Ch. IX Jurisdiction, Schism, Excommunication! p 97-105

CHAPTER IX

JURISDICTION, SCHISM, EXCOMMUNICATION![83]

“Lex positiva non obligat cum gravi incommodo”

(No positive law obliges where there is grave inconvenience.)

“Salus animarum suprema lex”

(The supreme law is the salvation of souls.)

“We ought to obey God rather than men”

(St. Peter: Acts 5:29)

“The letter killeth, but the spirit quickeneth”

(St. Paul: II Cor. 3:6 - follow the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law)

The Hierarchy of Laws:

Laws are established by God and by men, to achieve some good, such as Salvation of our souls, protection of life and liberty or the avoidance of harm, for example to souls, bodies, property, etc. Sometimes a conflict arises between one Law and another Law or between the “spirit of the law” and “the letter of the law”.

Whenever a conflict arises between “the spirit of a law” (the reason the law was established) and “the letter of a law” (what it actually says), then the spirit of the law must be obeyed and the letter of the law must be ignored.

Whenever a conflict arises between a higher law and a lower law, the higher law is to be obeyed and the lower law ignored.

Some Examples:

1. It is a good law that one should not drive through a red light. The purpose of this law is to keep cars from hitting each other at intersections. The “spirit of this Law” is to avoid possible harm to life and property. One should therefore respect this law and not go through a red light, even when it would be “safe” to do so because there is no cross traffic.

If however a situation arises where it is necessary to go through a red light (the letter of the Law) in order to avoid possible harm to life or property (the spirit of the Law) then the lesser of evils is to go through the red light. For example to avoid a drunk driver or to get someone in grave danger of death, to the hospital as quickly as possible.

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2. The Laws of God are Supreme Laws, there is no Law that may be obeyed, that contradicts a Law of God. One of the Ten Commandments is “Thou Shalt Not Kill”. The cases of the death penalty and war may perhaps be considered in another Chapter. Let us for now consider only innocent life. We can all agree with certainty that Thou Shalt Not Kill innocent life. The State, however has given permission to kill unborn children (innocent life). Therefore while abortion may be legal in the State, it is still against the Law of God and therefore a Mortal Sin.

Do Traditional Priests have Jurisdiction?

Almighty God has given Authority to St. Peter and his successors, the Authority (Jurisdiction) to represent Him and to teach “all Nations”. The Church in turn gives Her Bishops and Archbishops, Authority (Jurisdiction) over specific territories within each Nation. The Bishops and Archbishops then gives parish Priests Authority (Jurisdiction) to exercise their Priestly powers within the Parish and perhaps other areas under his Jurisdiction.

It is Church Law that a Priest may not hear Confessions, Offer Mass, Witness Marriages, etc. without permission (Jurisdiction) from the local Bishop. The Spirit of this Law is to insure the right of the Faithful to have valid and good Catholic Priests. The Law protects us from imposters. The faithful rely on the Bishop and the Church to check out all the Priests that they have access to, to make sure they are “OK”. This is an excellent Law, since for validity a Sacrament must not only have the proper Matter and Form but also the proper Minister and Intention.

The Church in Her Wisdom, realizes that sometimes a Law cannot cover all situations (for example during a Crises, danger of death, extreme inconvenience). She has therefore made other Laws, that allow a Priest without ordinary Jurisdiction (from the local Bishop), to administer The Sacraments, under certain situations, for the good of the Faithful. In these cases “The Church” supplies Jurisdiction. This Jurisdiction is called “Supplied Jurisdiction”.

For example, a Priest outside his normal Diocese may hear the Confession and give the last Sacraments to a victim in a traffic accident, without getting permission from the local Bishop because he then has Supplied Jurisdiction from The Church.

In the present Crises in The Church, priests with Ordinary Jurisdiction either will not or are not given permission from the local Bishop to offer the Faithful the Traditional (unquestionably valid) Mass and Sacraments without, at least accepting the current “Protestantized” versions.

