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The SSPX: Questions and Answers

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Above: the Immaculata Church in St. Marys, Kansas, built and staffed by the SSPX.

Editor’s note: this is our final weekly serialisation of Dr. Edward Schaefer’s new book A Simple Man’s Case for Tradition. This book is an excellent introduction to Traditionalism and provides an easy way for Trads to introduce the movement to fellow Catholics who are seeking deeper answers to today’s questions. Proceeds from the book sale also help promote the Collegium Sanctorum Angelorum, one of only two traditional Catholic colleges in the United States.

Read the Introduction
Read chapter 1: Equally Valid and Holy
Read chapter 2: the New Mass
Read chapter 3: Latin
Read chapter 4: Practice & Belief
Read chapter 5: One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic
Read chapter 6: Modernism
Read chapter 7: Tradition and the Family
Read chapter 8: By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them
Read chapter 9: Ubi Caritas
Read the Epilogue: the Collegium’s Position on Tradition

Appendix

Finding a Traditional Latin Mass

Those who are committed to tradition must ultimately make decisions about where they will attend Mass.  Diocesan parishes continue to be an option for the TLM in some dioceses, but in other dioceses these Masses are being cancelled according to the mandates of Traditionis Custodes. 

In the United States, there are principally three religious orders committed to celebrating the traditional Latin Mass exclusively, who have permission to offer the Mass, and who offer Masses for the public: The Institute of Christ the King (ICKSP), the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), and the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX or the Society).[1]  Of these three, the ICKSP and the FSSP seem to present no problems to anyone.  However, there are areas where these orders have no parishes, and Traditionis Custodes forbids the establishment of new “personal” parishes, which would be the type of parish required for these orders.  This leaves the SSPX, which has chapels or priories in many places where the other orders are not present, but the SSPX has a dubious reputation among some Catholics.  The Society has been the subject of criticism, accused of everything from being schismatic to not being in “full communion” with the Church, and in other ways sorely maligned. 

In order to help Catholics avail themselves of all the valid opportunities to attend the TLM, this appendix will give a concise review of the principal criticisms of the SSPX and some answers to these criticisms.  It is not intended to be an exhaustive discussion of the subject.  For that, Kennedy Hall’s SSPX: the Defence is an excellent resource.  Rather, this appendix will answer, as simply and concisely as possible, the question of whether or not it is permissible to attend Mass at an SSPX chapel.

Excommunication and Schism

On 1 July 1988, the Congregation of Bishops issued a Decree of Excommunication for Archbishop Lefebvre and the four bishops he had consecrated the day before. In the decree, the Congregation of Bishops referred to the consecrations as a “schismatical act.”[2]

There have been innumerable arguments about whether the excommunications were or were not valid and whether the consecrations were or were not a “schismatic act.” However, on 21 January 2009, the same Congregation of Bishops withdrew the excommunication as mandated by Pope Benedict XVI:

On the basis of the powers expressly granted to me by the Holy Father Benedict XVI, by virtue of the present Decree I remit the penalty of excommunication latae sententiae incurred by Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson and Alfonso de Galarreta, and declared by this Congregation on 1 July 1988. At the same time I declare that, as of today’s date, the Decree issued at that time no longer has juridical effect.[3]

Whether or not the excommunications were valid, whether or not the declaration of a “schismatic act” was valid are both moot points.  In 2009, the decree of 1988 was rendered as having no juridical effect.  Thus, the bishops of the SSPX are not excommunicated and the SSPX is not in schism.

Not in Full Communion

“‘Full communion’ and ‘partial communion’ are terms popularized after the Second Vatican Council. Nowhere can these terms be found in the traditional teachings of the Church Fathers, Popes, Ecumenical Councils, Doctors of the Church, or Saints of the first nineteen centuries of Catholic teaching in the way they are used today.”[4]  A person or a religious order is either in communion or not in communion with the Church. There is no such juridical category as “partial communion.”

An analogy might be useful here.  A couple marries, and after some time they have marital problems.  Regardless, they are still married.  They are not “partially” married or something less than “fully” married because they have issues to resolve.  Indeed, the SSPX and the hierarchy of the Church have issues to resolve, but that does not render the SSPX to be in “partial communion” or something less than “full communion.”  The Society must either be in communion or not in communion, and because the Decree of Excommunication was lifted, there is no valid argument that the Society is not in communion with the Church.

