August 19, 2004

Official Statement by the Episcopal Vicar for Canonical Services Regarding Status of Our Lady of Fatima Chapel, Collier Township

Inquiry has been made concerning the status of the Our Lady of Fatima Chapel, Collier Township.

Our Lady of Fatima Chapel is neither a church nor a chapel recognized as Catholic by the Diocese of Pittsburgh or by the Catholic Church. The chapel operates under the auspices of the Saint Pius X Society. This society is affiliated with the “Traditionalist Movement” founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. The archbishop was excommunicated from the Catholic Church in 1988 after he ordained four bishops without the permission of the Holy Father. Both the archbishop and the movement were declared by His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, to be in schism, a formal and willful separation of a group or individual from the unity of the Catholic Church.

Therefore, the Mass celebrated at Our Lady of Fatima Chapel, which is in schism, is not authorized by the Diocese of Pittsburgh and does not fulfill the precept of Sunday obligation as required by Canon 1248 of the Code of Canon Law. In addition, informed, continual and willful participation at worship in Our Lady of Fatima Chapel by an individual implies separation from the Catholic Church and carries with it serious consequences which include an automatic ex-communication from the Catholic Church imposed by the law itself as prescribed by Canon 1364 and the subsequent denial of Christian burial from the Catholic Church.

In response to the document Ecclesia Dei of His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, authorizing the celebration of the Tridentine Latin Liturgy, the Diocese of Pittsburgh has authorized the “Tridentine Liturgy” to be celebrated only at Saint Boniface Church (Holy Wisdom Parish), North Side, Pittsburgh.