Excommunicated priest hopes for future reconciliation
ZURICH — A priest from the Society of St. Pius X, a splinter group of ultra-conservative Catholics recently excommunicated, stated during a mass on Sunday that the breakaway faction would eventually be welcomed back into the Church under a different pope, reports BritPanorama.
The Society of St. Pius X was excommunicated after four bishops were ordained without the approval of Pope Leo on Wednesday. Despite the excommunication, the group remains unrepentant regarding its schism with Rome, claiming that Pope Leo failed to address their concerns.
Georg Kopf, speaking at the service in the north-eastern Swiss town of Wil, expressed optimism about reconciliation: “There will one day be another pope who opens the door and welcomes us back. Just like Pope Benedict.”
Founded in 1970 and based in Switzerland, the Society of St. Pius X has followers worldwide and accuses the Catholic Church of deviating from traditional faith. The group adheres to the Latin Mass and rejects formal dialogue with non-Catholics.
This latest rupture follows a similar crisis in the late 1980s when the group’s founder, Marcel Lefebvre, consecrated four bishops without Pope John Paul II’s approval, leading to their excommunication. However, they were welcomed back in 2009 when Pope Benedict XVI sought to unify the Church by lifting the judgment against them.
Kopf remarked, “I am convinced that there will be another pope like him who will give tradition its rightful place again. Of course, we’d like that to happen tomorrow.”
The Vatican indicated that dialogue had been offered to the group prior to the schism, and the decision to ordain bishops without Church approval was deemed so severe that excommunication occurred automatically. The Vatican maintains that the actions taken on July 1 were not aimed at establishing a parallel church or breaking with Rome. Kopf claimed during his sermon that the ordinations arose from a desire to support the Church and the pope, ensuring the salvation of souls.
