THE CONSECRATION OF BISHOPS

Canon 1382

A bishop who consecrates someone a bishop and the person who receives such a consecration from a bishop without a pontifical mandate incur an automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.

COMMENT: Archbishop Lefebvre argued from necessity in consecrating four of his priests bishops. As there is no "necessity," his argument is without merit. Remember also, it was to provide bishops for the SSPX, not the Church, that Lefebvre and de Castro Mayer consecrated four bishops. There had been no papal mandate for Lefebvre to perform these consecrations. In fact, Lefebvre had been expressly forbidden, by the Holy Father, to do so. To understand the scope of papal authority it is instructive to read the following sections of Canon Law.

PAPAL AUTHORITY

Canon 1401

By proper and exclusive right the Church adjudicates:

1) cases concerning spiritual matters or connected with the spiritual;

2) the violation of ecclesiastical laws and all those cases in which there is a question of sin in respect to the determination of culpability and the imposition of ecclesiastical penalties.

Canon 1404

The First See is judged by no one.(and most assuredly not by the Jansenistic potentates of the SSPX - Ed.)

Canon 1405

Section 1 - It is the right of the Roman Pontiff himself alone to judge in cases mentioned in canon 1401:

1) those who hold the highest civil office in a state;

2) cardinals;

3) legates of the Apostolic See and, in penal cases, bishops;

4) other cases which he has called to his own judgment.

Section 2 - A judge cannot review an act or instrument explicitly (in forma specifica) confirmed by the Roman Pontiff without his prior mandate.

Canon 1442

The Roman Pontiff is the supreme judge for the entire Catholic world; he tries cases either personally or through the ordinary tribunals of the Apostolic See or through judges delegated by himself.

COMMENT: It is evident from the foregoing that all legislative authority resides in the person of the Holy Father - not in Canon Law. Canon Law is nothing without the sanction of the Pope. We must remember the words of Our Lord in His grant of legislative authority to St. Peter, "And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven." (Matt. 16:19) The Holy Father's word, then, is the law. It is clearly dishonest for the Society to appeal to Canon Law to show that they are not in schism. The Holy Father has clearly said that they are in schism in his Motu Proprio (by his own initiative) Ecclesia Dei. He said, in section 3, that

"In itself, this act was one of disobedience to the Roman Pontiff in a very grave matter and of supreme importance for the unity of the Church, such as is the ordination of bishops whereby the apostolic succession is sacramentally perpetuated. Hence such disobedience - which implies in practice the rejection of the Roman primacy - constitutes a schismatic act." (See Canon 751)

The Society conceals all this and uses lies to try to cover its schism and lack of faculties for confession and marriage. No Catholic, regardless how disaffected he may be with the shenanigans going on in so many parishes, can afford to be complacent about the SSPX just because their Masses and liturgies appear orthodox. Their actions are just as dangerous as are those perpetrated by the modernists. In fact, they are even more pernicious (serious, damaging, detrimental, noxious) because those actions play to legitimate feelings and desires of the faithful. But this cannot change the situation and make invalid sacraments valid.

CANON 1117

This question has been asked recently. "If they (the SSPX) are in schism, does that not put them outside the Roman Catholic Church?" This question was asked because of a comparison between the Eastern Orthodox Church, all of whose sacraments are valid, and the Society of St. Pius the Tenth where Penance and Matrimony are invalid. The statement then follows, "If ...(the) SSPX is in schism, then it would follow that they could go their own way and follow the rules laid down by their own bishops, just as the EO (Eastern Orthodox) do." This statement thus suggests that because the Eastern or Greek Orthodox are not under the authority of Rome, that the SSPX enjoys the same sacramental validity as the Greek Orthodox Church because, having been excommunicated for schism, Society priests are outside the Church as well. This is, however, erroneous.

Canon 1117 is the one which would allow the Society this privilege if they were to invoke it. But that is undoubtedly the last thing, at least today, that they wish to do. Canon 1117 says: "With due regard for the prescriptions of can. 1127, section 2, the form stated above (of Canon 1116) is to be observed whenever at least one of the contractants was baptized in the Catholic Church or was received into it and has not left it by a formal act."

What this means is that sacramental validity would be assured for the SSPX if, by a formal action, by which all would know, the Society was to withdraw from the Catholic Church and reject Catholicism. Lacking such a formal declaration, Society priests are still bound by the proscriptions of Canon Law, and, hence, the sacraments of Penance and Matrimony are invalid when they attempt to administer them.

While having been excommunicated, they have not renounced the Catholic Church as have the Greek Orthodox. Society priests are still Catholics, with some invalid sacraments, though excommunicated and out of communion with the Church as opposed to non-Catholics, with valid sacraments, who are outside the Church. The point is, Society priests are still Catholic and bound by Canon Law though excommunicated.

So there you have the rest of the story. For full sacramental validity, the Society must publicly declared that they are no longer members of the Catholic Church. Then whoever wishes may patronize them and be assured of full sacramental validity -- that is, if their conscience will allow them also to withdraw from the Catholic Church to "enjoy" that privilege. But this, of course, would mean that the faithful, in good conscience, would have to reject the Catholic Church as the Church established by Christ. Can the majority of Society patrons do that? I doubt it.

And, lastly, for all laymen associated with the Society of St. Pius the Tenth, they must remember that the Church teaches that when we are in a doubtful situation, our duty is to leave that situation.  If you have any doubt about the legitimacy of the Society, you must abandon it and return to the Church.