Page 1, 12th June 2009
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SSPX ordinations could lead to excommunication, says diocese
BY ANNA ARCO
THE SOCIETY of St Pius X has announced that it will go ahead with plans to ordain 21 priests in America, Germany and Switzerland despite opposition from bishops.
In a statement the SSPX said that priestly ordinations would take place without the direct permission of the Holy See as scheduled. A spokesman for the Diocese of Regensburg, Germany, said the plans could result in ex communication. Spokesman Jakob Schötz said: “Our bishop is waiting for Rome to advise on how to respond. But it will almost certainly result in the excommunication of the priests and the bishop who ordains them.” Mr Schötz was reacting to an announcement by the society that it would ordain three priests and three deacons in its seminary at Zaitzkofen in Bavaria on June 27 despite repeated requests from Bishop Gerhard Müller of Regens burg to hold off the ordinations. Bishop Müller said the ordinations contravened Canon Law and told Vatican Radio that he had spoken with the responsible parties and advised them of this. He also said he had invited members of the society to speak with him at their request.
Another 18 seminarians are to be ordained at the SSPX headquarters in America and Switzerland.
The SSPX seminary rector, Fr Stefan Frey, said the soci ety now had “provisional legal status” in the Catholic Church pending a “definitive canonical ruling” on its future, and had not been told to “put a stop to ordinations”.
He said the new priests would be ordained “without direct Church permission” because of the “grave state of emergency” facing the Church.
Mr Schötz said the new ordinations would be viewed as “a provocation against the whole Catholic world”.
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