To be Catholic is to be a "radical traditionalist"

What Catholics once were, we are.

If we are wrong, then Catholics through the ages have been wrong.

We are what you once were.

We worship as you once worshipped.

If we are wrong now, you were wrong then.

If you were right then, we are right now.

Robert De Plante

Given the quotation above, I think we can say it clearly; if you are not a traditional Catholic then you are a bad Catholic and in fact, a protestant. You flirt with dissent and heresy and you are the cause of schism and the current crisis in the Church. 

To be Catholic is to be traditionalist. To be traditionalist is to be Catholic. It seems that during these times of crisis in the Church to be traditionalist in a Catholic sense is to make one the equivalent of the red-headed stepchild. What of those who use this phrase to describe their fellow Catholics? What does it make them when they use the tactis of Saul Alinsky himself?

Frankly, it makes them, bad Catholics. 

When one is accused of being a "radical traditionalist" what does it mean?

Does it mean that one rejects the Second Vatican Council or the "banal manufactured product" of the new Mass as Benedict XVI referred to it? What if one accepts the reality of the new, but prefers the old? Does it mean that one speaks out against the shenanigans coming from the highest places in Rome? If we are angry about the heresy proposed by Kasper or his racist remarks about Africans, if we are disturbed by some of Pope Francis' ill-chosen words and phrases or interviews, if we are dismayed when media prominent priests blatantly ignore the liturgical law and then distort to explain it away, does that make us radical traditionalists? If we oppose the will of some bishops and cardinals to provide the Most Blessed Sacrament to people in unrepentant mortal sin does that make us radical traditionalists? 

I hope so!

One cannot be Catholic without being traditional. If one is Catholic one must be radical. The word comes from the the Latin radix, meaning root. How can Catholic be anything but radical, particularly living within this secular world and the new "pagan ideology" that has taken over parts of the Church as so aptly phrased by Bishops Schneider.

The reason that we are labelled such is that we are right. Those who put these labels on us are conflicted and schizophrenic because on one hand, they might like a little Latin Mass once or twice per year but on the other hand they have become "pagan Catholics" as our Holy Father so aptly called them a few days ago. If all you can do is look away from the real problems and crisis facing the Church and mock and deride then you are nothing more than a coward and part of the problem; and this goes for you if you are laity or priest or a bishop. You are lukewarm and you will be spat out on the last day.

If I wish to follow the practices of the faith in my life my parents grew up with in the Church I am, in the positive sense of the word, proud to be a radical traditionalist.

If you are not a radical traditionalist, then you are simply, not Catholic. 

Where is the mercy?

This blogger has friends that worship at the Toronto chapel of the Society of St. Pius X. I have a conflicted view of the fact that they do, but I can clearly understand it. One one hand, they attend their in a comfortable way, they do not participate in the life of the greater Archdiocese nor do they fight it out in the trenches; it would be a lot easier with them in the fight directly with those of us engaging the crisis daily. On the other hand, who am I to judge? The scandal and sorrow that they have endured on the part of priests or previous Ordinaries not sympathetic to the cause is legion. (I do not include Cardinal Collins in this as he has generally been supportive of the Toronto Traditional Mass Society's goals and the needs of the faithful. though clearly the FSSP issue is still a hard point), 

It is also repugnant that certain puerile people label them and others as madtrads or radtrads or trads-behaving-badly. It is insulting, degrading, juvenile, schizophrenic and unbecoming of any Catholic who purports to love the Our Lord Jesus Christ, and His Holy Sacrifice at the Mass and His Church. 

It is regrettable that under our dear Pope Benedict XVI, a complete reconciliation could not be realised and I long for the day in God's good time and may I live to see it, that a perfect communion is established.

Full disclosure: I have worshipped at the Toronto chapel in the past and sang in the Schola there whilst between other chant engagements. I have never gone to the Sacrament of Confession there for obvious reasons but the Mass if valid and holy.

What these two bishops, in Italy and Argentina have done, by threatening the lay faithful with excommunication when the Church has already stated that they are not excommunicated is the height of episcopal arrogance and hypocrisy. These are our brother and sisters. These are Catholic faithful living the faith as the parents of these bishops did!

There is much talk of mercy these days. Mercy for sodomites, mercy for those paying the price for murder, mercy for adulterers. Mercy. Mercy. Mercy.

Well? Where is the mercy for these 99?

