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The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) ( la, Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii X; FSSPX) is an international fraternity of traditionalist Catholic priests founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a leading traditionalist voice at the Second Vatican Council with the , and Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers until 1968. The society was initially established as a pious union of the Catholic Church with the permission of
François Charrière François Charrière (1 September 1893 - 11 July 1976) was the Roman Catholic bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg from 1945 to 1970. Biography François Charrière was born into a peasant family in the village of Cerniat on 1 September 1893. ...
, the Bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg in
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. In 2022, the society reached over 700 priestly members. The society is named after Pope Pius X, whose anti- Modernist stance the society stresses, retaining the Tridentine Mass and pre-Vatican II liturgical books in
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
for the other sacraments. The present Superior General of the society is the Reverend
Davide Pagliarani Davide Pagliarani (born 25 October 1970) is an Italian traditionalist Catholic priest of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) who has served as its superior general since 2018. Pagliarani entered the SSPX's seminary in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain in 1989 ...
, who succeeded Bishop
Bernard Fellay Bernard Fellay (born 12 April 1958) is a Swiss bishop and former superior general of the Traditionalist Catholic priestly fraternity Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). In 1988, Pope John Paul II announced that Fellay and three others were automatic ...
in 2018. There are a number of organisations derived from the SSPX: most notably the
Society of Saint Pius V The Society of Saint Pius V (SSPV; lat, Societas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii Quinti), is a traditionalist Catholic society of priests, formed in 1983, and based in Oyster Bay Cove, New York, United States. The society broke away from the Society ...
(SSPV), a group mostly in the United States; and the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP), which was made a society of apostolic life under Pope John Paul II in 1988. Tensions between the society and the Holy See reached their height in 1988 with the Écône consecrations: Archbishop Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without the Apostolic Mandate and against a personal warning by Pope John Paul II, resulting in Rome declaring that the bishops who consecrated or were consecrated had incurred (automatic) excommunication. Though the SSPX denied that the bishops incurred any penalty, claiming
canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is t ...
in their defense, the declared excommunication of the surviving bishops was at their request removed in 2009 in the hope of speedily reaching "full reconciliation and complete communion". The society's canonical situation remains unresolved. The 2010s saw growing recognition by the Holy See of its sacramental and pastoral activities, with Papal recognition extended indefinitely in 2017 to confessions heard by its priests, and local ordinaries allowed to grant delegation to its priests for officially witnessing marriages. In addition, the Holy See named SSPX bishop Fellay as judge in a canonical trial against one of the society's priests. The significance of these recognitions is that, unlike other Catholic sacraments, both confession and marriage require canonical jurisdiction for their validity. While its critics claim the society's priests were not explicitly granted the requisite jurisdiction, it contends that they possessed "supplied jurisdiction" for confessions due to a " state of necessity".


History of the SSPX

Like Traditionalist Catholicism in general, the SSPX was born out of opposition to changes in the Catholic Church that followed the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). The founder and central figure of the society was the
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who had served the Catholic Church as
Apostolic Delegate An apostolic nuncio ( la, nuntius apostolicus; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international ...
for French-speaking Africa,
Archbishop of Dakar The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dakar ( la, Dakaren(sis)) is the Metropolitan See for the Ecclesiastical province of Dakar in Senegal. History * February 2, 1863: Established as Apostolic Vicariate of Senegambia from the Apostolic Vicariate ...
, and Superior General of the
Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Ghost Fathers seal.png , size = 175px , caption = The seal of the Congregation depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Trinity. , abbreviation ...
, a missionary order of priests.


