Catholic Candle note:  Occasionally, we analyze the liberal statements of the SSPX.  Someone could wonder:

Why mention the SSPX any longer, since they are unimportant as merely one of very many compromise groups? 

It is true that a priest (or group) is of small importance when he (or the group) is merely one of countless compromisers.  By contrast, an uncompromising priest is of great importance, even though he is only one.

However, regarding the “new” SSPX: we sometimes mention them for at least these five reasons, motivated by charity:

➢  New Catholic Candle readers might not be sufficiently informed of the “new” SSPX’s liberalism to avoid that group.  Out of charity for them we occasionally provide these warnings to help these new readers appreciate the danger of the N-SSPX.

➢  Some longtime Catholic Candle readers might forget the N-SSPX poison, or vacillate in their resolution to stay away from the N-SSPX if they never received a reminder warning about the danger of the N-SSPX.  This is like the fact that all it takes for many people to become conciliar is to never be reminded about the errors of Vatican II and the conciliar church.  Out of charity for them we occasionally provide these reminders for readers who would otherwise “forget” the danger of the N-SSPX.

➢  The N-SSPX serves as an important study case to examine how leaving the truth often happens.  It is a warning to us all about a very common way to depart from the truth and become unfaithful.  Out of charity for ourselves we occasionally provide these insights about becoming unfaithful by taking this common road of compromise the N-SSPX is taking.

➢  Over time, the N-SSPX provides us with a thorough catalogue of liberal compromises, and studying those compromises and errors with the contrasting Traditional Catholic truth is a helpful means of studying our Faith and guarding ourselves from the principal errors of our time.  This helps us to fulfill our duty of continually studying the doctrines of our Faith.  Out of charity for ourselves, we use the occasion of the N-SSPX’s liberalism to study our Traditional Catholic Faith better and the corresponding N-SSPX liberalism.

 

➢  If the SSPX ever abjured its liberalism, it could do great good as it used to do, since its bishops and its priestly ordinations so far have been valid (although the SSPX has taken in some conciliar and doubtfully-ordained “priests” whom it allows to administer “sacraments”).  This validity of SSPX ordinations stands in contrast to many compromise groups (such as the FSSP, ICK, and others), all of whose “ordinations” were and remain doubtful from the very beginning of those groups.

For those readers who are firm in their resolution to completely avoid supporting the N-SSPX, they can receive just as much of the substance of those Catholic Candle articles, if they substitute the phrase “a liberal could say” anytime they read “the SSPX teaches”.

21 Examples of Liberalism in the “New” SSPX

Today’s SSPX is not the same SSPX as the one in the old days.   There are countless examples of its teaching and practice to show this.  Many are documented in Catholic Candle, both on its current website and in its old one, CatholicCandle.neocities.org. 

Below are twenty-one examples of this SSPX liberalism, taken from many more which we could have listed here.  We cannot ignore the mountain of evidence.   You should not either.

1.    The SSPX previously taught that the rubella vaccine and other vaccines developed through abortion are always sinful.  By contrast, the SSPX now says not only that this same rubella vaccine is justifiable for some people, but also that the COVID vaccines, which were also developed through abortion, are also justified.[1]  The SSPX’s new position is wrong, liberal, and contradicts its prior teaching on vaccines developed through abortion.

2.    The SSPX says it now accepts 95% of Vatican II[2] and says that Vatican II contains no direct heresy and “not so many” errors.[3]  The truth the “new” SSPX denies is that the documents of Vatican II are riddled with liberal teachings and heresies.

 

3.    The SSPX now teaches that the religious liberty taught by Vatican II is “a very, very limited one, very limited”.[4]  The truth that the “new” SSPX denies is that the scope of religious liberty that Vatican II teaches is unlimited as long as public order is not breached.[5]  This is the same meager restriction that the French Revolutionaries insisted upon after the French Revolution.  In other words, buddhists, protestants, and even satanists can do what they wish in public, as long as they are peaceful and don’t become violent.

 

4.    The “new” SSPX falsely teaches that “many Vatican II texts are traditional”.[6]  The truth that the “new” SSPX denies is that there are no traditional documents of Vatican II (much less “many”).

