+25th Sunday after Pentecost+
Introduction
Readers are still unsure they can obtain certainty regarding the invalidity of Traditionalist orders received following the death of Pope Pius XII. By borrowing proofs from various site articles, I have once again tried to summarize what I think will help dispel the confusion created by Traditionalist “theologians” on this topic. These men make it appear that orders are superior to jurisdiction, when in fact the two are inseparable; BOTH are now required for validity. As one reader, M.L., commented:
“I’ve been reflecting on the subtle but crucial distinction between Traditionalists and true Catholics. It seems that while some Trads acknowledge the concept of validity versus liceity, their approach often stops at legality, missing the true spirit of faithfulness. They have become adept at navigating the technicalities of validity BUT SEEM TO LACK THE DEEPER SUBMISSION TO DIVINE LAW THAT TRANSCENDS MERE RUBRICS. Many simply echo their predecessors in a way that places the appearance of sanctity above its essence. These clerics, in their outward mastery of tradition, even Latin, create an enticing façade but in reality wield influence over the faithful more as a spectacle than as true shepherds.
“This has led me to conclude that genuine holiness now requires a prudent separation from such influences, lest we too fall into their error. God’s faithful remnant must remain vigilant, preserving their distance so as to avoid contracting the same spiritual malaise. Yet, we should never cease to share the truth in charity; some, by the grace of God, may yet receive it. And so, we walk the fine line of standing apart from this corruption while remaining a light for those still capable of seeking God sincerely.”
Amen to that. And please forgive me if I sometimes underestimate the damage that years of indoctrination by Trad pseudo-clergy has truly wrought and appear to have little sympathy for readers “not quite there yet.” The urgency of abandoning error sometimes overrides the patience required in the workings of grace. We begin below by addressing the means used for decades to deceive Catholics regarding the core issues of invalidity and liceity.
Tools of deception
First, we begin with the over-emphasis on Orders versus jurisdiction, when both are necessary to Apostolic succession; of the need of Mass and Sacraments as opposed to the dogma that that a true pope must be canonically elected. This shift of emphasis was a tool used by the Modernists even before Pius XII’s death. It is described in an article by Rev. Albert F. Kaiser, in The American Ecclesiastical Review, December-January, 1953-54 (“The Historical Backgrounds and Theology of Mediator Dei”) as “heretical exclusivism,” the minimizing and edging out of one dogma by emphasizing another. Orders was falsely portrayed as the all-important “gold key” in the keys of orders and Divinely instituted jurisdiction, sidestepping that of the Supreme Pontiff. The necessity of the Mass and Sacraments (the Anglican chant that “It is the Mass that matters,”) was stressed outside the papal direction required to assure the faithful that only valid and licit clergy would celebrate it. Traditionalists insisted that the Mass and Sacraments were the primary, almost exclusive means of grace, discounting prayer and good works.
Canon 196 reads: “The Catholic Church possesses by divine institution the power of jurisdiction or government. This power is twofold: that of the external forum and that of the internal forum.” Traditionalists NEVER explained to their followers that to become a true successor of the Apostles, one must possess both Orders AND jurisdiction, which they brazenly tried to explain away by invoking the non-applicable, meta-juristic principle of epikeia (see HERE). Nor did they explain it is a dogma that the faithful are bound to follow only lawful pastors, possessing jurisdiction (DZ 967, 968). The pseudo-priest Anthony Cekada wrote in 2003:
“Now, if a person has seriously and duly used the proper matter and form for performing or administering a sacrament, he is by that very fact presumed to have intended to do what the Church does.” (Pope Leo XIII, Apostolicae Curae, 13 September 1896; on Anglican orders.) The theologian Bernard Leeming S.J. cites this teaching as a confirmation of previous theologians who “all agreed that the outward, decorous performance of the rites sets up a presumption that the right intention exists…. The minister of a sacrament is presumed to intend what the rite means… This principle is affirmed as certain theological doctrine, taught by the Church, to deny which would be at least theologically rash.” (Principles of Sacramental Theology, Westminster MD: Newman 1956; pgs. 476, 482.)
