The Church is One, it is Visible, and it is a Communion
As some are no doubt aware, the traditionalist Society of St Pius X consecrated four men as bishops on July 1st. They did so without the permission or the approval of Pope Leo. They did this having been warned multiple times not to do so, having been advised that consecrating bishops without a papal mandate would result in excommunication. These excommunications are automatic, they are incurred ipso facto (by the very fact) of what was done. The fact that unauthorized consecrations occurred produces excommunication by the very acts themselves: no tribunal or presentation of evidence or judicial judgment is necessary.
When the Vatican declared the excommunications resulting from the unauthorized ordination of these bishops, it was merely recognizing the excommunications. Those involved excommunicated themselves. The Vatican further declared that the Society of Pius X is now explicitly in schism, they have broken communion from the Catholic Church. This is very serious and has some pretty dire consequences. The bishops, those ordaining and those ordained, are separated from the Church such that reconciliation can only be achieved by petitioning the pope. In other words, this offense is as serious as a priest deliberately breaking the seal of confession, but more so. It puts their souls and the souls of others in dire jeopardy. But the excommunication goes beyond the bishops involved in the ordinations and extends to all of the clergy of the Society of St Pius X. The priests and deacons who choose to remain in the Society are also excommunicated. All of the sacraments they celebrate are illicit, meaning they are performed unlawfully, which can diminish the fruitfulness of these sacraments. However, the sacraments of confession and matrimony celebrated by excommunicated priests are not only illicit, they are utterly invalid. Henceforth, the only time these priests truly absolve sins is when the one being absolved is in danger of death. Otherwise, all of the confessions they hear and all of the weddings they preside at are invalid, they are not avenues of sacramental grace.
If any of the excommunicated bishops seeks forgiveness from a priest of the Society of Pius X, he remains in his sins. If one of the priests who chooses to remain in the Society confesses to another priest of the Society, he remains in his sins. If a layman seeks absolution from one of their priests, he remains in his sins. The only exception is when the layman is in danger of death. Souls are at stake!
But what is the status of the laity now that the Society of Pius X is in schism? In the case of the bishops involved, they knew the gravity of what they were doing and chose to do it anyway. The same can be said of the other clergy of the Society if they choose to remain in a state of schism. The laity, however, may or may not understand what it means to remain within the Society of Pius X. If they know and willingly adhere to the errors of their clergy, then they are in schism and excommunicated as well. It is akin to mortal sin, which requires full knowledge and consent. If a layman is not fully aware of the schism between the Society of Pius X and the Catholic Church or if they do not consent to the errors and acts that led to the schism, they are probably not excommunicated. But their confessions to these priests will be invalid and so will the marriages performed by these priests. So, some of the laity will not be excommunicated, but they will be victims of their clergy’s break from communion with the Church.
In any case, some will see this situation as the Vatican oppressing traditional Catholics. Some are no doubt worried that the Vatican will crackdown on the Traditional Latin Mass offered by authorized diocesan priests, priests of the Fraternity of St Peter, and others that have not broken communion with the Catholic Church. The Society of Pius X brought this upon themselves. They are not being persecuted. Play stupid ecclesial games, win automatic excommunication. They had 38 years to resolve their issues. They negotiated with the Vatican with as much good faith as the Iranian regime negotiates with the United States. Likewise, this should not be seen as a prelude to a wider attack on traditionalists in union with the Church. It might just be that this episode opens up the restrictions laid upon the Latin Mass by Traditionis Custodes in 2021.
—Fr Booth