july 2008 $4.45 “Instaurare omnia in Christo” A Journal of Roman Catholic Tradition the Episcopal Consecrations twentieth anniversary Life of the Virgin Mary Fr. Demetrius Manousos Covers the life of Mary in engrossing full color. Starting in the Garden of Eden when God promised to send a woman who would battle Satan...a battle “between thy offspring and hers” through her Assumption into Heaven. Di remagitally 1950 stere d comi’s Cathol c boo ic ks 64pp, softcover, full color, STK# 8280✱ $13.95 The Sacraments Fr. Demetrius Manousos This book really needs to be seen to be believed. There is nothing better to explain the Sacraments to children. All seven sacraments are covered in full color. Buy ALL FOUR and save $7.95 64pp, softcover, full color, STK# 8281✱ $13.95 Know Your Mass Fr. Demetrius Manousos A full-color, step-by-step explanation of the Traditional Latin Mass for children yet informative for adults as well. 96pp, softcover, full color, STK# 1022✱ $15.00 The Life of Christ STK# 8282 Fr. Robert E. Southard $49.95 Presents the life of Our Lord in full color from the Annunciation to His Ascension in a manner easily understood by all. Adults will find the seamless integration of the Gospels informative as well. 96pp, softcover, full color, STK# 8224✱ $15.00 A massive all-in-one Hymnal for parish use. Contains hymns, responses, chants, and ceremonies of the Traditional liturgy. Eight most used sets of the Ordinary Chants of the Mass–Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei plus three Credos, Tones for the Gloria Patri, Tones for Mass Responses, Asperges and Vidi Aquam. Hymns and chants are proper to the liturgical season and various devotions (Sacred Heart, for example). English translations, Gregorian notation, Litanies, Confirmation and Burial Service. 345pp, embossed hardcover, 8¼" x 6¼", STK# 6435✱ $25.00 off cial er 15.00 4 0 % o normally $ 25. 9 2). 5 0 1 $ – ! E S A C ks spe a i l ! – $0 FF ret 0 F P ER (14 boo 4 5 % O Frmally $ 350.0&0individuals) no kstores ! (for boo E ONLY! M TI D LIMITE “Instaurare omnia in Christo—To restore all things in Christ.” Motto of Pope St. Pius X The ngelus A Journal of Roman Catholic Tradition 2915 Forest Avenue “To publish Catholic journals and place them in the hands of honest men is not enough. It is necessary to spread them as far as possible that they may be read by all, and especially by those whom Christian charity demands we should tear away from the poisonous sources of evil literature.” —Pope St. Pius X July 2008 Volume XXXI, Number 7 • Kansas City, Missouri 64109 English-language Editor and Publisher for the International Society of Saint Pius X letter from the (former) editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Fr. François Laisney PublisheR Fr. John Fullerton Editor Fr. Kenneth Novak Assistant Editor Mr. James Vogel operations manager Mr. Michael Sestak Editorial assistant Miss Anne Stinnett Design and Layout Mr. Simon Townshend MARKETING Mr. Christopher McCann comptroller Mr. Robert Wiemann, CPA customer service Mrs. MaryAnne Hall Mr. John Rydholm Miss Rebecca Heatwole information technology consultant Mr. Cory Bosley interviews with the bishops of the SSPX . . . . . . . 9 Bishop Bernard Fellay The society of saint pius x . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 the 1988 episcopal consecrations: The bishops speak Sermon of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Declaration of Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 betwixt and between . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Robert Wyer heraldry and St. PIus x . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Dwyer Quentin Wedvick conservatives fail to conserve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Bishop Richard Williamson. Questions and answers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Fr. Peter Scott may 2008 writing contest winning entry . . . . . . . . 43 The Angelus Monthly photo writing contest . . . . 44 Shipping and Handling Mr. Jon Rydholm The Angelus (ISSN 10735003) is published monthly under the patronage of St. Pius X and Mary, Queen of Angels. Publication office is located at 2915 Forest Ave., Kansas City, MO 64109. PH (816) 753-3150; FAX (816) 753-3557. Periodicals Postage Rates paid at Kansas City, MO. ©2008 by Angelus Press. Manuscripts are welcome and will be used at the discretion of the editors. Postmaster sends address changes to the address above. ON OUR COVER: Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and the newly consecrated bishops ( June 30, 1988). The coats of arms of the four bishops, (left to right, top to bottom) Bishop Bernard Fellay, Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Bishop Richard Williamson, Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta. The Angelus Subscription Rates 1 year 2 years 3 years US $35.00 Foreign Countries (inc. Canada & Mexico) $55.00 $65.00 $105.00 $100.00 $160.00 All payments must be in US funds only. Online subscriptions: $15.00/year (the online edition is available around the 10th of the preceding month). To subscribe visit: www.angelusonline.org. Register for free to access back issues 14 months and older plus many other site features. 2 Letterfrom theEditor I can’t do better on this page usually reserved for myself than to take four extra to reprint the July 1988 “Letter From the Editor” of Fr. François Laisney, SSPX, then Superior of the US District and Editor-in-Chief of The Angelus. Twenty years have passed since the historic “Operation Survival,” the episcopal consecrations of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. Any of us reading this might admit to having a short memory of the event; some of us, after two decades, have to admit to having no memory of the event. In any case, Fr. Laisney does a remarkable job reviewing the facts leading up to and including the event that make it worthy of republication. First, however, a few acknowledgements before they go out of date. Congratulations to the following three bookstores who won cash prizes for selling the most Angelus Press books for the eight-week period ending May 1. The winners all were bookstores affiliated with chapels of the Society of St. Pius X: St. Pius Chapel Bookstore of Park Hills, Kentucky ($3,293); Corpus Christi Chapel Bookstore, Edmonds, Washington ($2,609); and Our Lady of Lourdes Books of Brisbane, Australia ($2,364). Thanks to the priests who so strongly support the print apostolate and the clients of these bookstores for their energetic reading. Thanks to our Japanese confrere, Fr. Thomas Onada, SSPX, who visited Angelus Press recently during his tour of the US District and, upon returning home, sent us the largest donation we’ve ever received from a priest. Thanks to Mr. Gus Uhlenkott, the eldest subscriber to The Angelus, who ended a note asking to re-subscribe by writing to us: I am almost 93 years old and this N.O. Mass kills me. My subscription has run out, and though this $35 hits us hard, I found it harder to say no; therefore, please renew. Instaurare Omnia in Christo, Fr. Kenneth Novak THE ANGELUS • August 2007 www.angeluspress.org From the July 1988 Commemorative Issue of The Angelus. Rev. Fr. François Laisney, District Superior of the United States of America1 Dear Friends and Readers, We present you with this very special issue on the occasion of the historic consecration of four bishops by Their Excellencies, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and Bishop de Castro Mayer, on June 30, 1988, for the continuation of the Tradition of the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman Church. Some of you already approve of this; others disapprove. All of you have many questions, which are unanswered by the news media. We hope, by means of this issue, to bring you the documents which will give the answers you seek. [In this paragraph, Fr. Laisney refers to the ordination sermon given by Archbishop Lefebvre on the eve of the episcopal consecrations. The original is not in this issue but can be read in its entirety in The Angelus, July 1988.--Ed.] First of all, we present the sermon of Archbishop Lefebvre on 1 District Superior from 1984-1990. He is currently the Prior of Campion House in Wanganui, New Zealand. 3 The Episcopal Consecrations 1988 June 29th, for the ordination of sixteen to the Holy Priesthood. During his sermon, His Grace explains the formation and spirit given to the seminarians to prepare them for the priesthood. I was, myself, very happy to hear this sermon, which reduces to nought the objection oftentimes heard of pride. For the media, for the men of the world, for one or two bishops to stand up against 2,400 bishops is pride! This beautiful sermon shows that the traditional Catholic attitude is that subjection to God is the opposite of pride. Judge for yourselves: who is proud? The one who submits himself to the doctrine of Christ, handed down through the centuries in its integrity and entirety (by the assistance of the Holy Ghost), that is, without any changes or diminution? Or the ones who wish to change and purge the doctrine of Christ, in order to adapt it to the modern world? If 2,400 bishops wish to change the doctrine and adapt it to the modern world (or, at the least, do not oppose such changes and adaptations), it makes 2,400 proud bishops (or, at the least, weak ones)! How much criticism Archbishop Lefebvre would have spared himself if he had gone along with the rest of them! It is precisely his submission to God that gives him the strength to stand up against so many. St. Augustine says that God created everything under man, and man under Himself. When a man refuses to acknowledge his subjection to God, then disorder is established, and by a just Judgment of God, the other creatures are no longer subject to this man. When, on the contrary, a man submits himself to God willingly, then everything else will come back into place. Thus saints had a wonderful power over nature, even animals such as wolves obeyed St. Francis...I would add to St. Augustine’s words by saying that when a man submits himself to God, then even his fellow men will much more willingly submit themselves to him in a loving obedience. Archbishop Lefebvre does not need to ask people to fall at his feet and kiss his episcopal ring! The faithful do this naturally, without feeling oppressed by authority; on the contrary, the feel much honored for having been able to approach such a man of God. Obedience to him is very easy, since it is clear that he first strives to obey God. Then, we present the most important documents, which are the sermons of the consecrations: one sermon by Archbishop Lefebvre and an excellent address delivered on this occasion by Bishop de Castro Mayer. We also present some reflections by two priests, Professors of Canon Law, showing how the law of the Church has foreseen that, in cases of necessity, there was no penalty applicable. We also present an article on the life of Archbishop Lefebvre, www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • August 2007 4 who has always been a great missionary: what he did before the Council with the blessings of Pope Pius XII, he continued to do after the Council, in spite of the persecution of the Liberals! His works have carried lasting fruits, before and after, since they were built on the Rock of the Eternal Faith, not on the sand of the changing human mind. Since the Visit of Cardinal Gagnon Several elements of this chronology were not available a few weeks ago. It was, therefore, difficult for some to understand why His Grace stopped the negotiations with Rome. Let us review the events. During Cardinal Gagnon’s visit, Archbishop Lefebvre gave him a letter, a proposal for a solution, on November 21,1987. It is very interesting to see how Archbishop Lefebvre, convinced that only a return to the Tradition of the Church can restore her former beauty, now so disfigured by the Modernists, wanted to protect the Tradition from adulterating its spirit, and desired that we be recognized as we are! He asked for three essential and practical points: 1) A Roman secretariat (or commission) to be established in order to care for the different traditional works, supporting and protecting them, and trying to keep peace with local bishops. The duty of this commission was to help the local bishops understand the need and benefits of Tradition. 2) A canonical status for the Society, on the model of a personal prelature, or the “Ordinariat for the Military.” This status was proposed by Archbishop Lefebvre to include three bishops: the Superior General and two auxiliaries. 3) Incardination and jurisdiction would have been through these bishops, and not from the local bishop. On January 5, 1988, Cardinal Gagnon gave his report to the Pope. Even though he had promised us a copy, which is the normal thing, we still have not received it, exactly as happened after the 1974 Visitation. More than two months after the Visit, nothing had come from Rome, so the Archbishop wrote a letter to Pope John Paul II on February 20, urging concrete moves toward a solution. He received an answer from Cardinal Ratzinger on March 18, inviting him to send some members for a joint commission. His Grace sent Fr. Bernard Tissier de Mallerais as theologian, and Fr. Patrice Laroche as canonist. Cardinal Ratzinger had nominated Fr. Ocaris, from Opus Dei, as theologian; The author of this editorial, Fr. François Laisney (circled). Fr. Bertone2, a Salesian, as canonist; and Fr. Duroux, O.P., as moderator to oversee these meetings. On April 8, the Pope wrote a letter to Cardinal Ratzinger, urging him to find a solution for “the family of Tradition.” On April 12, 13, and 14, this commission met and discussed much, without finding a solution. On April 15, the minutes of these discussions were signed. On May 3, Cardinal Ratzinger gave to the Archbishop a letter asking for indefinite postponement of the episcopal consecrations. On May 4, the last meeting of the commission was held, in the presence of Cardinal Ratzinger and Archbishop Lefebvre. During the course of this meeting, the Cardinal insisted that the Society would not need a bishop, and could address itself to the local bishops. Archbishop Lefebvre insisted on the absolute necessity, in the present crisis of the Church, of having bishops committed to Tradition, who have not compromised with Modernist errors. Cardinal Ratzinger conceded with difficulty 2 THE ANGELUS • August 2007 www.angeluspress.org Now Cardinal Bertone, Secretary of State. 5 the eventuality of such a bishop... but one without any power! On May 5, the famous Protocol was signed. Readers will be able to compare it with the proposal of Archbishop Lefebvre, and see how Rome granted the bare minimum, without sufficient guarantees, and with a completely different view on the “reconciliation.” This became more manifest when, on the very same day, a letter was given to the Archbishop, asking him to write an “apology.” Apology for what? Was he wrong to hold fast to Tradition and its fruitfulness while almost all the other bishops in the world have embraced Modernism and its sterility? Moreover, after having signed the Protocol, Archbishop Lefebvre asked when the consecration could take place. “On June 30?” “No, it is too soon.” “On August 15?” “No, all the Roman secretariats are on holiday.” “In October?” “No, it takes time to inquire about a bishop.” “Before the end of the year?” “I cannot guarantee you...” Following this conversation, Archbishop Lefebvre did not sleep the whole night. The next morning, May 6, he wrote a letter, asking for a definite date for the consecration. The Cardinal answered on the very same day, saying that such a request would put in question the whole Protocol! On May 20, His Grace wrote a letter to the Pope, and another letter on May 24, showing the importance of protecting Tradition, and of the urgency of having several bishops wholly dedicated to Tradition and taken from Tradition, in order to restore the Church through Tradition. He gave these two letters to Cardinal Ratzinger at their meeting on May 24, during which the Cardinal proposed the date of August 15 for the consecration, which the Archbishop was disposed to accept. A letter from the Cardinal on May 30 confirmed this proposal, but refused the request of the Archbishop on the number of bishops needed and on the composition of the Roman Commission for Tradition to be established—which requests the Archbishop deemed essential for the protection of Tradition. www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • August 2007 6 On May 30, there was a meeting of the different traditional foundations in France: Benedictines, Dominicans, Franciscan monks and nuns, plus the Society of the Transfiguration (for men), the Carmelite nuns, Fr. Coache and Fr. André. The Archbishop informed them of the situation and listened to their recommendations. Three days later, on June 2, he wrote a letter to the Pope, saying that, due to the refusal to provide what is needed for Tradition, he thought the time had not yet come for the return of Rome to Tradition. The Pope answered on June 9, not providing what was needed, but simply calling for unity. On June 13, Archbishop Lefebvre received at Ecône the four candidates for the episcopacy, whom he had chosen. He gave them a retreat at Sierre, Switzerland. On June 15, he gave a press conference, announcing his decision. Two days later there was a threat from Rome. “With special thanks to the Blessed Virgin Mary,” as he said, and since he undertook the decision to perform “Operation Survival,” Archbishop Lefebvre has felt a great peace, which he communicates to all around him. It is in peace that the ceremonies took place on June 29 and 30. There were many more priests present at Ecône this year, and many more faithful—the police estimated 8,000. They had come from all over the world: I myself was very happy to see faithful from many cities in America, and some faithful I had known when I was in Australia and New Zealand! Both Archbishop Lefebvre and Bishop de Castro Mayer preached. The sermons were immediately translated into German and English. The whole ceremony of the consecrations took more than five hours. Five beautiful hours! How many bishops are faithful to their episcopal consecration today? The Introit of the Mass of the Holy Confessors says: “Non est inventus similis illi qui conservaret Legem Excelsi—No one has been found like to him in keeping the Law of the Most High.” Of which bishop could this be said today? I know two. How many more? The ceremony starts with an examination of the Faith of the chosen one. Among other things he promises to be always attached to the divine things and detached from worldly things and shameful gains. He professes the Faith in the Most Holy Trinity in a beautiful text, then “anathematizes also all heresy raising itself against the Holy Catholic Church.” Then, when his head is anointed with Holy Chrism, as the head of Aaron was anointed with holy oil by Moses, the consecrator says: “Give him, O Lord, the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, so that, without glorifying himself of this power, THE ANGELUS • August 2007 www.angeluspress.org he uses it unto edification and not unto destruction.” How many bishops have used their power to destroy and not to build? When one bishop, in the midst of the destruction, has been building up the Church, founding six seminaries and a living Society all over the world, the Modernist bishops want to add to the destruction of their own dioceses, by suppressing this holy Bishop’s work by excommunicating him? The very fact that they received this power “unto edification and not unto destruction” means that such an excommunication cannot be but null and void. The consecrator continues with these words of Isaias: “Let him hate pride, and love humility and truth.... Let him not put light darkness, nor darkness light; let him not call evil good, nor good evil.” Again, who has been faithful? What was condemned for over 150 years by Popes and Saints, is now promoted to all levels of the ecclesiastical hierarchy! Then, at the end of the Mass, the consecrator imposes the mitre upon the new bishop and recalls Moses, who came down from Mt. Sinai with two horns of light, symbolizing the strength which the new bishop must have in defense of the Truth, light of the souls. He says: “We impose, O Lord, upon the head of this bishop, Thy champion, this helmet of protection and salvation: so that, with the face thus adorned and the head armed with the horns of the two Testaments, he may appear terrible to the enemies of the Truth; and that, with the help of Thy 7 grace, he may be a strong fighter...” How many bishops, far from being fighters for the Truth, have tried to change it? Or have tried to put it on the same level as error, in ecumenical meetings such as Assisi? Or have completely lost it, such as Archbishop May3 of St. Louis, “searching for the truth...” with the Hindus on Pentecost Sunday! After this beautiful and historic ceremony, we had one certitude: Tradition is living, and shall not die! What is the life of Tradition? It is not a life of