Part 2
After the excommunication of Lefebvre for his opposition to
the pope and unauthorized consecration of bishops, many followers left the society.
Some formed new groups, still dedicated to the pre-conciliar Mass but operating
within the approval of the Church.
And that’s how things stayed for about 15 years, even after
Lefebvre died in 1991. In the early 2000s, efforts were made to reconcile members
of SSPX with the Church. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI authorized use of the 1962
missal as an “extraordinary” form of the Mass, to be used in limited circumstances.
In 2009, he remitted the excommunications of 1988. But discussions on the issues
of religious liberty, ecumenicism, liturgy, and sacraments stalled, as neither
side would concede. In 2012, one of the men consecrated a SSPX bishop in 1988
administered the sacrament of confirmation to about 100 people; the act had not
been authorized by society leadership. The society expelled the bishop.
Apparently it was virtuous to illicitly administer sacraments when opposing
Vatican leadership but not when opposing SSPX leadership.
In 2015, as part of the Year of Mercy, Pope Francis authorized that SSPX priests could licitly offer the sacrament of confession. In 2017, he authorized diocesan bishops to grant SSPX priests facilities to officiate marriages, meaning SSPX priests could come into a diocese at the local bishop’s discretion in order to officiate valid Catholic marriages. These were small but significant steps in bringing the society back into good standing with the Church.
The Traditional Latin Mass has grown in popularity in the
past few decades. For some, the appeal is that it is so antithetical to the
modern world. With that appeal, the SSPX was able to spread more and more, reaching
77 countries. SSPX chapels also continued to offer Mass in early 2020, when
many dioceses suspended Mass during the COVID pandemic. This won support from
many who had opposed the restrictions.
In 2021, Pope Francis issued Traditionis custodes,
greatly restricting the use of the Traditional Latin Mass. He allowed local
bishops to decide whether the pre-conciliar missals would be allowed in their
diocese while stressing that in “due time,” all should be updated. This is
where the Church currently is, with the Traditional Latin Mass allowed in some
places and restricted in others. As more dioceses restrict the traditionalists,
some people turned to the SSPX, even inviting them in the area without
permission from the local bishop, in defiance of Church law. I can understand
the hurt caused by the shutting down of one’s preferred Mass. On the other
hand, there has been plenty of warning this was coming. The changes of the Mass
have been in place for almost 60 years. Further, if people want to truly reform
the Church, they should be present in their diocesan parishes, not segregating
themselves away in illicit chapels.
By 2024, only two of the men consecrated in 1988 remained, and
it was speculated that the society would try to consecrate more of their own
bishops. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith stated its
willingness to continue talks with the SSPX but warned against any further unauthorized
consecrations. This spring, SSPX publicly stated it planned to go forward with
consecrations. In May, Pope Leo XIV urged the society not to do them. On July
1, the society went forward with the consecrations. The next day the Vatican announced
the excommunication of not just the involved men but of the entire society. Provisions
and facilities granted in the past few years were repealed. Any laypeople who now
willingly support SSPX now incur excommunication; they have to go through a
formal process and reconciliation in order to return to full communion with the
Church.
All of this history to say, this excommunication news is not
really news; it’s been a long time coming. And that’s usually how schisms and
excommunications go. There are attempts at reforms, at reconciliations, at
hammering out what is and is not permitted. But in the end, if a group believes
themselves to be bearing the truth in opposition to the Church, then it’s
difficult to find agreement. Lefebvrites think they’re the True Roman Catholicism,
but they have more in common with Lutherans and the women’s ordination movement
than they would ever admit.
I hope the excommunication does what it’s intended to do:
bring back people into full communion with the Church. But it really feels like
it solidifies the Lefebvrite break with eh Church. Many have been led astray by
a movement promising they have all the answers to modern problems, that world
is an easy black-and-white, that being tough and stubborn is piety, and that
being criticized is righteous persecution. It is true that relativism has
created many problems, and there is a decline in religious practice through the
past century. But there is no single cause, and there is no single solution.
Kyrie eleison.
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