Olga Marie, on Facebook Live, asks the following question: "Can we go to SSPX
mass and be valid for our Sunday obligation?" Right, well, because of their
irregular status--although I don't know if our inquirer is aware that
there's been more good news concerning movement toward full communion
today; as many of our listeners know, our Holy Father during the Year of Mercy
extended faculties, exercising his immediate juridical authority, he
communicated faculties to hear confessions to all SSPX
priests. That was really remarkable, and since the Year of Mercy ended, he did not
take those away, so they they are yet extended. This is our Holy Father, he is
the priest of mercy. Well, we just--in fact I was just reading it before I came over
here, I didn't finish reading the whole letter from from the Vatican on this--but
it states that our Holy Father is encouraging bishops around the world to
grant faculties. It's not a mandate, he's not exercising his immediate juridical
authority as he did with confession, but he's encouraging the Ordinaries to
extend faculties, where possible, to the SSPX to witness marriages. Now it does
say in the letter, as I was just reading-- I want to go back and really take it
apart after this broadcast--but it did say that, because of the irregular
status, the ordinary witness is a priest who is validly incardinated into the
diocese; but where that is not possible, where a priest is not available, that
sort of thing, he's encouraging them to extend faculties to SSPX
priests. So it's not--it's not like the confession, but it is extending--
encouraging bishops to extend faculties. So it's more movement, I think, in a good
direction when it comes to... Now, as far as going to masses...again, because of
their irregular status, you know, people should go to parishes where the priest
is incardinated into the diocese. However, the Church has been, you know, bending
over backward for the SSPX and those who love the traditional mass so that a
permission has been given, for those who love the the Latin mass, to attend those
those parishes. So, you know, it's again a sign that we're moving toward--and I
think it will be an exciting day, I pray that that day will come soon, where we
will have--will no longer have to talk about this irregular status any longer;
but those who are attending SSPX masses because they love the Latin
liturgy, they are not, you know, dissing Vatican Council II or anything like that...
are not sinning. You know, the Church is not saying that you're in sin if you go
to those masses. There are other things that have to be taken into account,
though. It doesn't mean you're free to reject all of Vatican II. That's
one of the big sticking points concerning full communion with the SSPX,
you know, they have to acknowledge that Vatican II is a valid ecumenical council.
But I happen to know people who attend those masses from time to time because
they love the traditional liturgy, they're not available a lot of times
very generously in a particular diocese, and they're certainly not in sin. And
SSPX, Society of St. Pius the 10th. The 10th, correct. And why--I--maybe I should know
this, but why Pius X? What about him is... Yeah well, I think it was a
priestly fraternity that was started in France before there was a schismatic act.
It was simply a group of seminarians, later priests--I believe it was
seminarians and priests back in about...if memory serves, about 1972, a number of
these young seminarians and such approached Archbishop Lefebvre, who was retired at
the time, and they asked him, because of the post-Vatican II craziness that was
going on, with the promulgation of the Missala Vermanum, the Mass of Paul
VI, as it's called, and the abuses that were going on, these folks came to
Bishop Lefebvre and said, you know, "We need you to come out of retirement and help
us," and he did. And at the outset, because he was not an ordinary, he was a
retired bishop, he did not have a diocese, he had to get permission from the local
ordinary to begin the SSPX, which he was granted. At that time he was in full
communion with the Church; they were just concerned. But--so St. Pius
X of course was a reformer bishop who, you know, wrote wonderful
documents, you know, the syllabus of errors against modernism and so
many things, so it was--a pope like that was a perfect fit for them. But what
happened was, they started to go extreme, pretty early on, to the point where they
ordained some priests illicitly, Pope Paul VI got involved; that was not
excommunicable, but it was a grave sin. But then what ends up happening is
there's back and forth between Paul VI and the SSPX, they were suspended
"a divinis," that is, their faculties were removed, and they continued in disobedience,
and this back and forth went on until Pope Paul VI died in 1978. John
Paul picked it up--and really wanted to have a reunion--he picked up the dialogue,
Cardinal Ratzinger, of course, involved when he became Prefect of the CDF. But
unfortunately, it took a bad turn in 1988, when the SSPX ordained four--
or, Bishop Lefebvre, he ordained four bishops illicitly, and that is matter of
excommunication, automatically, latae sententiae, and so that started--but
the amazing thing is, I mean, you really sympathize with the SSPX and the
craziness that was going on and such; but you also see in this whole thing how the
Popes have reached out and continued to reach out. John Paul--he was forced, I
mean, he didn't do anything. He simply declared what Canon law already stated: that
was a latae sententiae excommunication; but the dialogues immediately were
started. John Paul established the Ecclesia Dei, which was a--its specific task
was to be the mediator to try and get the SSPX back. And now here we are, you
know, there's been lots of trials and failures and semi-successes and
such, and now it's Pope Francis--some might think the most unlikely candidate--
is the one who really seems to be moving the ball forward like none other. So
anyway, that's just a brief thumbnail sketch.