The SSPX Goes to Rome

As part of the Jubilee Year, the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) organized a pilgrimage to Rome to participate in the occasion. Upward of 8,000 people took part, consisting of roughly 800 priests and religious, with the rest being lay faithful. Interestingly, the SSPX pilgrimage was included on the official Vatican website, which published the schedule of various events; however, that web page was taken down after the news of its mention of official SSPX events in Rome went a bit viral. We have no hard evidence that the administrators of the site did so because of pressure to “memory hole” the seeming Vatican hat-tip to the SSPX; however, we do have our suspicions.

In any event, the SSPX recorded and photographed much of their activity in Rome, and the images are astounding. A veritable army of priests clad in cassocks and nuns in traditional habits could be seen processing with the bishops of the Society, followed by thousands of Catholics. This is not something one sees very often in Rome these days, and the images seem like something from a different time in history. Of course, many millions of Catholics still go to Rome for religious purposes, but if we compare the optics of a “mainstream” pilgrimage with the traditional version, there is a notable contrast. 

It should also be noted that the various groups of SSPX pilgrims did have the pleasure of hearing Mass in official Roman churches celebrated by Society priests, which is a notable piece of data for those who consider Lefebvre’s spiritual sons to be outside the Church. Now, this is not the first time Society priests have celebrated Mass in Roman churches, as it actually happens relatively frequently; I myself had the pleasure of hearing Mass from such a priest in a side chapel at St. Mary Major last fall. What is striking, however, is that the international Catholic mediasphere has had to deal with the inclusion of the SSPX in the Jubilee. And, I must say, the general spirit of the Catholic commentariat has been positive.

I have been speaking and writing about the Society, including my affiliation and support thereof, for a few years; and I have noticed a relative shift in public support for the society of priests, especially in the wake of the late Pope Francis’ crackdown on the Traditional Mass. Nonetheless, there is still a vocal minority of naysayers who seem to have something like Trump Derangement Syndrome, although we might call it Lefebvre Derangement Syndrome: whenever the SSPX is presented in a positive light, those afflicted by this condition cannot help but utter in a Tourette’s-like fashion, “Schism,” “Full-Communion,” “Sunday Obligation,” and so on. 

That said, I do think the recent demonstration of fealty to Rome should demonstrate the true spirit of the Society to those who have questions or disagreements with some of the theological positions held by them. Certainly, disagreements about how to, for example, approach the New Mass or questions of Canon Law should be discussed by persons of goodwill. But if full agreement on every theological issue is required for “full communion” with fellow Catholics, then we are in no better position than the Orthodox, who sometimes resort to schism over issues like how the calendar is formulated. In addition, when we speak of communion with fellow Catholics, we are, at root, speaking about a union of charity; and if disagreement makes that union impossible, then can a man ever have true unity with his wife? She surely doesn’t agree with him on everything.

Simply put, true schismatics don’t do what the SSPX did in Rome. Schismatics do not spend months and years planning massive pilgrimages to Rome that correspond to an important event in the life of the Church, overseen by the Holy See. Schismatics don’t process into the Heart of the Church, singing hymns and praying for the reigning Roman Pontiff. Schismatics stay away from Rome; schismatics do not pray for the pope, especially in the liturgy; schismatics do not congregate in a spiritual sense with those they believe are outside the Church.

I think sometimes we forget that for one to truly be a schismatic, he must be guilty of the sin of schism. Yes, schism is a canonical crime; but like all crimes laid out in any code of law—ecclesial or civil—one must be guilty of the crime in order to be truly culpable. We all know, for example, that someone could be sent to jail for a crime he did not commit, and in that case, the man would not be guilty in the moral sense, even if he were wrongly convicted. A man is not a murderer because others call him a murderer, or even because a judge rules that he is a murderer; he must be a murderer to be guilty of murder.

If the Society is truly a schismatic organization, they have a funny way of showing their lack of charity for the pope and the Church as a whole. What a strange thing it would be to be void of charity in the soul for the pope and the Church and yet to spend large sums of money, brave the hot Roman sun, and prostrate oneself at the footsteps of the Holy See while imploring God’s blessings and mercy for the Church and the world. If we consider the priests and faithful of the Society to be schismatics, we must somehow assume they operate with split personalities, like an ecclesial Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: in the daylight, they flock to Rome to pray for the pope; but during the night, they curse the Holy Father and consider themselves to be the true Church. This is a psychological absurdity.

Again, it is understandable that some will have disagreements with various positions held or espoused by priests and spokesmen for the Society, but disagreement does not constitute a schism. If anything, the recent demonstration of Catholic fidelity in Rome by the SSPX may be one of the most Catholic things to have happened in Rome in decades.

[Image Credit: SSPX (www.sspx.org)]