Foundation of the society

In September 1970, shortly after his retirement as Superior General of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Lefebvre was approached by eleven members of the Pontifical French Seminary in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
. They sought Lefebvre's advice on a conservative seminary where they could complete their studies. He directed them to the University of Fribourg, in
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. In late 1970, at age 65, urged by the abbot of
Hauterive Abbey Hauterive Abbey (french: Abbaye d’Hauterive) is a Cistercian abbey in the Swiss municipality of Hauterive in the canton of Fribourg. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. The entire Hauterive area is part of the Inventory ...
and the Dominican theologian Father Marie-Dominique Philippe to teach the seminarians personally, Lefebvre, feeling too old to undertake such a large project, told them he would visit
François Charrière François Charrière (1 September 1893 - 11 July 1976) was the Roman Catholic bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg from 1945 to 1970. Biography François Charrière was born into a peasant family in the village of Cerniat on 1 September 1893. ...
, Bishop of Lausanne,
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...
and Fribourg, with a request to set up a religious society. He told them, if he said to go through with it, he would see in it a sign of Divine Providence. Charrière granted Lefebvre's request and, with a document predated by six days to 1 November 1970, he established the Society of St. Pius X as a (Latin, for "pious, or holy, union") on a provisional () basis for six years. status was the first stage through which a Catholic organisation passed prior to gaining official recognition as a religious institute or society of apostolic life. (Since 1983, the term "
association of the faithful In the Catholic Church, an association of the Christian faithful or simply association of the faithful (Latin: ''consociationes christifidelium'') sometimes called a public association of the faithful, is a group of baptized persons, clerics or l ...
" has replaced .) The Society of Saint Pius X was formally founded, adhering to all canonical norms, and receiving the episcopal blessing and encouragement of the
local ordinary An ordinary (from Latin ''ordinarius'') is an officer of a church or civic authority who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute laws. Such officers are found in hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have a ...
. Some Swiss laymen offered the International Seminary of Saint Pius X at
Écône Écône is an area in the municipality of Riddes, district of Martigny, in the canton of Valais, Switzerland. It is the location of the International Seminary of Saint Pius X The International Seminary of Saint Pius X in Écône, Valais, Switz ...
to the newly formed group, and in 1971 the first 24 candidates entered, followed by a further 32 in October 1972. Aside from Father Marie-Dominique Philippe, a fellow Dominican, Father Michel-Louis Guérard des Lauriers, one of the brightest theologians of that time, also taught in the Seminary. Guérard des Lauriers subsequently left the position of professor because Lefebvre was "acting like Pontius Pilate" by celebrating the 1965 Interim Mass. Normally, after a suitable period of experience and consultation with the Holy See, a bishop would raise a to official status at diocesan level. Lefebvre attempted to bypass this stage, and contacted three different departments of the Holy See in order to secure early recognition for his society. He succeeded in obtaining a letter of encouragement from Cardinal John Wright,
prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...
of the Congregation for the Clergy, but there was no approval from the Holy See congregation responsible for raising an association to the level desired by Lefebvre. Cardinal Wright's letter, dated 18 February 1971, said with regard to the field of competence of Cardinal Wright's own Congregation, that the association "will be able to contribute much to accomplishing the plan drawn up by this Congregation for worldwide sharing of clergy." Cardinal Wright was still recommending prospective seminarians to apply to Écône as late as 1973. The establishment of the SSPX was unwelcome to a number of churchmen, most notably to the French bishops, whose theological outlook was quite different from that of Lefebvre and who had important connections with the Holy See Cardinal Secretary of State,
Jean-Marie Villot Jean-Marie Villot (11 October 1905 – 9 March 1979) was a French prelate and Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Lyon from 1965 to 1967, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy from 1967 to 1969, Vatican Secre ...
. According to one defender of Lefebvre, at the meeting of the French episcopal conference at Lourdes in 1972 the seminary at Écône acquired the nickname —the "wildcat seminary". By November 1974 the French episcopate had indicated that they would not incardinate any of Lefebvre's priests in their dioceses which is the opposite of the desire to incardinate the priests of the society by some Swiss bishops. They also publicly criticised Catholics who remained attached to the Tridentine Mass. By this time, the SSPX had opened additional seminaries in Armada, Michigan, (1973) and in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
(1974).


Canonical visitation of seminary

The first sign of curial intervention was a Vatican meeting on 26 March 1974. By June 1974, a commission of cardinals had been formed to inquire into the SSPX, and decided on a canonical visitation of the seminary by two Belgian priests, held 11–13 November 1974. Franz Schmidberger, later superior general of the society, said that their report was favourable. However, the seminarians and staff at Écône were shocked by some liberal theological opinions expressed by the two priests. In what he later described as a mood of "doubtlessly excessive indignation", Lefebvre wrote a declaration denouncing what he considered liberal trends "clearly evident" in the council and in the subsequent reforms. This document was leaked and published in January 1975, in the French Traditionalist Catholic journal . Lefebvre was in serious difficulties. In January 1975, Bishop Pierre Mamie of Fribourg wrote to Rome stating his intention to withdraw the status that his predecessor had granted. In the same month, Lefebvre was summoned to the Vatican, meeting with the cardinals on 13 February and 3 March. Lefebvre was surprised by their hostile tone: at one point a French cardinal,
Gabriel-Marie Garrone Gabriel-Marie Garrone (12 October 1901 in Aix-les-Bains, Savoie, France – 15 January 1994 in Rome, Italy) was a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and a Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education. Gabriel-Marie Garrone was b ...
, reportedly called him a "fool".


