It was stiflingly warm Sunday at Our Lady Immaculate Church, despite open windows that allowed in little but the sounds of traffic outside of 410 Washington Blvd.
The thing you first notice is the piety of the congregants. Virtually every female wears a short veil, while the males are dressed in a minimum of slacks, dress shirt and shined shoes. Some wear suits, which would appear to add to the discomfort, though no one seems to mind.
But there’s something else. While there are at least 200 congregants this morning, with pews full in the lower sanctuary and most of the choir loft, they are primarily younger couples with families. This might be unexpected for what appears to be a pre-Vatican II Catholic service. Older folks may be more apt to reminisce about the full Latin mass.
But this isn’t technically a Catholic service. Earlier this month, the Society of St. Pius X, of which Our Lady Immaculate is a member, was excommunicated by the Vatican.
That was the subject of Rev. Kenneth Novak’s homily, a charismatic speaker who minces few words.
“Truth is like a lion let loose,” Novak said at one point during an explanation of why the Society of St. Pius X is in fact not in schism with Rome and instead is adhering to true Catholic tradition. “It defends itself.”
Defense seems to be the order of the day for the society. According to the Vatican news service, the group committed “an act of schismatic nature” through the “episcopal consecration of four presbyters, without pontifical mandate and against the will of the Supreme Pontiff,” Pope Leo XIV. The decree was made July 2, a day after the society consecrated the four new bishops in Switzerland.
According to the society’s website, the decree of schism “is hasty and reveals a flawed understanding of schism.
“The Society of Saint Pius X and its Superior General have always affirmed that they recognize Leo XIV as their head,” it said. “They address him as a subject addresses his superior and as a son addresses his father. They are prepared to obey him whenever the order is accordance with faith or morals.
“More profoundly, the society has never claimed to constitute a parallel or autonomous church; it exercises its apostolate as a work of the Catholic Church, in its service and its propagation.”
Wednesday Journal requests for commentary from society headquarters in Kansas did not receive a response. But the Archdiocese of Chicago proffered its own statement.
According to that statement, Our Lady Immaculate has never been an archdiocesan church. As for what excommunication actually means, there is no room for ambiguity.
“Excommunication is a medicinal penalty in the Catholic Church,” the statement said. “Its purpose is not to ‘cast someone out,’ but to make clear that a person’s relationship with the church has been seriously damaged and to encourage repentance, reconciliation, and a return to full communion.”
It also noted that the Holy See “has consistently sought dialogue and reconciliation” with the society and that the Vatican “has outlined a path for priests and lay faithful associated with the SSPX who wish to return to full communion with the Church. That process includes making a profession of the Catholic faith, affirming communion with the pope and the church and working with the local bishop or the Holy See, depending on the individual’s circumstances.”
Rev. Carl Morello, pastor of Oak Park’s three Catholic parishes, said he has “mixed feelings” about the situation. He’s not been to a service at Our Lady Immaculate.
“From what I know, just basically things the cardinal said, the pope reached out and said, ‘Let’s make it work,’ but they wouldn’t stop ordaining,” he said. “To say, ‘We’re going to do it this way,’ puts them in opposition with the whole Catholic church.”
As for the congregation’s younger composition, Morello said, “a lot of younger couples are leaning toward that.
“They see the world so out of synch,” he said. “To go this opposite way seems a sense of security and just being rooted.”
And so, Our Lady Immaculate moves forward with the society’s interpretation of Catholic tradition. Following the 90-minute service, congregants headed to the church basement where coffee and snacks could be had before an hour-long catechism, where at least 100 listened to Novak speak about the classes of grace and their effects.
In the closed space, Novak, dressed in the typical priest’s hassock and collar, let his voice boom, enthusiastic and authoritative about his topic and how it relates to recent events involving the society and the Vatican. At one point, he noted that the church received multiple requests from Oak Park newspapers seeking comment, presumably one of which was the Wednesday Journal.
After catechism, a reporter approached Novak, who noted that he didn’t look familiar. When asked for comment, he demurred, just like three male congregants, but referred a reporter to Society of St. Pius headquarters in Kansas.
But as the conversation wrapped, he was congenial when told the objective is always to write a balanced story and even shook a reporter’s hand with a smile.
“You’re a true journalist,” he said.