change. It is not a life such as that of a plant or an animal, which changes constantly. No! It is a sharing in the Life of God, Who is Immutable. For minds accustomed to the modern, materialistic atmosphere, it is hard to understand a life without any change. Yet it is clear that the proper of life is not movement alone: when I push with my foot the body of a dead cat, I give him movement... but not life. The proper of life is rather the immanence of the movement; when Our Lord said: “Lazarus, come out!” the dead came out without anyone pushing him. His movement was from within: he had come back to life. As for the life of the Church, one must first of all distinguish the life of each faithful, and the life of the Church as a whole. Each faithful 3 Archbishop of St. Louis, MO, from 1980-1992. passes from the ignorance of the Faith (before he became faithful) to the knowledge of it, and must always deepen his Faith. But the object of this Faith is One, Immutable; it is the Eternal Truth: Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh. Each faithful passes from the state of sin (before he became faithful) to the state of grace. He must constantly fight against temptation and the residue of sin; he must purify his soul more and more in the Blood of the Lamb; he must become closer and closer to God in Our Lord Jesus Christ, “walking in charity”: this is spiritual progress. Thus it is clear that there is movement in the life of the faithful. But this is a spiritual movement: the deepening of the knowledge of the Truth and the strengthening of virtues. It is not the abandonment of what he believed and strived to practice yesterday! Now for the Church there is even less movement. Christ has given to His Church the complete Deposit of Faith. Each individual may deepen his knowledge of this Deposit, but the Church had it all since its beginning. The Church may defend it more and more explicitly against the negators and the heresies, but neither adds to it, nor loses any parcel of this Eternal Truth. Concerning the life of virtue, the Church possesses from her Divine Founder the Seven Sacraments—seven fountains of the life of holiness. The Church cannot add a new one (as some pentecostals would like to do), nor subtract another (some would like to take away Confession, or Confirmation). The Church possesses, from the beginning, the Perfect Example of Virtue: the Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ. All the saints have imitated Him; we have to follow in their footsteps. The way to heaven is not to be invented; there is one, and only one; it is Our Lord Jesus Christ: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by Me!” Therefore there can be no change in the Church’s morals, which are all summed up in these words of Our Lord: “Be ye perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt. 5:48). The Divine Perfection is eternal and immutable. In heaven the saints “rest” in God, thus without changes, sharing Divine Eternity. On the contrary, in hell, the damned will be tormented by unrest: the unceasing succession and changes of torments, one worse than the other. Folly of those who love change for the sake of change! They might have an eternity of changes... in hell! If there is some change in the Church as such, it is her wonderful capability of putting into practice her eternal principles to meet the needs of each era. This is particularly manifested in the many religious orders which have sprung up throughout the whole history of the Church. All of them follow the same Model: Jesus Christ, and the same principles of Faith and morals, but adapt them to their particular circumstances. In this regard, one can see Tradition living in the work of Archbishop Lefebvre and all the other traditional www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • August 2007 8 foundations. They have all come to the Eternal Principles to receive Eternal Life from them. In one word, the life of Tradition is a life of contemplation of the Eternal Truth and love of the Eternal Good—not a constant change! Injustices of the Condemnation Those who condemn us, try to accuse us of not being faithful to the “living” Tradition. I hope the above reflections show that the true faithful to the Living Tradition are those who keep it and live it, without adulterating it with the spirit of the world. This is the very meaning of the word “faithful,” i.e., the one who keeps the Faith! Not the one who changes it! Liberal principles, which the Popes have repeatedly condemned, shall never be able to become a part of the Catholic Faith. In a time when so many have tried to marry the Church and the Revolution, it is urgent to keep Tradition, and to provide for its continuation. Therefore, according to the very principles of Canon Law, in cases of real emergency, there can be no sanction. Any sanction is unjust, since its motive is to destroy the Tradition of the Church, to refuse it the means to continue. Looking closely to the letter of Canon Law, and not only to its spirit, manifests too that, in our present case, Canon 1382 4 does not apply. The text of Cardinal Gantin is not the sentence of a judge, who could have added on a particular penalty (if there had been any fault), but is the mere application of an unapplicable canon, as the studies presented in this issue clearly show. The injustice of such a measure is even more manifest when one considers the state of the Church today: everything is allowed and left unpunished—the greatest crimes against the Faith and morals... but not simple fidelity to the Church of All Times! This very clear double standard is evident even to nonCatholics. This is not justice! If any one still had doubts, the Good Lord in His divine providence, arranged some enlightening coincidences. On the very same day, June 30th, Rome was publishing a directory for “Celebrations Without Priests.” When Archbishop Lefebvre was providing for the continuation of the Catholic Priesthood, Rome was providing for the absence of priests! What will be these celebrations? They will be much like Protestant services. Another coincidence, in the widely diffused USA Today, of July 1, the article announcing the Roman 4 “A bishop who consecrates some one a bishop without a pontifical mandate and the person who receives the consecration from him incur a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.” THE ANGELUS • August 2007 www.angeluspress.org sanction against Archbishop Lefebvre was just above an article concerning Archbishop Hunthausen5, entitled “Masses for Homosexuals”; the Archbishop of Seattle was resuming this abominable practice! If one had doubts about Archbishop Lefebvre’s rights, he had just to read a little further to get the answer: there is no justice in this current situation! A third coincidence: the insistence of Rome on compromising with ecumenism, which Archbishop Lefebvre refused, arrived at the same time as the trip of Cardinal Casaroli6 and others to Moscow: his agreement with Gorbachev is the reason for our disagreement! Communism is intrinsically evil, Pope Pius XI said. Is this forgotten at Rome? Mr. Jean Madiran, editor of the famous review Itinéraires, and of the daily paper Présent, wrote: “I have been looking for a French bishop who has recalled the Church’s teaching on Communism clearly and without compromise, who has stood up against the imposture of the ‘opening to the left’ I found none! None but Archbishop Lefebvre! I am not going to leave him!” And Our Attitude Now? “Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good.” These words of St. Paul are for each one of us. When evil seems to reign, we must not be discouraged and fall into bitterness. Our Lord, at the height of the hatred of the Jews and compromises of Pilate, did not curse, but rather prayed for His enemies: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” This must be our attitude: pray for the Church, pray for the Pope, pray for the bishops, that they may come back, as the Apostles who had abandoned Our Lord on Good Friday came back to the Faith on Easter Sunday. But do not follow them in their abandon; stay at the foot of the Cross with the few faithful to Christ, to the Sacrifice of Calvary, to the Sacrifice of the Mass. This is a time for heroism—heroic faith and heroic charity. “Do not render evil for evil, nor cursing for cursing, but, on the contrary, blessing” (I Pet. 111:9). “Love your enemies, do good to your enemies, do good to those who hate you: and pray for those who persecute and calumniate you” (Mt. 5:44). Indeed, Tradition is not only the handing down through the centuries of the Deposit of Faith, but also the example of the holiness of Our Lord, the examples of the saints. May the Blessed Virgin Mary help all of us to be faithful to the whole of Tradition: to the Truth and holiness of Our Lord Jesus Christ. 5 6 Archbishop Hunthausen was Archbishop of Seattle from 1975-1991. Secretary of State from 1979-1990. 1988 The Episcopal Consecrations 2008 bishop bernard fellay p.4 9 Angelus Press sent the bishops of the Society of St. Pius X some questions in commemoration of their 20th anniversary as bishops of the Catholic Church. Bishop de Galarreta could not answer the questionnaire, but the answers we received are here presented. bishop bishop bernard richard tissier de williamson mallerais p.10 p.7 10 bishop bernard fellay What are your thoughts on the state of the Church after 20 years of episcopacy? When we cast a look upon the Church in 2008, we don’t see that much has changed fundamentally in the state of the Church. All the principles which, in the past, have provoked the crisis of the Church are still at work. On one point only, we could say that there was some change which might bring about some further change in the future, I mean the opening caused by the Motu Proprio on the Tridentine Mass. Yet, I must say again that the consequences of the principles inoculated into the veins of the Mystical Body at the Council are continuing to produce their disastrous effects. Now, maybe some prelates are more keenly aware of the damage done. Maybe some of them are looking for solutions, but they do not give us the impression of having found them. Among the younger clergy, a number of priests are very unhappy with the situation and are also looking for solutions and turning their eyes toward Tradition. What has changed, if anything, in the Society? “Fundamentally, nothing has changed, at least as far as the principles leading us are concerned. However, the number of members has changed–it has more than doubled if not tripled since the consecrations.” THE ANGELUS • July 2008 www.angeluspress.org Fundamentally, nothing has changed, at least as far as the principles leading us are concerned. However, the number of members has changed–it has more than doubled if not tripled since the consecrations. We are presently helping souls in more than 60 countries. In the five continents, the Society of St. Pius X numbers over 400 priests, including priests who are helping us without belonging to the Society. How many countries have you visited since your consecration? It would take me too long to count them exactly. I think I can safely say that I have visited at least 40 countries, and maybe more. What has impressed you most about the faithful on your worldwide confirmation circuits? What impressed me most is unity. Everywhere I meet this unity in the reaction against the universal crisis in the Church, and in the choice of the solution, which is to adhere to Tradition, first of all by holding fast to the Tridentine Mass and to the old liturgy with all its consequences. Is it possible to consider how things might have played out had the Archbishop not consecrated bishops? Most probably, there would have been divisions. We would have had some little boats remaining afloat here and there. But, in the end, there would not have been much left. Do you see the situation in Rome as more or less encouraging after these past 20 years? It is true that the election of a new pope in 2005 has given rise to some hope, and maybe even to a great hope among the faithful and priests. But, now again, I have the impression that, despite the Motu Proprio, a certain discouragement is coming back in the face of the opposition met by this effort to overcome the crisis. There is something definitely encouraging in the expectation of the younger generation. However, the younger generation is largely ignorant of its past, and, at times, even of its faith. 1988 11 The Episcopal Consecrations What would you say to those who, in 1988, predicted the Society was creating a parallel Church? Has not history proved them wrong? To the preachers or prophets of 1988, we would just ask them to look at reality, the reality of the non-schism of the Society of St. Pius X, a reality which is recognized by Rome no matter what they might say to the contrary, or the threats they might use. There is the cause of Tradition. The Church cannot survive if she does not adhere strictly to her Tradition. The future of the Church is grounded in its past. Our Lord Jesus Christ remains the Head of the Church. He founded His Church on the rock, on a stone which is Peter. If, today, the Church wants to remain the Catholic Church, it cannot do without these cornerstones, nor without the teachings, the faith, and the life which come from Our Lord Jesus Christ. We are fighting to keep these heirlooms and treasures, not for us but for the Church. This is the fight we are leading. Merely to try to have situations regularized with the Church is probably just a waste of time as long as we don’t deal first with the major problems. 2008 What might you say to those who wonder when or in what circumstances the Society might have to consecrate future bishops? The answer is very simple. The Society will consecrate future bishops only if and when it finds itself in the same situation as in 1988, that is to say, in a state of necessity. For the time being, the four bishops are sufficient to provide for the needs of the faithful and for new ordinations. The future is in God’s hands. I am not much preoccupied by this question. What stands out as the most important developments of the past 20 years? The death of the Archbishop? The election of a new Pope? The Motu Proprio? I don’t think that the death of the Archbishop has changed anything. Thank God! the guidelines which he gave at the time when he founded the Society of St. Pius X have been kept. We can still admire the clearness of vision he had then. The directives he gave us are still leading us in this our present fight for the survival of the Catholic Church. The election of the new pope, as I said, has certainly brought about a certain hope. But we are still expecting a concrete solution for this overall crisis in the Church. I mean that for the time being, all we have is the hope of an improvement. As of now, even the Motu Proprio does not really affect the life of the Church very much. Many Catholics who began the fight alongside the Archbishop years ago now feel inclined to unite forces with a seemingly more conservative Rome by allying themselves with organizations with a more “regular status” within the Church. What would you say to these people who abandon the cause of the Society of St. Pius X? I would tell them that there is no such thing as a cause of the SSPX. There is the cause of the Church. What is your most memorable recollection of the Archbishop? I have so many that I would not know where to start. I had the happiness of working for a whole year at his side. It was my first year in the priesthood, and a very rich year, of course. And maybe what was most striking was to see how he fulfilled his daily duties. In his daily life, far from the great actions and all the important issues, I could observe the hidden virtues at work. What was the most memorable time of your Seminary formation? It might be the year I spent in Albano. My class was the first to be sent there, and we lived for a whole year close to Rome. At the seminary in Albano, many things occurred which made life quite an adventure. It was wonderful to be so close to the heart of the Church and to be able to visit all these beautiful monuments of Catholicism and of Catholicity. But I must say that all my seminary years were a most happy time in my life. Would you say that the fight for the Mass has changed dramatically since the consecrations? I would say that the Motu Proprio does change fundamentally the situation of the Tridentine Mass as far as the law is concerned; in Latin, you would say de jure. But, unfortunately, up to now, in reality, de facto, almost nothing has changed. And so the real fight for the Mass continues as before. We can find in this Motu Proprio an alibi to help priests, to support them, to introduce them to the beauties, the strength, and the might of the Mass of all time. www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • July 2008 1988 12 The Episcopal Consecrations Contrariwise, would you say that the fight for doctrine has become more important? No, the fight for doctrine is and remains always as important. If we do not have the Faith, we have nothing, not even the Mass. The Mass without the Faith is like a roof without the walls. Doctrine is and remains the fundamental reason for our battle. 2008 What does it mean that, besides Bishop Rifan, Rome has not given traditional bishops to any of the Ecclesia Dei communities? Does this not vindicate the Archbishop’s decision? You’ve said it. Obviously, until now Bishop Rifan was an exception. I have recently heard that one or two priests from Ecclesia Dei societies might be chosen as future bishops. My impression is that they are bi-ritual priests. Time will tell. I have no doubt that, due to the lack of priests and their lack of formation, the future will, of necessity, bring about the consecration of some bishops with a more traditional frame of mind. When will that happen? I don’t know. In any case, this will only be a matter of circumstances. So Archbishop Lefebvre was right. What do you foresee as the greatest challenges facing the Society and the faithful in the next few years? We might have to face some confusion, or a confusing state of things since the present pope, Benedict XVI, asserts that the Church cannot live without her Tradition and at the same time supports the changes of Vatican II, thus giving the strange impression that these changes were traditional. This, indeed, could cause a serious confusion. Some members of the Church, religious communities, priests, may come closer to us due to this new situation. To help them to really adhere to and be rooted in tradition will be a great challenge, which we must face. What do you think would be Archbishop Lefebvre’s assessment of the crisis as things stand in 2008? He would say exactly what he said in 1988. Nothing has changed. What counsel would you give to parents rearing Catholic children in today’s world? Today’s world is dangerous because of its many charms, temptations. Parents must imbue their children with Catholic thinking and a Catholic way THE ANGELUS • July 2008 www.angeluspress.org of life before the poison gets to them. For this, children need their parents’ good examples. Parents need Catholic doctrine and the Catholic life which are promised to them in the sacrament of marriage. May they live from the grace of the sacrament of matrimony, from the sacrifice of the Mass, and from the sacraments. And then I would advise them to entrust their whole family to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. What advice would you offer to young men and women contemplating the religious life? I would like to tell them that they are certainly not deprived of grace and that God is calling today as He was yesterday. They must not fear this world, neither should they fear their call and vocation. They have to be strengthened by their daily dedication to the fulfillment of their duties of state. Which books do you think are most essential for the faithful in these days? First of all, the catechism, the old catechism, then, of course, the Gospel, the Imitation of Christ, then some books about the crisis. The first book of all is the Holy Eucharist. What do you foresee in the next 20 years? Well, it is in God’s hands. The situation will probably get worse, but it is almost impossible to foresee to what extent. We might end up in a very dramatic political as well as economic situation. Nevertheless, God is mighty enough to bring good out of evil. He is the Master, He is divine Providence. So, whatever happens, we must cling to hope in Him and in the Mother to whom He has entrusted us and to whose advice He urges us to listen. A Swiss, born at Sierre (Valais) in 1958, Bishop Fellay entered the Seminary of Ecône in October 1977, at the age of 19 years. Five years of solid formation, in the course of which his superiors discovered in him excellent aptitudes, led him to receive ordination to the priesthood on June 29, 1982, from the hands of Archbishop Lefebvre. Immediately afterwards he was nominated Bursar General of the Society of St. Pius X. After his consecration in 1988, he was made District Superior of Switzerland. In 1994, he was elected Superior General of the SSPX, a post to which he was re-elected in 2006 and holds to this day. Bishop Fellay speaks five languages and has undertaken numerous apostolic journeys throughout the world, including the Third World. bishop bernard tissier de mallerais 13 Your thoughts on the state of the Church after 20 years of episcopacy? John Paul II did nothing to rebuild the Faith. The great apostasy has been increasing; the youth are almost completely lost in impurity and drugs. The social kingship of Christ is completely destroyed by religious liberty and the rights of man. We are living the great apostasy of which St. Paul speaks to the Thessalonians: “venerit dicessio primum” (II Thess. 2:3). What has changed, if anything, in the Society? What kind of Society? The Fraternity of St. Pius X? If this, sure, the Fraternity has grown, thanks to God, from 150 to 450 priests; double the number of brothers. Not many new priories; better to secure the common life of priests! But many new missions everywhere. Not many new countries which are not necessary. We must develop what we have begun. This is sufficient. How many countries have you visited since your consecration? “....The great apostasy has been increasing; the youth are almost completely lost in impurity and drugs. The social kingship of Christ is completely destroyed by religious liberty and the rights of man. We are living the great apostasy of which St. Paul speaks....” Almost all the countries in which our priests work except Japan and Korea. How many would this be? Probably more than 30 or 40. What has impressed you about the faithful on your many confirmation circuits? Of course, the many families with the many children. Sometimes more than ten children—marvelous! It is the effect of the grace of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Also, with this come the many new schools for boys and girls, primary schools besides our priories in many places. Thus, church, priory and school are now the normal unit. Consider how things might have been without the consecrations? We would have died: old priests, only old priests, old Brothers, old Sisters, seminaries empty and dead; and no Fraternity of St. Peter nor anything else. Tradition would have died. So the bishops’ consecrations were “un acte saveur.” The “operation survival” has been a complete success, thanks to God and thanks to the heroic act of Archbishop Lefebvre! Is the situation with Rome more encouraging after 20 years? No, nothing has changed. Only the motu proprio of July 7, 2007, was an unexpected miracle, and it changes radically the practice of the Holy See towards the traditional Mass. But, practically, the return to Tradition is small among the priests. Only young priests, a few of them, are interested. But as for religious liberty, the rights of man, the interest of Rome in our work: nothing has changed—induratio cordium! A hardening of the hearts, a blindness of the minds. What would you say to those who, in 1988, predicted the Fraternity of St. Pius X was creating a parallel Church? Has not history proved them wrong? I answer: Where is the Church, my dears? Recognize the tree by its fruits. Where the fruits are, there the Church is. I do not mean that the Church is reduced to the Fraternity, but that her heart is in the Fraternity. The true Faith, the true teaching, the non-bastard sacraments: all this is in the Fraternity. Everywhere else, there is a www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • July 2008 14 mixture full of compromises because of liberalism and weakness of mind. The parallel Church is the Vatican II-Newchurch: her spirit, her new-religion or no-religion. What stands out as the most important development of the past 20 years? The death of the Archbishop? The election of Benedict XVI? The Motu Proprio? The answer is our perseverance, our existence. The miraculous continuation of Tradition. The consecration of the bishops was only a means to this end. No, Msgr. Lefebvre’s death, the election of Benedict XVI, and so on were not events of significance. Really, no particular event happened during the past 20 years, but only the miracle of the survival of Tradition. Many Catholics who began to fight alongside the Archbishop years ago now feel inclined to unite forces with a seemingly more conservative Rome by allying themselves with organizations with a more “regular status” within the Church. Yes, many losses. Because of lack of principles, unfaithfulness to the fight of the Fraternity, seeking compromises, wishing peace, desiring the victory before the time foreseen by God. These poor people (priests, religious, lay people) are liberals and pragmatics. Seduced by the smiles of the people in the Vatican, I mean the prelates of the Roman Curia. People that were tired by the long, long combat for Faith: “Forty years, that’s enough!” But this one will last 30 more years. So do not cease, do not seek “reconciliation,” but fight on! What is your most memorable recollection of the Archbishop? When, on October 13, 1969, he opened to us the door at 106, route de Marly, Fribourg, Switzerland, alone, without any priests, receiving us nine seminarians in the two flats that he had rented from the Salesian Fathers. Alone and 63 years old, and beginning all things with us, poor young men! This was moving, to see how he took care of us, giving us spiritual conferences, very simple, theological, with St. Thomas Aquinas and his experience as a missionary. An archbishop, former superior general of 3,000 members, former Apostolic Delegate, and now alone with nine young men to begin something for the sake of the priesthood, something of which he did not even know the future. Realize this faith! THE ANGELUS • July 2008 www.angeluspress.org What is the most memorable time in your seminary formation? Unbelievable! My first contact with the Summa of St. Thomas Aquinas during the marvelous lectures of Rev. Fr. Thomas Mehrle, O.P., who would come every week from Fribourg to teach us Christ and God at Ecône. How delightful it was to hear Fr. Mehrle commenting on the Summa and we, at the time, reading our Summa in Latin, the wonderful Latin of St. Thomas. How many hours of delight, every day, from 8:15 to 9, at my table in my room, with the Summa to meditate and to learn! And now, I do the same thing, exactly the same! Would you say that the fight for the Mass has changed dramatically since the consecrations? Absolutely not. Nothing has changed! The persecution against the actual young priests who retake the old Mass is the same as the persecution against the good priests, parish priests who, 40 years ago, remained faithful to the Mass of their ordination. With very few exceptions, the bishops are enraged against the traditional Mass. Their new religion is against the true Mass, and the true Mass destroys their new false religion, a religion without sacrifice, expiation, satisfaction, divine justice, penance, selfdenial, asceticism; the religion of the so called “love, love, love” that is nothing but words. Contrariwise, would you say that the fight for doctrine has become more important? It is the same fight: ratio cultus, ratio fides. The rule of the Faith is the rule of the liturgy, and the rule of the liturgy is the rule of the Faith: lex orandi, lex credendi; lex credendi, lex orandi. The motto is reciprocal. The traditional Mass is the most magnificent expression of the Kingship of Christ, while regnavit a ligno Deus– God has reigned by the wood of the Cross. The mystery of Redemption, as a perfect and superabundant atonement for the sins of mankind is expressed in the traditional Mass. On the contrary, this mystery is darkened and blurred by the New Mass. Consequently, the fight against religious liberty cannot be separated from the fight for the Mass. The same is true for the fight against ecumenism, because if Christ is God, so He is able to atone and satisfy by His Passion for all sins; also, He alone has the right to rule the civil laws according to the Gospel. I see no separation between the fight for the Mass, the fight for the Christian spirit of sacrifice, and the fight for the social kingship of Christ. The modernists see no difference between their new Mass, their refusal of the 1988 15 The Episcopal Consecrations What counsel would you give to parents rearing Catholic children in today’s world? mystery of Redemption, and their denial of the social kingship of Jesus Christ. Tout se tient. What does it mean that, besides Bishop Rifan, Rome has not given traditional bishops to any of the Ecclesia Dei communities? Does this not vindicate the Archbishop’s decision? Not only have children and many children, but rear them, educate them! Do not simply nourish them, do not simply feed them! And send them to true Catholic schools where they will be not only protected against the corruption of the world but also formed as Christian persons. 2008 Yes, sure! The people in Rome (with some exceptions) do not want traditional bishops! They still do not want it. Occupied Rome cannot allow (to) herself traditional bishops existing in the Church. It would be the destruction of their destruction! Bishop Rifan had been duly brainwashed before he was “reconciled.” He maintains the holy traditional Mass but no longer fights against the New Mass, religious liberty, and so on. He had to stop fighting. Ecclesia Dei communities had to accept never to criticize the Second Vatican Council and the New Mass. They were silenced, and they accepted to remain silent. It was the price of their “reconciliation.” So Archbishop Lefebvre was fully right, as he stated only totally Catholic and totally free bishops, free from any influence of liberal Rome, could work for the sake of the Church until the conversion of the Pope. What do you foresee as the greatest challenges facing the Society and the faithful in the next few years? First of all, our perseverance in refusing the errors of the Second Vatican Council. Secondly, our strength in refusing any “reconciliation” with occupied Rome. Thirdly, our growth in schools, academies, and colleges to sustain Catholic education and help families. Fourthly, resisting any persecution from the civil authorities and proclaiming Christianity as the only source of civilization. What do you think would be Archbishop Lefebvre’s assessment of the crisis as things stand in 2008? He would denounce not only liberalism—that was the case with Paul VI—but modernism, which is the case of Benedict XVI: a true modernist with the whole theory of up-to-date modernism! It is so serious that I cannot express my horror. I keep silent. So Archbishop Lefebvre would shout: “You heretics, you pervert the Faith!” What advice would you offer to young men and women contemplating the religious life? Do not “contemplate” it, do not even “try” it, but enter into it with decision and persevere in it! O God, poor wills! Which books do you think are most essential for the faithful in these days? For all, their missal (Mass book) and their catechism. For young men, books on the social kingship of Christ. For young ladies, books on cooking, sewing and how to furnish a home. What do you foresee in the next 20 years? In Europe, Islamic republics in France, Britain, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. In the United States of America, bankruptcy and social war. In Rome, the apostasy organized with the Jewish religion. In us, heroism, Christian heroism. In the Society, the consecration of new bishops, if it seems necessary. I am getting old. In Rome, a new Pope? Really, if he would become worse, there is no need. If he is to become Petrus Romanus, yes, indeed. This is my hope. Born in Sallanches (upper Savoy) in 1945, Bishop Tissier de Mallerais, after several years of university studies which made him a Master of Arts, entered in October of 1969 the Seminary of St. Pius X then situated in Fribourg, Switzerland. Ordained priest at Ecône on June 29, 1975, he was immediately nominated professor at the Seminary of St. Pius X. He became Rector in 1979, and served in that capacity until 1983. After fulfilling the task of chaplain of the novitiate of the Sisters of St. Pius X at St. Michel-en-Brenne, France, he became, in 1984, the Secretary General of the Society. He was consecrated a bishop in 1988 and is currently at the Seminary of St. Pius X in Ecône, Switzerland. Bishop Tissier de Mallerais has made a specialty of critically analyzing the Declaration of Religious Liberty of the Second Vatican Council. www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • July 2008 bishop richard williamson 16 What are your thoughts on the state of the Church after 20 years of the episcopacy? The state of the Church is very grave. The churchmen at the summits of the Church continue to be blinded by the errors of Vatican II. They may have their moments in which they show some sympathy for the liturgy of Tradition, but one would have to say that its doctrine remains for them a closed book. They show no signs of grasping that there even exists a Truth which is one, exclusive and immutable, let alone their accepting such a Truth. What has changed, if anything, in the Society? What has changed in the Society is that on the one hand it has no longer had Archbishop Lefebvre to guide it for the last 17 years, who had a unique charism as Founder, and on the other hand the world around us has very much moved on since his death, and not for the better. The holding action of the Society is holding, but when one observes this world around us one cannot help calling to mind the words of Our Lord, “If these days were not shortened...” “My most memorable recollection of the Archbishop would, again, be no one thing or event in particular, but rather his steady and calm measuring of everything by the measure of the Faith, and his complete, but sane, dedication to its service.” THE ANGELUS • July 2008 www.angeluspress.org How many countries have you visited since your consecration? I have lost count of the number of countries I have visited since 1988. It would have to be dozens. What has impressed you most about the faithful on your world-wide confirmation circuits? What impresses most in the people presently following or accompanying the SSPX is that some may come and some may go, but numbers generally hold, and in some parts of the world, even increase. The Faith is being kept, and it continues to bear fruit, the same fruit of peace and tranquility as it has always borne. Is it possible to consider how things might have played out had the Archbishop not consecrated bishops? Had the Archbishop not consecrated? We would have seen some other marvel of the Lord God to ensure that the Faith and the Church continued. There can be no doubt that the bishops of the SSPX have in fact made possible the continuance of the SSPX as one bulwark of the Faith in difficult times, but the Lord God’s arm is not shortened by the wickedness of men. Do you see the situation with Rome as more or less encouraging after these past 20 years? I am afraid the situation with Rome is still more discouraging than 20 years ago. As Our Lord says in one of His parables, “Some enemy hath done this.” Some enemy, very clever and cleverly hidden, is at work. Notwithstanding, the Lord God is in control. What would you say to those who, in 1988, predicted the Society was creating a parallel Church? Has not history proved them wrong? Of course events have shown that anyone was wrong who said that the SSPX was producing a parallel church. Amongst our people I would say the danger is rather of too much, and not of too little, love for these 1988 17 The Episcopal Consecrations iceberg showing above water, and the eight-ninths beneath water upholding the ninth showing. Without the Faith, the Mass alone would be nowhere. present Romans. But that love testifies to their true love of Rome. What stands out as the most important development of the past 20 years? The death of the Archbishop? The election of a new Pope? The Motu Proprio? 2008 The most important development of the last 20 years would seem to me to be no one event in particular, but rather the advance on every front of evil in general. We are surrounded. Humanly, we are going under. But God is God! Many Catholics who began the fight alongside the Archbishop years ago now feel inclined to unite forces with a seemingly more conservative Rome by allying themselves with organizations with a more “regular status” within the Church. What would you say to these people who abandon the cause of the Society of St. Pius X? To those many souls tempted to join organizations that seem to defend the Faith yet are under these Romans, I would say, beware, beware, beware! Look at the fruits of these Romans. Does the one, true and immutable Faith prosper under their hands, or does it not rather wilt? Doctrine, doctrine, doctrine! What is your most memorable recollection of the Archbishop? My most memorable recollection of the Archbishop would, again, be no one thing or event in particular, but rather his steady and calm measuring of everything by the measure of the Faith, and his complete, but sane, dedication to its service. May he be resting in peace! What was the most memorable time of your seminary formation? The most memorable time of my seminary formation would–I am getting stuck like a needle in an old-fashioned gramophone!–be all of it. Would you say that the fight for the Mass has changed dramatically since the consecrations? What one might say has changed in the fight for the Mass since the Consecrations is that the enemies are pretending to yield on the liturgy, but they are not giving an inch on their rotten doctrine of Vatican II. But the relation between liturgy and doctrine is, broadly, like the relation between the ninth of the Contrariwise, would you say that the fight for doctrine has become more important? Would that the fight for Doctrine had become more important! I fear that its fundamental importance is still not sufficiently understood. Modern man is a sentimental, not a doctrinal, animal. Truth for him goes by inner feeling instead of by outer reality. It is all laid out in Pius X’s great Encyclical, Pascendi. What does it mean that, besides Bishop Rifan, Rome has not given traditional bishops to any of the Ecclesia Dei communities? Does this not vindicate the Archbishop’s decision? Bishops are where the Church is at, as Rome very well knows. Therefore of course Rome will not give out bishops if it can possibly help it. That is not a reason to consecrate them regardless, but the Archbishop was obviously right, in retrospect. God bless his courage! What do you foresee as the greatest challenges facing the Society and the faithful in the next few years? The greatest challenge to the SSPX in the next few years is to grasp the primacy of doctrine, and to measure everything else, and to pray, accordingly. In our sentimental world, the constant temptation is to go by feelings. Not going by feelings is what marked out Archbishop Lefebvre, and if in this respect we do not follow him, the SSPX will go the way of all flesh–into the arms of the (objective) destroyers of the Church. What do you think would be Archbishop Lefebvre’s assessment of the crisis as things stand in 2008? How the Archbishop would see things today is an interesting question. Myself, I think he would be more wary of these Romans than ever. They are persevering, persevering, persevering in their blindness, while the Lord God must, logically, all the while be offering them all the graces they need to see clear, and if necessary, to accept the martyrs’ crown. These graces they must be steadily refusing, or de-fusing. God is their judge. May He have mercy upon them, and upon us all. www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • July 2008 18 What counsel would you give to parents rearing Catholic children in today’s world? Parents have a specially difficult task today, but the answer to the question of what they must do is basically easy–EXAMPLE! Let parents practice their Faith sincerely and steadily, as though it is the most important thing in their lives, and the children will have there the greatest help towards saving their own souls. What else matters? But parents do also need to learn the old-fashioned basics of parenting, which today go largely lost. How learn them? From grandparents, their own parents, if they still know, and from priests who have their heads screwed on straight. All modern ideas of parenting and education are worthless. What advice would you offer to young men and women contemplating the religious life? To young men and women contemplating the religious life, I would say, look before you leap! Again, the religious life can be presented, or present itself, in a sentimental light. Such vocations cannot go very far. For boys, perhaps ask to spend a year as a gopher in a priory of the SSPX, and make yourselves useful. For girls, I would venture to say, look for a large family in which to spend a year helping out one of those mothers who have had nine children in ten years, and are home-schooling at the same time. That, for our under-real and under-feminine lasses, would be a great apprenticeship in reality and motherliness! Which books do you think are most essential for the faithful in these days? Catholics, especially men, should always be reading, in order to arm their minds against the universal delusions and deceitful propaganda which are all around us today. The books from which someone will most profit will always be the books which most interest him. But all kinds of men are interested by all kinds of aspects of the Faith, so a general recommendation is not easy. However, in this crisis of Church, world and Faith, Archbishop Lefebvre’s writings have a special character of being truthful, profound and yet accessible. Start with the Open Letter to Confused Catholics [available from Angelus Press. Price: $14.00–Ed.] and go from there. What do you foresee in the next 20 years? In the next 20 years I see an on-going, even accelerating, degeneration of men and morals, until either they all begin to tear one another to pieces–a Third World War is absolutely in the cards, or the Lord God intervenes–an unimaginable Chastisement is equally likely. Or both. Things cannot go on for much longer like they are going at present. Reality is going to come swinging back. I think we all need to pray especially for the conversion of sinners, as Our Lady at Fatima asked of the three children, because surely millions and millions are on the very brink of eternal damnation. Christ, have mercy upon us! Sixty-eight years old, Bishop Williamson was born into an Anglican family. Receiving a degree from the University of Cambridge, he devoted more than seven years to teaching literature, an activity which took him for two years to the heart of black Africa. At the age of 30, he abjured Anglicanism and converted to the Catholic Faith, and in October 1972, he entered Archbishop Lefebvre’s seminary in Ecône, where four years of formation brought him to the priesthood on June 29, 1976. From 1976 to 1981, Bishop Williamson performed the duties of professor at the Society’s seminaries at Weissbad and Ecône, of which he was to become the Vice-Rector in 1979. In 1982 Archbishop Lefebvre, then Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X, nominated him to the St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary, of which he was Rector until 2003. In 2003 he was appointed Rector of Our Lady Co-Redemptrix Seminary in La Reja, Argentina, a post he holds to this day. Archbishop Lefebvre and the Vatican Rev. Fr. François Laisney The documents and correspondence between Archbishop Lefebvre, Pope John Paul II, and Cardinal Ratzinger concerning the episcopal consecrations of June 30, 1988. Includes: Protocol of Accord, Ecclesia Dei, Consecration Sermon of Archbishop Lefebvre, Declaration of Bishop de Castro Mayer, Media Reports, Canon Law, Creation of the Fraternity of St. Peter. Explanations throughout by Fr. François Laisney, SSPX, set the historical context and detail the protocol and principles involved. 