An order of Catholic monks in Orkney has consecrated a bishop without the blessing of the Pope.
The diocese of Aberdeen has warned the monks they are breaking the unity of the Church. The Order is already being investigated by the Vatican.
The Sons of the Holy Redeemer own the island of Papa Stronsay which is home to their Golgotha monastery.
The order's superior, Father Michael Mary, was consecrated as a bishop in a four-hour long ceremony which was streamed online on Saturday.
The monks are a Transalpine Redemptorist community of Catholic traditionalists who deny the legitimacy of Pope Leo XIV and his predecessors for the last 60 years.
The order is part of the diocese of Aberdeen, which has already condemned the consecration as an "act of schism".
In a pastoral letter to all parishes in the diocese, the Bishop of Aberdeen, the Rt Rev Hugh Gilbert, described the event as "spiritual suicide" for those who take part.
I wonder if the Pope will have the balls to excommunicate them.
Myth says there used to be a specific dude doing that job, and a specific chair to do it.
He just excommunicated the entire Society of St. Pius X (some 1500 people), but also the bishop of Aberdeen already excommunicated these ones, so I don't think the pope has to do anything.