An edited post of mine from Fisheaters:
Q: I understand that the Church claims that SSPX priests lack proper “faculties” and cannot, therefore, administer valid Penance and Matrimony. Doesn’t that claim go over and above the stated requirements for sacramental validity of proper matter, form and priestly intention?
ME: It has more to do with the bishop being the center of the local Church – priests (presbyters) are the extension of the bishop – that is they are the representative of the bishop – and that sacraments of chrismation and penence are actually the bishops right but through his permission extends it to his priests.
In my tradition (Greek-rite) we have an antimins (a large cloth with an Icon of Christ’s burial preperation and a relic sewn in), which is our equivalent of an altar stone, which is signed by the bishop and each of his priests must use one whenever they celebrate liturgy whether in a church or in the forest – this is a sign of that priests relationship to his bishop.
I have noticed Western Catholics have a habit of making all sacerdos (sacrificers i.e. what English language calls “priests”) whether presbyter or bishop on an equal level, while indeed bishops and priests are both equally considered “sacerdos”, they neglect the patristic relationship between the bishop and the priests. One of the very good things to come out of Vatican II in my opinion was the reaffirmation of the bishop being the center of the local church.
So with the SSPX the argument is because they operate outside of the local church, with no permission from that local bishop or from the universal bishop of Rome (who, unfortunately, has yet to give the SSPX bishops any Sees, titular or otherwise) they lack having authority from a licit bishop, let alone a local bishop, to forgive sins which means they cannot do so or so the argument goes. Both religious priests and diocesan priests and even visiting bishops when in another diocese other than their own must receive permission from the local bishop to administer the sacraments. Because marriage it something the Church must witness, and technically SSPX are illicitly ordained and lack jurisdiction from a canonical bishop they cannot licitly witness a marriage and a Catholic who gets married without the Church as a witness makes the marriage invalid.
Whether this is the case in reality I do not know, nor as an Oriental is it really my business. I imagine in very terrible dioceses (I guess would mean the majority in Germany, Lowlands, France, Britain and North America – the number of astray dioceses in these countries rapidly declining by the way) the necessity that SSPX apologists claim which makes their actions legal and valid holds true – and it is not coincidence that majority of SSPX operations are in those above mentioned countries, but in dioceses were there is little dogmatic corruption (China, majority of Eastern Europe, vast majority of Near and Middle East) I believe the SSPX would have a hard case to make – and it is notable SSPX has a small presence if any in those regions.
