated antisemitic Catholic sect

Summary

Reuters reports that the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), a traditionalist Catholic group founded in 1970 and based in Switzerland, was excommunicated after four bishops were ordained on July 1, 2026, without approval from Pope Leo. The Vatican reportedly said the ordinations were so serious that excommunication followed automatically and maintained that dialogue had been offered before the action. SSPX priest Georg Kopf told worshippers at a July 5 Mass in Wil, Switzerland, that the group could eventually be welcomed back by a future pope, as occurred under Pope Benedict XVI. Kopf said the SSPX remained committed to the Church and claimed the ordinations were performed to preserve the group’s ability to care for believers, not to establish a parallel church or formally break with Rome. The dispute resembles an earlier rupture in the late 1980s, when SSPX founder Marcel Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without Pope John Paul II’s authorization. Those involved were excommunicated, but Pope Benedict lifted the judgment in 2009. The article portrays the current conflict as a renewed dispute over traditional Catholic practice, church authority, dialogue with non-Catholics, and the SSPX’s relationship with the Vatican.