In an rare move, the Superior of the United States District of the Society of Saint Pius X issued a special second monthly letter to the faithful today dealing with the current status of things within the Society following the publication of the leaked internal letters last week.
5-15-2012
Dear Friends and Benefactors,
Recently, private letters between the three bishops of the Society and the General Council were leaked. As these documents are now public, I wish to make a few comments.
First of all, I want to denounce the immorality, as well as the revolutionary nature, of publishing such private documents. If it can be grave matter to read private letters, as moral theology teaches, it is even more serious to publish or distribute them without the permission of the authors. Furthermore, it is subversive to publish private discussions between superiors because it puts undue pressure on them. A superior must be able to make a decision in view of the common good and not because of any pressures.
It is essential to remember that letters of this kind are normal ways of communicating between members of the Society on a very important matter. It is normal and good that bishops or even priests of the Society should be able to express their personal opinions in a respectful way and in a spirit of charity. Once again it is their publication without the consent of both parties, which is unacceptable.
What are the principles that must guide us today? First of all, we must ask ourselves who has the authority to make such a decision. It is clear that the Superior General has the responsibility of the Society of St. Pius X and will render an account to Almighty God. It is notable for us to recall that Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre himself wanted the matter of our relations with Rome to be handled and decided by the Superior General:
Thus in principle, the one who will be responsible for relations with Rome after I pass away is the Superior General of the Society, Fr. Schmidberger, who still has six years left in his term as Superior General. It is he who, eventually, will henceforth be in charge of contacts with Rome in order to continue the conversations, if indeed they continue or if contact is maintained, which will be unlikely for a while since L’Osservatore Romano is going to print a big headline: “Archbishop Lefebvre, Schismatic, Excommunicated.” For X number of years, perhaps two or three, I have no idea, it will be separation. (Press Conference, Econe, June 15, 1988)
As a matter of fact, the acknowledgment of the authority of Bishop Fellay in such a matter is expressed in both letters; on the one hand, in the letter of the three bishops, the respectful pleading not to make a purely practical agreement implies the recognition of the Superior General's authority to make such a decision. On the other hand, in the General Council’s letter, this principle is reaffirmed. If there is a disagreement on what to do, there is nevertheless respect and recognition of the principle of authority.
The second notion that we must keep in mind is our attachment to Eternal Rome. We have always professed this attachment while refusing to follow the neo-Modernist tendencies of our times. As the Catholic Church is at the same time both human and divine, it is necessary to have a supernatural approach to the actual problems within the Catholic Church. This is why we reaffirm our Faith in Eternal Rome, with Pope Benedict XVI as the Vicar of Jesus Christ and visible head of His Church, while recognizing the dramatic situation of the Church today and the difficult but necessary task of keeping these two in balance.
The last point, and not the least, is the indispensable defense of the Faith in times of crisis. There must be no doubt that the fight for the Faith, the denouncing of errors, and the spread of Tradition would continue even within a “new canonical structure,” as His Excellency Bishop Fellay has repeatedly affirmed. Our Superior General; and his assistants have expressed their conviction that the possibility of a personal prelature is not a trap. This is a prudential question and different opinions are possible, but the final decision belongs only to the Superior General.
I have been regularly and recently in contact with His Excellency Bishop Fellay and other superiors of the Society. Further, I can assure you of the unity which exists in our District, following the line of Archbishop Lefebvre, which continues to be manifested today. Do not be disturbed by media reports, which may prematurely, and without sufficient information, prophesy many things.
At this hour, we do not know what will be the outcome of this situation. Will the Society of St. Pius X be “recognized” or will we have to stay in the same situation for some more time? We trust and hope that whatever circumstances Providence determines will lead to a restoration of Tradition. Let us therefore keep in our prayers both the Holy Father and Bishop Fellay, that the Holy Ghost may guide them under such difficult circumstances, in addition to the whole Society and her priests. Be assured of my prayers and may the Immaculate Heart of Mary protect the Society of St. Pius X.
Fr. Arnaud Rostand [Source]
31 comments:
Well, of course, a personal prelature is not a "trap". A trap implies that something looks good (or is hidden) but is secretly deadly, whereas the p.p. structure looks deadly and is deadly, and only a fool would accept it under the provisions set forth for it in Canons 294 to 297.
