In a pastoral communication on Friday, August 14, the members of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCBC) cautioned the faithful against knowingly participating in activities promoted by the Society.
The Zimbabwean Catholic Church leaders described the July 1 episcopal consecration of four priests by Bishops belonging to the SSPX without a pontifical mandate and against the expressed will of the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, as “a serious rupture of ecclesial communion.”
They said, “We offer this guidance out of our pastoral responsibility to safeguard the faith of God's people and to help Catholics remain firmly rooted in full communion with the universal Church, the Holy Father and their local Bishops.”
“To consecrate bishops without the mandate of the Roman Pontiff and against his expressed will constitutes a grave rupture of that communion,” the ZCBC members said in the joint communication.
They emphasized, “communion with the Roman Pontiff and with the Bishops united with him is not merely an administrative arrangement. It belongs to the visible communion of the Catholic Church.”
The Zimbabwean Catholic Church leaders stated that the situation is serious because the Catholic Church is a communion whose visible unity is entrusted in a particular way to the Pope and Bishops united with him.
“Christ entrusted the ministry of preserving the visible unity of His Church in a particular way to Peter and his successors,” they said, and expressed particular concern for Catholics who may be attracted to or participate in SSPX activities without fully understanding the canonical situation.
They said, “We particularly wish to caution Catholics who, perhaps without fully understanding the canonical situation, may be attracted to or participate in the activities of the Society of Saint Pius X.”
The ZCCB members clarified that merely having contact with someone associated with the SSPX should not automatically be understood as formal adherence to schism, saying, “Mere contact with a person associated with the Society should not automatically be confused with formal adherence to schism.”
“Nevertheless, Catholics should not knowingly place themselves in circumstances that progressively separate them from communion with the Holy Father, their Bishop and the Catholic Church,” they added, urging the faithful to refrain from participating in celebrations and activities promoted by the SSPX.
In their August 14 communication, the Catholic Bishops in Zimbabwe said the Holy See had clarified that sacred ministers of the Society administer the Sacraments illicitly and that the Sacrament of Penance administered by them and marriages assisted by them are invalid.
“Catholics should therefore receive the sacraments within the full communion of the Catholic Church and remain united with their legitimate pastors,” they said.
The Bishops emphasized that Catholic identity is not founded merely on attachment to a particular liturgical form, spirituality, movement or individual priest, noting, “Our Catholic identity is not founded merely upon attachment to a particular liturgical form, spirituality, movement or individual priest.”
“We belong to Christ within His Church, united in the profession of the same faith, the celebration of the sacraments and communion under legitimate ecclesiastical authority,” the Catholic Church leaders stated.
They encouraged Catholics with questions about the SSPX, liturgy, doctrine, Church discipline or developments within the Church to seek guidance from their Parish Priests or Diocesan authorities.
“Questions about liturgy, doctrine, Church discipline or developments within the Church should therefore be approached within this communion and never by separating ourselves from it,” they said, adding, “Where Catholics have questions or uncertainties concerning the Society of Saint Pius X, we encourage them to approach their parish priests or diocesan authorities for guidance rather than relying on information circulating through social media or other unofficial sources.”
The Zimbabwean Catholic Church leaders called for reconciliation, clarifying that their communication was not issued in a spirit of condemnation.
They said, “While the present situation is serious and painful, the Church does not speak these words in a spirit of condemnation. The Church is a Mother. Her desire is always reconciliation, healing and the restoration of communion.”
“The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has explicitly affirmed that the Church will welcome with sincere affection and pastoral care those who wish to return from the Society of Saint Pius X to full communion with the Catholic Church,” they said.
They added that the Church is ready to welcome and accompany those who wish to return from the SSPX to full communion, noting, “Procedures have been established through which those affected may seek reconciliation and the remission of canonical censures.”
“To any Catholic in Zimbabwe who may have formally associated himself or herself with the Society of Saint Pius X: do not be afraid to come home,” they said, appealing, “Approach your parish priest or diocesan Bishop. The Church stands ready to accompany those who sincerely desire reconciliation and full communion.”
The ZCBC members called on the Catholic faithful in the country to pray for those affected by the rupture and for the healing of divisions within the Body of Christ, particularly this time when the Catholic Church is seeking to grow in synodality, communion and missionary discipleship
They said, “This painful development reminds us that unity is both a gift from Christ and a responsibility entrusted to all of us. We therefore ask the Catholic faithful in Zimbabwe to pray for those affected by this rupture and for the healing of divisions within the Body of Christ.”
“Let us pray especially that the Holy Spirit may soften hearts, heal wounds and lead all God's people towards the unity for which Christ Himself prayed: ‘that they may all be one’” the ZCCB Members said in their August 14 communication.




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