The Vatican has thrown down the gauntlet to the ultra- traditionalist Society of Saint Piux X (SSPX), which planned to ordain 27 new priests this month without approval from Rome. A statement by the Vatican press office today declared that the ordinations would be illegitimate. The four SSPX bishops were only readmitted into the Roman Catholic Church in January after 20 years of excommunication. If they go ahead and ordain the priests anyway, they could risk being disciplined — possibly even excommunicated — again.
The SSPX claims its fidelity to the old Latin Mass and rejection of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) reforms represent authentic Catholicism as opposed to the “modernism” practiced in the world’s largest church since then. It has also claimed to be loyal to the pope, although this was always hedged with reservations about his authority because of the doctrinal dispute over Vatican II. Having won its bishops’ readmission without making any concessions, it looked set to test the limits again by ordaining priests without Vatican permission.
The Vatican statement quoted a March 10 letter by Pope Benedict to Catholic bishops saying the SSPX did not have any official status within the Church and would have to negotiate it in discussions with Rome. “Until the doctrinal questions are clarified, the Society has no canonical status in the Church, and its ministers – even though they have been freed of the ecclesiastical penalty – do not legitimately exercise any ministry in the Church,” he wrote.
After quoting that, the Vatican statement said: “So the ordinations should still be considered illegitimate.” It added that there were “reasons to think that the definition of that new status is near” and that “doctrinal and, consequently, also disciplinary questions still remain open.”
(Photo: Pope Benedict, 17 June 2009/Max Rossi)
The statement comes at the last minute — 13 of the 21 were due to be ordained at an SSPX seminariy in Winona, Minnesota on Friday. The rest were planned in Ecône, Switzerland and Zaitzkofen, Germany on June 27. The ball is now in the SSPX’s court, to go ahead with them after all, or not.
Is Benedict listening more to his critics? His decision to readmit the SSPX bishops in January amid an uproar over Holocaust denial by one of them was a public relations disaster that reaped critical comments from several bishops’ conferences in Europe. In recent weeks, three German bishops — including Robert Zollitsch, president of their conference — openly criticised the planned SSPX ordinations and urged the Vatican to intervene. And now it has.
Several readers objected to the headline on our last post on this issue — “SSPX set to push the envelope against the Vatican again” and suggested that calling the ordinations a challenge was only my personal opinion. One quoted the great theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas at length to try to show the SSPX was not actually being disobedient by ignoring the pope’s warning that it could not “legitimately exercise any ministry in the Church.” As a reporter covering the Catholic Church, I have to assume the pope’s words carry weight. Measured against that warning, the ordination plan did indeed amount to a bid to “push the envelope against the Vatican again.” With this statement, the Vatican has identified the plan as a challenge and declared it illegitimate in advance.
Roma locuta, causa finita? (Rome has spoken, the case is closed?) — let’s see.
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Sadly, individuals like “Mike” do not understand the only reason we have the Tridentine (Latin) Mass at all today is simply because of the SSPX.
The Moto Proprio to open the Latin Mass to all Priests without their Bishop’s approval was a pre-condition given by the SSPX to talk with Rome about Doctrinal affairs. The same was the case with the lifting of the so-called “excommunications” - it was a pre-condition stated by the SSPX before talks could begin about clearing up the problems in the Church.
Prior to the Moto Proprio the only diocese that would have a Latin Mass supported by the Novus Ordo Bishop would be diocese where the SSPX had a Church or Chapel and was giving the Latin Mass in the first place!
ALL those who appreciate, support and desire the Latin Mass must give thanks where thanks is due - to the SSPX and its four Bishops.
- Posted by Dr John SmytheBp. Williamson’s should never be seen as a social man. His views about social problems may be different. But, He can be punished by pope if he is teaching some heresy which are contradictory to the catholic church’s teachings about truth and if he has no thirst on souls and if misguides his sheaps in spiritual life. But I think, he never does it. Best known to me, many catholic bishops who are attached to vatican undoubtfully, are teaching heresy which are contradictory to the catholic teaching . They teach even against the first commandment which is a truth of holy Trinity declared by the church. Even a faithful cannot doubt it. But some bishops hold all religious symbols when they take charge. And they teach against this truth. But they are never punished.And there is no uproar against them. And they themselves claim vatican punishment against SSPX and Bp. Williamson. According to me only these modern and ultra modern Bishops and clergies are tobe punished by vatican because they always go and talk against The Church’s unchangable teachings. Also catholic church is one church. Even it is one of its characteristics. It can not be considered as two ( one before vatican II and one after Vatican II).Some try to show a new religion in the name of catholic religion and saying all these are Vatican II reforms. Vatican II reforms can never change truth.This new religion makes a faithful a satan instead of making him as an angel.Through out the church the integrity and moral behaviour of faithfuls are going down. Any one who is having a true heart can easily identify this. But Bishop Bernard Bellay cleared in his letter to Pope that sspx is committed to the pope and all its teachings except Vatican II council’s confusing statements which are contradictory to earlier council’s teachings.In bestof my knowledge sspx is fully following and teaching true cathlicism. It is accepting and teaching all catholic truths. It is committed to the pope whenever he is teaching the right thing. It is praying for the Pope in the Mass it celebrates. It disobeys only when he goes wrong and goes against the original catholic teaching, which is a right thing . St Pual even conemned St.Peter when he went wrong. One can easily identify that blocking priestly ordination by vatican is just to encourage modernism(a new religion) and to destry catholism. So according to me SSPX does the right thing by its priestly ordination. There is nothing wrong.
- Posted by christopherPope Benedict should just give up with the SSPX. I suspect he wants to stop them from consecrating more bishops and metastasizing. But it’s not worth coddling anti-semites just to contain the growth of a parallel church. The Catholic Church should preserve its morals and ethics rather than be tarnished by a truly questionable organization. Other churches maintain apostolic succession and remain separate from Rome. Let the SSPX wither away on its own accord.
The Latin Mass, in union with Rome, is growing and is a viable alternative. It is the classical liturgy moving in time with the modern church and her new way of seeing other people and the world. My hope is that individual SSPXers put aside their endless arguments over single words from Vatican II documents. Come home to Rome, and live within the ambiguities of today rather than yearn for a Church of the past that will never exist again.
- Posted by MikeI’d like to inform the readers that for most sspx members like myself, opinions about what the Society should do or shouldn’t do are all but ignored. The Church is a mess. The spiritual crisis is real. SSPX Catholics have simply found a way to survive all the nonsense of the post-Conciliar era, and to maintain their true Catholic identity. That’s the long and the short of it.
- Posted by tom hollingsworthOf course, whenever SSPX is discussed these days, Bp. Williamson’s alleged “holocaust denial” always comes into the picture. Could someone please lead me to a quote from this bishop indicating in unmistakable language that he has ever clearly denied the Holocaust? I find none.