Growing tensions

On 6 May 1975, with the approval of the cardinals, Bishop Mamie withdrew the SSPX's status. Lefebvre instructed his lawyer to lodge appeals, and he ultimately petitioned the Holy See's supreme court, the Apostolic Signatura, which turned down the appeal. From this point onward, the SSPX was no longer recognised as a canonical organization. Lefebvre and the leadership of the society have always maintained that he was treated unfairly by the Roman Curia, that the suppression of the SSPX was unjust, and that the procedures violated the 1917 Code of Canon Law. The SSPX continued to operate in spite of its discountenance. In the consistory of 24 May 1976, Pope Paul VI rebuked Archbishop Lefebvre by name—reportedly the first time in 200 years that a pope had publicly reprimanded a Catholic bishop—and appealed to him and his followers to change their minds. Lefebvre announced that he intended to confer ordination on some of his students at the end of June 1976. On 12 June 1976, the Nuncio in Switzerland was given instructions to inform Lefebvre that, by special order of Pope Paul VI, he was forbidden to do so. On 25 June 1976, Archbishop Giovanni Benelli, the deputy Secretary of State, wrote directly to Lefebvre, confirming, by special mandate of the Pope, the prohibition to administer the holy orders, and warning him of the canonical penalties for Lefebvre himself and those whom he would ordain. Lefebvre ignored the warnings, and went ahead with the ordinations on 29 June 1976. In the sermon on that occasion, Lefebvre explicitly recognized that he might be struck with suspension, and the new priests with an irregularity that could theoretically prevent them from saying Mass. On the next day, 1 July 1976, the Press Office of the Holy See declared that in accordance with canon 2373 of the then Code of Canon Law, Lefebvre was automatically suspended for one year from conferring ordination, and that those whom he had ordained were automatically suspended from the exercise of the order received. It was also announced that the Holy See was examining Lefebvre's disobedience to the orders of the Pope. On 11 July 1976, Lefebvre signed a certificate of receipt of a letter from Cardinal Sebastiano Baggio, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, intimating that further penalties would be imposed in accordance with canon 2331 §1 of the then Code of Canon Law concerning obstinate disobedience to legitimate precepts or prohibitions of the Roman Pontiff. He was enjoined, within ten days of receipt of the letter, to take steps "to repair the scandal caused." In a letter of 17 July to Pope Paul VI, Lefebvre declared that he judged his action of 29 June to be legitimate. The Pope considered this response inadequate, and on his instructions the Congregation for Bishops, on 22 July 1976, suspended Lefebvre for an indefinite time from all exercise of holy orders—he could not confer any of the Sacraments, save Reconciliation or Baptism in an emergency (suspension ).


1988 Écône consecrations

A central controversy surrounding the SSPX concerns the consecration by Archbishop Lefebvre and Brazilian bishop
Antônio de Castro Mayer Antônio de Castro Mayer (20 June 1904 – 25 April 1991) was a Brazilian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. A Traditionalist Catholic and ally of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, he was Bishop of Campos from 1949 until his resignation in 1 ...
of four SSPX priests as bishops in 1988, in violation of the orders of Pope John Paul II. By 1987, Archbishop Lefebvre was 81. If he had died at that point, the SSPX could have their members ordained to the priesthood only at the hands of non-SSPX bishops, regarded by Lefebvre as unreliable and non-orthodox. In June 1987, Lefebvre announced his intention to consecrate a successor to the episcopacy. He implied that he intended to do this with or without the approval of the Holy See. In the Catholic Church, a bishop requires the mandate of the Pope if he is to consecrate a bishop, and an unauthorized consecration automatically incurs excommunication. Earlier, Pope Pius XII, in his encyclical , had described the sacramental activity of bishops who had been consecrated without papal approval as "gravely illicit, that is, criminal and sacrilegious".(Encyclica
Ad Apostolorum Principis
41)
The Roman authorities were grieved by Lefebvre's plan, but they began discussions with him and the SSPX, which led to the signing, on 5 May 1988, of a skeleton agreement between Lefebvre and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the prefect of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsib ...
and the future
Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...
. On Pope John Paul II's instructions, Cardinal Ratzinger replied to Lefebvre on 30 May, insisting on observance of the agreement of 5 May and adding that, if Lefebvre carried out unauthorized consecrations on 30 June, the promised authorization for the ordination to the episcopacy would be withdrawn. On 3 June, Lefebvre wrote that he intended to proceed. On 9 June, the Pope replied with a personal letter, appealing to him to abandon a design that "would be seen as nothing other than a schismatic act, the theological and canonical consequences of which are known to you." Lefebvre did not reply, and the letter was made public on 16 June. On 30 June 1988, Archbishop Lefebvre proceeded to ordain to the episcopate four priests of the SSPX.
Antônio de Castro Mayer Antônio de Castro Mayer (20 June 1904 – 25 April 1991) was a Brazilian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. A Traditionalist Catholic and ally of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, he was Bishop of Campos from 1949 until his resignation in 1 ...
, the retired Bishop of
Campos dos Goytacazes Campos dos Goytacazes () is a municipality located in the northern region of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, with a population of 471,737 inhabitants. Location Campos dos Goytacazes has an area of 4,032 km2 (1,557 sq mi), which makes it t ...
, Brazil, assisted in the ceremony. Those consecrated as Bishops were:
Bernard Fellay Bernard Fellay (born 12 April 1958) is a Swiss bishop and former superior general of the Traditionalist Catholic priestly fraternity Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). In 1988, Pope John Paul II announced that Fellay and three others were automatic ...
,
Bernard Tissier de Mallerais Bernard Tissier de Mallerais (born 14 September 1945) is a French Traditionalist bishop of the Society of Saint Pius X. Pope John Paul II declared that Tissier had incurred an automatic excommunication ''latae sententiae'' after he received e ...
, Alfonso de Galarreta, and Richard Williamson. The following day, the Congregation for Bishops issued a decree declaring that Archbishop Lefebvre and the four newly ordained bishops had incurred the automatic canonical penalty of excommunication reserved to the Holy See. On the following day, 2 July, Pope John Paul II issued an apostolic letter known as in which he condemned the Archbishop's action. The Pope stated that, since schism is defined in the
1983 Code of Canon Law The 1983 ''Code of Canon Law'' (abbreviated 1983 CIC from its Latin title ''Codex Iuris Canonici''), also called the Johanno-Pauline Code, is the "fundamental body of ecclesiastical laws for the Latin Church". It is the second and current com ...
as "withdrawal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or from communion with the members of the Church subject to him" (canon 751), the consecration "constitute a schismatic act", and that, by virtue of canon 1382 of the Code, it entailed ipso facto excommunication for all the bishops involved. Lefebvre argued that his actions had been necessary because the traditional form of the Catholic faith and sacraments would become extinct without Traditionalist clergy to pass them on to the next generation. He called the ordinations ("Operation Survival"), citing in his defense canons 1323 and
1324 Year 1324 ( MCCCXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events * 23 March – Pope John XXII excommunicates German king Louis IV, as Louis had not sought papal approval during ...
of the 1917 Code of Canon Law, the first of which says that "a person who acted coerced by grave fear, even if only relatively grave, or due to necessity or grave inconvenience unless the act is intrinsically evil or tends to the harm of souls" is not subject to penalty for violating a law or precept, while the other says "the perpetrator of a violation is not exempt from a penalty, but the penalty established by law or precept must be tempered or a penance employed in its place if the delict was committed ..by a person who thought in culpable error that one of the circumstances mentioned in can. 1323, nn. 4 or 5 was present." Some members of the SSPX disassociated themselves from the society as a result of Lefebvre's actions and, with the approval of the Holy See, formed a separate society called the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter.