244pp, softcover, STK# 6719✱ $15.00 Traditional Religious Orders 19 The Society of Saint Pius X B efore the present crisis in the Catholic Church brought about by Vatican II, a young man who desired to enter the holy priesthood had a wide choice of fields in which he might exercise his priestly apostolate. He could enter the service of his diocesan bishop as a parish priest, or join a foreign missionary congregation or one of the Religious Orders which leads an active life of preaching and teaching, or he could enter a monastic community and spend his life in quiet study and constant prayer. Unfortunately, the disintegration of the Church since Vatican II has caused most of these possibilities to disappear. Only very few traditional religious communities remain. Aside from these communities, the International Society of Saint Pius X, founded in 1970 by His Grace Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, offers a young man the only real possibility of corresponding to God’s call to the holy priesthood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. As the situation in seminaries throughout the Catholic world deteriorated rapidly in the years following Vatican II, and as erroneous teachings flourished and discipline disappeared, many young men began to approach Archbishop Lefebvre to beg his advice as to where they 20 might go to receive an authentic priestly formation. Ultimately His Grace realized that no existing seminary in Europe retained the form of intellectual and spiritual life necessary to prepare young men for the awesome responsibility of the priesthood, and he courageously decided to undertake such a project himself. This project began on a small scale in the Swiss university city of Fribourg. On June 6, 1969, the Most Reverend François Charrière, Bishop of Lausanne, Geneva, and Fribourg, gave his authorization to Archbishop Lefebvre to open a small residence for seminarians who would attend classes at the University, which was less affected than others by the rampant new teachings. As the number of young men who gathered around the Archbishop continued to grow, His Grace purchased a second house at Ecône in the Swiss canton of Valais, where he expected to send the students for a portion of their studies. However, as the situation at the University of Fribourg changed for the worse, he decided to establish a full seminary program at Ecône. In 1971 he blessed the cornerstone of the new buildings to be constructed adjacent to the house formerly belonging to the Canons of St. Bernard. Meanwhile, Archbishop Lefebvre realized that it would be wise to unite his seminarians canonically in an officially recognized religious society. Thus on November 1, 1970, Bishop Charrière signed and sealed the Decree of Approbation for the founding of the Society of Saint Pius X, officially in French the “Fraternité sacerdotale Saint Pie X.” Cardinal Wright, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy, wrote to Archbishop Lefebvre on February 18, 1971, THE ANGELUS • July 2008 www.angeluspress.org to congratulate His Grace for his undertaking and express the high hopes which he held for the already flourishing new society. The Cardinal also took the opportunity of recommending to several young men with vocations that they attend the seminary at Ecône. Since then, of course, the Vatican has ceased to look with favor upon the work of priestly formation of the Society of St. Pius X, although their seminaries continue to flourish and remain Catholic seminaries such as seminaries always were. An ever increasing number of vocations permitted the Society to open comparable seminaries: one for the French-speaking seminarians at Flavigny, France; for the German-speaking seminarians at Zaitzkofen in Bavaria; two for the English-speaking seminarians, one at Winona, Minnesota, USA, the other at Goulburn, NSW, Australia; and one for the Spanish-speaking seminarians outside Buenos Aires, Argentina. The spirit of the Society of Saint Pius X and the work of its members cannot be considered separately, since the former determines the latter. 21 The Society, first of all, is a “society of common life without vows,” that is, its members live in communities (of at least two or three, in the smaller houses) as do members of other religious orders and congregations, but they do not take public vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience as, for example, monks and friars do. Each country, composed of several houses, has a District Superior, and the whole Society has a Superior General with a council of advisors. Although the Society also has Brothers and Sisters who aid its priest-members, it is above all a society of priests, and the spirit which Archbishop Lefebvre wished the Society to have is above all a priestly spirit: Priestly, in its wholehearted fidelity to the Holy Catholic Church. Archbishop Lefebvre declared in 1973: My collaborators and I are not working against anyone, against other persons, against institutions. We are working to construct, to continue what the Church has always done, and nothing else. We are not linked with any movement, with any party, or with any organization in particular. We are united only to the Roman Catholic Church, and we wish to continue the priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church. Nothing else! Priestly, in its emphasis on the essential dignity and duties of the priest. “The concern of the Society,” according to its Statutes, “is the priesthood and all that has a relation with it, and nothing which does not; that is, as Our Lord wished the priesthood to be when He said: ‘Do this in commemoration of Me.’” The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, instituted at the same moment as the Holy Priesthood, holds the central place in the life of every priest and member of the Society, along with the Sacraments and the Divine Office which are as a halo surrounding the principal act of the Sacred Liturgy. Archbishop Lefebvre insistently reminded his spiritual sons that the Holy Mass is indeed the raison d’être of the priest, from which source alone his apostolate will draw its efficacy. Priestly, in its missionary spirit. The members of the Society normally exercise an active apostolate, nourished, of course, by a fervent life of prayer. In every field of action and in every place, they seek to continue in every possible manner the mission of teaching, sanctifying, and guiding for which Our Blessed Lord–Himself Prophet, Priest, and King–instituted the priesthood, each of whose members should strive to be an alter Christus– another Christ. From these principles, let us pass to the consideration of the actual work of the Society of Saint Pius X. As we have seen, the work of forming true priests represents the principal concern of the Society. Thus a certain number of its members, www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • July 2008 22 Taking of the Cassock Ordination to the Diaconate once ordained, will be called to give their energies to this noble task as professors and spiritual directors in the several seminaries which the Society has already founded or will found in different countries of the world. Those whom their superiors do not designate for seminary work will find a place in one of the other houses, or priories, of the Society, where they will lead a common life of prayer and work together with another or several other members of the Society. At the priory they will provide the true Mass and Sacraments, religious instruction for the faithful of the area, and preach retreats of the sort that bear great fruits of conversion and sanctification. From there, their apostolate will also radiate over surrounding areas as they travel to administer the Sacraments, and encourage and instruct Catholics distressed by the present condition of the Church. Thus they will dedicate themselves only to those activities which truly belong to the priest, seeking only the good of souls. THE ANGELUS • July 2008 www.angeluspress.org Ordination to the Priesthood St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary, Winona, Minnesota In its beginning, St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary was known as St. Peter Martyr Priory. It was a house of formation for brothers and priests of the Dominican order, built in the late 1940’s, to provide for the flourishing vocations of that era. In 1971, however, following the rapid decline of many religious houses since Vatican II, St. Peter Martyr Priory was finally abandoned. From 1977-81, after years of neglect, the building was leased by the Dominicans to a corporation dealing with the care of delinquents. 23 conference that evening that St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary was the most important building in North America! The delinquent center folded through insufficient funding, and from that time until 1988, the building again lay abandoned. In the summer of 1988, the seminarians and staff of St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary, formerly situated in Ridgefield, Connecticut, made the big move to the Midwest, to the little town of Winona, Minnesota. It was a colossal effort that included the moving of some 30,000 books to the new location. On top of this effort was the amount of work that went into the renovation of the building. The generosity of the faithful was abundant in the sacrifice of their time and money to restore this magnificent building to its original splendor. Working bees were held and attended with enthusiasm until the time had come to bless the new home. Dedication day was October 8, 1988. The Seminary chapel and building were re-consecrated, to the delight of the faithful, who were numerous; and the visiting Superior General, Fr. Franz Schmidberger, declared in a A Seminarian’s Day The seminarians’ day is a balance of study, prayer, work, and recreation, with the emphasis on study. Learning and piety are necessary qualities of a future priest, and so the Seminary’s schedule and curriculum are ordered to accomplish this balance. When the new seminarians arrive, they are divided into those who start the year as first-year seminarians in what is called the year of Spirituality, and those who will start as pre-seminarians in Humanities. The purpose of the extra year of Humanities is to give those students a thorough grounding in the subjects fundamental to providing a solid, natural formation for future priests, a formation that is lacking in many of the young men who arrive at the Seminary today. Manualia, or manual labor, is a big part of the day for Humanities pre-seminarians and first-year seminarians. This consists in doing whatever work is assigned for each day. The work involved could be anything from splitting wood to raking leaves, sacristy work, typing on the computers, working on the Seminary boilers, fixing cars, painting, cleaning, and so on. All of this work is done in the afternoon, right after the midday recreation, and lasts for approximately two hours, depending on the day of the week. The first year, or year of spirituality, is designed to accustom the new seminarian to the things of God and the spiritual life of the soul, and to prepare him more especially for priestly studies. Gregorian chant is another important part of the seminarians’ formation. www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • July 2008 24 Differing substantially from modern music both in notation and overall structure, chant proves to be a considerable hurdle for most seminarians. The philosophy course is a two-year rotation, comprising the second and third years of the normal Seminary curriculum. Here the seminarians are introduced to what is, for most of them, quite unfamiliar territory. Logic, Cosmology, Psychology, Ethics, Apologetics, and History are the new subjects to be faced in the second year. The fourth, fifth, and sixth years of seminary are primarily dedicated to the study of Dogmatic and Moral Theology and Canon Law. The seminarians in these years attend classes together in a three-year cycle. The study of Sacred Scripture and history continue into these years. On Sundays and Wednesday when the midday meal is over, the community has an extended recreation. This consists in a wide range of activities and all are free to do as they choose, though one must be out of the seminary building and with at least one other seminarian for two hours. In spring and summer, one can engage in many activities such as soccer, basketball, volleyball, baseball, tennis, and racquetball. In the fall and winter, there are baseball, football, sledding, and snowball fights! Basketball, tennis, and racquetball are always available since we enjoy, by the permission of the administration, the use of the facilities of nearby St. Mary’s University. This is especially appreciated in the winter months. There is always a steady group of walkers and plenty of room to ramble around the seminary grounds and surrounding areas for those so inclined. Apart from the Sunday and Wednesday recreation, there are also several major Feastdays during the year. On these days, the schedule is arranged just like a Sunday. In the course of the year, the Seminary allows five free days: Thanksgiving Day, three days in February following the mid-year exams and the reception of the cassock and tonsure, and Pentecost Monday. On the free days, after assisting at Holy Mass, seminarians may spend the day as they wish, provided they return to the Seminary by 9:00pm for the singing of Compline. Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament is offered every Thursday and Sunday, and after Second Vespers of first class feasts. Here, the faithful bless God with hymns and prayers, and God in turn blesses the faithful through His priest when he elevates the monstrance and makes the sign of the cross over those present. Gregorian chant has been used in the Church’s Liturgy for centuries to add to the splendor of the Sacred rites and to elevate the minds and hearts of the faithful to the things of God. Therefore, it is an important part of the seminarians’ formation to learn how to sing Gregorian chant and, if possible, to teach it to others. The Seminary’s schola consists of a dozen seminarians, chosen by the Schola Director and approved by the priest in charge of Gregorian THE ANGELUS • July 2008 www.angeluspress.org chant. The Schola practices twice a week for the Solemn Mass on Sunday and any Sung Mass during the week. For the rest of the community, a separate practice is held twice a week, called Common Class. In Common Class, the Schola Director, or a Schola member chosen by him, prepares the community to sing for the upcoming Masses and Vespers of the week, and occasionally reviews some theoretical principles of Gregorian chant. The measure of a fervent religious house is the way it observes the rule of silence. Silence is the indispensable means of prayer, recollection, and union with God. It is, consequently, the most important rule of the Seminary. With few exceptions, silence should be kept at all times outside of recreation. Apart from the general silence of the house, there is also Grand Silence. This begins when the bell rings for Compline at 9:00pm. At 10:00pm, an even stricter silence is observed, with no running water allowed until 6:00am the next morning. After breakfast, when the meal jobs start again, Grand Silence ends. Speaking is permitted if necessary during the meal jobs to get the work done properly, but the general silence is still observed. In this way, seminarians are reminded that their work should be done in union with God and offered to Him with a supernatural intention. The seminarian’s room is modest. It has a bed, a desk and chair, a sink, some drawers for storing clothes and a closet for hanging them, a few shelves for books, and a crucifix. The seminarian should learn to love his room for the purpose of study and prayer. It is chiefly here that he must learn to acquire the indispensable twofold condition of doctrine and piety for the priestly apostolate. Aside from being already obliged to recite the entire Divine Office each day, and having occasionally to purify the sacred linens for their use on the altar, the deacons are also required to preach to the faithful. This consists in giving a ten-minute sermon at the Low Mass on Sunday for the edification of all. Twice in the year, the seminarians take major examinations. The first exams take place at the end of the first semester in late January, while the finals for the second semester are in early June, just before ordinations. Many seminarians find the immediate preparation for the exams rather difficult because of the wide range of subjects and the comparatively little time they have to study. Those in Humanities and seminarians in years one and two need only worry about written examinations, while seminarians in years three to six must also face ten-minute oral examinations. The first important step the new seminarian takes towards the priesthood, though relatively small in itself, is in his first year, when he receives the cassock or clerical habit, thereby casting off the dress of a layman and enrolling himself in the service of God. The black cassock reminds the seminarian, and those 25 who see him, that he is dead to the world and the things of the world. He is reminded in the sermon that he must now conduct himself as if he were a priest, since all who see him will think he is a priest. This ceremony takes place on February 2, the Feast of the Purification, as does the reception of the clerical tonsure by the second year seminarians. By the tonsure, the seminarian becomes a cleric, an official member of the Church’s clergy. In the ceremony, five locks of hair are removed from the head in the form of a cross, signifying the renunciation of the world’s vanities and a willingness to take up the cross and follow Jesus Christ. On his way to the priesthood, the seminarian receives seven orders from the Church, the seventh being the priesthood itself. These orders are various steps or building blocks by which a seminarian is to come closer to offering the Holy Sacrifice. Each