They are not in schism. It is OK to attend Mass there. It is also OK to receive the Eucharist there, as far as I can tell.Are the SSPX in schism? Is it okay to attend mass there? Is it okay to receive the Eucharist there?
Valid means that it is a true Sacrament. The bread and wine really become the Body Blood Soul and Divinity of Christ. Licit refers to whether they are following the rules of the Church. For example, there is a rule that priests need permission from the bishop of the diocese to say Mass. If they do it without permission, the Mass is not licit.Thank you for the responses. What does it mean for a mass to be valid but not licit? ( what do valid and licit refer to?)
Thank you for the response. So 1) out of curiousity, if the Eucharist is valid, but illicit, wouldn’t confession be as well? 2) how did SSPX’s celebrations become illicit? I know they had some issues with Vatican II (or some of the results anyway, like the ordinary formValid means that it is a true Sacrament. The bread and wine really become the Body Blood Soul and Divinity of Christ. Licit refers to whether they are following the rules of the Church. For example, there is a rule that priests need permission from the bishop of the diocese to say Mass. If they do it without permission, the Mass is not licit.
To hear confessions, a priest must be granted faculties by his Ordinary (the Bishop). The SSPX situation is very complicated, and for the moment, they do not have the faculties. If you do a search, you will find many threads about the SSPX and their situation.Thank you for the response. So 1) out of curiousity, if the Eucharist is valid, but illicit, wouldn’t confession be as well? 2) how did SSPX’s celebrations become illicit? I know they had some issues with Vatican II (or some of the results anyway, like the ordinary form
of the mass).
The FSSPX are not in schism though they are currently suspended. Though their Eucharist is valid (but illicit), the other sacraments are not, since these faculties come from the bishop. And any bishop will not grant faculties to suspended priests. But don’t despair. There’s hope in the horizon. The FSSPX may be reconciled and regularized with the Church soon. Keep praying.Thank you for the response. So 1) out of curiousity, if the Eucharist is valid, but illicit, wouldn’t confession be as well? 2) how did SSPX’s celebrations become illicit? I know they had some issues with Vatican II (or some of the results anyway, like the ordinary form
of the mass).
Yes I have and I am. Is it okay to say what diocese/archdiocese I am from? I may have found another option. One of my issues was/ is that as a 21 year old girl who works at Starbucks and as a fairly new driver ( sorry if I am breaking any forum rules here!) I had concerns about distance and cost and about going into the city I live in the suburbs of ( mostly fears of getting lost but safety as well). Perhaps I can get some of my fellow recent converts at my parish interested in attending/ ask my sponsor if she would be interested.That said, have you looked into whether or not there is a EF Mass that is sponsored by your diocese? As a new convert, IMHO, you should seek a Mass the is both valid and licit.
In the mean time, you should check out the SSPX website so that you can learn more about them.So I just came across a non- major city option that is actually closer than the SSPX chapel is, although they do not have the EF during the week, so I would probably need to wait until we finish mystogogia since my parish has it on Sunday after 9 am mass, so it would be tight to make it to both.
Thank you I will.In the mean time, you should check out the SSPX website so that you can learn more about them.
sspx.org
If illicit = illegal, would you ( general you - anyone who participates) be engaging/ promoting illegal activity by participating? It seems like you would be…The opinion of those who say not to attend because it’s illicit is one legitimate opinion, but not the only one.
Church leaders (including Cardinal Canizares, I believe?) have said it is fine to go.
If my situation changed such that it was more convenient for me to go to the SSPX, I’d go - only reason I don’t is I have access to a great diocesan TLM.
Surely they can validly baptise and confer holy orders, otherwise they would not be priests or bishops. I don’t see how their marriages would become invalid either. I think here there is a confusion between what is licit and what is valid and what the Vatican is granting permission for: e.g., from what you said, it is, according to the Vatican, licit and permissible in certain circumstances to attend Mass at an SSPX chapel; however, it is not licit or permissible to go there for confession, confirmation, to be wed or to receive holy orders or receive extreme unction from them - though I think Canon Law provides exceptions to some of these in instances of emergency (danger of death) regardless.The FSSPX are not in schism though they are currently suspended. Though their Eucharist is valid (but illicit), the other sacraments are not, since these faculties come from the bishop. And any bishop will not grant faculties to suspended priests. But don’t despair. There’s hope in the horizon. The FSSPX may be reconciled and regularized with the Church soon. Keep praying.
PS: Illicit is just the Church’s term for illegal.
Confession is a sacrament that requires faculties from an Ordinary. In the case of hearing confessions from the laity, the ordinary is always the diocesan bishop (or legal equivalent, like territorial abbot in some cases). If an SSPX priest does not have faculties to hear confessions from the bishop, they cannot validly absolve sins of the laity. Since the SSPX is currently under suspension (and they have no canonical ministry), they have not been given these faculties nor can they receive them from any of the SSPX bishops (who have no jurisdiction anywhere).I’m not at all sure how Confession could possibly be invalid either. Do you have the rationale for this? If Confessions in the SSPX are simply invalid because they lack jurisdiction, then they would also be invalid for all schismatics as well… I doubt that this is the case because I have never heard of such a thing.