Cekada, however, neglects to include a crucial quote from Leeming, who further notes: “In the case of bishops or priests who fall into heresy, the presumption stands that they intend to do what Christ wills unless the nature of their heresy gives ground to suspect that they are so convinced that Christ does not will a particular effect of Sacraments that they absolutely exclude this from their intention.” The effect of the Sacrament of Orders they deny is obedience to a canonically elected Roman Pontiff as head bishop to rule them, clearly stated in the rite of episcopal consecration — a necessary means of salvation for all the faithful.
Some might say, “Well the Orthodox held this intention and they are still considered valid.” Yes, but the Orthodox are not presenting as the true Catholic Church of all time; they present as exactly what they are -— a schismatic sect, recognized as such for centuries. LibTrads are actually attempting to alter the very nature of the Church’s Divine constitution and convince those believing themselves to be Catholic that the Church can exist and function without a canonically elected pope, which is a heresy (DZ 570c, 570d, 653, 674, 675). Cekada’s cherry-picked observations also presume the performance of many prerequisites necessary for both liceity and validity, primarily intention. This is contrary to the teaching and practice of the Church, as summarized below.
Church teaching on validity of Orders
The Catholic Encyclopedia on Anglican orders
“When persons or classes of persons who wish to minister at the Church’s altars have undergone ceremonies of ordination outside its fold, the Holy See is chary of doctrinal decisions but applies a common-sense rule that can give practical security. Where it judges that the previous orders were certainly valid it permits their use, SUPPOSING THE CANDIDATE TO BE ACCEPTABLE; where it judges the previous orders to be certainly invalid it disregards them altogether, and enjoins a re-ordination according to its own rite; where it judges that the validity of the previous orders is doubtful, EVEN THOUGH THE DOUBT BE SLIGHT, it forbids their use until a conditional ceremony of re-ordination has first been undergone.” Conditional ordination and re-ordination are necessary to obtain the required jurisdiction. And this only if the Church determines the candidate is fit.
One must first be properly called, investigated, qualified and validly tonsured by a bishop possessing an office — who is in communion with the Roman Pontiff — to be undoubtedly validly ordained a priest. For one must be a certainly valid priest to become a bishop, as St. Thomas Aquinas teaches. As seen above, even slight doubt forbids any use of purported orders. Determination of validity, hence the right and ability to receive jurisdiction, rests with the pope.
Pope Paul IV’s Cum ex Apostolatus Officio
This 1559 bull sets the stage for disqualification from offices and promotions. “All and sundry BISHOPS, Archbishops, Patriarchs, Primates, Cardinals, Legates… inciting or committing schism or who, in the future, shall stray or fall into heresy… being less excusable than others in such matters… are also automatically and without any recourse to law or action, completely and entirely, forever deprived of, and furthermore disqualified from and incapacitated for their rank… (para. 3). “Further, if ever at any time it becomes CLEAR that any BISHOP…[etc.]; or likewise any Roman Pontiff, before his promotion or elevation as a Cardinal or Roman Pontiff, (has strayed from the Catholic Faith, fallen into some heresy, or has incurred schism), then his promotion or elevation shall be null, invalid and void… The persons themselves so promoted and elevated shall, ipso facto and WITHOUT NEED FOR ANY FURTHER DECLARATION, be deprived of any dignity, position, honor, title, AUTHORITY, OFFICE AND POWER…” Because there is doubt and confusion regarding this matter, under Can. 6 §4 this law is now the prevailing law. Cum ex… is retained in numerous places as a footnote throughout the Code.
This may be confusing to some, so we will attempt to explain it. The important point here is that only Marcel Lefebvre and Pierre Martin Ngo Dinh Thuc, also a few others ordaining or consecrating post-1958, were validly consecrated bishops under Pope Pius XII, (although Lefebvre ‘s consecration is doubtfully valid). Cum ex… must not be applied to those calling themselves bishops today who were ordained and/or consecrated by these pre-1958 consecrated bishops. Cum ex… states in paragraph 3 of the bull that any bishop inciting or committing schism and/or falling into heresy loses forever his office as bishop. Can. 188 §4, with paragraphs 3 and 6 of Cum ex… annotated, is listed as one of this canon’s sources, (Peter Card. Gasparri’s 1917 Code in Latin with the Fontes, 1957).