order gives the recipient a specific duty and function to perform in the life of the Church, and a corresponding increase in responsibility. The first four orders are known as minor orders. That is because these orders do not bind the ordinand permanently, as do the major orders, and because they are relatively less significant. The ceremony for the reception of the first major order of the Sub-diaconate is also the occasion for the reception of the four minor orders by the third and fourth year seminarians. Third year seminarians receive the first two minor orders of Porter and Lector. It is the job of the Porter to look after the House of God and the things therein, to bring the faithful into the church and keep the unfaithful or irreligious out. The Lector has the obligation of reading various lessons in the church with clarity of speech, that he may be heard by all. The fourth year seminarians are the recipients of the next two minor orders of Exorcist and Acolyte. The Exorcist is given a participation of the power of the priest to cast out devils. While the seminarian will never be called on to perform an exorcism, he has, nevertheless, a responsibility to live in such a way as to be irreproachable to the demons. The Acolyte is the light bearer in the ceremonies of the Church’s liturgy. He therefore is obliged to make the light of his good example shine before men. The fifth year is, ordinarily, the year for the reception of the Sub-diaconate. The most striking feature in this ceremony is the actual step forward the ordinands take, signifying the total gift of themselves to God’s service and their perpetual renunciation of the possibility of marriage and family life. They had been, until now, free to return to the world. Henceforth, they are to dedicate themselves entirely to the service of the Church. The sub-deacons must also recite daily the prayers of the Divine Office and purify the sacred linens used for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. They are bound, therefore, to a greater purity of life that they may be worthy of such an office. During the sixth and final year of the Seminary, the ordinands receive the diaconate. For the deacons, there is an intimate participation in the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Their principal duty is to proclaim the Gospel, but they can also, if necessary, distribute Holy Communion, administer Baptism, and anoint the sick. In the following year, they will be raised to the dignity of the priesthood if they are deemed ready. The day of ordinations to the diaconate and priesthood in late June is the biggest event in the Seminary’s year. It is a most joyous occasion for the whole community and the faithful present, who come in vast numbers from all over the country to witness the making of new priests–priests who will dedicate their lives for the salvation of souls in imitation of Jesus Christ, priests who will be faithful to their duty and to the spirit of the Society and its beloved Founder: the spirit of sacrifice and generosity, the spirit of prayer and union with God. For the ordinands to the priesthood, it is the culmination of six or more years of prayer, study, and discipline. Everything they have done has been geared to this moment—the moment in which they receive the priestly character. With the Sacrament of Holy Orders, the new priests receive the power to consecrate, to forgive sins, and to give blessings to the faithful. In the ordination ceremony, the consecrating bishop is the first to lay his hands on the heads of the ordinands, followed by any other bishop in attendance, and finally by all the priests. This is what is known as the “matter” of the sacrament. After the singing of the preface and the reading of the Sacramental “form” of the rite of ordination, the ordinands’ stoles are crossed, and they receive the chasuble. They are now priests. The Veni Creator is intoned to implore the assistance of the Holy Ghost and the ordinands’ hands are anointed with the oil of catechumens. Their hands are then bound with a cloth and they touch the paten, host, and chalice with their fingers. Immediately after the candle offering, the new priests concelebrate the Mass with the ordaining Bishop. Assistant priests helps them follow the missal. After communion, the Bishop again imposes his hands on the new priests and demands their future obedience. Holding the young priest’s hands between his, the Bishop admonishes him and asks him to promise obedience. The priest replies, “Promitto—I promise.” The Bishop then gives the new priest the sign of peace, blesses him, and gives him a “penance.” The Te Deum, the hymn of thanksgiving, is sung, and all the servers, ministers, and new priests and deacons make the joyful recession back to the chapel and sacristy for photos and the final blessing. After the ceremony, the faithful eagerly await an opportunity to receive the first blessing of the new priests. The Seminary bell rings to summon all the ordained and their guests to the luncheon banquet. For the faithful who have no special invitation, the Seminary provides a meal outside. After the luncheon, Vespers is sung in the tent to end the day’s formal celebration. The next day starts with the first Mass of www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • July 2008 26 the newly ordained priests. An assistant priest helps the young priest to follow the rubrics of the Mass, and gives a sermon on his behalf. After attending one of the first Masses, most of the faithful who have come from near and far to witness the making of new priests return home. They leave, no doubt, with renewed strength for the spiritual battle, and with gratitude to God for providing the gift of new priests. Discernment It is important for a young man considering his vocation to the priesthood to understand that a vocation cannot be decided or “figured out” in the world. A young man must enter the Seminary if he is to know certainly whether God is calling him or not. With all of the distractions and temptations in the world, however, this can be very difficult. Often it is harder just to make it to the Seminary than to stay. If you think that there is any possibility that you might have a vocation, we recommend that you take as many of the following steps as possible, remembering that your salvation might depend on your answering God’s call: 1) Talk to a priest. He can give you good advice on the direction you ought to take. 2) Make an Ignatian retreat. God speaks in silence. On a retreat, you will be able to see clearly what God wants you to do. 3) Visit the Seminary. Coming to the Seminary and speaking to the professors and seminarians will give you a fuller understanding of seminary life and the Catholic priesthood. If possible, a prospective seminarian should visit for a week in order to get a well-rounded view of seminary life. Seminaries of the Society of St. Pius X UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SWITZERLAND GERMANY St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary 21077 Quarry Hill Road Winona, MN 55987 507-454-8000 tel www.sspxseminary.org Seminaire International Saint Pie X Ecône CH-1908 Riddes, VS [41] (27) 305 10 80 tel www.seminaire-econe.com Priesterseminar Herz Jesu Zaitzkofen D-84069 Schierling [49] (9451) 12 25 tel www.priesterseminar-herz-jesu.de ARGENTINA AUSTRALIA FRANCE Seminario Nuestra Senora Corredentora Caja de Correos #308 La Reja, Moreno Buenos Aires, RA-1744 [54] (11) 44 40 67 38 tel Holy Cross Seminary PO Box 417 Goulburn, NSW 2580 [61] (2) 48 29 51 77 tel www.holycrossseminary.com Seminaire International St. Curé d’Ars Maison Lacordaire F-21150 Flavigny sur Ozerain [33] (3) 80 96 20 74 tel 27 This year marks the 20th anniversary of the episcopal consecrations of 1988. For twenty years “Operation Survival” has borne good fruit, and it behooves us to revisit the words of Archbishop Lefebvre on the day of the consecrations. Especially noteworthy is his tranquility, his confidence in following Tradition, knowing that God’s will could be discerned in such a fashion. Contrariwise, Bishop de Castro’s statement on the same day should remind us that we can only persevere with the grace of God, as the fall of Campos has sadly demonstrated. 27 Sermon of Archbishop Lefebvre Your Excellency, dear Bishop de Castro Mayer, my most dear friends, my dear brethren, Behold, here we are gathered for a ceremony, which is certainly historic. Let me, first of all, give you some information. The first might surprise you a little, as it did me. Yesterday evening, a visitor came, sent from the Nunciature in Berne, with an envelope containing an appeal from our Holy Father the Pope, who was putting at my disposal a car which was supposed to take me to Rome yesterday evening, so that I would not be able to perform these consecrations today. I was told neither for what reason, nor where I had to go! I leave you to judge for yourselves the timeliness and wisdom of such a request. I went to Rome for many, many days during the past year, even for weeks; the Holy Father did not invite me to come and see him. I would certainly have been glad to see him if some agreement would have been finalized. So here you have the information. I give it to you simply, as I myself came to know it, through the letter from the Nunciature. Now, some indications concerning the ceremony and some relevant documents regarding its significance. The future bishops have already sworn in my hands the oath which you find in the little booklet on the ceremony of consecration which some of you have. Thus, this oath has already been pronounced, plus the Anti-Modernist Oath, as it was formerly prescribed for the consecration of bishops, plus the Profession www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • July 2008 28 28 of Faith. They have already taken these oaths and this profession in my hands after the retreat which took place at Sierre during these last days. Do not, therefore, be surprised if the ceremony begins with the interrogations on the Faith, the Faith which the Church asks from those to be consecrated. I also want to let you know that, after the ceremony, you will be able to ask the blessing of the bishops and kiss their rings. It is not the custom in the Church to kiss the hands of a bishop as one kisses the hands of a newly ordained priest, as you did yesterday. But the faithful may ask for their blessing and kiss their ring. Lastly, you have at your disposal at the bookstall some books and flyers which contain all the elements necessary to help you better understand why this ceremony, which is apparently done against the will of Rome, is in no way a schism. We are not schismatics! If an excommunication was pronounced against the bishops of China, who separated themselves from Rome and put themselves under the Chinese government, one very easily understands why Pope Pius XII excommunicated them.1 There is no question of us separating ourselves from Rome, nor of putting ourselves under a foreign government, nor of establishing a sort of parallel church as the Bishops of Palmar de Troya have done in Spain. They have even elected a pope, formed a college of cardinals… It is out of the question for us to do such things. Far from us be this miserable thought of separating ourselves from Rome! On the contrary, it is in order to manifest our attachment to Rome that we are performing this ceremony. It is in order to manifest our attachment to the Eternal Rome, to the pope, and to all those who have preceded these last popes who, unfortunately since the Second Vatican Council, have thought it their duty to adhere to grievous errors which are demolishing the Church and the Catholic priesthood. Thus you will find among these flyers which are put at your disposal an admirable study done by Professor Georg May, President of the Seminary of Canon Law in the University of Mayence in Germany, THE ANGELUS • July 2008 www.angeluspress.org who marvelously explains why we are in a case of necessity: necessity to come and help your souls, to help you! Your applause a while ago was, I think, not a purely temporal manifestation; it was rather a spiritual manifestation, expressing your joy to have at last Catholic bishops and priests who are dedicated to the salvation of your souls, to giving to your souls the Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, through good doctrine, through the Sacraments, through the Faith, through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. You need this Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ to go to heaven. This Life of Our Lord Jesus Christ is disappearing everywhere in the Conciliar Church. They are following roads which are not Catholic roads: they simply lead to apostasy. This is why we do this ceremony. Far be it from me to set myself up as pope! I am simply a bishop of the Catholic Church who is continuing to transmit Catholic doctrine. I think, and this will certainly not be too far off, that you will be able to engrave on my tombstone these words of St. Paul: “Tradidi quod et accepi —I have transmitted to you what I have received,” nothing else. I am just the postman bringing you a letter. I did not write the letter, the message, this word of God. God Himself wrote it; Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself gave it to us. As for us, we just handed it down, through these dear priests here present and through all those who have chosen to resist this wave of apostasy in the Church, by keeping the Eternal Faith and giving it to the faithful. We are just carriers of this Good News, of this Gospel which Our Lord Jesus Christ gave to us, as well as of the means of sanctification: the Holy Mass, the true Holy Mass, the true Sacraments which truly give the spiritual life. It seems to me, my dear brethren, that I am hearing the voices of all these popes—since Gregory XVI, Pius IX, Leo XIII, St. Pius X, Benedict XV, Pius XI, Pius XII—telling us: “Please, we beseech you, what are you going to do with our teachings, with our preaching, with the Catholic Faith? Are you going to abandon it? Are you going to let it disappear from this earth? Please, please, continue to keep this treasure which we have given you. Do not abandon the faithful, do not 29 abandon the Church! Continue the Church! Indeed, since the Council, what we condemned in the past the present Roman authorities have embraced and are professing. How is it possible? We have condemned them: Liberalism, Communism, Socialism, Modernism, Sillonism.2 All the errors which we have condemned are now professed, adopted and supported by the authorities of the Church. Is it possible? Unless you do something to continue this Tradition of the Church which we have given to you, all of it shall disappear. Souls shall be lost.” Thus, we find ourselves in a case of necessity. We have done all we could, trying to help Rome to understand that they had to come back to the attitudes of the holy Pius XII and of all his predecessors. Bishop de Castro Mayer and myself have gone to Rome, we have spoken, we have sent letters several times to Rome. We have tried by these talks, by all these means, to succeed in making Rome understand that, since the Council and since aggiornamento, this change which has occurred in the Church is not Catholic, is not in conformity to the doctrine of all times. This ecumenism and all these errors, this collegiality—all this is contrary to the Faith of the Church, and is in the process of destroying the Church. This is why we are convinced that, by the act of these consecrations today, we are obeying the call of these popes and as a consequence the call of God, since they represent Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Church. “And why, Archbishop, have you stopped these discussions which seemed to have had a certain degree of success?” Well, precisely because, at the same time that I gave my signature to the Protocol, the envoy of Cardinal Ratzinger gave me a note in which I was asked to beg pardon for my errors. But if I am in error, if I teach error, it is clear that I must be brought back to the truth in the minds of those who sent me this note to sign. “That I might recognize my errors” means that, “if you recognize your errors we will help you to return to the truth.” What is this truth for them, if not the truth of Vatican II, the truth of the Conciliar Church? Consequently, it is clear that the only truth that exists today for the Vatican is the conciliar truth, the spirit of the Council, the spirit of Assisi. That is the truth of today. But we will have nothing to do with this for anything in the world! That is why, taking into account the strong will of the present Roman authorities to reduce Tradition to nought, to gather the world to the spirit of Vatican II and the spirit of Assisi, we have preferred to withdraw ourselves and to say that we could not continue. It was not possible. We would have evidently been under the authority of Cardinal Ratzinger, President of the Roman Commission, which would have directed us; we were putting ourselves into his hands, and consequently putting ourselves into the hands of those who wish to draw us into the spirit of the Council and the spirit of Assisi. This was simply not possible. This is why I sent a letter to the Pope, saying to him very clearly: “We simply cannot (accept this spirit and proposals), despite all the desires which we have to be in full union with you. Given this new spirit which now rules in Rome and which you wish to communicate to us, we prefer to continue in Tradition; to keep Tradition while waiting for Tradition to regain its place at Rome, while waiting for Tradition to re-assume its place in the Roman authorities, in their minds.” This will last for as long as the Good Lord has foreseen. It is not for me to know when Tradition will regain its rights at Rome, but I think it is my duty to provide the means of doing that which I shall call “Operation Survival,” operation survival for Tradition. Today, this day, is “Operation Survival.” If I had made this deal with Rome, by continuing with the agreements we had signed and by putting them into practice, I would have performed “Operation Suicide.” There was no choice, we must live! That is why today, by consecrating these bishops, I am convinced that I am continuing to keep Tradition alive, that is to say, the Catholic Church. You well know, my dear brethren, that there can be no priests without bishops. When God calls me—this will certainly not be long—from whom would these seminarians receive the Sacrament of [Holy] Orders? From conciliar bishops, who, due to their doubtful intentions, confer doubtful sacraments? This is not possible. Who are the bishops who have truly kept www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • July 2008 30 Tradition and the Sacraments such as the Church has conferred them for 20 centuries until Vatican II? They are Bishop de Castro Mayer and myself. I cannot change that. That is how it is. Hence, many seminarians have entrusted themselves to us; they sensed that here was the continuity of the Church, the continuity of Tradition. And they came to our seminaries, despite all the difficulties that they have encountered, in order to receive a true ordination to the priesthood, to say the true Sacrifice of Calvary, the true Sacrifice of the Mass, and to give you the true Sacraments, true doctrine, the true catechism. This is the goal of these seminaries. So I cannot, in good conscience, leave these seminarians orphaned. Neither can I leave you orphans by dying without providing for the future. That is not possible. It would be contrary to my duty. This is why we have chosen, with the grace of God, priests from our Society who have seemed to us to be the most apt, whilst being in circumstances and in functions which permit them more easily to fulfill their episcopal ministry, to give Confirmation to your children, and to be able to confer ordinations in our various seminaries. Thus I believe that with the grace of God, we, Bishop de Castro Mayer and myself, by these consecrations, will have given to Tradition the means to continue, given the means to Catholics who desire to remain within the Church of their parents, their grandparents, of their ancestors. They built churches with beautiful altars, often destroyed and replaced by a table, thus manifesting the radical change which has come about since the Council regarding the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which is the heart of the Church and the purpose of the priesthood. Thus we wish to thank you for having come in such numbers to support us in the accomplishment of this ceremony. We turn to the Blessed Virgin Mary. You well know, my dear brethren, you must have been told of Leo XIII’s prophetic vision revealing that one day “the See of Peter would become the seat of iniquity.” He said it in one of his exorcisms, called “The Exorcism of Leo XIII.” Has it come about today? Is it tomorrow? I do not know. But in any case it has been foretold. Iniquity may quite simply be error. Error is iniquity: to no longer profess the Faith of all time, the Catholic Faith, is a grave