Discussions with the Holy See

Discussions between the Holy See and the Society of Saint Pius X towards an eventual reconciliation have been ongoing. For years after the 1988 consecrations, there was little if any dialogue between the SSPX and the Holy See. This state of affairs ended when the society led a large pilgrimage to Rome for the "Great Jubilee" of 2000. Nine years later, on 21 January 2009 the Holy See remitted the excommunications of the society's bishops that it had declared at the time of the 1988 consecrations and expressed the hope that all members of the society would follow this up by speedily returning to full communion with the Church. Discussions since then have been complex, stemming from the society's insistence that the teachings of the Second Vatican Council on ecumenism,
religious liberty Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedo ...
, and collegiality are inconsistent with Catholic teaching and doctrine, a claim that the Holy See views as unacceptable, but recent discussions have indicated the possibility of an understanding. In an interview on 4 March 2017 with DICI, the official news organ of the society, Bishop
Bernard Fellay Bernard Fellay (born 12 April 1958) is a Swiss bishop and former superior general of the Traditionalist Catholic priestly fraternity Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). In 1988, Pope John Paul II announced that Fellay and three others were automatic ...
stated: "Whether it is a question of religious liberty, collegiality, ecumenism, the new Mass, or even the new rites of the sacraments ..And now all of a sudden, on these points that have been stumbling blocks, the emissaries from Rome tell us that they are open questions." In the same month of March 2017, Archbishop Guido Pozzo, the prelate in charge of the Pontifical Commission ''Ecclesia Dei'', the Roman Curia's organ for traditionalist societies, stated that the Holy See and the society were close to an agreement regularizing the society's status. In a letter of the same month it was announced that Pope Francis authorized diocesan bishops to grant to SSPX priests faculties to officiate at a marriage valid in the Catholic Church in cases where no priest in good standing could do so. In July 2017 Bishop Fellay signed a document along with a number of other clergy and academics labeled as a "Filial Correction" of Pope Francis. In twenty-five page document, which was made public in September after receiving no reply from the Holy See, they criticized the Pope for allegedly promoting heresy through various words, actions and omissions during his pontificate.


Canonical situation

The canonical situation of the SSPX and of its clergy has been the subject of controversy since the 1988 Écône consecrations. While the society is not listed in as a recognized society of apostolic life, it has nonetheless benefited from some significant allowances normally granted only to recognized orders and societies. A 1995 letter from the Pontifical Commission stated that there is "no doubt about the validity of the ordination of the priests of the Society of St. Pius X. They are, however, suspended ." In the November–December 2017 edition of the society's publication ''The Angelus'', Fr. Francois Knittel, SSPX, wrote: "The Church authorities have gradually recognized the liceity and the validity of the ministry performed by the priests of the SSPX."


Marriage

On 27 March 2017, the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsib ...
communicated that Pope Francis had decided to grant local ordinaries the right to give to a priest in good standing the faculty to preside at the marriage of followers of the society, immediately after which they will participate in a Mass celebrated by an SSPX priest, or, if no priest in good standing can receive the consent of the couple, to give the faculty instead to an SSPX priest. Previously, in 2008, the Pontifical Commission had stated: "The priests of the Society of St. Pius X are ..prohibited from exercising their priestly functions," going on to conclude that, in the case of matrimony, "these sacraments are invalid," since a suspended priest lacks the proper delegation from the bishop.


