Vatican declares Society of St. Pius X in schism, excommunicates bishops

What is disputed is indeed the jurisdiction, and the permission/mandate that must be obtained to do this thing. The Holy See is recognizing here that a valid ceremony took place, creating valid episcopal orders, but illicitly, and therefore they are forced to announce excommunications.

The other nuance is the latae sententiae nature of the offense. The headline is wrong because the mainstream media needs more drama and Rome-hate. The men all excommunicated themselves by the act, and it was not a juridical act by the Pope, just a finding of fact. It's the same with abortions.

The third nuance is that "the Vatican" and Holy See are distinct entities, but it's so exhausting to explain this.

But it looks like SSPX this time really has crossed the Rubicon, because the Holy See has also declared formal schism, and that's even worse, and it appears that the lay faithful are under sanction, which is unprecedented. Anyone who registers or volunteers as a formal parishioner of SSPX is subject to schism and excommunication at this point. That's chilling. I know a lot of people who have difficult decisions to make now. But nobody can say they couldn't see this coming!