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Attendance at Saint Pius X Masses
December 1, 2005
Q. In a recent reply about Society of St. Pius X Masses, you said that “attendance at such Masses would not be a sin if the primary reason for participating were to manifest one's desire to take part in Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal for the sake of devotion.” Would NOT be a sin? The sentences above this one in your article already point out that these are illicit Masses. How can you say then that this would not be a sin to attend one of these Masses? Please explain the theological/canonical reasoning used to reach your conclusion. -- K.T., Arizona
A. In a letter written in 2003, Msgr. Camille Perl, secretary of the Vatican's Ecclesia Dei Commission, said that SSPX priests are validly ordained, but “are suspended from exercising their priestly functions. To the extent that they adhere to the schism of the late Archbishop Lefebvre, they are also excommunicated. Concretely, this means that the Masses offered by these priests are valid but illicit, i.e., contrary to the law of the Church.” He said that “in the strict sense you may fulfill your Sunday obligation by attending a Mass celebrated by a priest of the Society of St. Pius X,” but “we cannot recommend your attendance at such a Mass.” If the primary reason for attending “were to manifest your desire to separate yourself from communion with the Roman Pontiff and those in communion with him,” Msgr. Perl continued, “it would be a sin. If your intention is simply to participate in a Mass according to the 1962 Missal for the sake of devotion, this would not be a sin.” This is essentially what we said in the reply referred to by K.T. What we should have added to that reply is an earlier statement from the Ecclesia Dei Commisson, which explained why it does not recommend attendance at SSPX Masses. The Commmission said in 1998 that, “while it is true that participation in the Mass of the chapels of the Society of St. Pius X does not of itself constitute 'formal adherence to the schism,' such adherence can come about over a period of time as one slowly imbibes a schismatic mentality which separates itself from the teaching of the Supreme Pontiff and the entire Catholic Church.” |
