Hong Kong’s Catholic diocese has urged worshippers to avoid masses led by a conservative group excommunicated by the Vatican after a priest from the fraternity was reported to be holding regular events in the city. In a statement on Monday, the diocese said the traditional Tridentine Latin mass had reportedly been celebrated for years at a rented venue in Hong Kong by a visiting priest who belonged to the group. The Tridentine Latin mass is the older form of the liturgy, replaced after the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s in favour of services in local languages. The diocese added that those who found attending the Tridentine mass spiritually beneficial might instead attend equivalent rites offered by the officially recognised Tridentine Liturgy Community. On July 2, the Vatican declared that members and lay faithful associated with SSPX were in formal schism with the Holy See, one day after the group consecrated four bishops without papal authorisation.