From
Vatican Radio:
In a letter approved by Pope Francis, Cardinal Gerhard Müller says, “The
Holy Father . . . has decided to authorize Local Ordinaries the
possibility to grant faculties for the celebration of marriages of
faithful who follow the pastoral activity of the Society.” The Pope's
decision adopts a proposal by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith and the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, both of which are
headed by Cardinal Müller.
The new provisions are part of a number of ongoing meetings and
initiatives aimed at bringing the Society into full communion; Cardinal
Müller’s letter mentions specifically the recent decision of Pope
Francis to grant all priests of the Society the faculty to validly
administer the Sacrament of Penance to the faithful in order “to ensure
the validity and liceity of the Sacrament and allay any concerns on the
part of the faithful.”
The grant of faculties for the celebration of marriage is subject to
several provisions: “Insofar as possible, the Local Ordinary [that is,
normally the local Diocesan Bishop] is to grant the delegation to assist
at the marriage to a priest of the Diocese (or in any event, to a fully
regular priest), such that the priest may receive the consent of the
parties during the marriage rite, followed, in keeping with the liturgy
of the Vetus ordo, by the celebration of Mass, which may be celebrated
by a priest of the Society.” That is, a priest in good standing is to
preside at the celebration of the marriage itself, which in the
extraordinary form takes place before the nuptial Mass. The Mass itself
may then be celebrated by a priest of the SSPX.
The letter also foresees that circumstances may exist where those
provisions are not possible, or where no Diocesan priest is able to
receive the consent of the parties. In such cases, the Pope allows the
Ordinary to grant faculties to the priest who will celebrate the nuptial
Mass.
Cardinal Müller closes his letter expressing his conviction that “in
this way any uneasiness of conscience on the part of the faithful who
adhere to the Society of St. Pius X as well as any uncertainty regarding
the validity of the sacrament of marriage may be alleviated, and at the
same time that the process towards full institutional regularization
may be facilitated”; and that, to that end, the Pontifical Commission
Ecclesia Dei “relies” on the cooperation of the prelates of the
Episcopal Conferences concerned in this matter.
Below, please find the full text of Cardinal Gerhard Müller’s letter:
