Interview with Fr. James Dominic Rooney

If you’ve spent any time on Catholic social media lately, you’ve probably scrolled past a reel of a priest defending the Latin Mass, or a thread arguing that Vatican II was a heretical council, or news about the consecration of new bishops. Behind a striking amount of this content sits one organisation: the Society of St. Pius X — the SSPX.

To make sense of who they are and why they’re suddenly everywhere again, I sat down with Dr. Fr. James Dominic Rooney, Assistant Professor at Hong Kong Baptist University to talk about this movement within the church, discussing where some concerns may be warranted and others too far and borderline heretical. The full interview is now up on Philosophy for All.

What’s actually happening

Founded 1970s by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the Society broke with Rome in 1988 when Lefebvre consecrated four bishops without papal mandate and was excommunicated. While this excommunication has since been lifted, the priests are still under significant restrictions and are unable to administer many of the sacraments (except for confession).

What’s brought them back into the news? Recently, the SSPX has announced plans to consecrate new bishops without Rome’s permission. The Holy See has signalled that such actions are going to have reprucussions, many thinking this to mean an excommunication of the entire Society.

The bait and switch

The most useful moment in the conversation is Fr. Rooney’s observation that the SSPX does not exist because of the Latin Mass. While the Latin Mass is a major part of its promotion material, it primarily exists because of doctrinal claims made by Vatican II — particularly around religious liberty. The liturgy is the main recruitment vehicle, the emotional hook for Catholics frustrated by liturgical abuse. Many Catholics drawn toward SSPX chapels because they love the old rite have very little idea what they are tacitly being asked to sign onto.

The ultramontane paradox

There is also a deep irony at the heart of the SSPX. Lefebvre’s was extremely ultramontane, a position which places a heavy emphasis on the Pope (a major aspect of Vatican 1). Yet when Paul VI condemned his position, he didn’t yield. The same movement built on absolute papal authority now finds itself defining “true Rome” against the actual Roman pontiff. Fr. Rooney calls this what it is: a practical contradiction, and one that has driven the movement to fragment again and again.

Watch the full interview

Whether you’re sympathetic to the SSPX, hostile to them, or just confused by the reels in your feed, Fr. Rooney offers a helpful overview in this corner of Catholic discourse: