Is is OK to go to Lefebvrist Mass?

Is it incongruent, sinful or sacrilegious for post-Vatican II Catholics to attend and receive Holy Communion at the Tridentine Latin Mass celebrated by the Society of St Pius X (SSPX), which is not in communion with Rome? Would participation in this qualify as fulfilling Sunday observance? What restriction did Pope Francis waive, only for this year, regarding the sacrament of penance in the SSPX order? Patrick Wood

Pope Francis, like his predecessor Benedict XVI, earnestly desires to recover full communion with the priests and superiors of the Society of St Pius X (SSPX), which is colloquially known as Lefebvrist, after their founder.

In 2009 Pope Benedict declared that the SSPX had no canonical status within the Church. As a conciliatory gesture, he lifted the automatic excommunication that had been incurred by its bishops.

Before that, in 2003 the Ecclesia Dei commission had already declared that Catholics could fulfil their Sunday obligation and would not sin when attending Mass celebrated by a priest of the SSPX. However, it cautioned that it did not recommend attendance at such Masses.

Some confusion was inevitable, so that Catholics were often uncertain whether they could fulfil their obligation at an SSPX Mass or not. It seemed illogical to approve of the obligation Mass for Catholics when the celebrants had no canonical status in the Church.

Rome does not look on the Society of St Pius X as entirely separated from the Catholic Church. Its priests are validly ordained in the Roman Rite. The stumbling block to reunion is the rejection of certain decisions made by Vatican II, such as the Declaration On The Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions.

Because their bishops are not in communion with Rome, they do not share in the authority of Catholic bishops to absolve from sin. The Society’s priests, although they argue otherwise, do not validly and lawfully hear confessions.

In September this year Pope Francis announced that the Jubilee Year of Mercy excludes no one, and he was moved to respond to those who in good faith attend SSPX churches. He announced that during this Holy Year the faithful will validly and lawfully be absolved by priests of the Society.

In doing this he waived the impediment preventing these priests from validly and lawfully absolving from sin.

In his inimitable way, he seems to be applying his authority as the Church’s supreme pastor and governor to make this concession in favour of the faithful. There is speculation that this could be stretched beyond the close of the Year of Mercy.

In a nutshell, the correct place for Catholics to fulfil their Sunday obligation is their parish church where they come together as a local community under their pastor and bishop and in union with the bishop of Rome. Attendance at the Society’s Masses does not match this meaningful source of grace but it does fulfil the obligation.