I wish that this Superior would avoid referring to this structure. He too seems to be hypnotised by this name, repeated constantly by the liberal press in the hope that it will be foisted on the Society. Bishop Fellay has said at least twice now that the form of the structure is negotiable. By continuing to repeat the name of this unacceptable structure, men like Rostand undermine confidence in faithful traditionalists. Is he trying to create a panic?
Again, the personal prelature requires under Canon 297 the permission of the local bishop in order to open a new apostolate in a diocese. I cannot believe that Fr. Rostand would be stupid enough to favour that. Under Canon 294, only deacons and priests can belong to the structure. That would exclude all non-ecclesiastic supporters as well as the monks, friars and nuns associated with the Society. The lay supporters of the Society would become subjects of the local Modernist bishops. I wonder if Fr. Rostand realises what this would mean. It would mean that a lay supporter of the Society would need permission from the local bishop to be Confirmed or married or buried or ordained in the Traditional Rite as offered by a reconciled S.S.P.X; it means that such a supporter would need such permission to have his children Baptized by the Society in the Traditional Rite. Just imagine with what glee many bishops would deny such permission and then impose the Novus Disordo.
What is needed is a personal (arch)diocese or apostolic administration, or a personal ordinariate. The structure should be universal and exempt (i.e. directly subject to Rome). The Society and its affiliated religious orders should be incorporated and associated in it. The Society itself could then be a society of apostolic life of pontifical right. I suggest that the Society could elect a superior-general who would be ipso facto the ordinary with the consent of the Pope. There could be a provision for one auxiliary bishop for each 100+ society priests. That could mean replacing Bishop Williamson with one new man and adding another. An Anglophone bishop and a German-speaker might be appropriate, assuming, of course, that Tissier and de Galarreta come on board.
If the Society is to be subjected to the local bishops for anything--anything at all--this deal should be abandoned instantly. If lay supporters of the Society are to be subjects of the local bishops, this would be a deadly poison. I am sure that Bishop Fellay realises all of this and will not commit ecclesial suicide.
P.K.T.P.
Sober yet profound comments. It was also noticeable in the homily given by the Belgian District Superior that there was a union and submission to the will of the superior general.
Sedes Sapientiae, ora pro nobis!
Dear P.K.T.P.,
Sometimes, speaking to you feels like speaking to a wall... Remember the "Apostolic Pineapple" in a past comment thread? It was not exactly a joke, but a symbol of the Supreme Lawmaker's powers. Do we have to repeat the same arguments thread after thread? This is getting tiresome.
NC
No further canonical discussion here, period. All future comments on this will be blocked or deleted.
NC
I do not believe that I am revealing anything too secret if I say that we have been assured that the questions raised above were asked and addressed some months ago already. Let us stay calm - and preferably quiet - and just wait and see.
Thank you, Fr. Jackson.
--
Fr. Skeptico,
You simply do not know the whole picture...
NC
"I can assure you of the unity which exists in our District"
---------
Blessed Be God --an answer to so many prayers!
May God's Holy and Signified Will be Done. The Pope is Bp Fellay's Superior --if he requests the assistance of the SSPX for the good of the Church and the Pope's request does not endanger the Faith then Bp Fellay is OBLIGATED to follow the the Vicar of Christ. The Will of God is manifested through the Church hierarchy and His Pope--there is no "second guessing", surmising or opining for those who are truly Catholic.
Genevieve said:
"-if he requests the assistance of the SSPX for the good of the Church and the Pope's request does not endanger the Faith then Bp Fellay is OBLIGATED to follow the the Vicar of Christ."
MERCI
MARCEL
Alone like Jesu
In Him believed -
Merci Marcel
For souls you grieved
Every step
The Catholic way -
Merci Marcel
For Bishop Fellay
Hated scourged
Calumny-crowned -
Merci Marcel
Your son is sound
Habemus Papam
Benedikt our Pope -
Merci Marcel
At last there’s hope
And imitating
The Good Shepherd our King -
Merci Marcel
Te Deum ring!!!