INTERNATIONAL UNA VOCE FEDERATION

MEDIA RELEASE – IMMEDIATE – 4 November 2014

International Una Voce Federation: threatened SSPX excommunications may be illegal

LONDON 4 November 2014 – The International Una Voce Federation which seeks to promote the traditions, particularly the liturgical traditions, of the Roman Catholic Church, within the official structures of the Church, today questioned the legality of a “notification” dated 14 October 2014 of the Roman See of Albano, Italy, claiming to ex-communicate those who receive the sacraments from, or attend religious services of, the Society of St Pius X (SSPX).

The Federation questions the legality of a notification in similar terms of Bishop Óscar Sarlinga of Zárate-Campana in Argentina, issued on 3 November 2014.

The Federation, which is a lay movement independent of any priestly or religious community, believes that preservation of doctrine, law and justice, as well as good pastoral practice, within the Church, is important.

The Federation believes that these “notifications” tend to imply that anyone who has ever attended services of the SSPX is not welcome in parish churches in these dioceses.

This view is clearly in direct contrast with the emphasis of the Supreme Pontiff, Pope Francis, upon mercy and forgiveness, as well as the “openness of heart” requested by Pope Benedict XVI as a prelude to a healing of divisions “in the heart of the Church”.

The Bishop of Albano is the Rt Rev Marcello Semeraro, media spokesman of the Italian Bishops’ conference and secretary of the Papal inner Council of 9 advisers.

The Federation is asking the Holy See to advise that these notifications are defective and to require them to be modified so as to comply with the law of the Church and the decisions of the Holy See.

BACKGROUND

On 14 October 2014, the Chancery of the Diocese of Albano issued a notification to parish priests claiming that anyone who attends SSPX services, even, apparently, children, thereby “break communion with the Catholic Church” and can only be re-admitted to the Church after “an adequate personal path of reconciliation”. The notification reads:

“The Catholic faithful cannot participate at Mass, neither request and/or receive sacraments from or in the Society. Acting otherwise would mean to break communion with the Catholic Church.

Therefore, any Catholic faithful who requests and receives sacraments in the Society of Saint Pius X, will place himself de facto in the condition of no longer being in communion with the Catholic Church. A readmission to the Catholic Church must be preceded by an adequate personal path of reconciliation, according to the ecclesiastical discipline established by the Bishop.”

Bishop Óscar Sarlinga of Zárate-Campana in Argentina, in a letter to his diocese dated 3 November 2014, states:

“It is not licit for the Catholic faithful to take part in the celebration of Mass in these conditions, neither to request nor to receive sacraments from the priests of the aforementioned "Society of Saint Pius X", including in private places turned into places of worship, without excluding, in case of obstinacy, also the ferendae sententiae penalties that may apply, according to the ecclesial spirit and that of protection of the faithful.

In the case of the rupture of ecclesiastical communion by the above-mentioned founded motives, in order to be later readmitted to the Catholic Church, a personal path of reconciliation (and eventually of removal of the canonical censure) will be required, according to the discipline advised by the Holy See and the [diocese's] own, established by the diocesan bishop.”

CANONICAL BRIEF

The attitude of the Holy See has always been that lay faithful who receive the sacraments from priests of the SSPX are not excommunicated. Examples are as follows.

In 1991 Bishop Joseph Ferrario of Honolulu declared six lay Catholics excommunicated on grounds of schism for having procured the services of an SSPX bishop to administer confirmation. These appealed to the Holy See which, through Cardinal Ratzinger as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, declared the decree invalid because their action, though considered blameworthy, did not constitute schism.

On 5 September 2005, the Holy See, through the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, affirmed that “the faithful who attend the masses of the aforesaid Fraternity are not excommunicate, and the priests who celebrate them are not, either—the latter are, in fact, suspended.” (Protocol n.55/2005, signed by the then Secretary of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, Mgr Camille Perl).

On 27 September 2002, quoted and reaffirmed on 18 January 2003, the Holy See, through the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, stated that “In the strict sense you may fulfil your Sunday obligation by attending a mass celebrated by a priest of the Society of St. Pius X.” (Letters signed by Mgr Camille Perl).

“To break communion with the Catholic Church”, i.e. excommunication, can only be incurred where there is both an “external violation of a law or precept” and it is “gravely imputable by reason of malice or culpability” (canon 1321) and only if the proper penalty is excommunication.

