"Sin of extreme gravity" - Vatican excommunicates rebel Catholic bishops | The World | ABC NEWS

The Vatican says it has excommunicated any priests and lay Catholics who are part of a breakaway group that has ordained bishops without Pope Leo's approval. This week, the Swiss-based Society ​of St. Pius X directly defied the Vatican by consecrating four bishops despite a last ditch appeal by the Pope to call it off. The right-wing traditionalist group opposes modernising reforms in the Catholic church and insists the ceremony was its sacred duty. Elise Allen, a senior correspondent for Crux, tells The World the group has been given goodwill gestures in the past that have ultimately been unsuccessful. #ABCTheWorld #ABCAsiaPacific Subscribe: http://ab.co/1svxLVE Read more here: Note: In most cases, our captions are auto-generated. #ABCNEWS #ABCNEWSAustralia