Traditional Priest therefore have Supplied Jurisdiction because:

1. Canon 682:

The salvation of Souls is The Supreme Law laid down by Our Lord. This presumes two facts: (a) each man must save his soul, and consequently (b) each man has a right to receive the means

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of salvation. This right is stated in Canon Law: “The laity has the right to receive from the clergy the spiritual goods and especially the necessary means of salvation”(Can. 682).^[84]

Therefore because of our need for Salvation and right to valid Sacraments The Church supplies Jurisdiction to Traditional Priests since the local Bishop refuses to supply ordinary Jurisdiction.

2. Canon 1098 (1917 Code), Canon 1116 (1983 Code):

Allows Traditional Priests to be witnesses at Marriages because we “cannot go to the parish priest, without great inconvenience” (acceptance of the new “Mass”) and this state of affairs will “last more than a month”.

3. Canon 880 (1917 Code):

Allows Traditional Priest to hear Confessions. “The local Ordinary shall not recall or suspend the jurisdiction or permission for hearing confessions without grave cause.” “The bishop is not allowed, without consulting the Holy See, to deprive all confessors, of a religious house, of jurisdiction simultaneously”. “In danger of death, all priests even if not approved for confessions, can validly and licitly absolve any penitent from any sins and censures, although reserved and notorious - even if an approved priest is present.”

4. Canon 2254 (1917 Code):

In certain serious cases, where one would normally be obliged to have recourse to the Pope, this Canon goes so far as granting the confessor the necessary powers to avoid this when it would be difficult or hard for the penitent to remain in a state of Mortal Sin if it be only for 24 hours.

5. Canon 2261 (1917 Code):

“The faithful may for any just reason, ask for the Sacraments or the Sacramentals from an excommunicated person, especially if there is no other minister (priest) available. The excommunicated person may administer to them without any obligation to inquire into the reason for the request.”

The priests of the SSPX are not excommunicated! Yet, even if they were, the faithful could still come to them.

6. Canon 892 (1917 Code):

“In case of urgent necessity, all confessors are bound by the obligation of Christian charity, to hear the confessions of the faithful. And in danger of death, all priests have the same obligation.”

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7. Canon 20 (1917 Code), Canon 19 (1983 Code):^[85]

This Law states that if there is no express law concerning a special situation, the rule must be taken from:

(1) Laws Promulgated for similar circumstances. The similar circumstances are those in which the Church supplies Jurisdiction on account of the grave danger to souls. They are cases of:

• common error concerning a priest’s jurisdiction: Old Code (OC) Canon 209, New Code (NC) Canon 144.

• positive and probable doubt: OC 209, NC 144. This can be concerning jurisdiction or common error or danger of death.

• non-cognizance of the fact that jurisdiction has expired: OC 207.

• danger of death: OC 882 and 2252, NC 976 and 1357. Those who cannot find a suitable confessor for a long period of time and who are consequently in danger of spiritual death must be assimilated to those in danger of death, according to the principle of Canonical Equity.

(2) The General Principles of Canon Law, which inspire the particular laws. The two principal ones are:

• the salvation of souls is the highest law (NC 1752).

• the sacraments are on account of men.

(3) Canonical Equity. It is indeed the mind of The Church to be generous in the granting of jurisdiction and not over-strict. This is apparent from the following two canons:

• OC 2261, NC 1335. The Church suspends its prohibition for an excommunicated or suspended priest celebrating the Sacraments or posing act requiring jurisdiction, provided it be in favor of the faithful who request it for any reasonable cause at all, and especially if there is no other minister.

• OC 878, NC 970. Ordinaries and superiors are not to restrict jurisdiction. If the priest is suitable and the good of the faithful requires his services this jurisdiction cannot be refused to him. Clearly traditional priests should in justice receive personal jurisdiction and that everywhere.