Excommunication is not the proper penalty for “participating at mass” or “requesting or receiving the Sacraments” from SSPX priests or in SSPX-administered places of worship. Thus:

It is accordingly not correct that excommunication is thereby incurred.

In any event, those under the age of sixteen cannot incur a penalty (canon 1323.1); this would apply to those under this age who received baptism or confirmation.

Even when basing a canonical argument on the assumption that the SSPX has no canonical status in the Church and that its priests are suspended, following ordination without dimissorial letters, it does not follow that to seek the sacraments at their hands is an illegal act on the part of the lay faithful.

To say otherwise also conflicts with the provision in canon law (canon 1335) for the suspension of any prohibition of the celebration of the Sacraments or sacramental, or the exercise of a power of governance, when one of the faithful requests it for “any just reason”.

Furthermore, the notifications appear to challenge the Decree of the Congregation of Bishops dated 21 January 2009 lifting the excommunications of the SSPX bishops and instead seem to wish to re-impose those excommunications, within each diocese, contrary to this decree of a Congregation of the Holy See.

Moreover, it would be incongruous for the legislator to lift the excommunication of the bishops while imposing or maintaining it on the lay faithful to whom they minister.

CONCLUSION

The Federation is thus obliged to question the notifications since they appear to undermine papal legislation and canon law.

** ends **

The International Una Voce Federation is a lay movement, initially founded in Zurich in 1967.

The International Una Voce Federation aims to foster the cultural heritage of the Latin rite of the Roman Catholic Church upon which so much of European culture, music, art, literature and architecture has been built and nourished. Beginning with the retention of the Jewish Temple worship which, under Christian tutelage, developed into plainchant, sacred music became the basis of all later classical and choral music. Similar developments took place in art, architecture, literature and all the arts, in which the Christian tradition built upon the ancient Classical world and upon the Hebrew traditions that it inherited.

The Federation’s principal aims are to ensure that the traditional Roman rite of the Church is maintained in the Church as one of the forms of liturgical celebration, and to safeguard and promote the use of Latin, Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony and all the sacred, artistic, literary and musical traditions of the Roman Church in all their beauty and integrity.

A General Assembly of the Federation is convened every two years in Rome and elections are held for the Council and Presidency.

The Federation is recognized by the Holy See, its views are received with courtesy and respect by the relevant Roman Congregations, and its representatives are received by them in the same manner.

Its first President, Dr Eric Vermehren de Saventhem, was a German anti-Nazi diplomat who, together with his wife, born Countess von Plettenberg, from a well-known anti-Nazi Catholic family, escaped via the Embassy in Istanbul to Britain. Other Presidents have included the author Michael Davies from Britain.

Over the years the Federation has made various successful interventions. It was instrumental in persuading Pope John Paul II in 1986 to convoke a special Commission of Cardinals which resulted in the issue of the decree Ecclesia Dei Adflicta in 1988 and also played a part in persuading Pope Benedict XVI to issue the motu proprio decree Summorum Pontificum in 2007.

Mr James Bogle

The Pastor with the Sheep

Nota Bene: It is a sad state when someone with a computer can take the article below from Rorate and Da Porta and interpret something that is not there and then use it for one's own self-serving satisfaction that does nothing but bring disrepute upon themselves and perpetuate a myth in many Chanceries that "traditional" Catholics are everything from unstable to just plain weird. To label those who wrote the articles below as engaging in "idol worship" is simply repugnant and to state it publicly causing slander to good people simply for reporting on an event and the respect arising from it to a particular Cardinal is nonsensical. Anyone who would interpret the article in such a manner cannot be taken seriously. There will be no link to it here, lest we feed the bear. This kind of behaviour is indicative of the spiritual and emotional state of those who would do such a thing, it says nothing of Catholics who support tradition in the use of the Vetus Ordo or who desire a more solemn celebration of the Novus Ordo. What this kind of public commentary does is to make those who are the enemies of tradition dance with glee and it must be condemned. It says more about the writers of such drivel than it does about anyone else. The sowing of this kind of division displays at the least the puerile hypocrisy and at the worst, a dangerous display of spiritual deformation. It is done by little bloggers with few readers and nationally syndicated bloggers. Let us pray that these brothers and sisters in Christ will seek the spiritual and emotional support necessary to move forward in life, freed from their ills and demons and learn to be productive members of the Catholic community rather than engage in that which they purport to condemn. This division and slander has nothing to do with the movement of those supporting the Traditional Mass and has everything to do with the despair to which those that would promote such scandal, have sunk. Vox.

