Answers
Questions people ask
Plain, sourced answers to the questions that come up again and again in traditionalist Catholic media.
- Are SSPX confessions and marriages valid?Not any more, according to the Holy See. Pope Francis had made confessions to SSPX priests valid in 2015-16 and let bishops arrange for SSPX weddings in 2017, but the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith declared on 2 July 2026 that confessions heard and marriages witnessed by SSPX priests are invalid. The Society disputes this.Read the answer
- Did Traditionis Custodes ban the Latin Mass?No, but it restricted it sharply. Traditionis Custodes (2021) did not forbid the 1962 Missal; it made its use depend on the diocesan bishop's permission, kept it out of parish churches for existing groups, and required new priests to obtain permission with the Holy See consulted. It remains in force under Pope Leo XIV.Read the answer
- Is Summorum Pontificum still in force?No. Pope Francis's Traditionis Custodes (2021) abrogated earlier norms that conflict with it, which replaced the regime of Benedict XVI's Summorum Pontificum (2007). Priests no longer have the general freedom Summorum Pontificum gave them to celebrate the 1962 Missal; the diocesan bishop now decides.Read the answer
- Is the SSPX in schism?According to the Holy See, yes. After the Society consecrated four bishops without papal mandate on 1 July 2026, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith declared on 2 July that its clergy are in schism and excommunicated. Lay people are counted as schismatic only if they formally adhere to the Society. The SSPX denies being in schism and has appealed.Read the answer