The Sspx And Catholic Weddings: Valid Or Not?

The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) is a priestly fraternity that was started in France in 1972. Despite numerous attempts at reconciliation, the SSPX still has no canonical status in the Catholic Church. This means that SSPX priests are not authorized by ecclesiastical authorities to minister to the faithful, and therefore their ministry is illegal.

However, this does not necessarily imply that sacraments administered by SSPX clergy are invalid. The bishops who ordained these priests were true bishops, with the power to ordain true priests. This means that SSPX priests possess the power of orders and can administer valid sacraments.

That being said, the celebration of matrimony requires more than just the power of orders. For a Catholic marriage to be valid, it must be celebrated in the presence of two witnesses, as well as the local bishop, the pastor of the parish, or another priest (or deacon) delegated by either of them. SSPX chapels are not parish churches, and SSPX priests are not pastors with jurisdiction to witness marriages. Therefore, if a Catholic marries in a ceremony conducted by an SSPX priest, the marriage is invalid due to a lack of canonical form.

In 2017, Pope Francis approved a way for priests of the SSPX to witness marriages validly. Diocesan bishops or other local ordinaries were authorized to grant SSPX priests the ability to celebrate licitly and validly the marriages of the faithful who follow the Society's pastoral activity. This authorization was given out of a pastoral outlook and was intended to facilitate the process towards full institutional regularization of the SSPX.

SSPX priests are not pastors and so do not have the authority to celebrate weddings

A pastor is a priest who, under the authority of the diocesan bishop, exercises the pastoral care of a parish or parishes. They are bound to preach the Word of God to those living in their parish and to instruct the faithful in the Catholic faith. They are also responsible for ensuring that the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist and the Sacrament of Penance, are available to their people.

Priests of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) are not pastors. They have no canonical status in the Catholic Church and are not authorised by ecclesiastical authorities to minister to the faithful. Therefore, they do not have the authority to celebrate weddings.

According to Canon Law, for a marriage to be valid, it must be celebrated in the presence of two witnesses, as well as the local bishop, the pastor of the parish, or another priest (or deacon) delegated by either of them. The cleric who officiates at a marriage must be either the bishop or the pastor of the parish, or have delegation from one of them. If they do not have this authorisation, the marriage is invalid.

SSPX priests do not fall into this category. They have erected their own churches, but these are not parish churches. These churches are located within the territorial boundaries of an already existing parish and are therefore not canonical parishes. As such, the SSPX priest who maintains such a church is not the pastor of the territorial parish and does not have the authority to celebrate weddings.

Consequently, if a Catholic marries in a ceremony conducted by an SSPX priest, the marriage is invalid due to a lack of canonical form. While the SSPX priest is likely a validly ordained cleric, ordination alone is not sufficient for the validity of a Catholic marriage.

SSPX chapels are not parishes and so cannot host weddings

The SSPX was established as a "pious union" of the Catholic Church, with the permission of the Bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg in Switzerland. However, this status was withdrawn in 1975, and since then, the SSPX has not been recognised as a canonical organisation. Despite this, the SSPX continues to operate and has established chapels and seminaries worldwide.

The SSPX is named after Pope Pius X and retains the Tridentine Mass and pre-Vatican II liturgical books in Latin for its sacraments. It stresses Pope Pius X's anti-Modernist stance and is opposed to the changes in the Catholic Church that followed the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).

While the SSPX has benefited from some allowances from the Holy See in recent years, including the recognition of confessions heard by its priests and the authorisation for local ordinaries to grant delegation to its priests for officially witnessing marriages, it does not have official parish status. Therefore, its chapels cannot host weddings.

The lack of official recognition and parish status means that SSPX chapels cannot fulfil the canonical requirements for a valid Catholic wedding. According to Canon Law, for a Catholic marriage to be valid, it must be celebrated in the presence of the local bishop, the pastor of the parish, or another priest (or deacon) delegated by either of them. As SSPX chapels are not parishes, the priests who maintain them are not pastors and do not have the authority to celebrate weddings.

This means that if a Catholic couple marries in a ceremony conducted by an SSPX priest, the marriage is considered invalid due to a lack of canonical form. While the SSPX priest may be validly ordained, ordination alone is not sufficient for the validity of a Catholic marriage. The officiating priest must also have the proper jurisdiction or delegation.

SSPX priests do not have the faculty to grant absolution in the confessional

For absolution to be valid, a priest must have both the sacramental power to forgive sins, which comes from ordination, and the juridical authority to do so, which comes from the diocesan bishop. SSPX priests have the former but lack the latter.

The Holy See has, however, granted SSPX priests the ability to absolve sins in certain circumstances. In 2015, Pope Francis extended the faculty for SSPX priests to hear confessions during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, which lasted a year. In November 2016, he announced that he had "personally decided to extend this faculty beyond the Jubilee Year, until further provisions are made, lest anyone ever be deprived of the sacramental sign of reconciliation through the Church's pardon".

SSPX priests are not fully regular priests

The SSPX was founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. 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. 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. In late 1970, at age 65, urged by the abbot of Hauterive Abbey 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, Bishop of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg, with a request to set up a religious society. He told them that 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 pia unio (Latin, for "pious, or holy, union") on a provisional (ad experimentum) basis for six years. The SSPX was formally founded, adhering to all canonical norms, and receiving the episcopal blessing and encouragement of the local ordinary.

SSPX priests can be granted permission to celebrate weddings

In 2017, Pope Francis approved a way for priests of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) to witness marriages validly. This was done to reassure the conscience of the faithful, despite the objective persistence of the canonical irregularity in which the SSPX then found itself.

In a letter dated 27 March 2017, the Pope gave diocesan bishops or other local ordinaries the authorization to grant SSPX priests the ability to celebrate licitly and validly the marriages of the faithful who follow the Society's pastoral activity.

The letter, signed by Cardinal Gerhard Müller, indicates that:

> insofar as possible a diocesan or other fully regular priest is to "receive the consent of the parties during the marriage rite, followed, in keeping with the liturgy of the Vetus ordo, by the celebration of Mass, which may be celebrated by a priest of the Society." But where that "is not possible, or if there are no priests in the Diocese able to receive the consent of the parties, the Ordinary may grant the necessary faculties to the priest of the Society who is also to celebrate the Holy Mass."

In other words, SSPX priests can be granted permission to celebrate weddings.

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