In November 1970, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre formally founded the Society of Saint Pius X, in order to train traditional priests and keep the traditions of the Church. The Society was officially blessed and approved by the Church. An American, Cardinal Wright, the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy, wrote, of the Society of Saint Pius X: "This Association has already exceeded the frontiers of Switzerland, and several ordinaries, in different parts of the world, praise and approve it. All of this, and especially the wisdom of the norms which direct and govern this Association, give much reason to hope for its success...the Society will certainly be able to conform to the end...for the distribution of the clergy in the world."
Eighteen years later, in June of 1988, Archbishop Lefebvre consecrated four bishops in order to guarantee the continuation of a work blessed and approved by the Church. Rome had agreed in principle on the point of episcopal consecration, but did not agree on the Archbishop's choice of candidates. He, nevertheless, went ahead with the consecrations, despite Rome's disapproval. As a consequence...
CARDINAL GANTIN,
the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Bishops, wrongly declared that Archbishop Lefebvre had performed a "schismatic act" by consecrating the four bishops in 1988 without papal permission and warned "the priests and the Faithful...not to support the schism of Monsignor Lefebvre, otherwise they shall incur the very grave penalty of excommunication." Cardinal Gantin erroneously quoted the Church's Law (Canon 1364 s.1): "a schismatic act incurs automatic excommunication," but since there was no schism, there could be no excommunication.
POPE JOHN PAUL II
On the following day, the Pope made a similar, but non-juridical statement: "Everyone should be aware that formal adherence to the schism is a grave offence against God and carries the penalty of excommunication decreed by the Church's law (Canon 1364)." Yet, as his experts later proved: there was no schism in the first place, and so there could be no excommunication!
Much scaremongery resulted from this, with many priests and bishops, not well versed in the laws of the Church, brandishing such outrageously false statements and threats as: It is a mortal sin to attend a Society of Saint Pius X Mass, or that anybody doing so, would find themselves automatically excommunicated and in schism, etc. Too many scaremongers have been speaking out on an issue they know very little about and many persons were frightened by their untruths and exaggerations.
However, experts in Church Law and several high-ranking cardinals are in agreement that Archbishop Lefebvre did not perform a schismatic act and, consequently, is neither excommunicated on the grounds of schism or on any other grounds. The label of "Schismatic & Excommunicated" cannot be applied to Archbishop Lefebvre, nor any of his followers, for it lacks foundation and validity, which is what the Church's experts have been saying since 1988--the year of Archbishop Lefebvre's four episcopal consecrations.
In this article you will see just who has been saying what. We are grateful for the objective reasoning, clarity and lucidity of the Church's experts, who have finally destroyed the terrible myth that the Society of Saint Pius X was schismatic and excommunicated. From what they say, it is clear that the Society and its followers are definitely not schismatic, nor excommunicated; that their priests are validly ordained priests; the sacraments they bestow are valid sacraments; and that anyone can fulfill their Sunday obligation by attending a Society of Saint Pius X Mass.
This was recently shown to be the case in Hawaii, where Bishop Ferrario decided to excommunicate, on May 1, 1991, some followers of the Society of Saint Pius X, for supporting the Society and attending its Masses. Rome declared that the decision "lacks foundation and hence validity." Bishop Ferrario's attempted excommunication of Society followers was overturned by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on June 28, 1993. "From the examination of the case, conducted on the basis of the Law of the Church, it did not result that the facts referred to in the above-mentioned Decree, are formal schismatic acts in the strict sense, as they do not constitute the offence of schism; and therefore the Congregation holds that the Decree of 1 May 1991, lacks foundation and hence validity." (Apostolic Nunciature, Washington D.C.)
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)
"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.
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).
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