Archbishop bans SSPX Masses — but group claims it is not SSPX

The Archbishop of Ozamiz in the Philippines has issued a pastoral letter forbidding Catholics from participating in Masses offered by priests of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) within his archdiocese.

In a letter dated 5 September and circulated from the chancery office, Archbishop Martin Sarmiento Jumoad stated that “the SSPX’s canonical situation remains irregular due to unresolved issues from the Second Vatican Council”.

“The Eucharist, the heart of Christian life (CCC 1324), must be celebrated with proper faculties and in communion with the Church (Canon 900,” he wrote.

He said that “Masses celebrated by SSPX priests without diocesan faculties are illicit (Canon 904) and not official acts of the Roman Catholic Church”. Such celebrations, he added, “may cause confusion regarding Church unity and the sacraments”, and he forbade Catholics from participating in them.

The archbishop urged the faithful instead to “receive sacraments from priests in full communion with the Pope and local ordinary”, warning that attendance at unauthorised liturgies “risks spiritual disunity”.

He pointed to the legitimate celebration of the Extraordinary Form “with proper faculties and obedience to the local bishop, as approved by Popes Benedict XVI and Francis”.

“As your archbishop, I must protect our archdiocese’s unity, faith and peace, in communion with the Holy See,” the letter continued. It concluded by recalling St Paul’s call for unity: “May the Eucharist unite us in faith and charity. I urge all to remain steadfast in communion with the Successor of Peter and the local Church.”

The letter was signed by Fr Sezon Ladra Panaguiton, chancellor, and noted by Archbishop Jumoad.

However, a statement issued in response by a lay leader in Tangub City insisted they were not members of the SSPX, but of the Marian Corps of the Society of St Pius X (MCSPX), commonly known as the “SSPX Resistance”.

“The archdiocese has publicly scolded the wrong group without verifying facts”, the statement said, describing the clergy involved as “priests validly ordained in the Traditional Roman Rite, free of Vatican II’s doubtful innovations”.

It argued that, according to the 1917 Code of Canon Law, “the faithful may for any just cause ask sacraments or sacramentals from excommunicated priests … and the priest may administer them without asking anything”. The response also recalled that Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications of four SSPX bishops in 2009, and that Pope Francis subsequently granted faculties for SSPX priests to hear confessions and witness marriages.

The statement concluded that the pastoral letter was “not merely misinformed; it is a symptom of the deeper crisis: the hierarchy still wages war against Tradition, even while pretending to tolerate it”.

Archbishop Jumoad has not responded to the statement.

(Photo credit: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)