Canon law prescribes the penalty of automatic excommunication for those who participate in episcopal consecrations unauthorized by Rome.<\/p>\n
Cardinal Gerhard M\u00fcller and Cardinal Robert Sarah, two prominent supporters of the Traditional Latin Mass, have spoken out against the decision of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) to defy the Vatican and ordain new bishops on July 1.<\/p>\n
The decision to proceed with the episcopal consecrations without papal approval was confirmed in a Feb. 18 letter, penned by SSPX superior general Father Davide Pagliarani a week after his Feb. 12 meeting with Cardinal V\u00edctor Manuel Fern\u00e1ndez, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF).<\/p>\n
In the letter, the Catholic traditionalist group said it could not \u201caccept the perspective and objectives\u201d for resumed dialogue proposed by the DDF prefect, insisting the July 1 consecrations would \u201cnot constitute a rupture of communion\u201d with the Church.<\/p>\n
The SSPX, which exclusively celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass, maintains doctrinal differences with certain teachings and reforms of the Second Vatican Council, particularly with regard to religious freedom and the Church\u2019s approach to other faiths.<\/p>\n
Under canon law, a bishop who consecrates another bishop without a papal mandate and the person who receives that consecration incur automatic excommunication.<\/p>\n
M\u00fcller, who served as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) from 2012 to 2017, issued a lengthy Feb. 21 statement, saying \u201cpersonal sensitivities should take a back seat\u201d for the good of Church unity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the Society of St. Pius X is to have a positive impact on Church history, it cannot fight for the true faith from a distance, from the outside, against the Church united with the pope,\u201d M\u00fcller wrote.<\/p>\n
Highlighting the importance for SSPX to recognize papal authority \u201cnot only in theory but also in practice,\u201d the German prelate said the society must submit to the teaching authority of the Church \u201cwithout preconditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo orthodox Catholic can invoke reasons of conscience if he withdraws from the formal authority of the pope regarding the visible unity of the sacramental Church in order to establish an ecclesiastical order not in full communion with him,\u201d M\u00fcller said.<\/p>\n
Over the weekend, Sarah, who served as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 2014 to 2021, also shared his \u201cdeep concern and sadness\u201dafter SSPX confirmed its decision to ordain new bishops without a papal mandate.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it to desire the salvation of souls to tear apart the mystical body of Christ in a way that may be irreversible? How many souls are in danger of being lost because of this new division?\u201d Sarah lamented in a Feb. 22 Le Journal du Dimanche article.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are told that this act is intended to defend tradition and the faith,\u201d he added. \u201cI know how much the deposit of faith is sometimes despised today by those very people whose mission it is to defend it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The African prelate ardently appealed for SSPX to be united to the Church founded by Jesus Christ and entrusted to the care of the apostles, particularly St. Peter, the first pope, and his successors.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan we really do without following Christ in his humility unto the cross? Is it not a betrayal of tradition to take refuge in human means [and] maintain our works, however good they may be?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The proposed July 1 date for the episcopal consecrations coincides with the anniversary of the 1988 excommunication of SSPX founder Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre for consecrating four bishops without permission of Rome.<\/p>\n
The Society of St. Pius X did not immediately respond to a request for comment from EWTN News.<\/p>\n
This article was originally published by EWTN News English.<\/p>\n