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Vatican official comments on SSPX, Order of Malta; declines comment on Charlotte priests' dubia (Ad Vaticanum)

In an interview on the occasion of his 75th birthday, Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru, secretary of the Dicastery (formerly Pontifical Council) for Legislative Texts since 2007, was asked about the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) and the Vatican’s relations with the Order of Malta, as well as the liturgical dubia submitted by 31 priests of the Diocese of Charlotte.

“I believe it was a grave mistake to have presented this matter as an imposition on the Holy See, announcing directly, as if it were a fait accompli, that they intended to carry out episcopal ordinations,” Bishop Arrieta said of the SSPX’s announcement that it will ordain new bishops.

“This is the attitude of those who, from the outset, consider themselves outside the Church, a stance that contradicts their own awareness that they do not possess ecclesiastical jurisdiction,” he continued. “In fact, when they had to impose disciplinary sanctions for certain conduct by some of their priests, they turned to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which granted them the authority to do so.”

Commenting on the Holy See’s dealings with the Order of Malta during Pope Francis’s pontificate, Bishop Arrieta suggested that “greater consideration should have been given to the instrument of a concordat: a concordat between the Holy See and the Order, similar to those signed with many countries, would have provided a formal framework consistent with how it is actually perceived in the international arena, and within that framework, the various spiritual and charitable issues raised by this important entity could have been resolved with realism and practicality.”

Commenting on the Charlotte priests’ series of dubia about liturgical directives enacted or considered by their bishop, Bishop Arrieta said:

For several years now, our dicastery has been publishing on its website the various opinions and consultations we are asked to provide, omitting, of course, any personal references, whenever we believe they may be of general use to the Church. For us, it is also a way to engage with the legal world and with new situations arising in various parts of the world, seeking to stimulate studies and in depth analysis of specific aspects of canon law. Regarding individual cases, however, as is logical, we are bound to maintain absolute confidentiality, also out of respect for the individuals involved.

Dog owners who shared the Eucharist with their pets are not excommunicated, Swiss bishop rules (Pillar)

Following an investigation, Bishop Joseph Bonnemain of Chur, Switzerland, ruled that three dog owners who shared the Blessed Sacrament with their pets did not incur an automatic excommunication because they did not act with sacrilegious intent. Canon 1382 provides that “one who throws away the consecrated species or, for a sacrilegious purpose, takes them away or keeps them, incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.”

The incident during place last October 4, the memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, at Good Shepherd Parish in Zurich. The diocese stated:

Due to a poor weather forecast, the blessing [of the animals] was moved indoors and combined with a Eucharistic celebration. During this Eucharistic celebration, three people shared portions of their hosts with their dogs.

The findings clearly showed that the three individuals did not act with sacrilegious intent. Consequently, these individuals cannot be accused of sacrilege, as they lacked this sacrilegious intent. Therefore, they did not incur the excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See as a penalty for their actions.

Pontiff grants ecclesiastical communion to new Chaldean Patriarch (CWN)

In a letter dated April 24 and released today, Pope Leo XIV granted ecclesiastical communion to Paul III Nona, who was elected Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church on April 12.

California bishop's role at Anglican consecration prompts questions (Catholic Herald)

At the consecration of a bishop of the Episcopal Church, a Catholic bishop performed a “gesture that some commentators have interpreted as active participation in a non-Catholic ordination ceremony,” The Catholic Herald reported.

“Publicly available footage and images circulated online appear to show the Catholic bishop”—Bishop Joseph Brennan of Fresno, California—“standing with Anglican clergy during the laying on of hands portion of the rite,” according to the report.

(The Catholic Church teaches that Anglican orders, unlike orders conferred in the separated Eastern Churches, are invalid. In his 1896 apostolic letter Apostolicae Curae, Pope Leo XIII taught that “ordinations performed according to the Anglican Rite have been and are completely null and void.”)

Apr. 28 Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter; Opt. Mem. of St. Peter Chanel, Priest & Martyr (NZ, Feast); Opt. Mem. of St. Louis Mary de Montfort, Priest , Opt. Mem.

Today the Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Peter Chanel (1803-1841). St. Peter was born in France in 1802. He was ordained a priest in 1827, and engaged in the parochial ministry for a few years; but the reading of letters of missionaries in far-away lands inflamed his heart with zeal, and he resolved to devote his life to the Apostolate. He joined the Society of Mary (Marists), and in 1836 he embarked for Oceania. He died a martyr's death on the island of Futuna, Melanesia. He is called the apostle of Oceania where he spread the Gospel.

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