error. If there ever was an iniquity, it is this. And I really believe that there has never been a greater iniquity in the Church than Assisi, which is contrary to the First Commandment of God and the First Article of the Creed. It is incredible that something like that could have ever taken place in the Church, in the eyes of the whole Church—how humiliating! We have never undergone such a humiliation! You will be able to find all of this in Fr. LeRoux’s booklet which has been especially published in order to give you information on the present situation in Rome. It was not only the good Pope Leo XIII who said these things, but Our Lady prophesied them as THE ANGELUS • July 2008 www.angeluspress.org well. Just recently, the priest who takes care of the Society’s priory in Bogota, Colombia, brought me a book concerning the apparition of Our Lady of “Buen Suceso,” —of “Good Fortune,” to whom a large church in Quito, Ecuador, was dedicated. They were received by a nun shortly after the Council of Trent, so you see, quite a few centuries ago. This apparition is thoroughly recognized by Rome and the ecclesiastical authorities; a magnificent church was built for the Blessed Virgin Mary wherein the faithful of Ecuador venerate with great devotion a picture of Our Lady, whose face was made miraculously. The artist was in the process of painting it when he found the face of the Holy Virgin miraculously formed. And Our Lady prophesied for the 20th century, saying explicitly that during the 19th century and most of the 20th century, errors would become more and more widespread in Holy Church, placing the Church in a catastrophic situation. Morals would become corrupt and the Faith would disappear. It seems impossible not to see it happening today. I excuse myself for continuing this account of the apparition, but she speaks of a prelate who will absolutely oppose this wave of apostasy and impiety— saving the priesthood by forming good priests. I do not say that prophecy refers to me. You may draw your own conclusions. I was stupefied when reading these lines but I cannot deny them, since they are recorded and deposited in the archives of this apparition. Of course, you well know the apparitions of Our Lady at La Salette, where she says that Rome will lose the Faith, that there will be an “eclipse” at Rome; an eclipse, see what Our Lady means by this. And finally, closer to us, the secret of Fatima. Without a doubt, the Third Secret of Fatima must have made an allusion to this darkness which has invaded Rome, this darkness which has invaded the world since the Council. And surely it is because of this, without a doubt, that John XXIII judged it better not to publish the Secret: it would have been necessary to take measures, such steps as he possibly felt himself incapable of doing, e.g., completely changing the orientations which he was beginning to take in view of the Council, and for the Council. There are the facts upon which, I think, we can lean. We place ourselves in God’s providence. We are convinced that God knows what He is doing. Cardinal Gagnon visited us 12 years after the suspension: after 12 years of being spoken of as outside of the communion of Rome, as rebels and dissenters against the pope, his visit took place. He himself recognized that what we have been doing is just what is necessary for the reconstruction of the Church. The cardinal even assisted pontifically at the Mass which I celebrated on December 8, 1987, for the renewal of the promises of our seminarians. I was supposedly suspended and, yet, after 12 years, I was practically given a clean slate. They said we have done well. Thus we did well to resist! I am convinced that we are in the 31 same circumstances today. We are performing an act which apparently…—and unfortunately the media will not assist us in the good sense. The headlines will, of course, be “Schism,” “Excommunication!” to their heart’s content—and, yet, we are convinced that all these accusations of which we are the object, all penalties of which we are the object, are null, absolutely null and void, and of which we will take no account. Just as I took no account of the suspension, and ended up by being congratulated by the Church and by progressive churchmen, so likewise in several years—I do not know how many, only the Good Lord knows how many years it will take for Tradition to find its rights in Rome—we will be embraced by the Roman authorities, who will thank us for having maintained the Faith in our seminaries, in our families, in civil societies, in our countries, and in our monasteries and our religious houses, for the greater glory of God and the salvation of souls. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. 1 The media and especially the Catholic diocesan papers all conveniently forgot this schism of the national Chinese Church, which was the occasion at which an excommunication was put for episcopal consecrations without papal mandate. They claimed that the so-called schism of Archbishop Lefebvre was the first since the schism of Döllinger and the “Old Catholics” after Vatican I. This claim is inaccurate, and their parallel does not stand in the face of history. However, comparing 1988 with the Chinese Church would have shown the dissimilarity, as Archbishop Lefebvre does here. 2 Please note that many reporters have misunderstood the Archbishop, who did not say “Zionism” but “Sillonism,” an error condemned by St. Pius X in 1910. Declaration of Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer My presence here at this ceremony is caused by a duty of conscience: that of making a profession of Catholic Faith in front of the whole Church and more particularly in front of His Excellency Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and in front of all the priests, religious, seminarians and faithful here present. St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that there is no obligation to make a profession of faith at every moment. But when the Faith is in danger it is urgent to profess it, even if it be at the risk of one’s own life. Such is the situation in which we find ourselves. We live in an unprecedented crisis of the Church, a crisis that attacks her inner essence, in her very substance which is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Catholic priesthood, two mysteries essentially united because without priesthood there is no sacrifice of the Mass and therefore no form of worship. It is also on this foundation that the social reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ is built. For this reason, because the conservation of the priesthood and the Holy Mass is at stake, and in spite of the requests and pressures of many, I am here in order to accomplish my duty: to make a public profession of faith. It is painful to witness the deplorable blindness of so many confrères in the episcopate and in the priesthood who do not see or do not want to see the present crisis nor the necessity to resist the reigning modernism in order to be faithful to the mission entrusted to us by God. I want to manifest here my sincere and profound adherence to the position of His Excellency Archbishop Lefebvre, dictated by his fidelity to the Church of all centuries. Both of us, we have drunk at the same spring which is that of the Holy Catholic Apostolic and Roman Church. May the Most Holy Virgin our Mother, who at Fatima has warned us in her motherly love with regard to the gravity of the present situation, give us the grace to be able by our attitude to help and enlighten the faithful in such a way that they depart from these pernicious errors of which they are the victims, deceived by many persons who have received the fullness of the Holy Ghost. May God bless Archbishop Lefebvre and his work! www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • July 2008 32 R o b e r t W y e r Icon of the Trinity, Andrei Rublev, ca. 1410 Betwixt and Between Christ presents no threat to human happiness. Unlike the scribes and Pharisees, His Church does not add to man’s burdens. Despite the claims of many scientists, professors, and just plain folk, the Catholic Faith embraces life in all its richness. Human nature, wounded by sin and deprived of God’s friendship, isn’t depraved or evil. Left alone, though, in a state of sin, man cannot play the innocent and noble savage. He is, as the text of the Mass states, marvelously created and more marvelously re-created. The history of heresy, according to the theological masters, turns on the three principal mysteries of the Catholic religion: the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Redemption. The tendency to deny one of the two natures, divine and human, in the one person of Jesus Christ, distorts the true doctrine necessary for human salvation. At times, the errors may seem quibbling, but they are profound and result in a false and impotent human fabrication incapable of allowing fallen man to participate, THE ANGELUS • July 2008 www.angeluspress.org 33 through grace, in God’s life. Arianism, for example, taught that the Son was of like substance with the Father, but not the same substance. Unless Jesus Christ is God, He cannot satisfy the infinite debt owed by man’s sin against the infinite God. Likewise, unless He is man, He cannot pay the debt man owes. Boethius, while awaiting his execution, demonstrated that happiness can only be found in God, either in Himself by nature or by sharing in His nature through adoption. All other religions are empty. St. John of the Cross says God spoke only one word–the Word, and that Word contains everything God chose to reveal. The beginning of St. John’s Gospel, read at the end of Mass, summarizes and reminds us of these realities. Without wishing to diminish the awesome quality of these supernatural truths, we can see a similarity in other aspects of reality. Natural, acquired virtues require a balance between defects and extremes. Temperance lies between teetotaling and drunkenness; fortitude, between cowardice and recklessness; liberality, between being a miser and a spendthrift. Humans are rational animals, which means they have bodies and souls. We are neither beasts nor angels. It is easy to recognize humans acting as animals, like Circe turning Odysseus’s men into pigs. On the other hand, what the novelist Walker Percy’s old-fashioned doctor of the soul, Tom More, calls “angelism” may be little more than false piety, a puritanical refusal to recognize and legitimately enjoy the material goods God has created. Denying either aspect of human nature ultimately results in a caricature. The Incarnation continues, fusing the human and the divine, using matter to lead human souls to God. The sacraments use water, bread, wine, and oil. The penitent speaks, and the confessor listens. The priest speaks the words of absolution, and the penitent hears that God has forgiven his sins. What we are cries out for this audible expression of mercy. The liturgy follows the rhythms of the seasons, makes use of colors, singing, bells, and incense. God sanctifies the parts of human life, making the marriage act produce offspring, candidates for the kingdom of heaven, at the same time that physical union draws husband and wife closer together. Only the Catholic Church has such a high regard for every aspect of the lives we lead here and now. Our sanity and our sanctity, our happiness here and now–and in the next life, all find their right place in this ordered existence. As individuals, we exist as part of something greater than ourselves. We find our personal reason for being only in recognizing and adding to the larger body. Radical individualism, operating politically and philosophically in libertarianism, cuts off the person from his community. No one asked any of us if we wished to live; someone else–our parents–made the most fundamental decision of our existence for us. No one can be without at least two others, mother and father. The family is a fundamental reality. It touches each of us, and goes a long way towards making each of us what we are–for good or ill. There could be no state or nation or city or neighborhood or school or parish without individuals, but the fact that we form parts of a larger community does not make us simply cogs in the great wheel, atoms subsumed, forgers of a common good at the expense of our private goods. We are neither Marxists nor libertarians because each fails to appreciate the fusion of individual and community, body and soul, human and divine. Irritation, exasperation even, with a bloated government, intrusive and positively evil in some of its policies, does not mean we are revolutionaries. All authority comes from God, and we can no more refuse this order than we can ignore Him. Modern man thinks that he cannot be himself unless he exercises autonomy. “I need to be happy, I need my own space, I see things differently.” He seeks to create his own universe, and no one–Almighty God included–is going to tell him what to do. In throwing off Christ’s sweet yoke, he desperately fumbles for what he thinks will make him happy: a younger wife, a faster car, an older whiskey. If he is rich, he can distract himself longer, extend his search to foreign and exotic markets. No amount of finite goods can ever satisfy an infinite desire; by design, we desire God, and only He can satisfy our unbounded limits because only He is without limit. In Orthodoxy, Chesterton likens the Church to a vehicle, careening between two possible departures from its path. Getting to the end of our journey means remaining upright, an animal that stands on its two hind legs while turning upward to consider the stars above, the stars that God has called by name– each shining in its place within the heavens. Robert Wyer teaches high-school English in Wisconsin and attends St. Pius V chapel in Mukwonago. www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • July 2008 34 D w y e r Q u e n t i n W e d v i c k Heraldry & St. Pius X This is part one of three in a series on heraldry. The next article will explain the coats of arms of six other Popes. The illustrations were especially painted for this article by the late Michael Francis McCarthy Conjectural Theory for the Arms of St. Pius X Pope St. Pius X, 1903-1914, was the only canonized pope of the 20th century (Yves Chiron, St. Pius X) and the first since St. Pius V (1566-72). His Holiness Pope St. Pius X, or Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was sometimes known as Beppo to his family, friends and parishioners. The abovenoted biography includes a number of photos of him and a monochrome illustration of his coat of arms, which raised my curiosity as to their source and the THE ANGELUS • July 2008 www.angeluspress.org reasons for their choice. This will shortly become clear as described below. St. Pius X, born June 2, 1835, in the village of Riese, Italy, was the second son of ten children to Giovanni Battista Sarto (1792-1852) and his wife Margherita Sanson (1813-94). Riese had about 500 families, mainly farmers, set in the midst of the agricultural area of the Venetian plain. Giovanni Battista was the cursore of Riese, a sort of town clerk and assistant to the mayor. In addition to his salary, the Sartos owned and farmed three fields with a total area of 2.2 acres. Additionally, Margherita had been a dressmaker before she married. They inherited the 35 Cardinal Giacomo Monico house they lived in, which was better than a peasant’s cottage but definitely not middle class. From an early age, Giuseppe displayed a predilection for holiness and great intelligence. At age eleven he was entered into the “College” of Castelfranco, which was about four miles from Riese. He walked to and from the college every day for the four years he attended and frequently went barefoot with shoes tied around his neck to save his family the expense of shoes. The college was run by secular priests, and everyone there, classmates and teachers alike, described him as good natured to all, jovial, calm and studious. Examinations were given by the seminary of Treviso every six months and on every occasion, Giuseppe Melchiorre passed first in every subject, every time! A year or so before graduating from the college Beppo declared his desire to become a priest, which precipitated a domestic crisis. The families of seminarians were expected to bear the cost of their priestly education and formation, and the Sarto family, with ten children, could not afford the financial burden. However, in view of St. Pius’s academic record and vocational disposition, the prefect of studies at the Treviso seminary, Canon Casagrande, approached the Patriarch of Venice to see if something could be done. By good fortune, the Patriarch, Cardinal Monico, happened to come from Riese himself and a “free place” was arranged for Beppo at the seminary of Padua by a letter from the Cardinal dated August 22, 1850. Giuseppe Sarto entered the seminary at Padua in 1850. This seminary was considered one of the best in Italy, and Giuseppe spent eight years studying and working there. On September 18, 1858, the future St. Pius X was ordained a priest. Meanwhile, both his father and Cardinal Monico had died in 1852. Giuseppe became a curate and served from 1858-67 when he took over as parish priest of the large parish of Salzano in the town of Salzano, remaining there as pastor until 1875. In 1875, aged 40, he was appointed canon of the cathedral of Treviso, spiritual director of the seminary, and chancellor of the Episcopal curia. Obviously, his bishop thought highly of both him and his performance in Salzano. The appointments carried a promotion to Monsignor—up to now he had been formally known as Don Sarto. Due to the age and infirmness of his Bishop, Msgr. Zinelli, and the age of the vicar general, the day-to-day running of the diocese fell largely on Msgr. Sarto’s shoulders. He fulfilled his responsibilities well for the next nine years. Saint Pius X: Restorer of the Church Yves Chiron Chiron breaks new ground by establishing an exact, fair portrait of St. Pius X, who is often portrayed as a pious pope of great Faith, but “retrograde, simplistic and close-minded to modern...ideas.” In fact, he was not a pietistic simpleton, but a powerful and brilliant defender of the True Faith in the face of the Modernism that was invading the Church even in those days–the beginnings of the Liberalism that resurfaced at Vatican II. Mr. Chiron demonstrates that he was a tireless defender of the rights of the Church against secularism; a great reforming pope, restoring Gregorian chant as the sacred music of the Church, reforming the Curia, initiating the codification of Canon Law, and devoting himself especially to reforming the seminaries in order to form pious, zealous young priests, on guard against the creeping infection of Modernism. Chiron draws from many sources, especially Italian, where this man rose from being a poor farm boy to being the Vicar of Christ. The author was also able to research the Vatican Archives. There is no better “rags-to-riches” story, for he came from a poor but hardworking family and rose to the heights of spiritual riches. 