DL, I'll give you my two cents on the issue.
Fr. Cekada famously wrote a paper, and then a few followups, where he argued that the New Rite of Episcopal Consecration (NREC) was invalid and null because it failed to univocally express that the recipient of the sacrament was receiving the power of orders and the grace of the Holy Ghost. According to Pius XII's
Sacramentum Ordinis, the essential formula of episcopal consecration
must univocally express that the recipient is receiving the power of order
and the grace of the Holy Ghost. Fr. Pierre Marie O.P. wrote a politically motivated rebuttal shortly thereafter (politically motivated in my opinion at least, since at this time Ratzinger, consecrated according to the NREC, had become elected and the SSPX had eyes on reconciliation with Rome). Although politically motivated, he offers what is probably the best defense of the NREC to date.
You can and should read the paper for yourself, and see if you find it convincing. If you've just doubted N.O. holy orders because "that's what trads do," give Fr. Cekada's arguments, and also Fr. Pierre Marie's rebuttal, a fair shake. I won't summarize everything for you, I'll just focus on the main point. The main point is that the NREC essential form does
not univocally express the episcopal candidate's reception of the power of order
and jurisdiction. And as such, Fr. argues it is simply invalid. Here is the essential form in question:
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“So now pour out upon this chosen one that power which is from you, the governing Spirit whom you gave to your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, the Spirit given by him to the holy apostles, who founded the Church in every place to be your temple for the unceasing glory and praise of your name.”
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In fact, Fr. Cekada argues that it is not even clear
what at all is being expressed in this essential form, because the "governing spirit" (
spiritus principalis in Latin) is perfectly ambiguous in both Latin and English. But even if we could be sure what the "governing spirit" is, the problem is that it is plainly only
one thing, while Pius XII defined
two things (the power of order
and jurisdiction) must be expressed in the essential form. So disambiguating the "governing spirit"-- say, by looking at the surrounding material in the preface, as many have done-- does
not solve the problem.
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Moreover, remember that essential forms are, well, essential. You could get everything about the surrounding ceremonies of baptism right but if you don't actually pour water on the head of the candidate and say "I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost" you don't baptize. Same with every sacrament. Pointing to other parts of the ceremony that apparently vindicate the meaning of the form is a vain exercise if the form is substantially deficient, as I think the form of the NREC is.
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Long story short, I find Fr. Cekada's case compelling enough to cast legitimate, positive doubt on the integrity of the NREC. I have read the various follow-up rebuttals, and have not found them compelling enough to redeem that doubt.