The canon reads: “All offices shall be vacant ipso facto by tacit resignation in the following cases: … (4) If a cleric has publicly lapsed from the Catholic faith” (Woywod-Smith). This is how we know that both paragraphs refer to loss of office. Lefebvre, Thuc, et al publicly accepted the Novus Ordo, signed Vatican 2 documents and celebrated the Novus Ordo Missae. They were public heretics. They also incited schism by establishing their own Traditionalists sects. They lost their offices as bishops and basically were reduced to the priesthood as regards their powers. Heretical and schismatic bishops can ordain and consecrate, but the value of these orders must be officially determined by the Church before they can be declared valid. (This will be treated below.)
Thomas William Allies/Pope Pius IX
In 1865, Thomas William Allies M.A., a convert from Anglicanism, issued the third edition of a little work called The See of St. Peter. It was translated and circulated by the express order of Pope Pius IX. In this work, Allies refers to the Anglican bishops later declared invalid by Pope Leo XIII: “On the supposition that they were true bishops, they had power to administer the Sacraments, but in no particular place, nor to any particular persons. They were bishops, but they had no subjects; all acts of jurisdiction performed by them under these circumstances would be null: acts of their Order, irregular. Supposing them to be true bishops, nay, to have been consecrated by the Supreme Pontiff himself and under no canonical disabilities, THEY COULD NOT CONFER ORDERS WHICH SHOULD BE VALID IN RESPECT OF EXECUTION; as they had no jurisdiction themselves, they could confirm none… Acts flowing from Order, although done wrongly and illicitly, are yet, when done, valid; but acts flowing from jurisdiction, if done upon those over whom the doer has no jurisdiction, are absolutely invalid and null…”
Is this making sense now? Only the Roman Pontiff can provide a bishop with subjects by approving his appointment as bishop, thereby assigning him a diocese. Lefebvre, Thuc and any others abandoned the dioceses assigned them by Pope Pius XII to accept dioceses from Roncalli and Montini. They tacitly resigned their offices by accepting the usurpers, committing heresy and schism, from which they were never absolved. Their acts were null and void because they were forbidden to exercise their orders, being schismatic pseudo-bishops, and they had no subjects over which to validly exercise them. Bishops call priestly candidates from the population of their dioceses; over them they have jurisdiction. These alone they may validly ordain. This only repeats the teachings of the Council of Trent (DZ 967, 968) on those priests and bishops not “rightly sent.”
Allies continues: “All this doctrine may be summed up thus: all spiritual power of the sacerdotal character is given together with a certain consecration, and therefore the keys are given with the order; but the USE of the keys requires its proper MATTER, which is a people made subject by jurisdiction, and therefore one, before he has jurisdiction, has the keys, but has not the ACT of using them. A consequence of this is that while in all schismatics, heretics, excommunicated, suspended or degraded persons, the power of the keys remains as to its essence, yet THE USE OF THE KEYS IS BARRED THROUGH DEFECT OF MATTER… Whence, as the Church deprives heretics, schismatics, and such like, by withdrawing their subjects, either simply or partially, so far as they are deprived, they cannot have the use of the keys.” All know a sacrament is not valid if matter, form or intention is lacking.
Canon 2245, April 1951, AAS 43-217
“A decree of the Holy Office concerning the consecration of a Bishop without canonical provision is as follows: A Bishop OF WHATSOEVER RITE OR DIGNITY who consecrates to the episcopacy anyone who is neither appointed nor expressly confirmed by the Holy See and the person who receives the consecration, even though they were coerced by great fear, (Can 2229 §3, no. 3), incur ipso facto an excommunication most specially reserved to the Holy See.” Per the above, and according to the unanimous opinion of theologians, there can be NO presumption of validity until the matter is resolved by the Roman Pontiff, and only the Roman Pontiff. And notice that he states, “OF WHATSOEVER RITE OR DIGNITY,” including here all the Uniates and the Orthodox, as his supreme jurisdiction allows.
Pope St. Leo I
The Catholic Encyclopedia says of Pope St. Leo I: “[Pope St. Leo I, the Great] died 10 November, 461. Leo’s pontificate, next to that of St. Gregory I, is the most significant and important in Christian antiquity.” Pope St. Leo the Great and the author quoting him notes that other popes, not just Pope St. Leo I, taught as he did, and as Pope Pius VI would later teach in Charitas. “To Anastasius of Thessalonica, apostolic vicar in Illyria, the pontiff Saint Leo the Great told him: “Let no bishop be ordained in those churches without your approval: in this way he will take care, to make the choice with maturity, knowing that they have to pass your examination. The metropolitan who, disregarding our mandates, will be ordained without your notice, let him know that WE WILL NOT CONSIDER HIS ORDINATION AS VALID; and he will be responsible before us for the USURPATION HE PRESUMED TO MAKE OF THE HOLY MINISTRY.” (The balance between the two powers: that is, The rights of the Church vindicated against the attacks of Dr. D.F. de P.G. Vigil by Reverend Fray Pedro Gual, Vol.3, p. 202).
Szal’s Canon Law dissertation
In Rev. Ignatius Szal’s Communication of Catholics With Schismatics, (1948), Szal notes that in the late 12th century, when the antipopes Victor IV and Paschal III reigned: “These schismatics had ordained many of their adherents to the episcopate…The Third Lateran Council took action by declaring that the ordinations performed by these schismatic popes were null and void, as also the ordinations conferred by those who had been consecrated by them… The Canon used the word “irritas” in reference to the ordinations conferred by the schismatics. However the term was to be understood in reference to the execution or the EXERCISE of these orders, rather than to their validity.” In other words, they made no decision on whether they validly possessed these orders. For whether they possessed them or not, they were forbidden, under pain of invalidity, to exercise them over those not their subjects.
Pope Pius VI, Can. 147
This constitution is listed as a footnote to Can. 2370 regarding the necessity of the papal mandate for consecration: “For the right of ordaining bishops belongs only to the Apostolic See, as the Council of Trent declares; it cannot be assumed by any bishop or metropolitan without obliging Us to declare as schismatic both those who ordain and those who are ordained thus INVALIDATING their future ACTIONS…. “ Pius VI further warns they are not to function in any way, regardless of “any pretext of necessity whatsoever.” And Can. 147 states: “An ecclesiastical office is not validlyobtained without canonical appointment. By canonical appointment is understood the conferring of an ecclesiastical office by the competent ecclesiastical authority in harmony with the sacred canons.” Notice the use of canonical in Can. 2245 above. As the popes, the Council of Trent, the Catholic Encyclopedia and the theologians all teach, there can be no Apostolic succession when both Orders and jurisdiction do not exist together. So why is anyone presuming these men to be valid??
Canon 147 was based on the decree of the Council of Trent regarding orders. In 1950, the Sacred Congregation of the Council provided an official interpretation of Can. 147, citing the following from the Council of Trent: “Those who undertake to exercise these offices merely at the behest of and upon appointment by the people or secular power and authority, and those who assume the same upon their own authority, are all to be regarded not as ministers of the Church, but as ‘thieves and robbers who have entered not by the door’ … “If anyone says that those who are neither duly [rightly, properly] ordained nor sent by ecclesiastical and canonical authority but who come from elsewhere are legitimate ministers of the word and of the Sacraments let him be anathema” (Canon Law Digest, Vol. 3, T. Lincoln Bouscaren, 1954; see also DZ 967, 968).
Pope Pius XII attached ipso facto excommunications specially reserved to the Holy See to the Sacred Congregation of the Council’s interpretation for allowing anyone to be intruded into an ecclesiastical office and this is extended to any who support them. Ordinations by these schismatics and heretics — Lefebvre, Thuc, et al — can scarcely be said to have been done rightly or properly. And such men were stripped of any jurisdiction, so had no power to send anyone. It is interesting to note that directly below this instruction on Can. 147 in Bouscaren’s work, he lists a reference to Can. 2394, where it is declared that those violating this canon are considered VITANDUS. And earlier popes, in condemning such men, made it clear they were to be regarded as vitandi (more on this below).
Holy Office decree
According to a decision from the Holy Office, Nov. 18, 1931: “A lapsed Catholic who receives orders from a schismatic bishop can be received back into the Church only on the understanding that such ordinations, even if valid, will be completely disregarded, Ecclesiam non habere neque unquam habituram esse oratorem tanquam ordinatum cum que propterea nullus obigationibus statui clericali annexis tenneri” (Dr. Leslie Rumble, Homiletic and Pastoral Review: “Are Liberal Catholic Orders Valid,” 1958). One cannot validly receive orders if one is not a Catholic; there must first be abjuration and absolution from heresy. All of us, at one time, including those ordained by Traditionalists, were members of the Novus Ordo or Traditionalist sects and would need to be absolved and abjured from any censures. Membership in any non-Catholic sect qualifies one as a lapsed Catholic.
Invalidation of acts, not orders
And finally we come to Pope Pius XII’s Vacantis Apostolicae Sedis, (VAS), specifically governing an interregnum. “(1) Therefore, We declare INVALID AND VOID any power or jurisdiction pertaining to the Roman Pontiff in his lifetime, which the assembly of Cardinals might decide to exercise (while the Church is without a Pope), (2) The Sacred College of Cardinals shall not have the power to make a determination in any way it pleases concerning the laws of the Apostolic See and of the Roman Church… (3) The laws issued by Roman Pontiffs in no way can be corrected or changed by the assembly of Cardinals of the Roman Church while it is without a Pope, nor can anything be subtracted from them or added or dispensed in any way whatsoever with respect to said laws or any part of them… In truth, if anything adverse to this command should by chance happen to come about or be attempted, We declare it, by Our Supreme Authority, to be null and void.” (see full text HERE).
Lefebvre, Thuc and any others usurped papal jurisdiction by dispensing themselves and proceeding without the mandate. They also usurped papal jurisdiction by erecting seminaries without papal appointment or approval and presumed to proceed without the lifting of their censures for heresy and infamy of law by the pope. Therefore under Charitas and VAS, all that they did was null, void and invalid. This constitution is addressed to cardinals, but if even cardinals do not have such power, schismatic bishops would certainly have none!
Let us here pause to address the objection that null and void does not necessarily mean invalid despite its use in Canon Law and certain papal documents (see Charitas referenced above; also Pope Paul IV’s bull Cum ex Apostolatus Officio). Pope Leo XIII provides an authoritative definition of this term in his constitution Apostolica Curae, addressing the administration of Holy Orders: “To obtain orders nulliter means the same as by an act null and void — that is invalid — as the very meaning of the word and as common parlance requires.” And invalid is the word used interchangeably with null and void in the documents of Pope Paul IV and Pope Pius VI cited above. Leeming also lists invalid as “synonymous with null or void” (p. 266).
It is true that a pope cannot nullify a valid ordination or episcopal consecration, but VAS does not nullify orders received. It only reinforces and confirms all that is presented above, exercising the pope’s supreme jurisdiction to protect the Deposit of Faith in his absence. This should erase all doubt in Catholic minds. The Church is most vulnerable to sabotage and profanation during an interregnum. And Pius XII is clear in his intent. As Msgr. Joseph C. Fenton observes:
“It is, I believe, to be presumed that the Vicar of Christ speaks to the faithful in a way they are able to understand… Our Lord did not teach in any way but authoritatively nor does His Vicar on earth when He teaches in the name and by the authority of his Master. Every doctrine proposed by the Holy Father to the entire Church militant is, by that very fact, imposed upon all the faithful for their firm and sincere acceptance.” Please realize that any papal document, whether infallible or not, binds Catholics (Can. 1812, Pope Leo XIII). Nothing that LibTrad pseudo-clergy pretend to teach can supersede or change that.
One last objection
“But there were consecrations done throughout the centuries without papal approval, consecrations done validly though illicitly…”. This “earlier precedents” business, officially promoted by the CMRI and others, is one of the oldest LibTrad deceptions on the books. This is yet another violation of Canon Law: “A more recent law given by competent authority abrogates a former law if it is directly contrary to the former law… or if it readjusts the entire subject matter of the former law” (Can. 22). Pope Pius XII states in Ad apostolorum principis, addressed to the errant Chinese national bishops:
“Everyone sees that all ecclesiastical discipline is overthrown if it is in any way lawful for one to restore arrangements WHICH ARE NO LONGER VALID because the supreme authority of the Church long ago decreed otherwise. In no sense do they excuse their way of acting by appealing to another custom, and they indisputably prove that they follow this line deliberately in order to escape from the discipline which now prevails and which they ought to be obeying…The faithful are bound by the duty of hierarchical subordination and true obedience not only in matters which pertain to faith and morals, but also in those which concern the discipline and government of the Church.”
And from Mediator Dei, 1947: “Clearly no sincere Catholic can refuse to accept the formulation of Christian doctrine MORE RECENTLY ELABORATED AND PROCLAIMED AS DOGMAS BY THE CHURCH, under the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit with abundant fruit for souls, because it pleases him to hark back to the old formulas. NO MORE CAN ANY CATHOLIC IN HIS RIGHT SENSES REPUDIATE EXISTING LEGISLATION OF THE CHURCH TO REVERT TO PRESCRIPTIONS BASED ON THE EARLIEST SOURCES OF CANON LAW.” This is an actual error condemned by Pope Pius XII in an infallible encyclical as Antiquarianism. We have no choice but to accept it with a firm assent.
Conclusion
I do not see how anyone, weighing the proofs presented here, could still remain in doubt, given the testimony of Wm. Allies, Pope Pius VI, the Holy Office and VAS. This is not a matter of understanding; it is matter of assenting firmly and irrevocably to what the popes teach and what Canon Law legislates. The invalidity of these bishops matters because the truth always matters, and we are always required to believe only the truth. Those holding them to be only illicit can offer NO papal documents proving their validity, proofs they are bound to produce to justify their belief. In a doubt of law one returns to the old law (Can. 6 §4). As seen above, Charitas is the old law governing Can. 2370 demanding the papal mandate, and Charitas teaches that the orders conveyed by these men are invalid; likewise VAS. This resolves everything. Another papal document footnoted to Can. 2370 is Pius IX’s Etsi Multa, which states:
“As even the rudiments of Catholic faith declare, no one can be considered a bishop who is not linked in communion of faith and love with Peter, upon whom is built the Church of Christ; who does not adhere to the supreme Pastor to whom the sheep of Christ are committed to be pastured; and who is not bound to the confirmer of fraternity which is in the world.” Following these words, he condemns the Old Catholic bishop Reinkin as a vitandus, calling him a pseudo-bishop. Pope St. Pius X also condemned as a schismatic, a vitandus, and a pseudo-bishop the Old Roman Catholic Arnold Harris Mathew. Validly consecrated vitandi can only validly forgive sins at the hour of death, as a priest; they certainly cannot validly ordain or consecrate. And on this head, VAS removes all doubt about any validity: their orders are invalid. These are the “precedents” real Catholics use to resolve doubts, those given to us by the Popes and the councils, as reflected in Canon Law.
The “illicit only” crowd which upholds the validity of these pseudo-clerics must understand that they do so only because they are still enmeshed in Traditionalism, whether they pray at home or not. This can be remedied by studying and fully assenting to the teachings of the popes. Don’t feel ashamed for accepting these lies for many years and for that reason be reluctant to choose the popes over the prevailing “wisdom” of LibTrads. If we can possibly help these false clerics and their followers see their errors, we must do as Canon Law directs us to do — gather forces to prevent them from functioning, not fracture into opposing pray-at-home sects. That is the true charity we owe our neighbor.
Christ alone is the truth, and His vicars speak in His name. His vicars are telling us that without the Church’s Christ-instituted head — a canonically elected pope exercising supreme jurisdiction — there can be no Church, no Catholic society, as Pope Pius IX taught. As members of the Apostolic College, bishops cannot rule in the pope’s stead; they must submit to the pope as head bishop. Deny that, and you deny that Christ ever instituted the papacy.
