- Status
C
CNA_News
Guest
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/i...it_Bohumil_Petrik_CN_2_CNA_1_29_15.jpgVatican City, Apr 4, 2017 / 05:53 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Tuesday Pope Francis approved a way for the Church to recognize marriages celebrated by priests of the Society of St. Pius X, which before now were not considered valid by Church authorities.
Through a letter published April 4, the Pope has given diocesan bishops, or other local ordinaries, the authorization to grant priests of the SSPX the ability to licitly and validly celebrate the marriages of faithful belonging to the Society.
The authorization is granted under the condition that a diocesan, or otherwise fully regular priest, is delegated to hear and receive the consent of the parties during the marriage rite itself, which can then be followed by the celebration of the liturgy by a priest of the Society.
Francis approved this authorization following a proposal by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei,” as a way to ensure the validity and lawfulness of the Sacrament and to “reassure the conscience of the faithful,” the commission’s letter explains.
“Despite the objective persistence of the canonical irregularity in which for the time being the Society of St. Pius X finds itself, the Holy Father…has decided to authorize Local Ordinaries the possibility to grant faculties for the celebration of marriages of faithful who follow the pastoral activity of the Society,” the letter states.
If the first provision is not possible, or if no priests of the diocese are able to receive the consent of those marrying, then the Local Ordinary, most commonly the bishop of the area, may then grant the priest of the Society presiding over the Mass the necessary faculties to receive the consent in the marriage rite.
In this case, the priest of the Society is obliged to then send the relevant documents to the Diocesan Curia as soon as possible.
Signed by Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect of the congregation, and by Archbishop Guido Pozzo, secretary of the commission, it explained the effort as part of the Church’s ongoing initiatives “to bring the Society of St. Pius X into full communion.”
The most recent of these initiatives was the September 2015 announcement by Pope Francis that the faithful would be able to validly and licitly receive absolution from priests of the SSPX during the Jubilee Year of Mercy. This ability was later extended indefinitely by Francis in his apostolic letter “Misericordia et misera” published Nov. 20, 2016.
The SSPX was founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970 to form priests, as a response to what he described as errors that had crept into the Church after the Second Vatican Council. Its relations with the Holy See became particularly strained in 1988 when Archbishop Lefebvre and Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer consecrated four bishops without the permission of Pope John Paul II.
The illicit consecrations resulted in the excommunication of the bishops involved. The excommunications of the surviving bishops were lifted in 2009 by Benedict XVI and since then negotiations “to rediscover full communion with the Church” have continued between the Society and the Vatican.
In remitting the excommunications, Benedict noted that “doctrinal questions obviously remain and until they are clarified the Society has no canonical status in the Church and its ministers cannot legitimately exercise any ministry.”
The biggest obstacles for the Society’s reconciliation have been the statements on religious liberty in Vatican II’s declaration Dignitatis humanae as well as the declaration Nostra aetate, which it claims contradict previous Catholic teaching.
feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/catholicnewsagency/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/catholicnewsagency/dailynews/~4/_Z74TnpOSM4
Full article…
Through a letter published April 4, the Pope has given diocesan bishops, or other local ordinaries, the authorization to grant priests of the SSPX the ability to licitly and validly celebrate the marriages of faithful belonging to the Society.
The authorization is granted under the condition that a diocesan, or otherwise fully regular priest, is delegated to hear and receive the consent of the parties during the marriage rite itself, which can then be followed by the celebration of the liturgy by a priest of the Society.
Francis approved this authorization following a proposal by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei,” as a way to ensure the validity and lawfulness of the Sacrament and to “reassure the conscience of the faithful,” the commission’s letter explains.
“Despite the objective persistence of the canonical irregularity in which for the time being the Society of St. Pius X finds itself, the Holy Father…has decided to authorize Local Ordinaries the possibility to grant faculties for the celebration of marriages of faithful who follow the pastoral activity of the Society,” the letter states.
