A frequent question that arises concerning the priests of the Society of St. Pius X is whether they have jurisdiction to administer the sacraments. We will examine this important question in Episode 13 of our FAQ video series.
The crisis currently affecting the Church really justifies and even necessitates traditional priests to fulfill their duties even without having ordinary jurisdiction (that is, having faculties to exercise a priestly ministry).
Every member of the Church has the right to receive the doctrine and sacraments necessary for salvation. If the hierarchy (pastor, bishop, etc.) does not fulfill its duty, the faithful find themselves in a state of necessity that allows them to have recourse to any Catholic priest. Because of this necessity, this priest consequently receives from the Church what is called supplied jurisdiction in order to minister to the faithful.
In Episode 12, we will examine the nature of supplied jurisdiction and how it can be applied in the context of the current crisis. We will also see how supplied jurisdiction empowers traditional priests who lack ordinary jurisdiction to validly hear the confessions or witness the marriages of those who request these sacraments.
To read more about the topic of supplied jurisdiction, see our resource page>
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