The faithful are still processing the news from earlier this month of the excommunication of the Society of Saint Pius X, known most commonly by its acronym, SSPX.
Some may not have even heard of the SSPX; others may have known them for their obsessive devotion to certain things pre-Vatican II, most notably the old rite of the Latin Mass, known as the Traditional Latin Mass (not to be confused with the Novus Ordo Latin Mass, which is just the regular form of Mass celebrated around the globe, but in Latin).
It’s a sad and sorry affair. Just days before the excommunication, Pope Leo sent a final, clearly heartfelt plea in a letter, emphasizing his desire for unity and dialogue, clear themes of his young papacy. Schism is always a deeply sobering thing, and it’s in such times that we are so blessed to have the wisdom of TCA chaplain Monsignor Roger Landry.
In a recent episode of Conversations with Consequences, he gave some key insights.
What is a Latae Sententiae Excommunication?
First, he made an important disclaimer. The SSPX bishops involved “incurred an automatic excommunication. It didn’t have to be declared by the Vatican. It’s called a latae sententiae excommunication,” which, he explained, happened as a result of their decision to “[ordain] four new bishops without the Vatican mandate.”
A bishop need not be ordained by the Pope, but his ordination must be authorized by him. This is a key component of hierarchical succession in the Church, which traces the ordination of bishops all the way back to Jesus Christ himself. In short, the SSPX did it to themselves, because they knew their actions violated this core Catholic doctrine.
Monsignor Landry went on to note the relevance of the date they chose for these “ordinations,” indicating their clear intentionality, which he called “egregious.” The date was the anniversary of the excommunication of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the French founder of the society, and the bishops he illicitly ordained on June 30, 1988. The excommunication happened the following day, July 1, 1988. Monsignor Landry called it “embarrassing,” as if they viewed their actions almost “as a celebration” of the original excommunications.
The society justified their actions, according to Monsignor Landry, by declaring “a state of emergency in the Church.” The state of emergency? That the society only had two bishops left, “and they just wanted to keep doing their own thing, as if there is a state of emergency in the Church as a whole.”
While the authority figures in the society give every indication of their intentionality, Monsignor Landry made clear, many of their faithful followers who have a love for tradition are at risk of being deceived into schism.
The SSPX’s arguments and actions are ultimately hypocritical, he argued. They claim to adhere to “liturgical tradition,” all while “violating liturgical tradition.” “They want to talk about orthodoxy,” while openly flouting it. He called their argument “that the Catholic Church has placed itself in a situation of heresy since the Second Vatican Council” “ridiculous” and “arrogant.”
But ultimately, he said, “it was a sad day overall for the Church.”
The Pope Consistently Calls for Unity
“We want to keep the Church together. Pope Leo is for unity. Jesus prayed for unity when he gave us the Mass for the first time. And anytime there’s something that destroys unity, it pains the Lord the most.” The SSPX’s decision to destroy unity, he said, “was a conscious choice.”
He warned Catholics in the United States to be cautious. (I myself was nearly tricked into attending one of their false churches while on vacation.) “If Catholics go to Masses celebrated by the Society of Saint Pius X, they’re doing something that could be a near occasion of sin, putting their communion with the Church at risk.” He said it’s complicated, and depends on “how much of their will is involved,” but that willfully participating in a schismatic and illicit Mass “is a dangerous place to put one’s soul.”
Monsignor Landry concluded on a prayerful note for “reconciliation” and unity, both foundational to the Catholic Church. Oremus.
Some quotes from the original transcript were edited for clarity.
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