Even if the new rites were certainly valid, verifying the orders of a ‘Novus Ordo priest’ would be a more tangled task than some seem to think.
(WM+) – If a “Novus Ordo priest” (viz. a cleric whose holy orders depend on the validity of the new rites) must have his orders investigated before he can be allowed to minister in a traditionalist group, such an investigation cannot stop with the particular ceremony in which he was ordained. Even if the new rites are assumed to be valid, such an investigation involves much more.
In two recent pieces, we reported on the penalties inflicted on Fr Philip Conklin and Fr David Mary Engo for their association with the SSPX, and on indications that both are to join the Society.
The first of these two articles – which surveyed the SSPX clerics who have expressed doubts about these rites, and showed that no consensus exists within the Society on the matter – is effectively a fourth part of our earlier series on Archbishop Lefebvre and Novus Ordo Sacraments:
Archbishop Lefebvre & Conditional Confirmations—His pastoral practice explained
Archbishop Lefebvre & Conciliar Sacraments—Do they ‘come from the Church?’
In the second piece, we considered what is presented as the “official position” of the SSPX on priests ordained in the reformed rites.
We took as our reference point the account given by Fr Paul Robinson on a podcast published by the SSPX’s US District:
Fr Robinson’s position may be summarised as follows:
The new rites of priestly ordination (NRPO) and episcopal consecration (NREC) are sufficient for the valid conferral of the respective orders.
When a priest ordained with these rites wishes to join the SSPX, an investigation is necessary to make sure that there were no defects in his ordination.
If no positive evidence of any substantial defect is found (for example, in a video of the ordination), then the priest’s orders are considered to be valid – just as a video of a baptism, conferred without any such defects, is also sufficient to consider the sacrament as valid.
Neither the video, nor other materials, indicate that a rigorous investigation extends beyond the priest’s own ordination, and to the orders of his ordaining bishop.
As we argued previously, the analogy with baptism undermines Fr Robinson’s own position in two ways. First, the Church’s practice with converts traditionally places the burden of proof on those seeking to establish validity: the general state of affairs puts doubt “in possession”, and if validity cannot be established with moral certainty, conditional baptism follows.
Second, while a video of a baptism can indeed establish validity, a video of an ordination cannot. This is because the validity of an ordination also depends on the orders of the ordaining bishop – which may also be subject to the same problems as the priest’s orders.
This second point is the subject of the present article. If an incoming priest’s ordination must be investigated, there is no principle that permits the investigation to stop there. The investigation itself implicitly concedes that moral certainty cannot currently be established by a certificate of ordination alone. But the reasons that prevent us simply accepting the validity of the priest’s ordination apply just as much to the ordination and consecration of the bishop who ordained him, and to those of the bishops who ordained and consecrated that bishop, and so on.
One cannot claim that these previous links in the chain can be left to providence, because they are subject to precisely the same problems that are prompting the investigation into the first link. To investigate only this first link, but not the others, is to both grant and deny the same presumption at once, without any logical reason to do so. But as we are often told:
“Contradiction is a sure sign of error.”
We shall therefore consider in this article:
How far an investigation would need to extend into the episcopal lineages of the men involved
What an investigation into a “Novus Ordo priest’s” orders would actually involve
Whether such investigations are taking place
Certain objections based around Archbishop Lefebvre’s alleged inability to change position
The real reasons for doubting the new rites, which no investigation can resolve.
The following text is for WM+ members.
It’s a challenging and substantial analysis (around 8,000 words) of issues raised by men, ordained in the Novus Ordo, joining organisations like the SSPX.
It addresses these developments in light of our long-standing position:
“To preserve sacramental integrity, safeguard the common good, and secure peace of conscience for all, the only possible course is a systematic programme of (at least) conditional ordination/consecration of clerics whose orders depend on the validity of the Novus Ordo rites.”
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