ROME (AP) — The traditionalist Catholics who defied Pope Leo XIV and caused a schism defended their actions Friday, insisting they were merely saving souls and were victim of an unjust sanction by the Holy See.

The head of the Society of St. Pius X wrote to Leo a day after the Vatican excommunicated the group’s bishops and priests and warned its faithful they too could be excommunicated for participating in the schism, or rupture in church unity.