Will the SSPX participate in the Jubilee of Mercy?
What should be our attitude concerning the Jubilee Year of Mercy? Should we participate in it to obtain the plenary indulgence?
The SSPX has published an article in connection with the Year of Mercy that explains the purpose and history of papally-declared jubilees and how we should view the current Jubilee: Note on the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy and the participation of the Society of St. Pius X.
In answering the question, "Will the SSPX participate in the Jubilee to obtain the special plenary indulgence? ", the article demonstrates the balanced attitude Catholics ought to have in reaction to the post-conciliar crisis:
The occasion for the opening of the Holy Door is the 50th anniversary of the conclusion of Vatican Council II on December 8, 1965. The choice of this date to begin the Jubilee Year is the cause of the difficulty...
...Now the conditions for obtaining the indulgence, as spelled out, are traditional (prayer, confession and Communion, visit to a jubilee church)...
...The nature of the jubilee does not change because it is marred by reference to the documents, the spirit or the reforms of Vatican II...
It is a truth of faith proclaimed by the Council of Trent (Session 25) that “the use of indulgences is very salutary for the Christian people,” and the 1917 Code of Canon Law asks all Catholics to set great store by it (canon 911). It would be paradoxical if, just because we want nothing to do with the failed council that was Vatican II, we ended up scorning a truth proclaimed at the Council of Trent and encouraged by the whole Tradition of the Church!"
