CNA Staff, Sep 21, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).
A group of Carmelite nuns in Arlington, Texas, announced this month that they would henceforth associate with the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), a traditionalist group that is not in full communion with the Catholic Church and has a canonically irregular status.
The nuns have been at the center of considerable controversy since last year after an investigation was launched by the Diocese of Fort Worth over reported sexual misconduct by the order’s reverend mother superior.
The nuns defied a Vatican decree on their monastery’s governance and sought a restraining order against Bishop Michael Olson, the bishop of Fort Worth. The nuns’ rejection of authority “is scandalous and is permeated with the odor of schism,” Olson said this week.
Church leaders have at times argued the same thing about SSPX, a controversial fraternity of priests known for their strict traditional celebration of the Latin Mass and opposition to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
The animating principle of the group “is the priesthood and all that pertains to it and nothing but what concerns it,” SSPX says on its website. The group was founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a French prelate who was a sharp critic of many of the changes brought about by Vatican II.
In addition to the modern revisions of the Mass, Lefebvre also opposed “ecumenism — a viewpoint which considered all religions as beneficial and valid — and collegiality — which insisted that the Church be ruled primarily by the democratic process and bishops’ conferences,” according to the group’s website.
The group runs priories, chapels, and missions around the world as well as seminaries. It commands several hundred priests and a few hundred more seminarians.
Perhaps the group’s most controversial moment came in 1988 when Lefebvre consecrated four bishops in Écône, Switzerland, in explicit defiance of Pope John Paul II. Within hours the Vatican declared that Lefebvre and the four bishops had incurred excommunication on themselves.
In his motu proprio Ecclesia Dei, John Paul argued that it was “impossible to remain faithful to the Tradition while breaking the ecclesial bond with him to whom, in the person of the Apostle Peter, Christ himself entrusted the ministry of unity in his Church.”
Pope Benedict XVI lifted this excommunication in 2009, though he explained in a letter that SSPX does not have canonical status and therefore “its ministers do not exercise legitimate ministries in the Church.”
Pope Francis further expanded the group’s privileges, ordering during the 2015–2016 Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy that confessions heard by SSPX priests were valid; he subsequently extended this order indefinitely.
In 2017, meanwhile, he approved a way for the group’s priests to witness marriages validly, giving diocesan bishops or other local ordinaries the ability to authorize such decisions.
Can Catholics attend a Mass given by priests of SSPX?
Some Catholics seek out SSPX-ministered Masses due to their solemnity and fidelity to earlier forms of the liturgy. But is this allowed by the Church?
Jimmy Akin, a senior apologist with Catholic Answers, told CNA that SSPX “is not currently in schism.”
“In 1988, John Paul II ruled that the episcopal ordinations the society had conducted in disobedience to the Roman pontiff implied in practice the rejection of the Roman primacy and therefore constituted a schismatic act,” he noted.
“This triggered the automatic penalty of excommunication for schism for the bishops involved and, in John Paul II’s words, anyone who gave ‘formal adherence’ to the schism.”
Pope Benedict XVI’s 2009 lifting of those excommunications “implies that the SSPX is no longer in schism, since schism carries an automatic excommunication,” he said.
“If they were still in a state of schism, the excommunications could not have been lifted without the law immediately reimposing them. Therefore, they are no longer in schism.”
But the priests of the society are “celebrating Mass without the proper permissions, creating a canonically irregular situation,” Akin said.
He pointed out that the Code of Canon Law stipulates that Catholics “can participate in the Eucharistic sacrifice and receive holy Communion in any Catholic rite.” Since SSPX is using the approved 1962 rite of the Mass, “the faithful can attend it and receive holy Communion.”
“The fact it is being celebrated in a canonically irregular situation does not change this,” Akin said.
He pointed out that “every time a priest commits a liturgical abuse, it creates a canonically irregular situation,” but that the Church “does not want the laity to have to judge which canonically irregular situations involve ‘too much’ of a departure from the law.”
Thus the faithful’s “right to attend and receive holy Communion in any Catholic rite is protected.”
Though the faithful are not strictly prohibited from attending SSPX Masses, Church leaders have in several instances warned Catholics against doing so except in serious circumstances.
“The Masses they [SSPX] celebrate are also valid, but it is considered morally illicit for the faithful to participate in these Masses unless they are physically or morally impeded from participating in a Mass celebrated by a Catholic priest in good standing,” Monsignor Camille Perl, then-secretary of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, said in 1995.
A 1998 letter by Perl noted that the “schismatic mentality” of SSPX led the pontifical commission to “consistently [discourage] the faithful from attending Masses celebrated under the aegis of the Society of St. Pius X.”