 

5.    Among these Vatican II documents, is Lumen Gentium.  The SSPX now teaches that this document is free from errors/liberalism.[7]  The truth that the “new” SSPX denies is that there are hundreds of heresies, liberal and false statements in Lumen Gentium.[8] 

 

6.    The “new” SSPX called the new mass “Holy Mass”.[9]  Besides the “new” SSPX calling the new mass “Holy Mass”, it now calls the Traditional Mass by its conciliar name, viz., the “Extraordinary Form”.[10]  The SSPX taught that the new mass is good, but not as good, as the Traditional Mass by likening the new mass to a tin trumpet, and likening the Traditional Mass to a silver trumpet.[11]  Indeed, while Bishop Fellay was superior general, he attended the new mass and afterwards praised it.[12]  His two assistants (who were second and third in authority in the SSPX) attended a new mass on another occasion.[13]  The “new” SSPX has blamed the dispute between the Vatican and the “old” SSPX concerning the new mass, on how “profound” Archbishop Lefebvre’s “motives” were and the bewilderment of the SSPX priests and followers because they were “fed up” with the “way in which the new mass was being celebrated.”[14]  Bishop Fellay says that “what needs to be corrected” in the new mass are things like making a better vernacular translation.[15]  The truth that the “new” SSPX denies is that the new mass itself is evil and sacrilegious. 

 

7.    The “new” SSPX falsely indicates that Pope Francis abides in the truth, and is preserved from error.[16]  When he was superior general, Bishop Fellay declared that he is “very happy” with a lot of what Pope Francis teaches.[17] 

 

8.    Jesus Christ is God.  For this reason, Mary is the Mother of God because she is the mother of a Person Who is God.  For the same reason, the Jews committed Deicide because they killed a Person Who is God.  Vatican II contradicted the traditional teaching from the time of the apostles, that the Jews committed Deicide.[18]  The SSPX has adopted this conciliar error and denies the Church’s teaching that the Jews did commit Deicide.[19]  The truth that the “new” SSPX denies is that the Jews did commit Deicide – as the Church has always taught.

 

9.    Catholics should not hold it as certain that we will go to heaven.  But that is what the SSPX now teaches.[20]  The truth is that the (supposed) certainty of salvation is the vice of presumption.

 

10. The new SSPX falsely teaches that Vatican II does good, when Bishop Fellay, its then-superior general, stated that the “Second Vatican Council … illuminates – i.e. deepens and further makes explicit – some aspects of the life and of the doctrine of the Church”.[21]  The truth is that Vatican II does no good.

 

11. Among countless other conciliar errors is the claim that there exist “degrees” of being in communion with the Catholic Church.[22]  The “new” SSPX indicates it accepts this conciliar theory by now using the term of “full communion”, as if there were any other kind of communion.  Id.

 

12. While he was superior general, Bishop Fellay said that Pope Francis’s exhortation on marriage (Amoris Laetitia) “contains many things that are correct and beautiful”.[23]  The truth is that this is a vile, thoroughly-conciliar document.  Bishop Fellay falsely says that Pope Francis’s abominable Amoris Laetitia is like a “beautiful boat” with a “very small” hole in it.[24]  The “new” SSPX is grossly minimizing the evil of Pope Francis’s teachings.

 

13. The SSPX teaches that Vatican II’s Optatam Totius is free from errors/liberalism.  The truth is that there are many liberal and false statements in it.[25] 

 

14. The “new” SSPX published an article about Islam’s hostility toward other religions.  This article stressed the importance of religious liberty for every religion and omitted to state the Catholic truth that error (including religious error) has no rights.[26]  The truth is that only the true Catholic Faith has rights.[27]

 

15. The “new” SSPX says we must continually change.[28]  This echoes the conciliar hierarchy, which continually emphasizes the need to change, to “renew” ourselves, and to “ride the wave of revolution of faith”.[29]

16. The conciliar church refers to promotion of conciliar errors as The New Evangelization.[30]   The “new” SSPX declared that Pope Francis sees the SSPX as a help in The New Evangelization.  Id.  This is scandalous since it implies that the N-SSPX approves of and is willing to promote Pope Francis’ modernism.

17. The SSPX now blurs the difference between the Catholic Church and the modernist conciliar church.[31]  Archbishop Lefebvre made this clear distinction.[32]

18. The SSPX and Archbishop Lefebvre used to say that the indult groups “are doing the devil’s work”.[33]  Now the SSPX treats those groups as colleagues in the Lord’s vineyard.[34]

19. When he was superior general, Bishop Fellay said that by an agreement with Rome, the SSPX “will return to the Church”.[35]  The truth is that the “old” SSPX (and other Traditional Catholics who correctly saw things) were already in the Church.  Ironically, the more the “new” SSPX becomes conciliar, the more that “new” SSPX needs to “return to the Church” by rejecting its liberalism.

20.  The “new” SSPX, through one of its bishops, approved of a booklet for use in the SSPX, which teaches the conciliar position that a patient or the patient’s caregiver is permitted to choose to starve that patient to death if keeping that patient alive through providing food and liquids is too much of a burden for that patient or caregiver.[36]

21. The “new” SSPX promotes the “no nukes” unilateral nuclear disarmament position of Pope Francis and leftist organizations such as Greenpeace.  The N-SSPX argues against the pre-conciliar Catholic position that all weapons – including nuclear weapons – can be used as long as the Catholic teachings concerning war and a just defense are preserved.[37]