I think something interesting is the following:
Schismatics (who have valid orders, including, of course, bishops) have valid Sacraments–including Marriage and Confession. If the SSPX is schismatic, then they have valid Marriages and Confessions. This means that they are not under the authority of the Local Ordinary (the bishop of the diocese in which they reside) but rather that they are under the authority of the bishop of their schismatic ‘church’. If the SSPX is in schism, then this is the case–they are not under the jurisdiction of the bishop of the diocese in which they reside; they have their own bishops under whose authority they operate; and, on top of that, they have valid Sacraments–all 7, including Marriage and Confession. If the SSPX is not in schism, then they do not have valid Marriages and Confessions; they are under the jurisdiction of the local ordinary; they have valid orders, but they are operating with ‘suspended faculties’ (thus they have valid Masses but invalid Confessions and Marriages). Also, correct me if I am wrong, but every Confirmation performed by a priest (the extraordinary minister of the Sacrament), if this Confirmation were only approved by the SSPX bishop and not actually administrated by him, would be invalid. I would think that the second scenario is true–SSPX has suspended faculties, invalid Confessions and Marriages, and they are subject to the local ordinary; thus, they are not in schism; they are merely a suppressed Order operating with suspended faculties (some of whom may or may not be in true disobedience of the Church–both priest and faithful, but especially the faithful). What (if anything) is incorrect in my analysis?
