November 10, 2005

 

Q. I would like to know what is the status of the Society of St. Pius X in relation to the Bishop of Rome, the magisterium of the Church, and whether or not the society is schismatic. -- A.P.S., North Dakota
Q. A column in The Wanderer mentioned those who attend “unlawful Masses of ultra-traditionalist groups.” What does he mean by unlawful, and by whose standard would a traditional Mass be judged unlawful? -- J.F.M., Connecticut

A. As we have pointed out in the past (cf. the books Catholic Replies, pp. 263-269, and Catholic Replies 2, pp. 92-93), the Society of St. Pius X has been in schism from the Catholic Church since 1988, when Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the founder of the society, was excommunicated for having consecrated four men as bishops without a mandate from the Holy Father. In the apostolic letter Ecclesia Dei, dated July 11, 1988, Pope John Paul II reaffirmed the excommunication and appealed “to all those who until now have been linked in various ways to the movement of Archbishop Lefebvre, that they may fulfill the grave duty of remaining united to the Vicar of Christ in the unity of the Catholic Church, and of ceasing their support in any way for that movement. Everyone should be aware that formal adherence to the schism is a grave offense against God and carries the penalty of excommunication decreed by the Church's law.”

An unlawful Mass is one that is celebrated without the approval of the magisterium of the Church, that is, without the approval of the Pope and those bishops united with him, and it is the magisterium that sets the standards for deciding which Masses are lawful and which are unlawful. The Masses of the SSPX are valid if they are celebrated by validly ordained priests, but they are  illicit because they are celebrated in violation of Church law.

Attendance at such Masses would not be a sin if the primary reason for participating were to manifest one's desire to take part in Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal for the sake of devotion. It would be a grave sin, however, if one were to attend these Masses with the intention of manifesting a desire to separate oneself from communion with the Pope or with those in communion with the Supreme Pontiff.
For a good treatment of this whole situation, see the book More Catholic Than the Pope: An Inside Look at Extreme Traditionalism (Our Sunday Visitor) by Patrick Madrid and Pete Vere.

 

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