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| Society of St Pius X - May 2009 - Ordination Mass |
Letter from a reader:
Good Day Mark,
Please could you assist me in answering the following.
I would just like to know what is the Church’s official position on
the Society of Saint Pius X and are the sacraments (in particular that of holy
Eucharist) celebrated by the Society valid?
On a similar issue, could you please advise what the position of the
bishops of Southern Africa are with regards to the Tridentine Mass and the
Vatican Instruction of Summorum Pontificum. Based on this, would it be possible
to advise where one could find parishes in the country that perform the
Extraordinary form of the Mass?
Your assistance will be greatly appreciated.
To answer your questions.
1. In respect of the Society of St Pius X
and the sacraments I would refer you to the letter by Pope Benedict XVI, dated
10 March 2009, and specifically to Pope Benedict XVI's words: “As long as the Society does not have a
canonical status in the Church, its ministers do not exercise legitimate
ministries in the Church.”
A little later, in the same paragraph, Pope
Benedict XVI again emphasises this point when he writes: “In order to make this clear once again: until the doctrinal questions
are clarified, the Society has no canonical status in the Church, and its
ministers – even though they have been freed of the ecclesiastical penalty – do
not legitimately exercise any ministry in the Church.” (This is the link to
the entire letter from Pope Benedict XVI to the Bishops of the Catholic Church.)
To my knowledge, there has been no change to this status as of today's date. In fact, Catholic Culture reported, in December 2011, that the Society of St Pius X had failed to accept the Doctrinal Preamble that the Holy See had presented to them. The Holy See has made it clear that the group would need to accept the essence of the Doctrinal Preamble if the group's canonical status is to be changed.
To my knowledge, there has been no change to this status as of today's date. In fact, Catholic Culture reported, in December 2011, that the Society of St Pius X had failed to accept the Doctrinal Preamble that the Holy See had presented to them. The Holy See has made it clear that the group would need to accept the essence of the Doctrinal Preamble if the group's canonical status is to be changed.
2. I am not able to offer any comment
regarding the position of the South African bishops with regards to the Tridentine
Mass and Summorum Pontificum. This is because I honestly have absolutely no
idea whatsoever. What I have done however is include the link to the website of
the South African Catholic Bishops Conference and also their email address - communication@sacbc.org.za - so
you can contact them directly in this regard.
3. I am aware of the Tridentine Mass being
celebrated at the Johannesburg Cathedral of Christ the King. Other parishes may
also do so. Here is a link to the Mass Times Schedule of the Cathedral of Christ the King, which includes details
of when the Tridentine Mass is celebrated.
Want a copy of the Roman Missal - Summorum Pontificum Edition
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| Link to Kalahari (Not Available) or Link to Amazon |
