Ecclesia Dei

*Ecclesia Dei*
Latin
for 'The Church of God'
*Motu proprio* of Pope John Paul II
Ecclesia Dei; Latin for 'The Church of God'; Motu proprio of Pope John Paul II
Signature date	2 July 1988
Subject	Écône consecrations
Text	In Latin; In English;
	← Iusti Iudicis Europae Orientalis →

Ecclesia Dei is the document

Ecône consecrations, in which four priests of the Society of Saint Pius X were ordained as bishops despite an express prohibition by the Holy See. The consecrating bishop and the four priests consecrated were excommunicated. John Paul called for unity and established the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei

to foster a dialogue with those associated with the consecrations who hoped to maintain both loyalty to the papacy and their attachment to traditional liturgical forms.

As is customary for such a papal document, it takes its name from the opening words of its Latin text, Ecclesia Dei, meaning "God's Church".

Ecclesia Dei is also the name an Italian Traditionalist weekly published by the Society of Saint Pius X and later founded in the 1990s.^[1]

Excommunications of those involved

The

SSPX is an association of priests that Marcel Lefebvre founded in 1970. Its members distrusted the changes then taking place in the Church in the years following the Second Vatican Council

.

On 30 June 1988, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and Bishop

excommunication envisaged by ecclesiastical law (cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 1382)."^[2]

According to the 1983 Code of Canon Law, can. 1382: "A bishop who consecrates some one a bishop without a pontifical mandate and the person who receives the consecration from him incur a

latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See"^[3]

(the phrase latae sententiae means automatically by force of the law itself, at the very moment a law is broken). The reservation indicates that only the Pope can lift it.

Pope John Paul II went on to make

"an appeal both solemn and heartfelt, paternal and fraternal, to all those who until now have been linked in various ways to the movement of Archbishop Lefebvre, that they may fulfil the grave duty of remaining united to the Vicar of Christ in the unity of the
schism is a grave offence against God and carries the penalty of excommunication decreed by the Church's law (cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 1364)."^[4]

Canon 1364 specifies that the same excommunication latae sententiae excommunication applies to an apostate, a heretic, or a schismatic.^[5]

Pontifical Commission

The Pope instituted the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei to assist those who had been associated with Archbishop Lefebvre but who wished "to remain united to the Successor of Peter in the Catholic Church, while preserving their spiritual and liturgical traditions, in the light of the Protocol signed on 5 May last by Cardinal Ratzinger and Mons. Lefebvre",^[6] a protocol that Archbishop Lefebvre later repudiated.

Use of the Tridentine Mass

The Pope stated: "Respect must everywhere be shown for the feelings of all those who are attached to the Latin liturgical tradition, by a wide and generous application of the directives already issued some time ago by the

Quattuor Abhinc Annos.^[7]

Further regulations

The conditions indicated in the document to which Pope John Paul referred were replaced on 7 July 2007 by those indicated in the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum,^[8] which Pope Francis in turn replaced with the far more restrictive Traditionis Custodes.

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) the ex officio head of the Commission. On 17 January 2019, Pope Francis abolished the Commission and transferred its responsibilities to a "special section" within the CDF.^[9]^[10]

References

^ "Ecclesia Dei journalist redaction". Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
^ John Paul II, Ecclesia Dei, §3. July 2, 1988, Libreria Editrice Vaticana
^ Code of Canon Law, Book VI
^ Ecclesia Dei, 5 c)
^ Code of Canon Law, can. 1364
^ Ecclesia Dei, 6 a)
^ Congregation for Divine Worship, Letter Quattuor abhinc annos. 3 Oct. 1984: AAS 76 (1984) pp. 1088-1089)
^ Summorum Pontificum Archived September 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, article 1
^ "Lettera Apostolica in forma di Motu proprio circa la Pontificia Commissione 'Ecclesia Dei'" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 19 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
^ Pentin, Edward (19 January 2019). "Pope Francis Suppresses Ecclesia Dei, Transfers Duties to CDF". National Catholic Register. Retrieved 19 January 2019.

External links

[1] "Ecclesia Dei journalist redaction". Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2020.

[2] John Paul II, Ecclesia Dei, §3. July 2, 1988, Libreria Editrice Vaticana

[3] Code of Canon Law, Book VI

[4] Ecclesia Dei, 5 c)

[5] Code of Canon Law, can. 1364

[6] Ecclesia Dei, 6 a)

[7] Congregation for Divine Worship, Letter Quattuor abhinc annos. 3 Oct. 1984: AAS 76 (1984) pp. 1088-1089)

[8] Summorum Pontificum Archived September 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, article 1

[9] "Lettera Apostolica in forma di Motu proprio circa la Pontificia Commissione 'Ecclesia Dei'" (Press release) (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. 19 January 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2019.

[ncr20190119-10] Pentin, Edward (19 January 2019). "Pope Francis Suppresses Ecclesia Dei, Transfers Duties to CDF". National Catholic Register. Retrieved 19 January 2019.

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