DICI has just published an interview with Fr. Niklaus Pfluger, First Assistant of the SSPX. Fr. Pfluger has the following to say on the question of a possible "compromise" by the SSPX in the course of its ongoing discussions with the Holy See:
Some have accused the SSPX of working towards a compromise. Do you see reasons for such fears?
Those are fears without foundation. They are mostly complaints from people on the outside who believe they can judge internal questions of the Society. Those are fears that do not bear witness to a spirit of faith. The authors of such allegations–mainly people close to sedevacantist ideas–simply do not want to admit that something has changed.
Or they simply have a wrong idea of how this terrible crisis of faith is to be overcome. They think the modern church will turn Catholic again in a single day; it is the illusion that one falls asleep as a modernist and wakes up a Catholic. If it were that easy! A return to orthodoxy, a true reformation, is a long and arduous path. It took decades before the reforming decrees of the Council of Trent were applied to some extent. The regions which had turned to Arianism in both West and East only slowly and gradually became Catholic again.
The SSPX does not compromise; Bishop Fellay has no secret plan, strategy, or policy regarding the Faith in dealing with Rome. We have to respond to a new situation. We have to say to this “conciliar church”: “Stop! You cannot continue this way. There is a big problem in the Church. The Council is the reason for this apostasy, and not the solution to the crisis.” Some want to retreat to a kind of ghetto thinking that they can wait until the crisis is over. This is not a Catholic position; it is rather a weakness of faith. The light has to be placed on a candlestick, and must not be hid under a bushel, says the Lord in the Sermon on the Mount.
It really is only a small minority of priests and faithful who are afraid. The large majority trust the leadership of the SSPX and the Superior General. In early July we had a meeting for several days between all the superiors in the SSPX at Ecône. We have to thank God for the profound unity of the SSPX in all essential matters. This is not easy in such stormy times.
Some have accused the SSPX of working towards a compromise. Do you see reasons for such fears?Those are fears without foundation. They are mostly complaints from people on the outside who believe they can judge internal questions of the Society. Those are fears that do not bear witness to a spirit of faith. The authors of such allegations–mainly people close to sedevacantist ideas–simply do not want to admit that something has changed.
Or they simply have a wrong idea of how this terrible crisis of faith is to be overcome. They think the modern church will turn Catholic again in a single day; it is the illusion that one falls asleep as a modernist and wakes up a Catholic. If it were that easy! A return to orthodoxy, a true reformation, is a long and arduous path. It took decades before the reforming decrees of the Council of Trent were applied to some extent. The regions which had turned to Arianism in both West and East only slowly and gradually became Catholic again.
The SSPX does not compromise; Bishop Fellay has no secret plan, strategy, or policy regarding the Faith in dealing with Rome. We have to respond to a new situation. We have to say to this “conciliar church”: “Stop! You cannot continue this way. There is a big problem in the Church. The Council is the reason for this apostasy, and not the solution to the crisis.” Some want to retreat to a kind of ghetto thinking that they can wait until the crisis is over. This is not a Catholic position; it is rather a weakness of faith. The light has to be placed on a candlestick, and must not be hid under a bushel, says the Lord in the Sermon on the Mount.
It really is only a small minority of priests and faithful who are afraid. The large majority trust the leadership of the SSPX and the Superior General. In early July we had a meeting for several days between all the superiors in the SSPX at Ecône. We have to thank God for the profound unity of the SSPX in all essential matters. This is not easy in such stormy times.
The rest of the interview can be found on the DICI website (LINK).
