Question:
Answer:
In his 2016 apostolic letter Misericordia et Misera Pope Francis specifically granted the faculty to validly and licitly absolve sins to priests of the SSPX. However, it extended no other faculties to these priests.
That means that any other sacrament that requires faculties for validity would be invalid. Thus, for example, any marriage vows exchanged before a SSPX priest by a Catholic would be invalid.
However, a year later, the pope also made an allowance for marriages to be recognized through the provisions of the “Letter of the Pontifical Commission ‘Ecclesia Dei’ to the Ordinaries of the Episcopal Conferences concerned on the faculties for the celebration of marriages of the faithful of the Society Saint Pius X”:
Insofar as possible, the Local Ordinary is to grant the delegation to assist at the marriage to a priest of the Diocese (or in any event, to a fully regular priest), such that the priest may receive the consent of the parties during the marriage rite, followed, in keeping with the liturgy of the Vetus ordo, by the celebration of Mass, which may be celebrated by a priest of the Society.
Where the above is not possible, or if there are no priests in the Diocese able to receive the consent of the parties, the Ordinary may grant the necessary faculties to the priest of the Society who is also to celebrate the Holy Mass, reminding him of the duty to forward the relevant documents to the Diocesan Curia as soon as possible.
To the Ordinaries of the Episcopal Conferences concerned,
Certain that in this way any uneasiness of conscience on the part of the faithful who adhere to the Society of St. Pius X as well as any uncertainty regarding the validity of the sacrament of marriage may be alleviated, and at the same time that the process towards full institutional regularization may be facilitated, this Dicastery relies on Your cooperation.
Any sacrament they administer that does not rely upon having a faculty would be valid but illicit.