Church's Experts Say

LATIN MASS IS OKAY

Society of Saint Pius X is not in
Schism nor Excommunicated

"They're not excommunicated as schismatics, as far as I can see, because the Vatican has never said they are ... I come to the conclusion that canonically speaking, he's not guilty of a schismatic act punishable by canon law" (Fr. Gerald Murray, August, 1995).

"Of course the Mass and the Sacraments administered by the priests of the Society are valid." (Cardinal Edward Cassidy, President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, May 3,1994).

"The answer given by eight of the [nine] cardinals in '86 was that, no, the Mass of Saint Pius V has never been suppressed. I can say this, I was one of the cardinals. [Also] The nine cardinals unanimously agreed that no bishop may forbid a Catholic priest from saying the Tridentine [Latin] Mass." (Cardinal Stickler, May, 1995 in New York)

CARDINAL EDWARD CASSIDY, the President of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity wrote the following reply, on May 3, 1994, to an inquiry about the status of the Society of Saint Pius X.

"Dear Mr. X...Regarding your inquiry (March 25, 1994), I would point out at once that the Directory on Ecumenism is not concerned with the Society of Saint Pius X. The situation of the members of this Society is an internal matter of the Catholic Church. The Society is not another Church or Ecclesial Community in the meaning used in the Directory. Of course the Mass and Sacraments administered by the priests of the Society are valid. The Bishops are validly, but not lawfully, consecrated ... I hope that this answers your letter satisfactorily.

Yours sincerely in the Lord
Edward Cardinal Cassidy - President"
CARDINAL CASTILLO LARA,

 

 

President of the Pontifical Commission for the Authentic Interpretation of Canon Law, explained that, "The act of consecrating a bishop (without the Pope's permission) is not in itself a schismatic act" and so no excommunication applies. (La Repubblica, October 7, 1988).

COUNT NERI CAPPONI, D.Cn.L., LL.D
The retired Professor of Canon Law at the University of Florence, well-known in Vatican legal circles and accredited to argue cases before Rome's highest juridical body, the Apostolic Signatura, explains that for a schismatic act, it is not enough to merely consecrate a bishop without papal permission. "He must do something more. For instance, had he set up a hierarchy of his own, then it would have been a schismatic act. The fact is that Msgr. Lefebvre said 'I am creating bishops in order that my priestly order can continue. They do not take the place of other bishops. I am not creating a parallel church.' Therefore this act was not, per se, schismatic" and so he is not excommunicated. (Latin Mass Magazine, May-June 1993)

CARDINAL ALFONS STICKLER,
former Prefect of the Vatican Archives and Library, served as an expert to four Vatican II commissions. Now living at the Vatican, he says: "Pope John Paul II, in 1986, asked a commission of nine cardinals two questions. Firstly, did Pope Paul VI, or any other competent authority legally forbid the widespread celebration of the Tridentine [Latin] Mass in the present day? The answer given by eight of the cardinals in '86 was that, no, the Mass of Saint Pius V has never been suppressed. I can say this, I was one of the cardinals. There was another question, very interesting. 'Can any bishop forbid any priest in good standing from celebrating a Tridentine Mass again?' The nine cardinals unanimously agreed that no bishop may forbid a Catholic priest from saying the Tridentine Mass. We have no official prohibition and I think that the Pope would never establish an official prohibition ... because of the words of Pius V, who said this was a Mass forever." (Latin Mass Magazine, May 5, 1995)

PROFESSOR GERINGER,
Canon Lawyer at the University of Munich
"With the Episcopal consecrations, Archbishop Lefebvre was by no means creating a schism."

FR. GERALD E MURRAY of the Archdiocese of New York, working for his Canon Law doctorate, received his license in Canon Law at Rome's famous Gregorian University, probably the Church's most prestigious institution of higher learning, in June, 1995, with a lengthy thesis entitled, "The Canonical Status of the Lay Faithful Associated with the Late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and the Society of Saint Pius X: Are they Excommunicated as Schismatics?" In his interview with Latin Mass Magazine, he says: "I have received a license in canon law and I've studied this topic, the excommunication of Archbishop Lefebvre, for my license thesis ... They're not excommunicated as schismatics, as far as I can see, because the Vatican has never said they are ... I come to the conclusion that, canonically speaking, he's not guilty of a schismatic act punishable by canon law. He's guilty of an act of disobedience to the Pope, but he did it in such a way that he could avail himself of a provision of the law that would prevent him from being automatically excommunicated (latae sententiae) for this act." Therefore, neither Archbishop Lefebvre, nor any of the bishops he consecrated, is excommunicated.

"In the case of the Society of Saint Pius X lay people or the priests, the Vatican never declared any priest or lay person to have become a schismatic." Therefore the priests and faithful are not excommunicated. "As far as I can see, the Holy See has never stated that mere attendance at a Mass said by a priest in the Society of Saint Pius X constitutes a schismatic act ... Let's say that you knew that the priest at your parish was teaching things contrary to the moral law or Catholic doctrine. Let's say he denied the existence of hell, or taught that divorced and remarried people could receive Communion. Could you go to a Society of Saint Pius X chapel to receive good doctrine? That seems better to me than hearing truly heretical sermons." (Latin Mass Magazine, Fall, 1995).

FR.PATRICK VALDINI,
Dean of the Faculty of Canon Law at the Catholic Institute of Paris said that Archbishop Lefebvre did not commit a schismatic act by the consecrations, for he didn't deny the Pope's primacy. "It is not the consecration of a bishop which creates the schism. What makes the schism is to give the bishop an apostolic mission." Which is something Archbishop Lefebvre never did (Question de Droit ou de confiance, L'Homme Nouveau, Feb.17, 1988).

Pope Benedict XVI, as then Cardinal Ratzinger,
Cardinal Stickler,
Cardinal Lara,
Cardinal Cassidy,
Eminent Canon Lawyers,
in Rome & many more

say that the Society of Saint Pius X is neither in Schism, nor is it Excommunicated ...

and that anyone can fulfill their Sunday obligation by attending the Society's Masses.