352pp, 6" x 9" softcover, 24pp. of illustrations, STK# 6768✱ $25.00 36 Cardinal Sarto Bishop Sarto Late in 1884, aged 49, he was appointed Bishop of Mantua. The diocese was in sad condition, but Bishop Sarto built it up over the next few years, paying particular attention to the seminary and priestly formation. When he was a parish priest his sisters had kept house for him. As bishop, he now needed to assume arms, and he chose those at left [Note: all the arms in this article were kindly painted by the late Michael Francis McCarthy, Australian artist and author]. The blazon: Azure, a three tined anchor in pale above waves of the sea proper, a six pointed star or in chief. In Heraldica Collegii Cardinalium, McCarthy illustrates very similar arms in monochrome (on previous page) for Cardinal Giacomo Monico, Patriarch and Archbishop of Venice, the very same gentleman who had “found” a free place for Giuseppe Sarto in the seminary of Padua in 1850. It is thought that these arms are too similar to be a matter of coincidence, and this therefore appears to be an instance of arms of admiration. The blazon for Cardinal Monico’s arms is: Azure, a three pronged anchor argent, a chief azure, a six pointed star argent. If one takes out the chief of the Cardinal’s shield and places the star in chief on the azure field, the only differences are the metals of the anchor and star, and the addition of waves for Bishop Sarto’s shield. Indeed, why should not Bishop Sarto remember with gratitude the prelate who helped him, and pattern his arms closely after his? After nine years of good stewardship of his diocese, “the fame, zeal and piety of the Bishop of Mantua spread beyond the bounds of his diocese. His conspicuous merit and ability had not escaped the vigilant eye of Pope Leo XIII” (Forbes, 1954). On June 12, 1893, Pope Leo XIII named Bishop Sarto, then aged 58, Cardinal and three days later Patriarch and Archbishop of Venice. His tenure as Patriarch of Venice was notable for its reforms, especially in the seminaries and in sacred music and even in his quiet relations with the civil government. Cardinal Sarto now made a change to his arms (at left), which was really the addition of the chief of Venice. The blazon: Azure, a three tined anchor in pale above waves of the sea proper, a six pointed star or in chief, a chief of Venice: Argent, a lion passant winged and nimbed proper, holding in his right paw an open book with the words “Pax Tibi Marce Evangelista Meus.” The field of the new chief had been changed by Cardinal Sarto from gules (red) to argent (white) to make the heraldic point that this was the “religious emblem of St. Mark’s Lion and not the insignia” (Martin, 1987) of the former Serenissima, the ancient maritime Republic of Venice. It may be supposed that the Or and THE ANGELUS • July 2008 www.angeluspress.org 37 Dwyer Quentin Wedvick was born in 1940 and has been a soldier, a sometime Captain in the US Army, a stockbroker, a yacht restorer, and owner of a contract delivery business. In his semi-retirement he pursues his ambition to be a student of heraldry. A Catholic and parishioner at Christ the King Church in Ridgefield, CT, he is a Knight of the Constantinian of St. George (Madrid). Angelus Press is acknowledged for permission to include quotations from the biography of Pius X (Yves Chiron, 2002). References The Catholic Encyclopedia, XII, 137-8. Robert Appleton Company, 1911. Chiron, Yves. Saint Pius X, Restorer of the Church. Kansas City, Mo.: Angelus Press, 2002. Forbes, F. A. Pope St. Pius X. Rockford, Ill.: Tan Books and Publishers, 1954. Martin, Cardinal Jacques. Heraldry in the Vatican. Gerrards Cross: Van Duren Publishers, 1987. McCarthy, Michael Francis. Heraldica Collegii Cardinalium, 1800-2000. Darlinghurst, Australia: Thylacine Press, 2000. Pope St. Pius X Argent could have been picked up by the late Archbishop Bernard Bruno Heim in his book, Or and Argent, especially as he was involved in the arms design wherein the same chief was used for John XXIII and John Paul I, but no trace could be found there. Nine years later, in 1903, after an exciting conclave, Cardinal Sarto was, at age 68, elected pope as Pius X. However, he made no changes to his arms as Pope (right), disappointing heraldic pundits who felt he ought to have dropped the Chief of Venice. The traditional elements of all papal heraldry are present: The tiara and keys symbolize the authority of the Roman Pontiff. St. Pius X managed an effective papacy, his reforms including the encouragement of The Catholic Encyclopedia, a 16-volume set published between 1907-14. He also started and encouraged the first unified Canon Law, finally published in 1917, and set standards for priestly formation in seminaries, and in the restoration of sacred music and, most importantly, set modernism back for 60 years. During all this time, he maintained a saintly level of personal piety and humility. He had instructed that his body should not be embalmed, and these final wishes were observed when he died on August 29, 1914, aged 79. As part of the beatification process, exhumation and canonical examination of the remains take place at some point. The remains of St. Pius X were so examined on May 19, 1944, 40 years after his death, and found to be incorrupt. “This non-corruption is not an additional proof of sanctity, but it is a miracle which can confirm a reputation that has been otherwise established” (Chiron, 2002). Heraldic Terms Argent: Silver Azure: Bright blue blazon: a formal description which enables a person to depict a coat of arms with accurate detail. Charge: anything borne on a coat of arms. Chief: the first of the Ordinaries, and occupying about one-third one the shield from the top downward. Nimbed: Having the head encircled with a Nimbus (a solid disk of light or gold). Ordinaries: a simple geometrical figure on the arms, often bounded by straight lines. pale: a term used to describe a charge on a coat of arms, that takes the form of a band running vertically down the center of the shield. Passant: A beast facing and walking toward the viewer’s left with one front leg raised. Proper: when a charge is borne of its natural color it is said to be proper. www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • July 2008 38 38 Letter from La Reja “Conservatives” Fail To Conserve There is a phenomenon of modern politics which many observers have noticed, that is, how often successful politicians today speak in favor of oldfashioned values and ideals, but act in favor of the Brave New World. In France, General De Gaulle proclaimed in public his understanding of the French Algerian colonists, only to hand over Algeria to the Revolution. In England, Harold Macmillan seemed to embody the values of the British Empire even while he dismantled it. In the USA, Ronald Reagan praised all conservative ideals even while the Socialist State marched ahead beneath him. Etc., etc. To explain why this political phenomenon derives in fact from a religious problem, it will help to lay out the vision of world and Church history which underlay the “Eleison Comments” of May 3. It is the vision of the Seven Ages of the Church, as presented by the Venerable Bartholomew Holzhauser in his Commentary on Chapters II and III of the Book of Revelation. According to the Venerable Holzhauser, each of the seven Letters to the seven Churches of St. John’s Archdiocese of Ephesus represents a distinct Age of the Church, from Jesus Christ through to the Antichrist. The seven Ages would then resemble an arch, rising almost vertically off the launching-pad of Christ’s redeeming death on the Cross, to pass successively through the first three Ages of the Apostles (33-70 AD) Martyrs (70-313 AD) and Doctors (313 AD to the early Middle Ages). The Middle Ages form the grand central span of the arch or the fourth Age, the glorious centuries of Christendom, but already beginning to fall in the Late Middle Ages. With Luther’s revolt, say 1520 THE ANGELUS • July 2008 www.angeluspress.org AD, and the outbreak of Protestantism, begins the fifth Age, the Age of Apostasy, in which mankind falls more and more vertically towards the Antichrist. The almost free fall observable around us today will soon be briefly interrupted by the sixth Age, corresponding to the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, but then the fall will be resumed, more vertical than ever, into the seventh Age of the Antichrist and the end of the world. There is a pleasing symmetry in this vision of three Ages rising, the Middle Ages, and then three Ages falling. But the symmetry also makes sense. We human beings are gifted by God with the glory of free-will, but we are also tainted from Adam with the corruption of original sin. Alas, all human history shows how what God gives, man corrupts. So it was normal that God’s stupendous gift of His Incarnation, Death and Resurrection should lift up mankind as it had never before been lifted up, but–alas–it was also normal that eventually mankind would corrupt even this stupendous gift, so that its last state would be worse than its first, worse than ever. There was a certain sad inevitability about the arrival of Vatican II. As the waters of sin rose through the fifth Age, good churchmen built up the dikes, but in the end they were overwhelmed, and now the Catholic Church, which had resisted the modern flood-waters for so long, found her own structures (not Constitution) flooded, in many cases damaged beyond repair, by heresy and immorality. But this is not the only light cast upon our own times, the fifth Age, by the vision of the arch. That the first three Ages preceded Christendom while the last three follow it, entails this significant difference: 39 before Christendom triumphed, men did not need to be hypocrites in the way in which ever since its triumph they have had to be. In the first three Ages of the Church, when she was still struggling to overcome bloody persecutions (second Age) and heresy (third Age), no homage needed yet to be paid to her as that Queen of Civilization which she had not yet proved herself to be. But from the beginning of the Age of Apostasy onwards, it was clear to everybody that she was the only begetter of the glories and happiness of Christian civilization, so that whoever wished to turn his back on her nevertheless had to recognize her achievements and virtues. That is why the Age of Apostasy has also been an Age of Hypocrisy. That is why hypocrisy is a deep-down characteristic of our sad times. That is why left-wing politicians talk right-wing. Let us take a few clear examples from Church history of the last 500 years, starting with Protestantism. Martin Luther pretended to be reforming Christianity, and liars have established for his work the name of “Reformation.” But Luther’s fruits show that a truer name would be “Deformation,” because countless ills of the modern world can be traced back to his breaking of the doctrine and unity of Catholic Christendom. Therefore Protestantism, especially in its extreme forms such as Puritanism, is a pharisaic hypocrisy, breaking the true worship of God while pretending to re-make it. Similarly Liberalism pretends to be a liberation of man, when in fact it enslaves man to sin. “We have established glorious freedom,” chant the liberals, even while electronic media are fouling up the children’s souls and enslaving them to the filth that the liberal parents are so proud of refusing to prohibit! Thus the appearance of progress is made to disguise the exact opposite. That is hypocrisy. A third religious example would be the neo-modernism of Vatican II, following exactly the Protestant model. Pretending to re-shape the Catholic Church so as to make it more easy of access to modern man, the Second Vatican Council, judged by its fruits, could not have a done a better job of destroying the Church if it had tried. Such an appearance of bringing closer to God while in fact pushing away from Him, is clear hypocrisy. From the world, let us take the double example of Socialism and Communism. Socialism was and is supposed to restore human society from the ravages of selfish individualism, but as Pius XI says in Quadragesimo Anno, the new principles on which it pretends to re-found society are so false that the new society it creates is more inhuman than ever. As for Communism, it has always been cried up as a messianism that will create a new paradise on earth, but never has there been a system of ideas that did more to create for mankind a hell on earth. Winston Churchill saw clearly this hypocrisy of Communism when he called it “Christianity with a tomahawk,” i.e., a system pretending to love people but hating them in fact, by, for instance, smashing anybody who gets in its way. Thus the last 500 years of history in Church and world show how mankind is all the time moving away from the love of God and of neighbour while pretending to move closer. But as the Lord God and His Incarnate Son, Jesus Christ, have been more and more dropped out of the picture, so the only religious struggle left amongst men becomes the struggle between the conservatives who want to conserve something of the old godly order, and the radicals who want to be rid of it altogether, in other words the advocates of a slow, or fast, apostasy respectively. The seven Ages would then resemble an arch, rising almost vertically off the launching-pad of Christ’s redeeming death on the Cross, to pass successively through the first three Ages of the Apostles (33-70 AD) Martyrs (70-313 AD) and Doctors (313 AD to the early Middle Ages). The Middle Ages form the grand central span of the arch or the fourth Age, the glorious centuries of Christendom, but already beginning to fall in the Late MiddleAges.With Luther’s revolt, say 1520 AD, and the outbreak of Protestantism, begins the fifth Age, the Age of Apostasy, in which mankind falls more and more vertically towards the Antichrist. The almost free fall observable around us today will soon be briefly interrupted by the sixth Age, corresponding to the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, but then the fall will be resumed, more vertical than ever, into the seventh Age of the Antichrist and the end of the world. 40 The French Revolution shows who wins in this struggle between “right-wingers” and “left-wingers,” as they then began to be called. For it was at a particular meeting of the Revolutionary Deputies in 1789 that they divided, physically, into the moderate Revolutionaries on the right side of the House, and the extremists on the left. But as is well-known, the moderates proved incapable of holding back the extremists, or of preventing the Terror. This was because the moderates were half-and-half Revolutionaries, while the extremists were all-of-a-piece Revolutionaries, and all-of-a-piece will always prevail over half-and-half. The same basic pattern could be observed in the Russian Revolution of 1917. Half-and-half conservatives conserve little or nothing. If we come back to the Church, the same pattern can be observed in Vatican II. Cardinal Suenens said that Vatican II was 1789 in the Church. Archbishop Lefebvre said that the Council’s religious liberty, collegiality and ecumenism were the equivalent of the French Revolution’s liberty, equality and fraternity. This suggests that we will find supporters of the Council dividing into moderate conservatives and extreme radicals, with the moderate conservatives proving unable to conserve very much. Sure enough. Is not Pope Benedict XVI a classic case of the conservative Revolutionary, who ends up by conserving very little? He is certainly an intelligent man, with a praiseworthy respect for the Catholic Liturgy that he knew in his childhood and youth before he began his seminary studies. However, once those studies began, he drank in the poison of those modern principles with which he helped to make the Council happen, principles to which he has clung ever since. So the “Motu Proprio” of last year was proof not that he had ceased to be a Vatican II Revolutionary, but merely that he was and is a moderate Revolutionary. So if he can be called a conservative, he is one more conservative of the kind that is liable to conserve little or nothing. On the other hand Archbishop Lefebvre not only conserved, he positively restored and re-built. How? Precisely by stepping right out of the apostasy of 500 years and by refusing the apostatic basis of the superficial clash between today’s “right-wing and left-wing,” “conservative and liberal,” “extremist and moderate.” Yet after more than 40 years of poisoned fruits of the Council contrasting with a little less than 40 years of Catholic fruits of the Archbishop’s work, still many conservatives–and liberals–who consider themselves to be Catholic cannot see that the Archbishop’s thorough condemnation of Vatican II and the New Mass, in both of which apostasy is embedded, was and is the line to take if one wishes to remain Catholic and to save one’s soul. Patience. Wind, rain and storm are coming which will blow away every house of the “conservatives” and “liberals,” built on sands of apostasy (See Mt. 7:26, 27). One wishes that as many of them as possible may see it in time! Bishop Williamson is the Rector of Our Lady Co-Redemptrix Seminary in La Reja, Argentina. If you would like to help the seminary in La Reja: To ensure that a check sent to help the seminary in La Reja will be tax-deductible in the US, make it out to “Society of St. Pius X,” accompanied by the request that it benefit the South American seminary and send it to: US District Headquarters, SSPX, 11485 North Farley Rd., Platte City, MO 64079-8201 Attn: Mr. Tim Eaton, Bursar Bishop Richard Williamson The R idgefield Letters From “The Nine” to the Episcopal Consecrations of 1988 Sixty-two letters of then Fr. Richard Williamson from his appointment as Rector of St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in early 1983 to June 1, 1988–just preceding the episcopal consecrations. Utterly fascinating, the letters break down into three main categories dealing with: Sedevacantism (the split of “the Nine”), relations and contacts between Rome and Archbishop Lefebvre, and the disastrous ecumenical meeting at Assisi and the “build-up” to the 1988 episcopal consecrations. Of course, not all the letters deal with these three topics, but these three topics run as a theme through these ALWAYS entertaining and edifying letters. For example, one letter is on the death of Fr. Williamson’s father; another gem is his first impression of the seminary property in Winona. There are many more like it. Yes, this IS one of those books that you can’t put down. 302pp, softcover, STK# 8222. $24.99 THE ANGELUS • July 2008 “What an excellent idea to have published this first volume of His Lordship Richard Williamson’s Letters! It is a book full of history, philosophy, sound doctrine and practical advice; a rich commentary of a small part, a big part, of one decade of the ending of the 20th century.” www.angeluspress.org –Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais F R . p e t e r What do the bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X do? In his sermon for the consecration of the four bishops, on June 30, 1988, Archbishop Lefebvre explained very clearly the state of necessity in which Tradition existed then—and still exists now. It was as a consequence of the state of necessity that he stated: I think it is my duty to provide the means of doing that which I shall call “Operation Survival”….If I had made this deal with Rome, by continuing with the agreements we had signed, and by putting them into practice, I would have performed “Operation Suicide.” There was no choice, we must live! Unable to confer upon them the power of jurisdiction, Archbishop Lefebvre was nevertheless able to confer the fullness of the power of Holy Orders so that they could fulfill an Episcopal ministry, “to give Confirmation to your children, and to be able to confer ordinations in our various seminaries.” These are the two sacraments that the four bishops have constantly administered ever since, thus guaranteeing the continuing of the work of Tradition, of the Society of Saint Pius X, and insuring that it would never be watered down, absorbed by or taken over by the modernist infiltration in the Church. As the Archbishop himself stated on June 30: When God calls me—this will certainly not be long—from whom would these seminarians receive the Sacrament of Orders? From conciliar bishops who, due to their doubtful intentions, confer doubtful sacraments? This is not possible. However, the function of the bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X is not limited to the simple administration of the two sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Orders. There are many pontifical blessings and consecrations in the Church’s liturgy that are reserved to bishops, and that they regularly perform, such as the consecration of the holy oils used for the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders, and Extreme Unction; the consecration of chalices, altar stones, and churches; and the consecration of holy virgins. Moreover, through reception of the fullness of the power of Holy Orders they receive a radical power to teach and to govern the flock of Christ, even before a special portion is entrusted to them by ordinary jurisdiction, which can only be done by the Sovereign Pontiff. However, although the Society’s bishops have not received this jurisdiction, they still retain their responsibility for the Catholic Church of which they are bishops. As Pope Pius XII stated in the encyclical Fidei Donum of 1957, a Catholic bishop is “as successor of the Apostles, jointly responsible for the common good of the Church.” This is what Archbishop Lefebvre explained on June 30, 1988: “I am simply a bishop of the Catholic Church, who is continuing to transmit Catholic doctrine.” It is precisely because of his teaching and Catholic principles, reiterating what the Church has always done, that traditional Catholics listened to him and followed his leadership and direction. In so doing, he exercised a supplied jurisdiction to teach and R . s c o t t 41 to govern, the jurisdiction being supplied to him by the need of the faithful. Bishop de Castro Mayer explained likewise, at the Episcopal consecrations of 1988, that his presence was the exercise of his power to teach, an obligation for him as a Catholic bishop: My presence here at this ceremony is caused by a duty of conscience: that of making a profession of Catholic Faith in front of the whole Church…because the conservation of the priesthood and the Holy Mass is at stake, and in spite of the requests and pressures of many, I am here in order to accomplish my duty: to make a public profession of Faith. The four bishops they consecrated have exactly the same power and functions as bishops of the Catholic Church. Thus it is that the Regulations of the Society of Saint Pius X state that the bishops of the Society, devoid of all territorial jurisdiction, have, nevertheless, the necessary supplied jurisdiction to exercise the powers that are attached to the Episcopal office and certain acts belonging to the ordinary Episcopal jurisdiction. Two such Episcopal functions were created already in 1991 and have functioned ever since, to the great benefit of the traditional movement, namely, the Canonical Commission, headed up by H.E. Bishop Tissier de Mallerais, and the bishop responsible for religious, who is presently H.E. Bishop de Galarreta. It was Archbishop Lefebvre himself who requested these, in a letter dated January 15, 1991: As long as the present Roman authorities are steeped in Ecumenism and Modernism and seeing that all their decisions and the 1983 Code of Canon Law are influenced by these false principles, it will be necessary to form authorities of Supplied Jurisdiction that will faithfully preserve the Catholic principles of Catholic Tradition and Catholic Canon Law. It is the only way of remaining faithful to Our Lord Jesus Christ, to the Apostles, to the deposit of Faith that was handed down to their legitimate successors who remained faithful until Vatican II. The bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X are consequently bishops in every sense of the word, although they lack ordinary jurisdiction. They fulfill the function of sanctifying through the sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Orders, the function of teaching wherever they preach the entire Catholic Faith as bishops of the Catholic Church, and the function of governing inasmuch as they are called on by necessity to resolve difficult questions. Q Does the disobedience of the 1988 Episcopal consecrations constitute a schismatic act? The consecration of the bishops was not an act of disobedience at all, but to the contrary an act of the most painful and exact obedience, which virtue sometimes requires obedience “to God rather than men” (Acts 5:29) who contradict Him, as the Apostles answered the high priest, and which virtue sometimes requires that one resist the highest abuse of authority, as St. Paul did to St. Peter, the first Pope: “But when Cephas was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed” (Gal. 2:13). A 42 The Apostolic Mandate, read as a part of the ceremony of the consecration of bishops, confirms that it was not at all an act of disobedience, but to the contrary an act of obedience to the Church: We have this mandate from the Roman Church, always faithful to the Holy Tradition which She has received from the Holy Apostles. This Holy Tradition is the deposit of Faith which the Church orders us to faithfully transmit to all men for the salvation of their souls. Since the Second Vatican Council until this day, the authorities of the Roman Church are animated by the spirit of modernism. They have acted contrary to Holy Tradition.