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I apologize if I’m repeating this but recently I was traveling down a rural road in what’s historically been a predominately Baptist area. I saw a Catholic priest in full cassock and satin sash outside a little country store. It looked very out of place until I remembered that there was a huge SSPX seminary nearby.
I also saw an Amish family driving past in a horse and buggy. Every so often there was a state highway sign with a horse and buggy on it urging drivers to share the road.
All the area needs now is a Chabad synagogue and it will be an image of our demographic future.
🙂
Sadly I visited another area that has been Baptist also and one little town was down to slightly over 200 souls. The school had been closed long ago and turned into a restaurant. Great food and lovely people but you can see the writing on the wall.
Oh, good grief! Will these silly articles never end? A “schismatic mentality”… The Church does not deal with “mentalities,” but with facts. The only reason I do not attend the nearest SSPX chapel is that it is considerably farther from my home than our diocesan-sponsored parish TLM. But if that were to change, with the ongoing persecutions, I would not hesitate to make the longer trek, even if I could attend Mass only once per month. With the SSPX, you are assured of hearing homilies that stick to the Gospel, liturgies that are not personalized according to the whims of the priests, music that does not mock the solemnity of the Mass, fellow parishioners who neither dress nor behave like they are at a family picnic.
Curious. Akin said, “every time a priest commits a liturgical abuse, it creates a canonically irregular situation,”
Last Sunday, circumstance dictated I attend the NO Mass. The grave liturgical abuses at this particular parish have diminished over the decades, but the parish still bears the scars.
During Mass last week, two men, one to my left and another to my right, periodically texted on their cell phones. Two women sat in front of me, one considerably older than her partner, and when not holding hands, one affectionately rubbed the other’s shoulder, back or forearm periodically throughout Mass. All the while, they leaned one into each other. No physical distance separated them. Both wore tight-fitting jeans. One had unkempt hair, looking hastily pulled into a rubber-banded pile on top her head. The two chatted without stop, quietly, into each other’s ears. They both received Holy Eucharist (in hands) and did not return to their pew after receipt.
On Friday of this week, at the Hour of Mercy, I went to this parish’s adoration chapel. A large poster on a tripod conveyed notice and welcome to all guests of so-and-so who would celebrate their wedding at 4 PM. A huge black bow adorned the top of the notice.
Adoration in prayerful silence was nigh impossible with wedding guests laughing and gayly chatting in the vestibule outside the chapel. Thinking, “OK.” I’ll attend the wedding Mass. I found the priest in the vesting sacristy; he relayed there would be no Mass.
Gone are the days when weddings were not celebrated on Fridays, when weddings were celebrated without Mass, in Catholic churches. Announced by black decorations. This particular wedding party consisted of about 14 attendants, dressed in high-end gowns and tuxes.
These may not qualify as liturgical or clerical abuses, but surely we may see them as consequences. Definitely we saw them as irreverent faults against piety and knowledge of the goodness of the Lord. I would think the priests in this parish guilty of laxity in teaching piety, respect, awe or reverence for the God whose words he has been permitted repeat.
I am so very GRATEFUL for my Diocesan-permitted and blessed personal parish staffed by priests of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. A clerical society of apostolic life of pontifical rite, their charism is to sanctify souls through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Sacraments in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.
This article grossly understates the evil of the SSPX. Their hallmarks are pride, disobedience and deceit. LeFevbre’s justification for his disobedience (ordaining bishops against the direct orders of JPII) was that he needed to do so to save the Church. Quite some nerve!
Take note that the priests of the SSPX were given the faculty to grant absolution in 2015 and to witness marriages in 2017. They crow about that now, but fail to mention that they were giving fake absolutions and performing fake weddings for decades. If that’s not an abuse of the faithful, what is?? They were granted the faculties, not as a sign of the SSPX priests’ own virtue, but as a mercy to their poor deluded followers.
Notice also that Payne’s first source is the SSPX website. He should know better than to adopt their own slant on their transgressions. Better to look at JPII and Cardinal Ratzinger’s explanations.
I like the idea of reconciliation and forgiveness. My prayer is that we can all find a way to get along as devout, orthodox Catholics, though in different rites and liturgies. Goodness knows we have enough division in the world without adding more of our own.
God bless the SSPX. I don’t believe they’re the enemy. I read that the SSPX seminary I passed nearby is involved with its local community, participates in blood drives, offers the only opportunity for Catholic Mass in the county, and is generally accepted by its Protestant neighbors. If Baptists are welcoming to the SSPX why wouldn’t we be?
I lived in a town in Switzerland where the ONLY Mass available was at the SSPX chapel, and in a diocese where the bishop frequently called on SSPX priests to preside at funerals because there was NOBODY else to do it. So much for “schism….”
Some of those guys are basically modern circuit riders, taking regular plane trips to the nether regions of Alaska to bring the Sacraments there. As a general rule, I think they take their obligation to provide the Sacraments pretty seriously.