From our good friends at Rorate Caeli blog originating at Da Porta Sant' Anna 

In the anomalous current trend to avoid clear positions on anything and to play down even the memory of the rituals associated with the Church in favor of dramatic, dialectical, and combative statements about poverty, no one finds the time to go down into the street and give living witness as asked for by the Pope in a loud voice during the Chrism Mass of March 28, 2013.  The words of Pope Frances echo in our hearts:  “…I ask this of you: be pastors who smell of the ‘smell of your sheep’.  May you hear these words!”  To this we say: Would that these words were heard! Would that these pastors were seen!

And we today have seen and heard only Cardinal Burke, a true pastor down among his sheep.

Nota Bene: It is a sad state when someone with a computer can take this article at Rorate and Da Porta and refer to them as "Idol Worshippers" and publicly state it causing slander to good people simply for the respect that is shown to this Cardinal. Anyone who would interpret this in such a manner cannot be taken seriously. This kind of behaviour is indicative of the spiritual and emotional state of those who would do such a thing, it says nothing of Catholics who support tradition in the use of the Vetus Ordo or who desire a more solemn celebration of the Novus Ordo. What this kind of public commentary does is to make those who are the enemies of tradition dance with glee and it must be condemned. The sowing of this kind of division shows at the least hypocrisy and at the worst, a dangerous display of spiritual deformation. It is done by little bloggers with few readers and nationally syndicated bloggers and you know who you are and you have been called out.

Demeaning of Cardinal Burke exposed for what it is

The pitting of one against another by the secularists and Catholic-haters continues. We've seen it continuously since March, how all of a sudden, the Church and its Chief Shepherd have discovered humility. How we're all now like little hippie Franciscans, quick; come give me a hug, let's make a felt banner and hold hands and sing kubaya. 

Remember this, Francis of Assisi was poor on the outside and with his own habit, but not for the Holy Mass and not for the doctrine of the Church. St. Pio had one habit but when he celebrated Mass, he wore a glorious chasuble of silk and gold thread and even a lace alb with his one, old poor habit, underneath. His clothes were poor but he dressed in fine linen, silk and gold because he was going up to the Altar of God to offer the Holy Sacrifice with silver and gold sacred vessels. That was for the LORD, not for him. Does anyone wish to question this Saint's humility or poverty whilst on earth?

Gaze upon this picture my friends, this is humility.

St. Pio of Pietrelcina celebrating the Holy Sacrifice the day before his death

Father Paul Nicholson reports on a scornful attack on Raymond Cardinal Burke and where its roots really lay. 

"I really shouldn't give this author the time of day.  He has done a dreadful thing.  He has taken one of the kindest, gentlest, most approachable "Princes" of the Church and mocked him to scorn.  Really, a new depth has been reached.

There is such a smug tone in this article that you can almost picture the uber-yuppie type, drinking his mocha latte, at an upscale suburban Denver coffee house as he writes his hit piece on Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke."

Raymond Cardinal Burke celebrating the Holy Sacrifice

What is the difference between the two photos? I see the same silk, gold and lace and the same humility.

It is not going to get easier friends. Not one little bit.

But you already know that. 

Who are the Pelagians?

You've clearly labelled the "rad-trads" Father Longenecker; (I won't link to it, lest I literally feed the bear) as have Mssrs. Staples, Coffin and Shea (talk about anger issues), Mr. Self-published theologian wannabee with all the blurbs and some questionable apologist and his "minions" to say nothing of the others assortment of poseurs who are doing the devil's work of name-calling and labeling your fellow Catholics; now, what do you call this abomination? 

P.S. If you've come here courtesy of the generous link from Mr. Shea, welcome and come back again.

Vox

P.P.S.

"Firstly, I would like to be able to choose music when I log on to a website - not have it forced upon me.What exactly would you have the people mentioned in your rather confusing post do about liturgical abuses which took place in 2011 in the Czech Republic?" Victoria.

