(LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Gerhard Müller has contradicted Cardinal Víctor Fernández on the canonical status of sacraments administered by the SSPX, saying that they are “valid, but not allowed.”
In an interview with K-TV published on July 6, Müller was asked if marriages and confessions done by priests of the Society of St. Pius X were valid.
“The confessions are valid, but illicit,” Müller stated. “The authority to forgive or retain sins is conferred through the sacrament of Holy Orders. Its exercise can only be restricted by the bishop or the Pope, as provided by canon law.”
His remarks appear to contradict the explanatory note issued by Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF). In this DDF note, Fernández writes: “Finally, the holy People of God are hereby warned that the sacred ministers of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X administer the sacraments unlawfully, and that the sacrament of penance administered by them and the marriages they officiate are invalid.”
While Müller clearly advised against receiving the sacraments from SSPX priests, he nevertheless argued that they are valid. The DDF’s blanket statement that the Sacrament of Penance administered by SSPX priests is always invalid appears to stand in contrast to timeless Catholic discipline, given that the Church has always allowed even excommunicated priests to administer the sacraments in emergency situations, like the danger of imminent death of the recipient.
The Church has always prioritized the salvation of souls above strict observance of penalties in emergency situations. Canon 976 of the Code of Canon Law states: “Even though a priest lacks the faculty to hear confessions, he absolves validly and licitly any penitents whatsoever in danger of death from any censures and sins, even if an approved priest is present.”
Canon 1335 § 2 confirms this principle: “If a censure prohibits the celebration of the sacraments or sacramentals or the performing of acts of the power of governance, the prohibition is suspended whenever this is necessary to provide for the faithful who are in danger of death.”
Müller told LifeSiteNews, “The note from the dicastery, which appears only in the explanatory notes, is unclear.”
“The authority to forgive sins is conferred by Christ Himself in the sacrament of Holy Orders, not by the Pope through his primacy of jurisdiction, for Orthodox priests also validly grant absolution.”
“The Pope can only prohibit the exercise of this authority and reserve certain sins for his own absolution, such as, for example, the sin against the unity of the Church committed through an unauthorized episcopal consecration,” the former prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith said.
Even though Müller said the sacraments administered by the SSPX are valid, he stressed that they are still “unallowed.”
“Believers should stay away from such a community that is in open conflict or whose leader … is in open conflict and disobedience toward the Pope,” he stated, adding that the faithful should “simply celebrate Holy Mass where the bishops and priests are in full communion with the Pope.”
Regarding the question of marriages witnessed by SSPX clergy, Müller said: “When it comes to marriage, it’s a little more complicated, because marriage is, after all, contracted before God through the consent of the spouses.”
“But the Church, for very good reasons, has also established the external form, but a dispensation from the formal requirement can be granted under certain circumstances,” he explained.
“People in China who want to get married, but who can’t reach a priest without going to prison: of course they can, according to their conscience before God, enter into the indissoluble marriage, and it’s valid.”
“But in this particular case [of the SSPX], I would advise against having the marriage celebrated by a priest who is not in full communion with the Church, because the priest is, after all, the witness who represents the Church,” he concluded.