Juridical Irregularity, the Liceity of the Mass, and the Permissibility of Attending Mass at an SSPX chapel

The SSPX does not operate within the normal juridical structure of the Church, that is, they are “juridically irregular.”  Thus, it can be argued that the Mass, while valid, is not licit, that is, not permitted. 

However, there is much evidence that refutes this position.  Some of this evidence is listed below:

  • The Society has explicit jurisdiction (permission) to hear confessions “validly and licitly.”[5]  Is it reasonable to assume that a person could go to confession at a Society chapel and then not be permitted to stay for Mass?
  • The Society has explicit permission to witness weddings validly and licitly.[6]  Most weddings are followed immediately by Mass.  Is it reasonable to assume that a couple could get married in a Society chapel and then not be permitted to have a nuptial Mass there?
  • In an interview in 2017, then Superior General Bishop Bernard Fellay stated: “Last year, I received a letter from Rome, telling me you can freely ordain your priests without permission of the local ordinary. So, if I can freely ordain, that means the ordination is recognized by the Church not just as valid but in order [that is, licit]….”[7]
  • Between 1984 and 2008, “there are seven letters, from two Vatican dicasteries, stating that Catholics can indeed fulfill their Sunday obligation by attending Masses offered by priests of the SSPX.”[8]

Admittedly, the issues of jurisdiction and liceity have not been settled completely.  Nevertheless, there is ample evidence to give anyone confidence that attending an SSPX Mass is permissible in the eyes of Rome.

Personal Observation

Everyone seems to have concerns about the SSPX except the SSPX.  While I am sure that members of the Society do have concerns about the suppression of tradition in the Church and the Society’s relationship with Rome, these matters are never a part of any discussion when I visit an SSPX chapel.  No one seems to be wondering if the Mass in his church is going to be cancelled or what kind of new oppressive measures might be taken in the next papal decree, or worse, what kind of mental gymnastics one might have to undertake in order to interpret the latest decree as orthodox.  The focus is on living the faith as it has always been taught and giving rightful worship to God as handed down to us from Apostolic times.  Visiting an SSPX chapel is always a refreshing experience, free – for that moment – of the anxieties inflicted on those embracing tradition.

Conclusion

Undeniably, attending an SSPX chapel adds a certain, less-than-desirable complexity to the process of seeking a TLM.  The relationship between the SSPX and Rome is not perfect; it needs to be rectified; and it is, or should be, a matter of concern for the entire Catholic family.  However, despite the relational issues between the SSPX and Rome, attendance at SSPX Masses is a perfectly legitimate choice for Catholics seeking the TLM.


[1] There is also the Institute of the Good Shepherd, but this order has only one parish in the United States, in Winchester NH.  In addition, there may be other traditional orders that have one or perhaps two parishes.  Also, there may be some question about the SSPX being in this list, but the Society’s inclusion in this list is the focus of this appendix.

[2] Congregation of Bishops, Decree of Excommunication (Rome: 1 July 1988); accessed on 20 April 2024, www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/decree-of-excomunication-of-archbishop-lefebvre-1984.

[3] Congregation of Bishops, Decree Remitting the Excommunication “Latae Sententiae” of the Bishops of the Society of St. Pius X (Rome: 21 January 2009); accessed on 20 April 2024, www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cbishops/documents/rc_con_cbishops_doc_20090121_remissione-scomunica_en.html.

[4] Kennedy Hall, SSPX: the Defence, 38.

[5] Pope Francis, Apostolic Letter Misericordia et misera (Rome: 20 November 2016), art. 12; accessed on 20 April 2024, www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_letters/documents/papa-francesco-lettera-ap_20161120_misericordia-et-misera.html.

[6] Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei,” Letter to the Ordinaries of the Episcopal Conferences concerned on the faculties for the celebration of marriages of the faithful of the Society Saint Pius X (Rome: 4 April 2017).

[7] SSPX bishops authorized to ordain priests without permission of local bishops, Catholic World News (24 May 2017); accessed on 20 April 2024, www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=31663.

[8] Paul Casey, SSPX Masses and Fulfilling the Sunday Obligation, Catholic Family News (28 April 2023); accessed on 20 April 2024, https://catholicfamilynews.com/blog/2023/04/28/sspx-masses-and-fulfilling-the-sunday-obligation/.

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