Confession

On 20 November 2016, Pope Francis personally and indefinitely extended an allowance he created during the Holy Year of 2015, whereby penitents confessing to priests affiliated with the SSPX "shall validly and licitly receive the absolution of their sins."


Ordination and Holy Orders

During an interview with ''TV Libertes'' on 29 January 2017, Bishop Fellay announced that theological discussions with the Holy See had led to permission for the society to licitly ordain priests: "This summer it was confirmed that the Superior General can freely ordain the priests of the society without having to ask permission from the local bishop."


Mass

In 2020, Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy and dean of theology at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, reaffirmed the statement he made in 2011, before Pope Benedict granted certain faculties in favor of SSPX priests. After declaring that "the Masses celebrated by members of the Society of St. Pius X are valid but illicit, i.e., contrary to Canon Law", he said: "The mere fact of assisting at a Mass of this society is not a sin. It would only become so if a person attended this Mass with the deliberate intention of separating himself from communion with the Pope and those in communion with him. I would say, therefore, that a conscientious Catholic should not knowingly attend a Mass celebrated by a priest not in good standing with the Church." He added: "Only if there is objectively no alternative should one attend the Mass celebrated by a priest from the Society of St. Pius X. If one has to do so, then I would say that one may go in good conscience and receive Communion at such a Mass. It would also fulfill the Sunday obligation", and explained that "alternative" is not limited to "Mass in the extraordinary form": a Catholic who seeks this form but finds none available other than the SSPX celebration "should attend an ordinary form Mass or even any Eastern Catholic celebration so as to remain in full Catholic communion".


Jurisdiction

When told by a journalist of InfoVaticana, a provider of religious information founded in Madrid in October 2013, that what Pope Francis had decided in March 2017 was instead that, "from now on, the weddings celebrated by the priests from the FSSPX are going to be recognized," Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, who had not seen the actual document, remarked: "That is a very significant action of the Holy Father, and it also indicates that in some way there must be a reconciliation of the SSPX because basically what the Pope is saying is that the priests in this society, when they witness marriages, are exercising jurisdiction in the Roman Catholic Church." In reality, it is local ordinaries, not the society, that in the document are authorized, if they wish, to delegate jurisdiction to SSPX priests to assist canonically at some marriages. The society's view is that, before Pope Francis's authorizations, their priests held "supplied" jurisdiction (power of governance) for confessions and marriages. They received this supplied jurisdiction by law and not "by delegation or by mandate of the Sovereign Pontiff or the diocesan bishops or of regularly appointed parish priests." Since the grants by Pope Francis, the society says that its priests have or can have ordinary jurisdiction for the sacraments of confession and marriage. It adds that, in cases where a diocesan bishop refuses to grant delegation for a marriage, SSPX priests can still use extraordinary jurisdiction.