If the first provision is not possible, or if no priests of the diocese are able to receive the consent of those marrying, then the Local Ordinary, most commonly the bishop of the area, may then grant the priest of the Society presiding over the Mass the necessary faculties to receive the consent in the marriage rite.
In this case, the priest of the Society is obliged to then send the relevant documents to the Diocesan Curia as soon as possible.
Signed by Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect of the congregation, and by Archbishop Guido Pozzo, secretary of the commission, it explained the effort as part of the Church’s ongoing initiatives “to bring the Society of St. Pius X into full communion.”
The most recent of these initiatives was the September 2015 announcement by Pope Francis that the faithful would be able to validly and licitly receive absolution from priests of the SSPX during the Jubilee Year of Mercy. This ability was later extended indefinitely by Francis in his apostolic letter “Misericordia et misera” published Nov. 20, 2016.
The SSPX was founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970 to form priests, as a response to what he described as errors that had crept into the Church after the Second Vatican Council. Its relations with the Holy See became particularly strained in 1988 when Archbishop Lefebvre and Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer consecrated four bishops without the permission of Pope John Paul II.
The illicit consecrations resulted in the excommunication of the bishops involved. The excommunications of the surviving bishops were lifted in 2009 by Benedict XVI and since then negotiations “to rediscover full communion with the Church” have continued between the Society and the Vatican.
In remitting the excommunications, Benedict noted that “doctrinal questions obviously remain and until they are clarified the Society has no canonical status in the Church and its ministers cannot legitimately exercise any ministry.”
The biggest obstacles for the Society’s reconciliation have been the statements on religious liberty in Vatican II’s declaration Dignitatis humanae as well as the declaration Nostra aetate, which it claims contradict previous Catholic teaching.
feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/catholicnewsagency/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/catholicnewsagency/dailynews/~4/_Z74TnpOSM4
Full article…
R
RomanoAmerio
Guest
Slowly, the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle begin to fall into place. 
H
Hoosier_Daddy
Guest
Interesting.
Obviously this is good news and it’s another sacrament accepted. I’ve been wondering how the marriage question would get resolved in a personal prelature. Actually I still do. And if regularizatuon were immanent, this would probably address current marriages.
C
commenter
Guest
P
Pulvis
Guest
Brick by brick.
C
Casilda
Guest
Curious news. I thought the SSPX were leery that Rome’s sacraments were not valid after V2?
J
J_Peterson
Guest
I don’t follow this issue very closely but my impression is that the Vatican is allowing this for the benefit of the people that attend the SSPX chapels, not for the benefit of the SSPX. They may not see the Catholic sacraments as valid but we can see theirs as valid.
M
Mongo
Guest
That isn’t true. They recognize the validity of the sacraments of the roman church just as they recognize the validity of the bishop of Rome.
P
ProVobis
Guest
What I find interesting is the allowance for the FSSPX priest to validly say Mass. (It doesn’t specify where, though.) I don’t believe this has been done before either at a FSSPX chapel or in a diocesan church.
C
commenter
Guest
This is kind of parallel to the trend reflected in Amoris Laeticia. The idea is that the Church needs to “reach out” or minister to those individuals, or couples, in situations that the Church regards as problematic. I am not equating the situations here referred to in AL, with SSPX, just making a comparison of 2 somewhat parallel initiatives.
The Church is not increasing its acceptance of couples in either situation; not increasing acceptance of SSPX, nor “living together”, nor remarried without annullment.
Suppose a diocese has a Catholic college. But many Catholics choose to attend a new secular college, far from any church or Catholic instruction. The bishop will then set up a Catholic campus ministry, to do whatever it can, for people who are there. That does not mean the bishop ****now ****regards the secular college as an equally beneficial alternative for Catholics. It would be erroneous to say the diocese has changed its mind about secular colleges.
