the priests of the Society of St. Pius X [valid - but]ā¦ suspended āa divinisā, that is prohibited by the Church from exercising their orders because of their illicit ordination.
The Masses ā¦ are also valid, but it is considered morally illicit for the faithful to participate in these Masses unless they are physically or morally impeded from participating in a Mass celebrated by a Catholic priest in good standingā¦not being able to assist at the ā¦ the so-called āTridentineā Mass is not considered a sufficient motive for attending such Masses. While it is true that the participation in the Mass and sacraments at [SSPX chapels] does not of itself constitute āformal adherence to the schismā, such adherence can come about over a period of time as one slowly imbibes a mentality which separates itself from the magisterium of the Supreme Pontiffā¦ Father Peter R. Scott, ā¦ deplores the āliberalismā of āthose who refuse to condemn the New Mass as absolutely offensive to God, or the religious liberty and ecumenism of the postconcilliar church.ā
With such an attitude the Society of St. Pius X is effectively tending to establish its own canons of orthodoxy and hence to separate itself from the magisterium of the Supreme Pontiffā¦ such ārefusal of submissionā¦ or the communion of the members of the Church subject to himā constitute schism. Hence we cannot encourage your participation in the Masses, the sacraments or other services conducted under the aegis of the Society of St. Pius X.
Actually I prefer the term Pope Benedict XVI uses in speaking of themā¦Pope Benedict has also been critical of the āright,ā particularly followers of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. He has called the positions of such **ultra-traditionalists **āabsurd.ā
Presuming you mean SSPX, I was under the impression that they are Catholics with valid priests offering valid mass and valid sacraments. The mass being the liturgy attended by saints and martyrs of the Catholic Church.