Allies and supporters

The SSPX has received explicit support from the following diocesan bishops and cardinals: * Alfredo Cardinal Ottaviani, Pre-Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Rome (deceased) * Antonio Cardinal Bacci, Cardinal Protodeacon, Rome (deceased) * John Joseph Cardinal Wright, ''Bishop-Emeritus'' of Pittsburgh, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, Rome (deceased) * Albino Cardinal Luciani, Cardinal Patriarch of Venice, future Pope John Paul I, Italy (deceased) *
Antônio de Castro Mayer Antônio de Castro Mayer (20 June 1904 – 25 April 1991) was a Brazilian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. A Traditionalist Catholic and ally of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, he was Bishop of Campos from 1949 until his resignation in 1 ...
, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Campos, Brazil (deceased) * Salvador L. Lazo, Bishop of San Fernando de La Unión, Philippines (deceased) * John Bosco Manat Chuabsamai, Bishop of Ratchaburi, Thailand (deceased) * Athanasius Schneider, auxiliary bishop of Mary Most Holy in Astana, Kazakhstan *
Vitus Huonder Vitus Huonder (born 21 April 1942) is a Swiss prelate of the Catholic Church who was bishop of Chur from 2007 to 2019. Vitus Huonder was born in Trun on 21 April 1942. He studied at the Pontifical Atheneum Saint Anselm and at the University of ...
, retired Bishop Emeritus of Chur, Switzerland * Carlo Maria Viganò, archbishop and former Secretary-General of Vatican City and
Apostolic Nuncio to the United States The Apostolic Nunciature to the United States is the diplomatic mission of the Holy See to the United States. It is located at 3339 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the Embassy Row neighborhood. Since 2016 the nuncio has been ...
Bishop De Castro-Mayer resigned canonically on 20 August 1981; he later participated in the 1988 Écône consecrations, declaring "my presence here at this ceremony is a matter of conscience: It is the duty of a profession of the Catholic Faith before the entire Church." After his retirement, Bishop Mayer founded the Priestly Union of St. Jean-Marie Vianney, which remained closely associated with the SSPX until 2001, when it reconciled with the Holy See. The society now has close links with the
Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat The Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych (SSJK) is a society of traditionalist priests and seminarians originating from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church which is led by the excommunicated priest Basil Kovpak. It is based in Riasn ...
, led by Father
Basil Kovpak Basil Kovpak ( uk, Василь Ковпак, Vasyl' Kovpak) is a Ukrainian Traditionalist Catholic priest and the founder and current head of the Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat. Formerly a priest of the Archeparchy of Lviv of the Ukrainian G ...
, a priest formerly of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, who was definitively excommunicated from the Catholic Church in November 2007 after having Bishop Richard Williamson, then of the SSPX but expelled from the society five years later, ordain two priests and seven deacons for his society in accused violation of canons 1015 §1 and 1017 of the Code of Canon Law. In May 2019, the SSPX announced that
Vitus Huonder Vitus Huonder (born 21 April 1942) is a Swiss prelate of the Catholic Church who was bishop of Chur from 2007 to 2019. Vitus Huonder was born in Trun on 21 April 1942. He studied at the Pontifical Atheneum Saint Anselm and at the University of ...
, Bishop of Chur, Switzerland, as per a long stated intention, had retired to one of the society's houses in order "to dedicate himself to prayer and silence, to celebrate the traditional Mass exclusively, and to work for Tradition, the only way of renewing the Church." He was warmly received by the SSPX: "The Society of Saint Pius X appreciates Bishop Huonder’s courageous decision and rejoices to be able to provide him with the spiritual and priestly surroundings that he desires so deeply. May this example be followed by others, so as to 'restore everything in Christ'." In a letter addressed on 1 September 2020 to ''
Catholic Family News ''Catholic Family News'' (CFN) is a Catholic traditionalism, Traditionalist Catholic monthly publication of Catholic Family Ministries. History Founded in 1994, CFN was run for many years by John Vennari (1958-2017). Vennari served as both edit ...
'' Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, former Secretary-General of the Vatican City State and former Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, said that the work of the SSPX "deserves recognition for not having allowed the flame of Tradition to be extinguished at a moment in which celebrating the ancient Mass was considered subversive and a reason for excommunication. ..If their fidelity made ''disobedience'' to the pope inevitable with the episcopal consecrations, thanks to them the Society was able to protect herself from the furious attack of the ''Innovators'' and by its very existence it allowed the possibility of the liberalization of the Ancient Rite, which until then was prohibited. Its presence also allowed the contradictions and errors of the ''conciliar'' sect to emerge, always winking at heretics and idolaters but implacably rigid and intolerant towards Catholic Truth." Several religious institutes, mostly based in France, are associated with the society.


SSPX today

, the society had 637 priests present in 37 countries and active in 35 more, 772 Mass centers, 167 priories, 123 religious brothers, 200 religious sisters, 79 oblates, 204 seminarians in six seminaries, 56 pre-seminarians in three pre-seminaries, more than 100 schools, 7 nursing homes, 4 Carmelite convents, 19 Missionary Sisters of Kenya, and 2
university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
-level institutes. , the society had 680 priests and 217 seminarians. The society is divided into two classes of territorial units called districts and autonomous houses, each headed by a superior. An autonomous house may become a district after three priories have been established within its jurisdiction. The most recent organizational addition of the society is the Autonomous House of Central America and the Caribbean, formed from territory taken from the District of Mexico, erected on 1 October 2017. Over 120 (>20%) of the society's priests are stationed in the District of France. The society expanded its mission in
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
and
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, where the society managed to triple the number of chapels from 2019 to 2021. , the society was sub-divided into 14 districts, and 5 autonomous houses: The first seminary founded by the society is the St. Pius X International Seminary located in Écône, Switzerland. Its largest is located in the United States: St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary, Dillwyn, VA, and having outgrown its previous facilities, relocated in 2016 from Winona, Minnesota; the former seminary complex continues to house the novitiate of the religious brothers. Other seminaries are located in France ( Seminary, Flavigny-sur-Ozerain), Germany (Sacred Heart of Jesus Seminary, Zaitzkofen), and Argentina (,
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). However, due to the closure of Australia's international borders, and unprecedented lockdowns and constraints because of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...
, The society's Holy Cross Seminary ( Golbourn) can no longer accept seminarians from nearby countries, thereby closing the seminary and moving their present seminarians to other seminaries of the SSPX. The society also runs pre-seminaries for prospective priestly vocations in Italy ( Albano Laziale), Brazil ( Santa Maria), and the Philippines ( Santa Barbara, Iloilo).


