Without recourse to the local ordinary for the grant of faculties (Can. 966 §1, Can. 969 §1.), priests of the Society of St Pius X can for the duration of the Jubilee Year of Mercy without query or question administer the confessions of penitents.
The Jubilee Year will commence on the Immaculate Conception and will conclude on Sunday, 20 November 2016.
Now, what happens on the 21st November and beyond?
Surely, the mandate is expired and effectively SSPX priests would not be able to administer confession, save in the case of danger of death of the penitent (Can. 986 §2).
However, the Holy Father is not a man who rules by the letter of the law and predictability. After all his unpredictability caught us off guard when he made the announcement outlining the arrangement on Tuesday.
I think that this will become permanent, for the good of the souls attached to the SSPX, for the advancement of Vatican/SSPX relations and in the interests of simple common sense!
Pope Francis has previously been critical of rules applied in a Pharisaic way and to simply cease the arrangement on the 21st November would appear to be absurd and contrary to the objective of the preceding Jubilee Year.