The Holy Seeʼs declaration this month that formally recognizes the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) to be in a state of schism has prompted numerous questions among the faithful. One of the most frequently asked questions is why the Catholic Church recognizes the validity of marriages performed in Orthodox churches while marriages now performed by priests of the society are considered invalid.
Father Davide Cito, professor of canon law at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, emphasized that the answer has to do with profoundly different juridical and ecclesial realities.
As he explained to ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, although the Orthodox churches are not in full communion with Rome, they are not currently in a state of formal schism comparable to that of the Society of St. Pius X.
“These are two different situations. The Orthodox are not in full communion with the Catholic Church, but they are not excommunicated. In contrast, the fraternity has committed a formal act of breaking ecclesial communion,” he explained.
The canon lawyer noted that, prior to the recent declaration of schism, the situation of the SSPX was different. Although there were serious doctrinal and disciplinary tensions with Rome, it was not juridically in its current situation.
“The society could perform valid marriages because it was not in a state of formal schism,” he noted.
In fact, during the pontificate of Pope Francis, the society’s priests received faculties to validly hear confessions and, under certain circumstances, to witness marriages with the authorization of the competent ecclesiastical authority.
However, following the formal declaration of schism, the Vatican has made it clear that those faculties can no longer be exercised.
Specifically, sources in the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) emphasized to ACI Prensa “the invalidity of those two sacraments” (referring to confession and marriage), which Pope Francis had previously granted them permission to administer in 2019 as a gesture of pastoral outreach.
The DDF source went on to confirm that the dicastery’s July 2 explanatory note on the matter “was published with the pope’s approval. The pontiff himself formally warned that this would happen if they ordained bishops in the letter he sent to [SSPX Superior General Father Davide] Pagliarani just hours before the episcopal ordinations took place without a papal mandate. There is no doubt whatsoever regarding his will. That is the decision of the Holy See.”
The DDF, led by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, also clarified that, in declaring the schism, it did not get into considering the SSPXʼs past situation following the lifting of the excommunications by Benedict XVI in 2009 and the concessions subsequently made by Francis. Instead, it focused “on the fact that the new ordinations — a schismatic act — have undoubtedly created a situation of excommunication and schism, and that what they were clearly warned about is now being applied.”
Regarding this point, Cito explained that “a schismatic cannot validly hear confessions or validly witness a marriage, because since the Council of Trent, these sacraments require a canonical faculty or authorization.”
Why are Orthodox sacraments recognized?
Relations between Catholics and the Orthodox underwent a decisive shift during the Second Vatican Council and the pontificate of St. Paul VI. In December 1965, Pope Paul VI and Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I signed a joint declaration lifting the mutual excommunications pronounced in 1054, events traditionally regarded as the beginning of the Great Schism between East and West.
Although that gesture did not restore full communion, it put an end to centuries of mutual condemnations and excommunications and opened a new chapter of ecumenical dialogue.
“We are in communion, though not in full communion,” Cito summarized. “That is why there are areas where it is possible to share sacramental life, something unthinkable in a situation of formal rupture caused by a schism, such as the situation of the fraternity,” he observed.
The Catholic Church recognizes the validity of Orthodox sacraments because it maintains that the Eastern churches have preserved apostolic succession and a valid priesthood. For this reason, Cito explained, there is the possibility of a certain “communicatio in sacris” — participation in certain sacraments among the faithful of different churches as provided for by canon law.
“Canon 844 allows Catholics and Orthodox, in certain cases, to receive some sacraments from one another. I myself have seen this in pastoral practice. This is possible because there is authentic sacramental communion, even if it is not full,” he stated.
The expert pointed out that the situation is very different for those affected by excommunication or who knowingly participate in a schismatic group.
Excommunication is a canonical penalty that prohibits the administration and reception of certain sacraments. Schism, on the other hand, entails the rejection of communion with the Church and the authority of the Roman pontiff — in other words, a formal separation from the Catholic Church.
In the case of the Society of St. Pius X, the Holy See considers that there is now a formal rupture of that communion, which entails juridical and sacramental consequences.
“When someone rejects an ecumenical council or denies essential elements of communion with the pope and the college of bishops, the situation becomes very complex from a canonical standpoint,” Cito said.
The professor pointed out that some traditionalist communities that emerged from the SSPX, such as the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), have remained in full communion with Rome and continue to celebrate the traditional liturgy without any difficulty.
“The problem has never been simply the liturgy. The issue touches upon fundamental doctrinal aspects related to the Second Vatican Council and ecclesial communion,” he stated.
How those who leave the SSPX might return to Catholic unity
New regulations issued by the Holy See establish that the faithful and priests who decide to leave the SSPX and return to full communion with the Church will no longer depend on a specific structure like the Ecclesia Dei Commission, created by St. John Paul II in 1988.
Going forward, they may turn directly to diocesan bishops or to the heads of traditionalist institutes that are fully integrated into the Church. The new protocol from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith aims to facilitate this return.
“The procedures for doing so are very simple because, ultimately, these are people who want to be Catholic and desire to be in communion with the Church,” Cito added.
The Vatican document warns that those wishing to fully rejoin the Catholic Church may not continue to regularly attend activities of an institution now considered schismatic.
“The explanatory note from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, attached to the decree of excommunication, is very clear on this point: The sacred ministers administer the sacraments illicitly and, regarding penance and matrimony, also invalidly. Therefore, dioceses and their pastors are urged to be vigilant and to exhort the faithful to remain steadfast in ecclesial communion and not to participate in celebrations or activities promoted by the SSPX,” noted Father Pierpaolo dal Corso, who teaches at the St. Pius X department of penal canon law in Venice, Italy.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