Superiors General


Notable groups that have split from the SSPX

There have been two major kinds of splits from the SSPX. Two notable splits of the first kind involved priests who viewed the SSPX as too liberal and who use the form that the Mass had before
Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 28 Oc ...
. The other kind involved groups who have reconciled with the Holy See and who, like the SSPX, use the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal. Groups which broke with the SSPX and are not recognized by the Holy See include: *
Society of Saint Pius V The Society of Saint Pius V (SSPV; lat, Societas Sacerdotalis Sancti Pii Quinti), is a traditionalist Catholic society of priests, formed in 1983, and based in Oyster Bay Cove, New York, United States. The society broke away from the Society ...
In 1983, nine U.S. SSPX priests broke with or were forced to leave the SSPX's Northeast USA District partly because they were opposed to Lefebvre's instructions that Mass be celebrated according to the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal issued by Pope John XXIII. Those in SSPX circles refer to these priests as "the nine". They began their organization by refusing to complete a transaction of a church that the SSPX was attempting to purchase, using one of the nine priests as the buyer. The founding priests took the money intended for the purchase of the church and kept the church for themselves. A number of the SSPV's priests and the lay people who go to their Masses are openly sedevacantist, a thesis rejected by the SSPX. Other issues occasioning the split were: Lefebvre's order that Society priests must accept the decrees of nullity handed down by diocesan marriage tribunals; the insistence that all Society Masses be celebrated according to the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal; the acceptance of new members into the group who had been ordained to the priesthood according to the revised sacramental rites of Pope Paul VI. *
Istituto Mater Boni Consilii The Institute of the Mother of Good Counsel ( la, Istituto Mater Boni Consilii; IMBC) is a sedeprivationist traditionalist Catholic religious congregation based in Italy. Adhering to the Thesis of Cassiciacum of the French theologian Bishop M ...
– (English: "Institute of the Mother of Good Counsel") is a traditionalist congregation of priests that follows the
sedeprivationist Sedeprivationism is a doctrinal position within Traditionalist Catholicism which holds that the current occupant of the Holy See is a duly-elected pope, but lacks the authority and ability to teach or to govern unless he recants the changes brou ...
school of thought. The founders of the institute seceded in 1985 from the Society of St. Pius X under the leadership of Fr. Francesco Ricossa, onetime faculty member of the seminary at Écône. In contrast to the North American-based SSPV, this Institute is based in Europe. Groups which broke with the SSPX and reconciled with Rome include: * Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP)It was established in 1988 after the Écône consecrations. Responding to the Holy See's declaration that these constituted a schismatic act and that those involved were thereby automatically excommunicated, twelve priests left the society and established the Fraternity, in full communion with the Holy See. * Institute of the Good Shepherd(, IBP) was established as a papally-recognized society of apostolic life on 8 September 2006 for a group of SSPX members who maintained it was time for the society to accept reconciliation with Pope Benedict XVI. *
Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer The Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer ( la, Filii Sanctissimi Redemptoris; FSSR), commonly known as the Transalpine Redemptorists or The Sons, are a religious institute of the Catholic Church canonically erected in the Roman ...
(, FSSR) also known Transalpine Redemptorists, founded as a religious community affiliated with the SSPX in 1988. In 2008 the community petitioned to be reconciled with the Holy See, which was accepted by then Pope Benedict XVI.


Lifestyle and clothing among adherents

In the Society of Saint Piux X, a
complementarian Complementarianism is a theological view in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, that men and women have different but ''complementary'' roles and responsibilities in marriage, family life, and religious leadership. The word "complementary" and i ...
position with respect to gender roles is upheld; "few married women work, especially once they have children." Richard Williamson, a former bishop of the SSPX who now aligns with the SSPX Resistance, wrote a pastoral letter, in which he stated that "women's trousers, as worn today, short or long, modest or immodest, tight or loose, open or disguised (like the "culottes"), are an assault upon woman's womanhood and so they represent a deep-lying revolt against the order willed by God." ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', in covering SSPX, thus stated described their female adherents as being "Women in long, modest skirts ho were loadingvans that had enough seats to accommodate eight or nine kids".


