[Cicero]

I too would like to see some kind of solid evidence, beyond the clearly ignorant and uninformed author of this Fox News piece, that Gibson's chapel is associated with the Society of Pius X.

The Pope has said that Catholics have the right to petition their bishops for an indult to celebrate the so-called Tridentine Mass in their dioceses, or the Novus Ordo in Latin. And the Vatican has indicated that ordinarily bishops should routinely give such permissions unless they have good reasons to deny them.

The Church has always recognized the right of wealthy people to have private chapels, provided that they clear it with the bishop and follow the proper forms. It may not seem fair or democratic, but there it is. Noble and wealthy households in England and Europe frequently had their own chapels, and probably still do. Vide "Brideshead Revisited."

My aunt, with permission from the Archbishop of Boston, set aside a former bedroom in her house as a chapel. It was duly consecrated. From time to time priests who were friends of hers celebrated Mass there in the house, and there was no odor of schism in it. One priest who frequently visited was on Cardinal Law's staff.

I understand that Mel Gibson's father may or not be a sedevacantist and a bit of a nutcase. But I have seen no definite evidence that Mel Gibson is. Is his chapel authorized by his diocesan ordinary? Has the bishop forbidden him to use the chapel? If he had, I imagine the news media would eagerly have seized the opportunity to tell us. I suspect that the bishop may not LIKE what Mel is doing, but if he has given his permission, or refrained from forbidding it, that would suffice.

[livius]

My understanding also was that it was a private chapel, not SSPX, but not affiliated with the archdiocese as a parish. It is permitted by the ordinary and staffed at Mel Gibson's expense by regular Roman Catholic clergy. Frequently retired priests do jobs like this.

I could be wrong, of course, but I'm pretty sure that this bit of information was in the New York Times article about him awhile ago.