Well Victoria, the fact that it is in 2011 in Czech is hardly the issue. The issue is abuse. It seems that it has suddenly become de riguer for many Catholic commentators to use the words "rad-trad" and "mad-trad" and "radical traditionalist" as a slur against there fellow Catholics. This has come from little know people and well-known people as mentioned above, even priests. It is wrong. Period, it needs to stop. It is not from the Lord that these slaps and slanders are executed. In fact, it is straight out of Hell. There is nothing the Devil wants more than an end to the traditional liturgy, Latin, Gregorian chant and a permanent divide of the SSPX from Holy Mother Church. Why? Because it all starts with the Mass and its dignity and solemnity and prayer and the examples above are the antithesis of it; oh, and please enjoy the music. As for confusing, it is not I who is confused.  

Vox  

Why We Should Stop Saying "Radical Traditionalist" and "Rad Trad"

Because it is a direct slap-in-the-face to our beloved Benedict XVI!

Do you get it yet; aside from dividing the fabric of Christ, insulting your Catholic brothers and sisters?

Kevin M. Tierney nails it!

"A few weeks ago, Catholic Answers live did a show on “radical traditionalism” that drew the ire of traditionalists across the board, “radical” and otherwise.  The two senior apologists hosting the show took to the Catholic Answers blog to defend their show from the “Radical Traditionalists” and “mad-trad” point of view.  They have also promised that on August 12, they would devote another show to the issue, in the hopes of clarifying any misunderstandings.  If they really want to help with these misunderstandings, the first thing they must do is the thing they will be least inclined to do:  drop the moniker “radical traditionalist” and “radtrad” entirely.  At best the phrase is a relic of a time that is no longer relevant.  At worst, the term is creating animosity and perpetuating a growing sense of tribalism within Catholicism, especially in America."

( ... )

A final reason to drop the moniker is that we tell Pope Benedict XVI his efforts weren’t wasted.  He worked harder than anyone else in his life to reconcile the SSPX and other groups to full communion with the Church, removing every possible barrier, as long as doing so didn’t contradict defined Church teaching.   

Read it all here.

What's the answer, Catholic Answers?

In follow-up to my various comments about those ill-advised Catholics well-known and not so well-known on radio, print media and blogs who have been using slurs against Catholics of a more traditional inclination, I am glad to see this from Christopher A. Ferrara of The Remnant.  I will say it again, those who are using the slur "rad-trad" or "mad-trad" or other such epithets are not doing the work of Christ and the Church but of those who are opposed. As long as they keep beating that snare drum of hate and mockery, it will be met here and challenged. Stop doing it, whether your Coffin or Shea or Staples or the self-published expert who will not be named, lest I give him any hits; you're all barking up the wrong tree. Preach the truth and fight the cause of the Church and stop this uncharitable, spiteful and hateful commentary against your fellow Catholics, particularly those who choose to worship within the Society of St. Pius X; as well of course of us who desire the restoration "of all things in Christ." The fact is that Staples is wrong, liturgy matters, the Reform of the Reform matters, the Traditional Latin Mass matters; Why? Because it is from this that it all flows. We must worship God in truth and beauty and reverence and dignity. It's as if you've allowed yourself to become some of Lenin's "useful idiots" and you are doing the Devil's work without even realising it. Yes, Freemasons in the Church Patrick, are an issue. Read your papal history. Modernism and Neo-Catholics are the same. This is not name-calling but very real words to describe the situation that prevails today. 

"In the midst of the post-conciliar neo-Modernist invasion of the Church, why did an organization that calls itself Catholic Answers devote two hours of expensive radio time on May 31 to a live talk show attacking, not Modernism, but “radical traditionalists”?  Why did the hosts of this show, Tim Staples and Patrick Coffin, dwell on a few Catholic adherents of the Society of Saint Pius X who (allegedly) lost their faith, while ignoring the “silent apostasy” that plagues the entire Western world—and this a half-century after the Council that was supposed to have made the faith more accessible to the masses? Why have Staples and Coffin planned another two hours of traditionalist bashing on August 12?  And why has Catholic Answers devoted not one minute of its live radio show to the grave threat a resurgent Modernism poses to the souls of Catholics, who continue to apostatize by the millions under its influence? The answer to these questions, in a word, is this: neo-Catholicism, a kind of well-mannered second cousin to Modernism. Inveterate Remnant readers will know what I mean by the term, but for newcomers to this controversy a bit of background is in order."

(...)

