His Eminence
Darío Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos
President, Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei (PCED)
Palazzo del Sant'Uffizio
00120 VATICAN CITY
Monday of Holy Week
Anno Domini 2008
Your Eminence,
I have compiled as reference numerous public interviews, both print
and television, where you were quoted as stating that the case of the
Society of St. Pius X “is not a formal schism” and other
words to that effect.
Q: Is this your mere private opinion or the official teaching of the
Catholic Church in your official capacity as head of the Pontifical Commission
Ecclesia Dei?
PCED: Statements made by Cardinal Castrillón
need to be understood in a technical, canonical sense. Stating that the
Society of St. Pius X “is not in formal schism” is to say
that there has been no official declaration on the part of the Holy See
that the Society of St. Pius X is in schism. Up to now, the Church has
sought to show the maximum charity, courtesy, and consideration to all
those involved with the hope that such a declaration will not eventually
be necessary.
Would you please clarify the following for me in this private correspondence
so that I can ensure that my family and I are following the current teaching
of the Church on this specific matter?
Q: Does the Catholic Church currently hold that the priests and bishops
of the Society of St. Pius X are in formal schism with the Catholic Church?
PCED: The bishops of the Society of St. Pius X
are excommunicated according to the prescription of canon 1382 of the
Code of Canon Law which states that
“A bishop who consecrates someone a bishop
without pontifical mandate and the person who receives the consecration
from him incur a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic
See.”
Archbishop Lefebvre was duly reminded of this
before his conferral of Episcopal ordination on 30 June 1988 and the
Holy Father confirmed that this penalty had been incurred in his Apostolic
Letter Ecclesia Dei, #3 [cf. AAS 80 (1988) 1495-1498; English translation
in L'Osservatore Romano English edition of 11 July 1988, p. 1].
The priests of the Society of St.
Pius X are validly ordained, but suspended, that is prohibited from
exercising their priestly functions because they are not properly incardinated
in a diocese of religious institute in full communion with the Holy
See (cf. Code of Canon Law, canon 265) and also because those ordained
after the schismatic Episcopal ordinations were ordained by an excommunicated
bishop.
Concretely, this means that the Masses
offered by the priests of the Society of St. Pius X are valid, but
illicit, i.e., contrary to Canon Law. The Sacraments of Penance and
Matrimony, however, require that the priest enjoys the faculties of
the diocese or has proper delegation. Since that is not the case with
these priests, these sacraments are invalid. It remains true, however,
that, if the faithful are genuinely ignorant that the priests of the
Society of St. Pius X do not have proper faculty to absolve, the Church
supplies these faculties so that the sacrament is valid (cf. Code of
Canon Law, canon 144)
While it is true that participation in the Mass
at chapels of the Society of St. Pius X does not of itself constitute “formal
adherence to the schism” (cf. Ecclesia Dei 5, c), such adherence
can come about over a period of time as one slowly imbibes a schismatic
mentality which separates itself from the teaching of the Supreme Pontiff
and the entire Catholic Church. While we hope and pray for a reconciliation
with the Society of St. Pius X, the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia
Dei” cannot recommend that members of the faithful frequent their
chapels for the reasons which we have outlined above.
Father Zuhlsdorf's comment on this last statement: Because,
to one degree or another, you are weakening your bond with the local
bishop and the Roman Pontiff.
We deeply regret
this situation and pray that soon a reconciliation of the Society of
St. Pius X with the Church may come about, but until such time the explanations
which we have given remain in force.
Father Zuhlsdorf commented on this response from the PCED:
What we get into here
involves a person's
culpability for ignorance. If a guy genuinely doesn't know that
the SSPX priests don't have the faculties from the Church so
that marriages and confessions can be valid, then the person himself
is simply ignorant and, well, God takes care of him through the Church.
If he has never had
the news or information about this at all, or if he has had it inadequately
explained so that he doesn't get it, it doesn't stick, then he is not at fault
for his ignorance – unless ... unless he either:
- figured out there
was something really important to this he didn't understand
and, either because he was lazy or afraid of learning the truth he
therefore purposely avoided more information, or
- is in a position of authority or responsibility
which by its very nature require him to be adequately well-informed
about all those things he must deal with.
In the case of a person
who could learn, but doesn't for whatever reason, we are talking about ignorance that
could be overcome. That person is in a state of vincible ignorance.
That ignorance can then either be innocent or culpable, depending on
his own degree of guilt or responsibility for his own ignorance. Then
there are those who, for whatever reason, perhaps they are very stupid
or perhaps they have some genuine psychological block, just can't
figure out or learn they truth, this is invincible ignorance, which
can't be overcome. They have far less culpability, or none, for
their state.
Q: Does the Catholic Church currently hold that the situation of the
Society of St. Pius X is not one for ecumenical dialogue because the
Society of St. Pius X is an internal matter within the Catholic Church?
PCED: Up to now the Catholic Church has acted
as if the situation of the Society of St. Pius X is an internal matter
within the Catholic Church and not a matter of ecumenical dialogue.
Q: Do lay Catholics who frequent Society of St. Pius X chapels, either
more less frequently, incur any sin or canonical delict by doing so,
if done solely out of devotion to the Church's Latin liturgical
tradition and not to separate one's self from communion with one's
diocesan Ordinary or local pastor?
PCED: Catholics who frequent the chapels of the
Society of St. Pius X do not incur any sin or canonical delict by doing
so. However, we further refer you to what we have already stated in #4
above.
Q: What level of authority do your answers to this private correspondence
hold?
PCED: As we already stated to you in our
letter of 4 July 2007: “This
Pontifical Commission does its best to transmit responses which are in
full accord with the magisterium and the present canonical practices
of the Catholic Church. One should accept them with docility and can
act upon them with moral certainty.” We would further add that
no dicastery of the Holy See will give other responses than those which
we have given here.
Please know that you and your staff and the Holy Father are in my family's
constant prayers as we prepare to celebrate the Holy Week and the season
of Easter.
Pax Christi in Regno Christi,
Brian M. |
