[Question]{.underline}: What do the bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X do?
[Answer]{.underline}: In his sermon for the consecration of the four bishops, on June 30, 1988, Archbishop Lefebvre explained very clearly the state of necessity in which Tradition existed then---and still exists now. It was as a consequence of the state of necessity that he stated: “I think it is my duty to provide the means of doing that which I shall call ‘Operation Survival’…If I had made this deal with Rome, by continuing with the agreements we had signed, and by putting them into practice, I would have performed ‘Operation Suicide.’ There was no choice, we must live!”
Unable to confer upon them the power of jurisdiction, Archbishop Lefebvre was nevertheless able to confer the fullness of the power of Holy Orders so that they could fulfill an Episcopal ministry, “to give Confirmation to your children, and to be able to confer ordinations in our various seminaries.” These are the two sacraments that the four bishops have constantly administered ever since, thus guaranteeing the continuing of the work of Tradition, of the Society of Saint Pius X, and insuring that it would never be watered down, absorbed by, taken over by the modernist infiltration in the Church. As the Archbishop himself stated on June 30: “When God calls me---this will certainly not be long---from whom would these seminarians receive the Sacrament of Orders? From conciliar bishops who, due to their doubtful intentions, confer doubtful sacraments? This is not possible.”
However, the function of the bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X is not limited to the simple administration of the two sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Orders. There are many pontifical blessings and consecrations in the Church’s liturgy that are reserved to bishops, and that they regularly perform, such as the consecration of the holy oils used for the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders, and Extreme Unction, the consecration of chalices, altar stones, and churches, the consecration of holy virgins.
Moreover, through reception of the fullness of the power of Holy Orders they receive a radical power to teach and to govern the flock of Christ, even before a special portion is entrusted to them by ordinary jurisdiction, which can only be done by the Sovereign Pontiff. However, although the Society’s bishops have not received this jurisdiction, they still retain their responsibility for the Catholic Church of which they are bishops. As Pope Pius XII stated in the encyclical Fidei donum of 1957, a Catholic bishop is “as successor of the Apostles, jointly responsible for the common good of the Church.” This is what Archbishop Lefebvre explained on June 30, 1988: “I am simply a bishop of the Catholic Church, who is continuing to transmit Catholic doctrine.” It is precisely because of his teaching and Catholic principles, reiterating what the Church has always done, that traditional Catholics listened to him and followed his leadership and direction. In so doing, he exercised a supplied jurisdiction to teach and to govern, the jurisdiction being supplied to him by the need of the faithful.
Bishop De Castro Mayer explained likewise, at the Episcopal consecrations of 1988, that his presence was the exercise of his power to teach, an obligation for him as a Catholic bishop: “My presence here at this ceremony is caused by a duty of conscience: that of making a profession of Catholic Faith in front of the whole Church…because the conservation of the priesthood and the Holy Mass is at stake, and in spite of the requests and pressures of many, I am here in order to accomplish my duty: to make a public profession of Faith.”
The four bishops they consecrated have exactly the same power and functions as bishops of the Catholic Church. Thus it is that the Regulations of the Society of Saint Pius X state that “the bishops of the Society, devoid of all territorial jurisdiction have, nevertheless, the necessary supplied jurisdiction to exercise the powers that are attached to the Episcopal office and certain acts belonging to the ordinary Episcopal jurisdiction.” Two such Episcopal functions were created already in 1991 and have functioned ever since, to the great benefit of the traditional movement, namely the Canonical Commission, headed up by H.E. Bishop Tissier de Mallerais, and the bishop responsible for religious, who is presently H.E. Bishop De Galarreta. It was Archbishop Lefebvre himself who requested these, in a letter dated January 15, 1991: “As long as the present Roman authorities are steeped in Ecumenism and Modernism and seeing that all their decisions and the 1983 Code of Canon Law are influenced by these false principles, it will be necessary to form authorities of Supplied Jurisdiction that will faithfully preserve the Catholic principles of Catholic Tradition and Catholic Canon Law. It is the only way of remaining faithful to Our Lord Jesus Christ, to the Apostles, to the deposit of Faith that was handed down to their legitimate successors who remained faithful until Vatican II.”
The bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X are consequently bishops in every sense of the word, although they lack ordinary jurisdiction. They fulfill the function of sanctifying, through the sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Orders, the function of teaching wherever they preach the entire Catholic Faith as bishops of the Catholic Church, and the function of governing, inasmuch as they are called on by necessity to resolve difficult questions.
Answered by Father Peter Scott, SSPX.