"Veni Sancte Spiritus". . .Rev. Fr. Rostand's words are a visible sign of the Holy Spirit's guidance of our superiors for humility, clarity, conviction and peace are conveyed.
Omniscient, Eternal Wisdom governs through Divine Providence. We KNOW that this Providential situation is for the Honor and Glory of the Holy Trinity and the salvation of souls. It is replete with sufficient "staging" to offer opportunities for souls to increase in all virtues. The religious and laity alike may grow in humility and PATIENCE as we confidently trust the Will of Our Father to lead His children to Heaven in His time, in His manner.
It is Christ's Church. Incarnate Wisdom's has chosen, preserved and prepared H.E. Bishop Fellay. He will guide him with His Holy Spirit IF we all continue to do our conditional portion of His Providence reiterated by Our Blessed Mother at Fatima - Prayer and Penance! Divine Justice is balanced with Divine Mercy. We must help satisfy Justice while imploring for this Mercy of guidance for the Sovereign Pontiff and the Apostolic Bishop Fellay.
Dear New Catholic - THANK YOU for blocking any further canonical position discussion. Such comments falsely represent our Holy Father and H.E. Bishop Fellay as inept. These comments now possess the token signs of temptations to pride and frustration. The enhanced intellect that has offered significant information on this site is understandably challenged to embrace the humility of his position. He has our prayers as he now trustingly struggles with silent humility to the heights of holiness. He has been bestowed with quite the focused intellect! Warning - Lucifer's was the highest intellect of the Angels but his lack of humility was his eternal downfall.
"Veni Sancte Spiritus" through the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima, St. Joseph "Patron of the Universal Church" and St. Michael the Archangel "Vanquisher of Rebel Spirits."
Millions of Rosaries were prayed on the promise that there would be no agreement without settling doctrinal matters.
To break that promise is an offense against the Blessed Mother.
This agreement specifically excludes local bishop jurisdiction. There is no way Bishop Fellay would accept that. He has walked away from a number of offers which include the SSPX being under local bishops. This will not happen, nor will the pope ask Fellay to do that.
Personally, I like Fr. Rostand's letter.
Elsewhere in America....CNS runs a despicable front page story to accompany Bishop Fellay's interview, in an attempt to sew discord and rally opposition to a potential reconciliation. What an uncharitable, agenda driven, back stab that was. Truly disgusting.
Great to see this from Fr Rostand! I'd love to see something similar from Fr de Cacqueray, superior of the French District.
Well spoke, Hilary!
@New Catholic: I appreciate T.K.S.P.'s comments.
@Pilgrim: Do you mean CNS's "Traditionalists and Rome strike contrasting notes on Jews" story?
“Even the laity must obey everything that His Lordship Fellay says.”
Really? “The laity” are excluded from membership in the Society of St. Pius X. There is no vow of obedience required to attend Society chapels.
Even under ordinary circumstances as a member of a diocese, the laity are not required to obey “everything” a bishop says. Not everything can be commanded. Some matters are dependent upon prudential judgment. Where a superior may rightly command, principles have been established to distinguish when the layman is not required to obey. For example, if the thing required is immoral or against the faith. Obviously, the Society has been disobeying Rome for decades based on principles that allow disobedience to a lawful superior.
Let us pray for the reestablishment of the faith at every level of the hierarchy, so that we laymen can retire our imaginary degrees in canon law, moral theology, etc.
This sounds promising. It appears the American SSPX will stand with Bp. Fellay.
Et merci Long-Skirts.
It takes no overheating of anyone’s mind, only eyes that see, to notice a surfeit of contradictions:
1) Campos should serve as a warning to us v. the desire to follow their path;
2) Millions of Rosaries prayed by the Faithful told there will be no practical agreement until the doctrinal issues are resolved v. the Feb 2 announcement of a proposed deal despite all the doctrinal issues remaining;
3) The claim that a deal must be accepted or we will all become sedevacantists v. years of opposing that claim when advanced by Campos;
4) The claim that a deal is not a trap v. the complete absence of any examples of successful deals by traditionalists;
5) “supernatural spirit” v. fratricidal public epithets; and
6) denouncing errors against the Faith v. scrubbed websites and penetration by the world.
