After SSPX excommunications, Oslo bishop offers wider Latin Mass access

One of the first concrete diocesan responses in Europe to the fallout from the recent Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) excommunications has come from Norway.

Bishop Fredrik Hansen of Oslo has moved to reassure Catholics attached to the Traditional Latin Mass while warning of the grave ecclesial consequences of the society’s latest schismatic act.

In a letter issued after the illicit episcopal consecrations, Hansen said the four bishops along with their two consecrating bishops “removed themselves from ecclesial communion and from unity with the pope” by taking part in the consecrations without a papal mandate, thereby incurring “the most grave ecclesiastical penalty: ‘latae sententiae’ excommunication.”

The Norwegian prelate then expressed willingness to expand access to the traditional liturgy within the Diocese of Oslo for Catholics who may now find themselves disoriented by the SSPX crisis.

Keeping the old Mass within the Church

Hansen turned directly to Catholics in his diocese who have attended SSPX chapels because of their attachment to the preconciliar liturgy and spirituality. Acknowledging that “these are difficult and distressing days for you,” he urged them first of all to “hold fast to unity with our Holy Father, the bishop of Rome, and with me as bishop of Oslo.”

Rather than simply warning the faithful away from the SSPX, Hansen paired his appeal with a concrete pastoral offer. He pointed out that Mass according to the 1962 Missal is already celebrated every Sunday at St. Joseph Church in Oslo and added that “if there is a need for it, and if it would be for the good of the Church and of souls, I will also expand this form of Mass celebration in our local Church.”

This makes Norway one of the first places in Europe where a diocesan bishop has responded to the SSPX crisis not only by reaffirming Rome’s judgment but also by signaling greater provision for Catholics attached to the older liturgy within full communion with the Church.

Hansen also urged Catholics to pray rosaries for Church unity while reminding the laity to “refrain from participating in Masses and other activities run by the Society of St. Pius X.”

A wider Scandinavian response

In neighboring Denmark, speaking to CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, Bishop Czesław Kozon of Copenhagen strongly condemned the SSPX consecrations, calling them “tragic and completely pointless.”

“It also shows that this is about more than just the old Mass,” Kozon said. “People who previously praised the magisterium, emphasized obedience, and promoted the unity of the Church are suddenly doing something like this, which is a clear sign of disobedience and harms the unity of the Church.”

At the same time, Kozon defended continued space for the traditional liturgy within the Church. Having recently celebrated a pontifical Mass in the traditional rite, he said the older form “should be preserved as long as there are believers who love it and feel connected to it.”

Kozon also cautioned against framing the old and new rites as rivals. “There shouldn’t be any competition between the two forms of Mass,” he said, noting instead a pastoral approach that allows room for Catholics attached to the traditional liturgy while affirming the postconciliar liturgy as the Church’s ordinary form.