L
larsont7
Guest
One thing that I don’t see addressed, however, is regarding marriages that have already taken place in SSPX chapels. I’m wondering if now these couples will need to have their marriages “blessed” with the permission of the Ordinary, or if that is even a possibility?
T
twf
Guest
Such attempts at marriage were null and void. Couples who attempted such marriages, no matter how faithful in their intentions, are not husband and wife. Convalidation by the local canonical pastor would normally be in order.
That being said, if SSPX is fully reconciled with Rome, all such marriages could be made valid “en mass” by radical sanation. I believe this is the approach Rome took with the group that became the Personal Apostolic Administration of St Jean Vianney in Brazil.
D
Dave_Noonan
Guest
A couple of questions:
- Does the Catholic Church teach that people married in an SSPX Chapels are living in adultery?
- If a huge percentage of Catholic marriages are suspected of being invalid (the majority of them, at least according to the Pope) how is the Catholic Church actively working to regularize those invalid marriages? Are these people also living in adultery?
C
Casilda
Guest
That question can only be answered by a canon lawyer, seriously. Even individual priests may have differing opinions on a marriage performed outside the church.
D
Dave_Noonan
Guest
So, to find out if one’s marriage is valid, you need to hire a canon lawyer?
H
Hoosier_Daddy
Guest
The couple would have to get a divorce to check the validity of a sacrament. Get that? A certificate from the state is required to investigate something church related…
C
Casilda
Guest
You don’t have to hire a lawyer, just have to find a priest with JCL behind his name, Juris Canonici Licentia. Usually listed with the diocese.
I will spare you how I know this.
I will spare you how I know this.
7
7_Sorrows
Guest
It is called the annulment process and it is not fun .
C
commenter
Guest
The Vatican seeks to reach out to ****individuals ****and ****couples
**** who are imprudently in a situation but still need pastoral care.
Suppose a bishop determines that a certain private devotion/apparition in his diocese is not authentic, and, using his proper authority, discourages people from coming there under those conditions. However, some people still do (we are living in an anti-authority era). So the bishop expands pastoral outreach to those individuals who keep showing up there. This expansion, or outreach, does not mean it is prudent for **organizations **to keep urging people to defy the bishop and keep showing up there. It does not mean the diocese is finally opening up to those organizations.
Pope Francis is urging local churches to outreach more pastoral care to couples that are living together and having sex outside marriage. That does not mean the Church is now “accepting” cohabitation as an equally prudent state of life.
The problem with SSPX referring to canon law, and using “canon lawyers” is that it cannot be done selectively. You either accept canon law as a whole, or you don’t. The SSPX breaks canon law half the time and defies the ****authority ****of the local bishop, even though they happen to agree with both sometimes, and respect canon law when it happens to coincide with what they were doing anyway. They also may have the bishop’s picture in the hallway.
It is misleading to take measures designed for individuals and jump to conclusions about normalizing relations with organizations.
**** who are imprudently in a situation but still need pastoral care.
Suppose a bishop determines that a certain private devotion/apparition in his diocese is not authentic, and, using his proper authority, discourages people from coming there under those conditions. However, some people still do (we are living in an anti-authority era). So the bishop expands pastoral outreach to those individuals who keep showing up there. This expansion, or outreach, does not mean it is prudent for **organizations **to keep urging people to defy the bishop and keep showing up there. It does not mean the diocese is finally opening up to those organizations.
Pope Francis is urging local churches to outreach more pastoral care to couples that are living together and having sex outside marriage. That does not mean the Church is now “accepting” cohabitation as an equally prudent state of life.
The problem with SSPX referring to canon law, and using “canon lawyers” is that it cannot be done selectively. You either accept canon law as a whole, or you don’t. The SSPX breaks canon law half the time and defies the ****authority ****of the local bishop, even though they happen to agree with both sometimes, and respect canon law when it happens to coincide with what they were doing anyway. They also may have the bishop’s picture in the hallway.
It is misleading to take measures designed for individuals and jump to conclusions about normalizing relations with organizations.
- Status