Question 3 - Validity of Confirmation
Father, I just joined Tradition, is my Confirmation in the Novus Ordo valid ?
On December 3rd, 1970, it was decided in Rome, contrarily to the constant Tradition of the Church, that the sacrament of Confirmation could be given with any vegetable oil and not only, as it was the case till then, with olive oil. Consequently, Archbishop Lefebvre was holding the sacrament of Confirmation as doubtful in the Novus Ordo and was advising all those confirmed in the Novus Ordo to be conditionally confirmed in the traditional rite.
Also, on August 12th, 1998, Mgr Tissier de Mallerais, after reading the book called “Le drame Anglican” from Dr Rama Cosmaraswamy, wrote the following : “I came to the conclusion that the validity of episcopal consecrations given according to the rite of Paul VI is doubtful”. This letter of His Excellency Bishop Tissier de Mallerais has circulated a little bit everywhere. Many other theologians having studied the question carefully have come to the same conclusion.
Let us be clear: neither Archbishop Lefebvre nor Bishop Tissier de Mallerais are the official representatives of the Magisterium of the Church, but they are among the most prominent people who have resisted the Novus Ordo Church and have guided the Faithful in this unprecedented crisis. This is why their opinion is important to me.
So, although this decision belongs ultimately to the Faithful confirmed in the Novus Ordo, my advice is definitely to be confirmed again conditionally when possible. But receiving the sacrament of Confirmation, although important, is not as urgent as some other sacraments for salvation, and you can therefore wait till an occasion is offered to be confirmed.