… However, even if the consecration of bishops were an act of disobedience, it would not follow that it is schismatic. The question of whether or not it was a schismatic act is an entirely different one. Schism is defined in the Code of Canon Law as the refusal to submit to the Sovereign Pontiff, or the refusal of Communion with the members of the Church who are subject to him (Canon 1325, §2 of the 1917 Code and Canon 751 of the 1983 Code). Disobedience, real or apparent, is consequently not the same thing as schism. In the same way as a child who refuses to obey his father when he orders him to steal candy from the store practices a true virtue of obedience (to God rather than men), nor does he in any way deny that his father is truly his father, so likewise do the Episcopal consecrations not at all imply the rejection of the authority of the Holy Father, nor a refusal to submit to it. There is one clear proof of schism, and it exists when a bishop claims for himself jurisdiction over a portion of the Church. It is because all authority in the Church flows from the Pope that this is a direct refusal of the Pope’s universal authority to govern the Church. This the bishops of the Society have never done, never claiming anything but a supplied jurisdiction, coming from the need of the faithful. Consequently, Pope John Paul II was quite simply in error when he claimed, on July 2, 1988, that the Episcopal consecrations were an act of disobedience such as to imply in practice the rejection of the Roman primacy and to constitute a schismatic act. Much to the contrary, it was because of Archbishop Lefebvre’s unshakable belief in Roman primacy that he held to the constant, repeated, infallible teachings of the Popes who condemned for two centuries the errors later adopted by Vatican II. This is true obedience and true communion with the Church. However, there is a reason for every assertion, and there was a clear reason why it was that Pope John Paul II accused this act of being schismatic. It was because he had an entirely different notion of Tradition. For the Catholic, Apostolic Tradition is one of the two sources of Divine Revelation. It has as its objective content the deposit of the Faith, unchanged since the death of the last of the Apostles, that it transmits down to us. Not so for modernists, for whom tradition is a subjective, evolving, changing experience of how the faith is lived in every moment of the Church’s history. This is what St. Pius X had to say in 1907 in the encyclical Pascendi: Tradition, as understood by the Modernists, is a communication with others of an original experience…stimulating the religious sense…renewing the experience once acquired. (§15) It cannot, therefore, be the simple passing down of a fixed truth, but rather the living of a communicated personal experience, as a consequence of which St. Pius X says: Thus we are once more led to infer that all existing religions are equally true, for otherwise they would not survive. (Ibid.) Ecumenism is the immediate consequence of this new notion of tradition that approves every religious experience. Thus it is that Pope John Paul II in Ecclesia Dei Adflicta states that “the root of this schismatic act can be discerned in an incomplete and contradictory notion of Tradition.” He considers that Archbishop Lefebvre’s notion of Tradition is incomplete because it is not “living,” meaning that it is not an experience, allowing for the possibility of evolution, change, and adaptation to the times. It is simply a transmission. He considers that it is “contradictory” because it goes against collegiality that is the present teaching of Rome and the bishops, which is an essential part of the modern-day experience that they call tradition. It was consequently precisely because he adhered to what the Church has always taught that Archbishop Lefebvre was condemned as being schismatic. Can one be schismatic for refusing the modernist notion of tradition condemned by St. Pius X? Clearly not. Can one be schismatic for believing in the unchanging, objective nature of the Catholic Faith, as always taught? Clearly not. Can one be schismatic for refusing to obey the destruction of the Faith and the Church? Clearly not. Can one be schismatic for standing up to a Pope who has become the instrument of the liberalism and modernism so often condemned by more than two centuries of Popes? Clearly not. Could the traditional movement have existed without the four bishops consecrated in 1988? Let me answer with another question: How many entirely traditional bishops are there in the service of the Ecclesia Dei Commission, to provide for the needs of the “traditionally” minded communities that have made a deal with modernist Rome? There is just Bishop Rifan, who is limited in action to the work of the Priestly Association of the Curé of Ars in the diocese of Campos and who has concelebrated the New Mass. Nor is there any question of there being any other, since the modernist bishops who flip flop from the “ordinary” to the “extraordinary” form are considered sufficient. There is no question of a bishop entirely dedicated to defending Tradition, nor standing up against Vatican II and its modernist errors, nor even of one celebrating uniquely in the traditional rite. It is manifestly obvious that the fact of having bishops is what has made the Society of Saint Pius X independent from the modernist hierarchy. Knowing that it has the fullness of the power of holy orders, and in the present crisis the perfect right to use it, the Society has resisted every effort to make it give way to a compromise. Without bishops and without future priests, this would not have been possible. After all, the Society grew from 194 priests in September 1987 to 471 in February 2007 and now has more than 500. It is also perfectly true that the fact of the Society’s having bishops has really made Rome stand up and pay attention; for no threats, no pressure, no manipulation or politics has any power over us precisely because we have bishops and do not depend upon the modern, postconciliar Church. It is the only reason why the Ecclesia Dei communities exist, all being established as the result of certain attractive promises made to split and divide the work of Tradition. The best known examples are the Fraternity of St. Peter, founded by 16 former Society priests; the Institute of the Good Shepherd, likewise founded by former Society priests; and the regularization of the priests of Campos. Moreover, without the existence of the Society’s bishops, and hence its priests, the declaration that the traditional Mass had never been abrogated would never have been obtained. In fact, Pope Benedict XVI himself explained in his letter presenting the Motu Proprio that the faithful followed the movement led by Archbishop Lefebvre, in which “fidelity to the old Missal became an external mark of identity.” The reason he gives is the deformations and infidelities to the new Missal. The problem, as he sees it, is not the new Missal, its errors and deficiencies in the Faith (for he does not admit them at all), but the abuse of the new Missal. But at the present time, he can see no other way of shaking off the mark of identity between the traditional Mass and Archbishop Lefebvre than to declare the truth, namely that the traditional Mass has never been abrogated, and allow all priests to celebrate it. If it had not been for the Society and its bishops, he would simply have implemented the “reform of the reform” that he has been talking about for years, nor would he have had any reason to approve modern priests’ celebrating the traditional Mass. What a statement of the importance of the Archbishop’s consecrations! Some people accused Archbishop Lefebvre of failing to trust in Divine Providence when he consecrated the bishops, hoping that God would provide some other means for the continuation of the Society and Tradition. History, however, has proven that the Archbishop was entirely correct in considering it presumption to refuse to use the ordinary means for continuing the Church’s work of teaching and sanctifying, and rather expecting God to work a miracle. It would have been a refusal to do his duty: So, I cannot, in good conscience, leave these seminarians orphaned. Neither can I leave you orphans by dying without providing for the future. That is not possible. It would be contrary to my duty….Thus I believe that, with the grace of God, we, Bishop de Castro Mayer and myself, by these consecrations, will have given to Tradition the means to continue, given the means to Catholics who desire to remain within the Church of their parents, their grandparents, their ancestors. (Consecration Sermon, June 30, 1988) Fr. Peter Scott was ordained by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1988. After assignments as seminary professor and the US District Superior, he is currently the rector of Holy Cross Seminary in Goulburn, Australia. Those wishing answers may please send their questions to Q & A in care of Angelus Press, 2915 Forest Ave., Kansas City, MO 64109. writing Contest winner 43 Miss Jessica Ostertag Farley, Missouri May 2008 Our Lady’s statue, lonely, idle– Where is the Catholic revival? Once, in a time long ago, The people crowded in the snow. They saw their Mother, with hearts aglow. But where did all the faithful go? Where are those heads of chrism? Have they all fallen to Communism? A terrible thing it is to see This sacred, holy place empty. In olden times there used to be Many a heart and bended knee. But now all those hearts have gone– Flaming souls now turned to stone. The fire of God once dwelt within– Who will lighten them again? Who will answer Our Mother’s supplication, To cast Russia in her dedication? Then the people mould she would, To form their souls again in good. But who will respond to this, her call? Who will pray, with their all? It is our duty as Catholics, then, To pray to move the wills of men. To beg the Pope to answer Mary In her plea for Russia's many. Our Lady for simple prayers does ask– Is that for us too hard a task? Souls suffering in socialism stand, Deprived of the good of God’s fatherly hand. Now in favor they could lie, In the sweet gaze of the Infant’s eye. But until that glorious day, We must for this intention pray– That someday there will be a time When Russia echoes with churchbells’ chime. www.angeluspress.org THE ANGELUS • July 2008 Let us hope Mary’s tender face Will witness Russia's dawn of grace. The Angelus monthly photo writing contest Any member of a household aged 10-18 whose family address has a current subscription to The Angelus (either in print or online) is eligible. There may be more than one entry per address if more than one child is eligible. (Please include your family’s address and phone number, especially if you are a contestant writing from a boarding school.) Pricing for The Angelus is found at the bottom of the “Table of Contents” page. The Angelus is offering $150 for a 250-word creative writing composition on the above picture. (This may include, but is not limited to, any poem, dialogue, short story, song lyrics, script, explanation, etc.) If none is deserving of the prize, none will be awarded. The winning essay may be published if there is a winner. An extra $50 is available if one is a member of the SSPX Eucharistic Crusade (verified by your chaplain with your entry). Entrants must submit a creative-writing composition in their own words about the featured monthly picture. Submissions must be handwritten and will be judged on content, legibility, and creativity. The essays will be judged by parties outside of Angelus Press. Essays must be postmarked or faxed by July 31 and be addressed to: Attention: The Angelus Monthly Photo Writing Contest 2915 Forest Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64109 FAX: 816-753-3557 (24-hour dedicated line) july 2008 calendar Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Upon the arrival of Mary to visit her cousin Elizabeth, John the Baptist leapt in the womb of his mother. It is said, Mary, for the “first time exercised the office which belonged to [her]...that He might by her mediation sanctify and glorify us.” Who Are You O Immaculata? STK# 8133 $16.95 Sts. Cyril and Methodius 2 These brothers translated Sacred Scripture into the vulgar language of the Slavic people they evangelized. Let us thank God to have the Bible so easily at our disposal. The Douay-Rheims Bible STK# 6736 $44.95 Pope St. Pius I 7 Pope St. Pius I was the ninth successor to St. Peter. Pope Chart STK# 8027 $19.95 King St. Henry II 11 A model Christian monarch and husband. Later in life, he and his wife (St. Kunigunde) decided to live out their remaining days in religion. They are buried next to each other in Bamberg Cathedral, the building of which, they sponsored. He is a patron saint of the Benedictine Oblates. The Rule of St. Benedict STK# 6764 $16.95 St. Vincent de Paul 15 Founder of the Daughters of Charity, to which belonged St. Catherine Labouré to whom the Blessed Mother appeared to three times in 1830, eventually requesting the Miraculous Medal be struck. Miraculous Medal STK# 6738 $16.95 19 St. Irenaeus One of the first great Fathers of the western Church. 3 Feast of the Most Precious Blood On June 30, 1849, while exiled from Rome, Pope Pius IX witnessed the capitulation of the Republicans. He marked this event by extending this feast to the Universal Church. Pope Pius IX STK# 8126 $22.50 St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria Before becoming a priest, this saint was a doctor. He founded the Barnabites, who have a special devotion to the Crucifix. I think it safe to say that one of his favorite books might have been that of Frederick Zugibe, a leading expert on Crucifixion and a fervent Catholic. Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers The Crucifixion of Jesus St. Elizabeth of Portugal Seven Holy Brothers STK# 6423 $116.96 Wed at the age of 12 to a King of loose morals, she eventually won his conversion through much prayer and sacrifice. She twice interceded on the battle field to stop feuds in her family. 8 Dear Newlyweds STK# 6730 $13.50 St. John Gualbert St. John had his eyes opened to the reality of sin and redemption when he set out to slay the man who killed his brother. When his brother’s killer implored him by the Passion of Christ to spare his life. St. John did, and promptly became a monk. 12 Some believe St. Felicitas of Rome to be the mother of the Seven Brothers. She too was martyred in 165 AD after being given the chance to apostatize seven times. Each refusal brought the martyrdom of another son, which she witnessed. Fortes in Fide! STK# 8191 $1.13 St. Bonaventure Upon the death of St. Bonaventure, during the Second Council of Lyons, Pope Gregory X ordered every prelate and priest in the world to offer a Mass for the repose of the soul of this holy Cardinal and Doctor of the Church. Is there anyone we should have Mass offered for? Our Lady of Mt. Carmel St. Camillus de Lellis Vestido de Gracia 16 10 The Theology of Martyrdom Mass Cards for the Dead On this day in 1251, Our Lady gave the Brown Scapular to St. Simon Stock. On this 757th anniversary of the brown scapular, thank Our Lady for this powerful sacramental. 5 STK# 8123 $29.95 Christ: The Ideal of the Monk STK# 8053 $31.95 1 STK# 3113 $15.00 14 Holy priests can come from anywhere! This saint was a notorius gambler and very quarrelsome. Destitute and sick himself, he eventually dedicated himself to the care of the sick. 18 (Spanish pamphlet on the brown scapular) STK# 8112 $1.00 Prayers for Priests St. Jerome Emiliani St. Lawrence of Brindisi, O. Cap. This saint is believed to be the first man to teach the faith using a question and answer format catechism. My Catholic Faith STK# 3006 $42.00 20 STK# 3002 $2.50 Requested by Emperor Rudolf II, the saint helped raise an army to fight the Turks, who were threatening to conquer all of Hungary, became its chaplain, and was among the leaders in the Battle of Szekesfehevar in 1601; many attributed the ensuing victory to him. 21 St. Francis of Assisi and the Conversion of the Muslims STK# 8271 $12.50 july 2008 calendar continued St. Liborius “But he rising early the first day of the week, appeared first to Mary Magdalen; out of whom he had cast seven devils.” (Mk. 16:9) Converted by the Devil STK# 7090 $4.95 St. Christina 22 In the ninth century his relics were transferred to Paderborn, Westphalia, to aid in the conversion of the Saxons; they are still there. Thus St. Liborius and St. Boniface both interceded before the throne of God for the conversion of the Germans. STK# 8116 $3.00 St. James After suffering the most horrendous tortures, the Saint’s tongue was cut out so that she could no longer proclaim the Gospel. Might our tongues be cut out for not so noble a reason? Backbiting Tongue STK# 6735 $4.95 St. Anne 24 May this great Apostle and friend of Our Lord intercede that we may “know Christ Jesus” as he did. To Know Christ Jesus STK# 6446 $16.95 St. Pantaleon This encyclical of Pope St. Pius X outlines the great riches and wonderful implications of the Immaculate Conception–Mary conceived without sin in the womb of St. Anne. 26 23 Ecclesiae Fastos (on St. Boniface) 25 In the Middle Ages, this saint was regarded as the patron of physicians and midwives. 27 Ad Diem Illum Laetissimum Parents, Children and the Facts of Life St. Victor I St. Martha STK# 5318 $3.00 Praised by St. Jerome as the first great Latin writer of the Church. 28 Novum Testamentum/New Testament STK# 8226 $39.95 Sts. Abdon & Sennen A fresco found on the sarcophagus supposed to contain the remains of these two martyrs represents them receiving crowns from Christ. We know little for sure of these saints and many like them. May the Roman Martyrology be our simple guide. Roman Martyrology STK# 8158 $35.00 30 STK# 8138 $11.25 Who can forget the woman who was “busy about much serving” (Lk. 10:40)? Let The Soul of the Apostolate help all us engaged in the active life to sanctify it and to derive our strength from grace and the interior life. Soul of the Apostolate STK# 8257 $12.50 29 St. Ignatius of Loyola We are forever indebted to St. Ignatius for giving us the Ignatian Retreat, which he himself received at the hands of the Blessed Virgin at Manressa. Christian Warfare STK# 8155 $22.50 31 #1039 St. Mary Magdalen E-mail Updates from Angelus Press! 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