Sons of Marcel, whither thou goest?

 

 Chances are, Gentle Reader, if you don't follow news of the Catholic Church, and in particular stories that relate to the celebration of, and groups attached to the Traditional Latin Mass, also know as the "Tridentine Mass", "The Mass of the Ages", etc, (hereafter referred to as the TLM), then you've not heard the sad news concerning the upcoming episcopal consecrations of four men by the Society of St. Pius X (hereafter referred to as the SSPX).

A little background may help clarify the story.  The SSPX was founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, at Fribourg, Switzerland in 1969, moving to Econe in 1971.  It was founded expressly to promote traditional customs, theology, and priestly training, in particular using the older forms of the Roman Ritual and Missal in use before the Second Vatican Council.  From the very start the SSPX was a bone of contention with the French bishops, who refused to incardinate any seminarians from Econe.  This resulted in an Apostolic Visitation by two Roman Cardinals to investigate the situation, and their verdict was not favorable to Lefebvre. A series of appeals by him were rejected by the Vatican, and he still continued to train and ordain priests for the SSPX.  In 1975 the Vatican terminated the status of the SSPX as a "pious union", which Lefebvre appealed, and as before the appeal was rejected.  Warned by the Vatican, and personally named in an appeal by Saint Pope Paul VI, Lefebvre was told that if he persisted, he would be suspended from all public liturgical celebrations and priestly functions.  Lefebvre persisted, even ordaining priests at Econe.  In 1976, the Vatican published the decree of suspension of Lefebvre, which he ignored.  Later that year, St. Paul VI received Archbishop Lefebvre in a personal audience, reminding him and pleading with him to obey legitimate authority in the Church, in particular, Papal authority, to accept the documents of Vatican II in their "obvious meaning", to turn over the running of the SSPX to the Holy See, and to cease his accusations of the Pope and Catholic bishops.  Sadly, it fell on deaf ears.  St. Paul VI's successors continued to plead for peace and reconciliation.  Blessed John Paul I in his short pontificate reached out for reconciliation.  St. John Paul II, granted a personal audience to Lefebvre, where he reiterated the Church's desire for reconciliation.  Again, these went unheeded by the independent minded Archbishop.

This sad situation continued as the Archbishop aged and his health declined.  In 1987, he announced his intention to consecrate four men to the episcopacy.  The then prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (now called the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith), Josef Cardinal Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI, communicated with Lefebrve, trying to reach an amicable agreement.  Lefebvre responded that  Rome had fallen into apostasy, and that he could no longer collaborate with Ratzinger.  Shortly after this, Lefebvre announced his plan called "Operation Survival", in which he would, with the help of another wayward retired archbishop, consecrate four men to the episcopacy.  St. John Paul II plead with him not to go ahead with this schismatic act.  The ordination, or consecration, of a priest to the level of bishop requires Vatican approval for it's liceity, that is, it's legitimacy.  The penalty for this crime is a sentence of automatic excommunication for the consecrating bishops, and the newly consecrated bishop.  Lefebvre was not ignorant of this, and went forward, and with the help of retired bishop Antonio Castro-Mayer on 30 June, 1988, consecrated four men - Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, Alfonso de Galarreta and Bernard Fellay as bishops for the SSPX, thus all of them incurring the penalty of excommunication.  The Vatican announced and confirmed this penalty the next day, 1 July, 1988.  On 2 July, St. John Paul II condemned the consecrations in his Apostolic Letter "Ecclesia Dei", stating that that act of episcopal consecration was a schismatic act warranting the excommunications incurred by the participants.  One of the results of the schismatic consecrations was that twelve priests and a number of seminarians left the SSPX, lead by Fr. Josef Bissig, and with Vatican approval formed the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP).

Ah, but the saga does not end there, Gentle Reader.  On 7 July, 2007, Pope Benedict issued his moto proprio ""Summorum Pontificum", allowing a wider and more generous celebration of the TLM for those faith and clergy attached to it, hoping to prevent and heal schism. On 10 March, 2009, the four surviving excommunicated bishops petitioned the Pope, Benedict XVI, to lift the penalty, which he did, hoping for reconciliation with the SSPX.  Pope Benedict stated in a letter to all Catholic bishops, 

    "The fact that the Society of Saint Pius X does not possess a canonical status in the Church is not, in the end, based on disciplinary but on doctrinal reasons. As long as the Society does not have a canonical status in the Church, its ministers do not exercise legitimate ministries in the Church."

Unfortunately, the following Pope, Francis, substantially reversed Benedict's largess, by issuing his apostolic letter "Traditionis Custodes" in July 2021, severely limiting the celebration of the TLM by priests who were not members of the FSSP or other groups in union with the Church which use the traditional 1962 Roman Ritual and Missal.

  

So, that's where we come to the upcoming SSPX consecrations.   Pope Leo XIV has inherited an absolute mess.  When the SSPX announced its plans to consecrate four new men to the episcopacy, he plead with them, and continues to do so, not to proceed, warning them of the schismatic nature and canonical penalties which would result from it.  Like their founder, Lefebvre, then nod politely, acknowledge Leo as Vicar of Christ, and Sucessor of Peter, and state that they must ignore his authority for their view of the good of the Church.  

You may, Gentle Reader, wonder what schism actually is.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church in paragraph 2089 defines schism as "the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him". It is classified as a grave sin against the unity of the Church and against the virtue of faith. The SSPX claims to recognize that Leo is indeed a legitimate pope, but persists in its refusal to obey him and submit to his authority.  

Then there are the doctrinal issues with the SSPX, namely as their "Profession of the Catholic Faith" issued in May, 2026 states:

"...under the influence of the Second Vatican Council and the post-conciliar reforms, has provoked a crisis of exceptional gravity: agnosticism attacks the knowledge of God; naturalism attacks the necessity of grace; subjectivism attacks the supernatural motive of faith; relativism attacks the immutability of dogma; situation ethics attacks the divine law; liberalism attacks the Social Kingship of Christ; false ecumenism attacks the uniqueness of the Church; collegiality and synodality attack the divine constitution of the Church in her hierarchy; liturgical anthropocentrism attacks the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass."

Basically, the SSPX is stating that Vatican II is promoting heresy and moral degradation, reiterating the claim that Lefebvre made in 1987, that Rome had fallen into apostasy.  Poor Pope Leo!  I do not envy him in having to deal with such mental, theological, and canonical gymnastics.

Gentle Reader, my personal view of the situation is this:  I abhor the situation and its complications.  I hope and pray that before 1 July saner minds will prevail in the SSPX, and the episcopal consecrations will not take place.  I hope and pray that Pope Leo rescinds Pope Francis' "Traditionis Custodes" and replaces it with Pope Benedict's "Summorum Pontificum".  Perhaps, even if the consecrations take place, that will be Pope Leo's strategy to undermine the SSPX and draw more of the traditionally minded faithful back into full union with the Church.  I personally love the TLM, and used to offer it regularly.  It is a very prayerful and beautiful expression of the Catholic faith, but it is not the only one.  A reverent, properly celebrated Novus Ordo Mass - the ordinary form of the Mass as presented in the Roman Missal of 2010 - can be just as beautiful and prayerful. 

May God in His goodness continue to preserve and protect the Bride of Christ, Holy Mother Church.  Through the intercession of Our Lady of Perpetual Help (whose feast it is today), may Christ gather back into unity his lost sheep under the guidance of His Vicar, the Pope.  Pray for the Church, Gentle Reader, and pray for me, for I too am a sinner.

God bless! Father P