Controversies


Political

After Bishop Richard Williamson, the subject of the complaint by the Anti-Defamation League, denied the use of Nazi gas chambers to massacre Jews in a 2009 interview, the superior general of the society said that, if he repeated his denial, he would be expelled. His actual expulsion in 2012 was for refusing to show due respect and obedience to the SSPX authorities and calling on the superior general to resign. Williamson was later convicted of Holocaust denial by a German court. The society condemns Nazism, following the principles in Pope Pius XI's 1937 encyclical , which denounces Nazi principles and policies and "condemns racial theories and the mistreatment of people because of their race or nationality but does not refer to Hitler or the Nazis by name". The society publishes in its magazine '' The Angelus'' a collection of quotations praising
Pius XII Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius ...
for his work in saving Jews from Nazi persecution and in condemning Nazi principles. French Nazi collaborator and war criminal
Paul Touvier Paul Claude Marie Touvier (3 April 1915 – 17 July 1996) was a French Nazi collaborator during World War II in Occupied France. In 1994, he became the first Frenchman ever convicted of crimes against humanity, for his participation in the H ...
was arrested in an SSPX priory. The superiors of the priory claimed that had granted him asylum as "an act of charity to a homeless man". They claimed no knowledge about the man's background when he first appeared in the priory. On his death, in 1996, an SSPX Requiem Mass was offered for his soul, upon his request. On 16 October 2013, the society offered to perform a funeral for Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke. Priebke had been baptized in a Protestant denomination, but in post-war years he converted to a form of Catholicism with his wife and had his children baptized.Erich Priebke, Autobiografia (Rome: Associazione uomo e liberta, 2003), 150, 160, 161, 170. He rejected the cult of race as a "mistake that led down a path of no return." The ceremony did not take place due to protests by some 500 people, outside the society's Italian district house in Albano, near Rome. The local authorities of the Catholic Church refused him a public funeral, citing a rule of canon law that, unless they gave some signs of repentance before death, a public funeral must be refused to manifest sinners to whom it cannot be granted without public scandal of the faithful. In spite of controversies surrounding Nazism, the society mentioned that Archbishop Lefebvre's own father, René Lefebvre, met his death in the concentration camp at Sonnenburg in February 1944, three years after his arrest by the Gestapo; he died, "his rosary in hand, a victim of Nazi insanity." The society is also known for supporting the far-right, extremist, nationalist, ultra-conservative political party, Civitas in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. Since then, under the new leadership of the said movement, the Civitas is no longer under the auspice of the society and the "chaplaincy" is now held by the Franciscan Capuchin Friars of Morgon, a religious community affiliated to the SSPX. However, Civitas still holds rallies, conferences, and meetings in SSPX chapels and still get endorsements from their priests and the French District itself.


Alleged cover-up of abuse

On 5 April 2017, Uppdrag granskning, a Swedish television program focused on investigative journalism, alleged that four members of the SSPX—three priests and a former seminarian—had molested at least a dozen young people in several countries. The program also stated that evidence of abuse was kept secret by the SSPX and that the priests were allowed to continue in ministry. Nonetheless, three of the four had been expelled from the society by the time that the program was aired. Kevin Gerard Sloniker, the former seminarian and the only person accused by name in the program, was expelled from the society's St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in 2005, and began serving a life-sentence in 2015. The remaining three accusations regard priests whose names have been withheld (referred to in the program as Fathers P, S, and M); their accusers have likewise remained anonymous. Nonetheless, P was the subject of a canonical trial presided over by Bishop Fellay, authorized by the Holy See in 2013; he was found guilty, and subsequently ordered to retire to a monastery. ''Crux'' reports "P refused to go and, according to officials of the SSPX, joined ishopWilliamson's Resistance." He along with "Father S" were expelled from the society, and are now affiliated with Williamson's group. "Father M" is currently serving in France, though no criminal charges have been brought against him and the society denies that they are aware of any credible accusations of abuse against the priest. In May 2020, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation stated that, as part of its investigation into the four Catholic dioceses in the state, it was also investigating accusations that SSPX members were either perpetrating or covering up clerical sex abuse in the state. The SSPX St. Mary's Rectory in Kansas faced sex abuse allegations. Although the U.S. district of the society, as well as the St. Mary's Rectory denied the said allegations.


Priests sentenced for abuse

Mexican SSPX priest and former headmaster Father Uribe Silviano Bernabé was sentenced in September 2004 by a Bordeaux criminal court to one year for sexual assaults on an adult woman and a 13-year-old girl. He appealed the sentence and lost on 17 March 2005. He then brought the case to the Court of Cassation in Paris, which upheld the sentence on 26 April 2006. On 13 December 2017, Father Frédéric Abbet was sentenced to 5 years by a Brussels appeal court for sexual abuse on a young boy in an SSPX boarding school. He had already faced accusations in his native Switzerland in 2005 but had been acquitted by an unofficial SSPX tribunal. Father Abbet was to serve the prison sentence in his native Switzerland, where it was later discovered he never did serve his prison sentence but instead lived freely in the community. On 16 February 2018, former school headmaster Father Christophe Roisnel was sentenced to 19 years by the Nanterre criminal court of appeal for multiple counts of rape and acts of torture on female school teachers.


See also

* SSPX-affiliated religious orders * Controversies surrounding the Society of Saint Pius X * Institute of consecrated life * Minaret controversy in Switzerland *
Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat The Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych (SSJK) is a society of traditionalist priests and seminarians originating from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church which is led by the excommunicated priest Basil Kovpak. It is based in Riasn ...
, a related group in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church * Society of St Pius X in New Zealand * St. Mary's College, Kansas * St. Dominic's College, Wanganui *
The International Seminary of Saint Pius X The International Seminary of Saint Pius X in Écône, Valais, Switzerland is the premier seminary of the Roman Catholic Traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). The seminary is one of the six houses for formation for the future priests of t ...


References


External links

*
Website of district of the USA

Official French website
{{Authority control Traditionalist Catholicism Christian organizations established in 1970 Second Vatican Council Pius X Traditionalist Catholics Communities using the Tridentine Mass Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in France