SSPX welcomes Vatican letter on marriages
April 05, 2017
The Society of St. Pius X, founded by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, welcomed a Vatican letter encouraging the world’s bishops to facilitate the validity of marriages of Catholics who seek to exchange their vows in the Society’s chapels.
For a marriage to be valid, the parties must exchange their consent before a priest or deacon who has been delegated to do so by the bishop. With the approval of Pope Francis, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei strongly encouraged bishops to grant this delegation to a diocesan priest before the celebration of the nuptial Mass, or to the priest of the Society who is celebrating the Mass.
“The Society of Saint Pius X conveys its deep gratitude to the Holy Father for his pastoral solicitude as expressed in the letter from the Ecclesia Dei Commission, for the purpose of alleviating any uncertainty regarding the validity of the sacrament of marriage,” the Society’s general house said in a statement.
“Pope Francis clearly wishes that, as in the matter of confessions, all the faithful who want to marry in the presence of a priest of the Society of Saint Pius X can do so without any worries about the validity of the sacrament,” the statement continued. “It is to be hoped that all the bishops share this same pastoral solicitude.”
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Further information:
- SSPX Statement about Holy See Letter Concerning Marriages
- Vatican rules SSPX priests may officiate at marriages (CWN, 4/4)
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