Cardinal Koch says SSPX ‘dialogue’ with Rome still possible despite consecrations

After describing the SSPX’s recent episcopal consecrations as ‘schismatic,’ the Vatican cardinal said excommunication is ‘intended to encourage’ reconciliation.

(LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Kurt Koch has said reconciliation between Rome and the Society of St. Pius X remains possible despite the Society’s recent unauthorized episcopal consecrations. On July 2 Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, said in a podcast interview for the German magazine Communio that the recent episcopal consecrations carried out by the SSPX without a pontifical mandate do not permanently prevent future reconciliation with the Holy See. “An excommunication,” Koch said, “is intended to encourage repentance and restore ecclesial communion rather than to end every possibility of dialogue.”

He also expressed his hope that discussions with the Society could eventually resume “so that they may once again find the path to the Catholic Church.” Speaking in the podcast hosted by Communio Editor Jan-Heiner Tück, Koch placed the present dispute within a broader historical context. He argued that similar tensions have followed “several ecumenical councils” throughout the Church’s history, when some groups claimed that the Church had abandoned Tradition by introducing unacceptable innovations.

According to the cardinal, the central issue remains “how to preserve fidelity to Tradition” while addressing the challenges faced by the Church in different historical periods. Koch also acknowledged that the Second Vatican Council remains relatively recent in the life of the Church and said that the passage of time could create better conditions for mutual understanding. He suggested that the Church itself should examine how the council has been interpreted since its conclusion.

“It would be appropriate to beat our breast,” Koch added, arguing that the Church should identify which post-conciliar developments require correction. He maintained that many of the concerns raised by the SSPX arise “not from the texts of Vatican II themselves” but from certain “interpretations and practices” that developed afterward.

Distinguishing between the council and later applications, he said, is necessary if the Church wishes to answer the Society’s objections in a credible manner. READ: New Jersey diocese suppresses Traditional Latin Mass The Swiss cardinal nevertheless criticized the Society’s decision to proceed with episcopal consecrations without papal approval. He said the justification offered by the SSPX amounted to assuming an authority that belongs to the Pope.

Koch compared this attitude with actions taken by some progressive groups that also seek to act independently of ecclesiastical authority. “Once again it is clear that traditionalists and progressives can suffer from the same illness, even though they are admitted to very different wards of the same hospital,” he said. Koch also addressed the Society’s understanding of Tradition.

In his view, the SSPX mistakenly treats the Second Vatican Council as a break in authentic Catholic Tradition. Koch further questioned the Society’s interpretation of the axiom: Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus (“Outside the Church there is no salvation”).

“When the Society seems to consign to hell all those who do not belong to the Catholic Church, I wonder how the fundamental conviction of Sacred Scripture – that God wants to save all people – can be maintained,” Koch said, adding that “final judgment belongs to God rather than to human theological assessment.” Koch’s remarks came one day after the Society consecrated four priests as bishops in Écône, Switzerland, an act that the cardinal nevertheless described as “schismatic,” and that resulted in automatic excommunication, according to the Vatican decrees issued on July 3.