As far as I can tell, their views on Vatican 2 are the same as those held by many who are in full communion with Rome. St. Joan of Arc, pray for them.
No doubt, the counterfeit church that The Catholic Church has accommodated and permitted to subsist within The One Body Of Christ is not The SSPX, but the church of lukewarmness that, in essence, seeks to align themselves with the atheist materialistic over population alarmist globalists, like the U.N., who deny that God, The Most Holy And Undivided Blessed Trinity, Through The Unity Of The Holy Ghost, Is The Author Of Love, Of Life, And Of Marriage, rendering onto Caesar or themselves, what Has Always And Will Always Belong To God:
Vatican Backs UN Globalist Pact Timidly Objecting to Abortion and Gender Ideology – The Stream
“As usual, the Church declares, “in medio stat virtus” (virtue stands in the middle).”
“Aristotle describes a virtue as a “mean” or “intermediate” between two extremes: one of excess and one of deficiency. “
In this case, Aristotle was simply mistaken. We can know through both our Catholic Faith and reason, that when it comes to The Truth Of Love, there can never be an excess, only a deficiency, when we fail to Love according to The Truth Of Perfect Love Incarnate, for Perfect Love does not divide, it multiplies, as in The Miracle Of The Loaves And Fishes.
“Be Perfect as My Heavenly Father Is Perfect!” Jesus The Christ
“Penance, Penance, Penance.”
“At the heart of Liberty Is Christ.”
“4For it is impossible for those who were once illuminated, have tasted also the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Hoply Ghost, 5Have moreover tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come…”,
to not believe that Christ’s Sacrifice On The Cross will lead us to Salvation, but we must desire forgiveness for our sins, and accept Salvational Love, God’s Gift Of Grace And Mercy; believe in The Power And The Glory Of Salvation Love, and rejoice in the fact that No Greater Love Is There Than This, To Desire Salvation For One’s Beloved.
“Hail The Cross, Our Only Hope.”
“Blessed are they who are Called to The Marriage Supper Of The Lamb.”
“For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.”
“Behold your Mother.” – Christ On The Cross
🙏💕🌹
How can you judge the reason behind granting the SSPX jurisdiction for confession and marriage?
Maybe they just consider them Catholic after all and should be treated a such.
Rome did not give your reason as to why they decided to be fair with the SSPX. That’s your own slant on the situation.
This is mean spirited and not at all charitable. By the way,John Paul II did the exact same thing when he was an Archbishop in Poland. That is, consecration of bishop without permission from Rome.
“All religions are pathways to reach God.” – Pope Francis
A most excellent point you have there!
That is heresy
Maybe they need an article that defines “heretic” and “schism”.
What on earth is “not in full communion”? Communion doesn’t have percentage points. You’re either in the Church or you’re not.
Those who affiliate with the Society of Saint Pius X don’t find themselves “controversial” at all I am certain.
Let’s remember that their Sacraments are valid. When their priests consecrate bread and wine with the intention of calling down the Holy Spirit to transubstantiate them into the Body and Blood of Christ, they do indeed become the Body and Blood of Christ.
Sacraments in SSPX parishes are valid but not licit because of the canonical status. The Orthodox churches are still in schismatic status, but they retain 7 valid Sacraments, but like the sspx, they’re not licit because they aren’t in full communion with Rome.
This one sentence in the article above jumped out at me.
“If they were still in a state of schism, the excommunications could not have been lifted without the law immediately reimposing them. Therefore, they are no longer in schism.”
In 1965, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople lifted each other’s excommunication from the 1054 Schism, yet the Orthodox remain in schism and separate from Rome. I don’t see much difference between the Orthodox and the sspx.
It is for this that I cannot in good faith attend an SSPX Mass or an Orthodox Divine Liturgy , unless I was literally on the brink of death with no Catholic parish in full communion with Rome for hundreds of miles around. I have no animosity toward anyone on this matter, I would just rather be safe than sorry.
Orthodox Church Sacraments are valid just as SSPX Sacraments are valid. Yes, they are illicit in the case of the latter (I don’t know if Orthodox Church Sacraments are considered illicit by Rome). But if you’re traveling in a region of the world where no church in full union with Rome were available, you’d fulfill your Sunday obligation by attending an Orthodox liturgy and receiving the Sacrament. One doesn’t need to be at the point of death in order to do so. In fact, what Catholic in a state of mortal sin and facing imminent death wouldn’t confess to an SSPX priest if a priest in full communion with Rome were not available?
You would not fulfill your Sunday obligation to attend Mass at an Orthodox liturgy, because it is not a Catholic Mass/Divine Liturgy. (Canon 1248) Canon law allows for receiving Holy Communion there (which seems a bit contradictory), but not for fulfilling the Sunday obligation there.
When there is no way to fulfill that obligation, it is simply dispensed. The obligation to keep Sunday holy in some way remains in force.
This is not the case with the SSPX. Because they are in communion with Rome, they are Catholic and their Mass actually fulfills the Sunday obligation. It is illicit, but so are all the liturgical abuses found in other Catholic Masses. The question of which abuses are worse is one that, as the article mentioned, laity shouldn’t be obligated to figure out before fulfilling their Sunday obligation. It’s better to assist at a licit Mass. If all Masses within range are some variety of illicit, you choose the least bad in your best judgement. There are some who say that if the only Mass(es) available have seriously bad abuses, your obligation is also dispensed. That seems to mesh with common sense, but I have no idea how bad that has to be, or which side the SSPX falls on. But I expect that no one commits mortal sin by being in honest doubt.
Because the SSPX has received faculties from the Pope for Confession, it is certainly valid, and I believe also licit, to go to an SSPX priest for Confession.
I would not attend an Orthodox liturgy because it is not Catholic. But I would attend an SSPX Mass if that were my best or only option. Hopefully, that will never be the case – at least not until they are regularized.
Anna: You state that it’s alright for a Catholic to receive Holy Communion at an Orthodox liturgy when no other option is available but attendance at an Orthodox liturgy is not a Catholic Mass. Tell me, then, what a Divine Liturgy is if not the same Holy Sacrifice in which the remembrance of Christ’s Passion, Death and Resurrection are remembered and when bread and wine become His Body and Blood.
You’re right Deacon Edward. If one happened to be traveling in an area without a Catholic Church for hundreds of miles around, I’d probably attend an Orthodox Liturgy, but would abstain from receiving the Eucharist out of respect for the Orthodox and my own Catholic faith.
As for Orthodox Sacraments, they are 100% valid, but I’m pretty sure they’re not licit because they reject the Pope as the universal leader of the worldwide Church, and like I said above, disagree on Catholic dogma such as the Immaculate Conception.
Maybe one day, just maybe one day, we’ll all be reunited. God bless you sir.
Didn’tThinkSo: Thank you for your considered response. When I think of attending an Orthodox liturgy when no other option is available, I also think of Christ’s admonition – “Unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of Man and drink of His blood, you will not have life within you.” As for me, I will choose life.
Sorry for the late response, Deacon Ed, hope I’m not reviving another old thread. Amanda above did point out something that is true. Attending an Orthodox Divine Liturgy will not fulfill a Sunday obligation, whether or not there is a Catholic Church nearby. The obligation would probably be dispensed because of the impossibility of finding a Catholic Church within a reasonable distance, but that’s a better question to ask your priest.
I would urge you and Amanda to abstain from attending an SSPX mass unless in dire emergencies, and as I mentioned, unless you’re on the brink of death, Orthodox Sacraments, though 100% valid, should be avoided out of respect for their theology and your own Catholic faith. A confession, absolutely, if you’re near to your death.
Yes, whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood remains in Me and I in him. But lets keep it Catholic!
With more SSPX parishes today and fewer diocesan churches, which to attend or contact in emergencies may become a real issue in some areas.
I traveled through two rural counties recently that have no diocesan Catholic church but one has an SSPX Mass available. If you have limited ability to travel the long distance to the next country or you are homebound and need the Sacraments what would you do?
I know someone in that situation and I’m tempted to contact the SSPX nearby them to see if they can help.
MrsCracker: I would fitst contact your local diocese to ask if the Sacraments can be administered to your homebound friend. Maybe a well-trained lay person could bring weekly Communion, and a priest could visit every month for a confession.
I know someone who spent 20 years in an sspx church before finding out that they weren’t in full communion with Rome. She left them behind, and has been attending her local parish which has a reverent Novus Ordo Mass and zero liturgical abuse. To this day, she has not looked back at the sspx as a viable option should her local parish close.
I know many people will differ and argue about the current canonical status of the sspx, but my viewpoint is if they’re not fully in communion with Rome, then we should avoid going to their parishes. In the Nicene Creed, there are those 4 points of doctrine that define a fully Catholic Church: One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. Like the Orthodox, the sspx are Holy, Catholic and Apostolic (maintained the chain of apostolic succession from the Twelve, and therefore have valid Sacraments). But if they aren’t in full communion with Rome, then they aren’t One. It is for this reason that I cannot in good faith attend an sspx Mass or an Orthodox Divine Liturgy and receive the Eucharist. Everyone else is absolutely entitled to their opinion on this, I just expressed mine. God bless everyone, I’m moving on from this now.
Thank you for sharing that. I’m going to see what the local diocese offers but if they have no parish in the entire county it’s going to be more difficult.