Sincerely,
One of many Palestinian Catholics
"LE UDIENZE
Al termine dell’Udienza Generale di questa mattina, il Santo Padre Benedetto XVI ha ricevuto:
S.E. Mons. Gerhard Ludwig Müller, Vescovo di Regensburg (Germania)."
Although this is off topic, and alot of this content is easy to comprehend without translation, I thought it was important enough to post. It made me sick thinking of the possibilities:
" The Audience" (literally)
"At the end of the General Audience this morning, the Holy Father recieved:
His Excellency Mons. Gerhard Ludwig Muller, Bishop of Regensburg(Germany)."
You goys are good prayers, better than me. Remember this is the radical liberal dude from Germany who has his heart set on becoming the new Prefect of the CDF, succeeding the wimpish Levada. He's been campaigning for it for months. Please pray that the Pope has the vision NOT to appoint this man to the post. If he does, so much in the Church that we value will be lost. And Benedict XVI will have destroyed much of the Church, and all of his own initiatives, with the appointment of this man. The liberals will rejoice.
Pleae pray that Muller is disappointed in his quest for the CDF ! He can peddle his resume to the Lutherans or Episcopalians.
Prayer and silence is called for, not postulating.
I am so profoundly grateful to our Society priests and superiors for the examples they set and the fatherly council they give during times such as these. They are like a cooling wind against the flames.
As much as I trust these holy men, it is not because of their piety that I take comfort. It is because I know that the Holy Ghost guides and blesses them. It is He who gives me my peace of soul. No matter what.
Archbishop Lefebvre gave the four bishops the mission to guide The Society into the future. In view of its irregular situation in The Church it cannot be reliably substantiated that Bishop Fellay is privy to the divine graces from which the other bishops are excluded. This is not a reasonable presuppostion. There is a necessity and an imperative for consensus-building by the four not the dictatorial-type decision-making of the one who happens to be called Superior General. The fact that a serious division is implicated in the outcome emphasises even more the need for confidence in and reliance upon the collective wisdom of the four commissioned in the first place to fulfil that role. The Society is far too significant a movement in The Church but still small and fragile enough to merit this approach for the benefit of everone concerned who has made immense sacrifices over these troubled years of liberal modernist domination.
NC:
I too appreciate Mr P.K.T.P.'s comments and expertise in these threads.
Your Pineapple "analysis" was at best facile and demonstrated nothing more than that you are a neophyte who ought to be sat quietly at the feet of fellow Catholics listening attentively.
P.K.T.P., myself and several other commenters here have been discussing these matters since long before you were a member of the Church and the closest thing to a 'prelature' you'd ever come across was the 'rapture'.
Xavier
Rev. Fr. Rostand guides the U.S. District to continued prayer asking the Holy Spirit to guide the Holy Father and H.E. Bishop Fellay. The Holy Spirit Himself echos this request for persevering prayers from the Sovereign Pontiff TODAY:
". . .constant and faithful prayer we understand with St. Paul that "the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us" (Romans 8:18). Prayer does not exempt us from trial and suffering, indeed - as Saint Paul says - " we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies" (Rom. 8, 23), but allows us to live and cope with a new force, with the same confidence of Jesus, who - according to the Letter to the Hebrews - "in the days when he was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who was able to save him from death and he was heard because of his reverence "(5.7). The response of God the Father to the Son and his loud cries and tears was not the immediate release from suffering, from the cross, from death, but it was a much greater fulfilment, a much deeper response, through the cross and death God has answered with the resurrection of the Son, with new life. Prayer animated by the Holy Spirit also leads us to live the journey of life each day with its trials and sufferings, in the full hope and trust in God who answers just as he answered his Son."
THANK YOU, SSPX Superiors, for leading us all to united prayer for the Holy Father. His increasingly fervent words show the Truth of: "Ask and it shall be given you." Now, may we persevere until Pentecost and beyond!
