Some people are looking for a way to get around this jurisdiction issue. There is no way around it unless the Church allows it. It’s that simple. God does not factor in one’s psychological state. God does not factor in one’s preferences or one’s beliefs. Why not? God does not contradict his Church.
Canon Law comes from Peter himself. As St. Boniface said. Christ the Law Giver, but he gives the law to Peter. It resides in his heart. And only Peter can impose the law and only Peter can dispense from the law, because only to Peter has this power been given.
As long as Canon Law says that you need faculties granted by a legitimate ordinary in order to absolve, then you need such faculties. If you go to confession on Sat for an SSPX priest who has no faculties to absolve you and you are run down by a bus on Sunday, then you’re out of luck. Supplied jurisdiction is not retroactive. Supplied jurisdiction would be available to the priest who is at the scene of the accident. He can even be a heretic. As long as he intends to do what the Church does, the absolution is valid.
As to the Orthodox, there is a misunderstanding here. They are not schismatics. The Church has already said this about 20 years ago. They are in schism, which is not the same. The schismatics were the original people involved in the crisis, not their children. Christian tradition does not punish the child for the sins of the father. That’s the reason for lifting the excommunication on all Orthodox.
Second, their absolution is both valid and licit. Their priests do receive faculties from a valid ordinary. The bishop grants faculties. The bishop has the authority to grant faculties, because that bishop is not bound to Canon Law of the Latin Church.
Remember, our code of Canon Law only binds the Latin Church. If the SSPX had been Chaldean, Greek Catholic or Maronite, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. The pope does not have to approve the ordination of bishops in the Eastern Churches. He’s not their patriarch. The patriarch approves and then informs the pope. On the other hand, any ordination of a bishop without a mandate from the patriarch incurs an automatic excommunication. We would be having a different conversation if the were Eastern Catholic. To compare them with Anglicans and Orthodox does not work. Anglicans and Orthodox are not bound by the laws of the Latin Church.
As you can see, not all Catholics are bound by the laws of the Latin Church, only Latin Catholics. The SSPX is a Latin institution. As long as it insists that it is Catholic, then the Church has the right to insist that it submit to its authority.
As long as my adult child insists that he has a right to live under my roof, I have a right to insist that he do so under my rules. He has two choices, submit to my rules or move out. As a father, I’m willing to hear him out. If I can change some things I will. But I have no moral obligation to change anything to accommodate to him who has no rights over my authority. Any changes that I make are an act of charity and compassion, not justice.
As long as authority is exercised according to the law and the faith of the Church, the pope and the curia has no obligation to accommodate to any of us, because it’s authority is legitimate. It’s been handed down by Christ. It’s exercise of its authority is legitimate, since it does not violate the Commandments or the faith of the Church. It may be asking me to do something dumb, but that does not invalidate the Church’s right to command and expect compliance.
My best example is when you tell someone to stand in the corner. You’re the commanding officer. There is no good reason to stand in the corner. However, there is no legal reason why the person should not stand in the corner and there is not legal reason why you can’t command the person to stand in the corner. You stand in the corner or end up under arrest.
We’re looking at Church law and authority through very simplistic eyes. The pope does not have to prove that he’s right. All he has to prove is that he’s not in conflict with moral law or divine revelation. From there, he can command and we must comply. For priests who have promised obedience, the duty to comply is double. That’s the problem that we have here. It boils down to an institute that believes that it is exempt from compliance, based on its understanding of law, not on the understanding of the Magisterium, who is the source of the law.
With these new developments, I see this is going to linger on and on. My advice to any layman, priest or religious who is attached to the SSPX is that it’s time to consider detachment and return to full communion with the Church. Find another place that will get as close as possible to meet your needs. Sometimes, we have to accept that not all of our needs will be met in this life, but only in the next.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, FFV
Seminary in their teens or early 20’s? Just how much training in pastoral care do they actually receive in an SSPX seminary? How on earth can someone so young provide pastoral care to individuals, couples, or families? You would think they would require at least a college degree before taking on that aspect of being a priest!