In the present crises, since the local Bishops refuse to provide Ordinary Jurisdiction, The Church provides Supplied Jurisdiction to Traditional Priests because of the obligation of the faithful to save their souls and therefore their Right to unquestionably valid Masses and Sacraments. In other words, our need supplies Jurisdiction to our Priests.

“The Spirit” of all Church Laws is to save souls. If the obedience to the “Letter of the Law” goes against “the Spirit of The Law” then the obligation is to obey the Spirit of the Law and disobey the Letter of the Law.

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Are Traditional Priests is Schism?

First let’s define some terms:

A Heretic is a Catholic who may accept some of the Doctrines of Christ but not all of them.

A Schismatic is a Catholic who denies the supremacy of the Pope.

An Apostate is a Catholic who renounces their Religion.

The priests of The Society of St. Pius X and many other Traditional Priests and the faithful that they serve are definitely not Schismatic because they (we) do not deny the supremacy of the Pope. To be disobedient, is not being Schismatic. We acknowledge the Authority of the Pope and other Church Leaders but no one must be obeyed that tells us to commit a sin. When they tell us to act, pray and believe like Protestants, then they speak for themselves and not for The Church. A Catholic cannot be obedient to the consistent teaching of The Church without being disobedient to Church leaders that tell us to now reject previous teaching! Fidelity is not Schism!

Sedevacantists do not reject the principle of Papal Supremacy, they reject the Supremacy of the last several Popes. They claim the Chair of Peter is vacant. Among men, only another Pope can judge a Pope. It is beyond any of our competence to judge a Pope. A future Pope may do this, but not us. Of course the Sedevacantists claim to be able to “Judge” John-Paul II because he is not really Pope. Who knows? Theologians are divided over these points. We don’t need to worry about it. Just be Catholic and hang on to the Traditional Mass and Sacraments. God will give us what we need. Someday we’ll get a good Pope. I think more people will be attracted back to The Traditional Mass and Sacraments and thereby save their souls if, for now at least, we don’t make a big deal over whether the Pope is Pope or not. The Supreme Law is the Salvation of Souls.

Are Traditional Priests Excommunicated?

The Chinese Communists insisted on selecting all candidates to be consecrated a Bishop in their Country, in order to infiltrate The Church. To insure that the faithful’s right to have only good Bishops (the Spirit of the Law), Pope Pius XII Decreed that all candidates to be raised to the level of Bishop, must be approved by The Pope (the Letter of the Law). He further said that anyone who consecrated a Bishop or who was consecrated a Bishop without Papal permission, would suffer an automatic Excommunication (the penalty). This is a very good Law.

Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre begged the Pope for permission to Consecrate Bishops for Tradition. This was promised but always for some unspecified date in the future. The liberals in control were obviously waiting for the Archbishop to die. Realizing this, the Archbishop knew he had an obligation to provide good Traditional Bishops for The Church and for the faithful who had a Right to them because of their obligation to save their souls (the Spirit of the Law). Since the Pope refused this permission (the Letter of the Law) the Archbishop Consecrated four

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Bishops anyway. Since the Spirit of the Law is always higher than the Letter of the Law, there is no penalty. There is no excommunication.

Even the Vatican agrees that The Society of St. Pius X priests have Supplied Jurisdiction, are not Schismatic, not excommunicated and that the faithful can fulfill their Sunday obligation by attending the Masses offered by SSPX.

[83] For more detailed information see “The Episcopal Consecrations of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre Schism or Not?” by Rev. Fr. Francois Pivert; “Supplied Jurisdiction and Traditional Priests” The Angelus, February 1993; “Most Asked Questions about the Society of St. Pius X” by the Fathers of Holy Cross Seminary.

^[84]. See “Schism or Not?”, page 8, by Rev.Fr. Francois Pivert.

^[85]. “Supplied Jurisdiction and Traditional Priests” by Bishop Tissier de Mallerais.

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