"Let us strain charity to the limit and allow that Coffin and Staples may have good intentions. Objectively speaking, however they ought to be ashamed of their demagogic grandstanding at the expense of fellow Catholics. Catholic Answers ought to terminate their campaign of calumniating “radical traditionalists” and “Mad-Trads,” who are merely victims of the ecclesial crisis, and direct its attention to the mass apostasy that afflicts the Church today, for which traditionalists bear no responsibility. Catholic Answers should begin that task of reparation with the two-hour show Coffin and Staples plan for August 12."

(...)

Finally, I know that there are people at Catholic Answers who find the antics of Coffin and Staples appalling and dearly wish that apostolate would embrace the cause of Tradition instead of what Michael Matt has called “cool Catholicism.” Our Nicodemus friends at Catholic Answers know that it is only the timeless Faith, and the ancient liturgy of apostolic origin that instantiates it, which can lead souls aright with absolute surety, not the time-bound novelties of the post-conciliar epoch, which were passé from the moment they first appeared. When the neo-Catholic establishment abandons its defense of novelty and joins traditionalists in seeking to recover what has been lost in the reigning diabolical confusion, the day of the Church’s emergence from the post-conciliar crisis will be near at hand. Until then, as Coffin and Staples have demonstrated, neo-Catholicism will remain a major impediment—perhaps the major impediment—to the immense task of restoring our devastated vineyard."

Read the whole essay here.

Stop the name-calling of our Catholic brethren!

The persistent use of "rad-trad" or "mad-trad" or even by a prelate referring to them as those "holy Catholics" flies in the face of what our beloved Benedict tried to do and in the face of "oecumenism."  Those who persist in this are not doing the work of the Lord but are buying into a narrative that is divisive and destructive and is from the Father of Lies. As I wrote previously, there is an incredible amount of hostility to the one-half of one-per-cent of Catholics who attend the traditional liturgy in general and the chapels of the SSPX in particular.  Here, courtesy of Rorate is a statement from the Diocese of Richmond in Virginia where the Society is building their new seminary. The link includes an misinformed statement previously made and corrected; here is the link to Richmond Catholic, where this appears.

Diocesan statement regarding article on the Society of St. Pius X

A recent article in the Catholic Virginian on the Society of St. Pius X and the seminary it is constructing in Buckingham County contained inaccuracies.

The article correctly stated that the society was founded in 1970 by the late French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary is one of several seminaries operated by the society. The society is not in regular communion with the Holy See (or the Bishop of Richmond).

These points need to be clarified:
◾The seminary is currently located in Winona, Minnesota and is relocating to Buckingham County. Mass is not regularly offered at the Buckingham location at present.
◾Our former Holy Father, Benedict XVI, never personally declared that doctrinal differences stand in the way of regularizing the canonical status of the society; nonetheless, the regularization has yet to take place.
◾ The Masses offered by priests of the society are valid. Other Sacraments celebrated in the chapels of the society are considered valid, with the exception of Penance and Matrimony, which are, at best, doubtfully valid.
◾ It is not clear that the society is in schism, and it is not properly called a “sect.” In recent years the Holy See has recognized the society’s expressed desire for regular communion with the Roman Pontiff and the Church he shepherds, and the Holy See’s dialogue with the society since 2009 demonstrates the Church’s commitment to unity.

Several additional points should be made when discussing the Society of St. Pius X:
◾ It is necessary to distinguish between the priests, brothers, and sisters of the society, on the one hand; and the lay faithful who attend Mass at society chapels, on the other hand. The former are clearly in an irregular status. In regard to the lay faithful who attend Mass at society chapels, there has never been a statement by the Holy See that these people are in schism. In fact, the Holy See acts toward them as it does toward all the Catholic lay faithful.
◾ It’s also necessary to distinguish between acts that are invalid and those that are illicit. Acts are illicit when they go against the Church’s law. Still, acts that are canonically illicit may be valid, and, in the case of the society, the ministerial acts of their priests may be illicit and still be considered valid by the Church.
◾ Finally, a comment should be made regarding the Sunday Mass obligation of Catholics. The faithful do not properly fulfill their Sunday Mass obligation in chapels of the society, as the celebration of the Eucharist presupposes not only communion with the Lord, but also communion with the Church He founded, and the hierarchy who govern the Church by Divine mandate.

The Church’s unity is best served when the whole truth is communicated. We regret the errors in the article. Let us pray for restoration of the unity of all Christians in Christ, and that the Society of St. Pius X will be reconciled with ecclesiastical authority.