The Catholic Church’s preeminent traditionalists now find themselves firmly outside its communion, and the Vatican laments that they have only themselves to blame.

The Holy See recognized on Thursday the self-inflicted excommunication of the Society of St. Pius X after the priestly fraternity defied the pope with an illicit consecration of bishops. Four priests were consecrated on Wednesday in a meadow of Écône, Switzerland, despite explicit demands from Pope Leo XIV not to proceed.