I think we need to give "props" to the Holy Father who has played a very good "long game" in all this. If one considers SP 2007 as merely a step on the path towards regularization of the Society, then recognize what the Holy Father has actually done:
By promulgating SP in 2007 he allowed trandition's enemies to show their hands through all the various tactics they employed to thwart the will of the Holy Father. This gives him "cover" such that, in crafting the "Apostolic Pineapple", the Holy Father can simply point to all the problems encountered when implementing SP as justification for now creating a mechanism that sidesteps the authorities of Diocesan Bishops.
In other words, when the Holy Father is critisized for usurping the traditional jurisdiction of local Ordinaries, he can simply point to the implementation record of SP 2007 and say "well, as you can see, I really had no other choice."
My main scruple in all of this is that there may be some transitional "freeze" on new parishoners similar to the Anglican Ordinatiate that limites membership former Anglicans. I pray that, post-regularization, there will be no bar to any of the faithful who wish to join parishes of the SSPX.
As New Catholic has said though, we must have faith that really smart people guided by the Holy Ghost will get it right.
A Request: Everyone, please click through the black and white photo of Pope Benedict in the sidebar and recite the prayers there. This is an excellent daily habit.
Hugh: "There is a necessity and an imperative for consensus-building by the four not the dictatorial-type decision-making of the one who happens to be called Superior General."
I thought the Society was against collegiality...
As for "sidestepping the authority of the Diocesan Bishops" (Allan), why on Earth would the Pope want to set that as a precedent? Just because we don't like the present incumbents of the Episcopal College doesn't mean we can just throw it away. Tradition contains more than the old Missal, you know...
Dear Hugh,
Your comments about the Superior General's office and his relation to the other 3 bishops in lieu of the priestly society (religious congregation) are incorrect.
First, the Superior General (even if only a priest - a common scenario) is in charge of all members of the religious congregation - even if some are higher in holy orders.
Second, it is a theological fact that those in authority receive special graces to carry out their duties (e.g., the Vicar of Christ, a prefect of a curia office, a retreat master, a pastor of a parish).
The other 3 bishops of the SSPX are not on the General Council and thus do not form part of the SSPX's direct administrative-executive branch. Remember, the SSPX's bishops were consecrated as *auxiliary bishops* in service of the SSPX - not as ordinaries. It just so happened that one was elected as Superior General.
Thus Bishop Fellay does in fact receive special graces (as do the members of the General Council) in his position as Superior General and he is acting properly as the SSPX's head authority.
God bless PKTP for his analysis.
God bless Xavier for gently alluding to another important fact.
Many of us cradle Catholics have spent a lifetime studying the One True Faith, many of us from grammar school through professional school and beyond have been steeped in the Faith in the Church's better days of faithful strength.
Watch an hour of EWTN and realize what damage even the well-meaning converts have done. With all respect to the presumed good will of converts, they just cannot cram a lifetime into a decade. They should, as Xavier observed, sometimes be quiet and listen and learn.
As has been all too infrequently stated, you were wrong before and you may be wrong now.
Evagrius,
The Pope can use his supreme authority to by-pass the bishops, especially when they routinely by-pass his.
Hugh said...
Archbishop Lefebvre gave the four bishops the mission to guide The Society into the future.
There is a necessity and an imperative for consensus-building by the four not the dictatorial-type decision-making of the one who happens to be called Superior General.
The fact that a serious division is implicated in the outcome emphasises even more the need for confidence in and reliance upon the collective wisdom of the four commissioned in the first place to fulfil that role.
These statements are not true. The reason there are bishops among members of the SSPX is so that the priesthood and the sacraments could be licitly conferred according to "the old ways" some of us were born into.
The bishops were never meant to have authority in the SSPX. The Superior General and his helpers are the ones with authority; the bishops are supposed to follow them, whoever they may be.
It would be the same situation had Archbishop Lefebvre never consecrated any bishops. The Superior General is the boss.
That's how Catholicism works.
- DJR
Mark,
I can only hope that you 'cradle Catholics' are all just as steeped in the teachings of the Saints and are truly committed to learning from their lives and yourselves living and dying such that you shall be worthy of canonization, for who has nothing to learn from the Saints?
Ego - mihi - sum conversus peccatorque.
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