A guest-post by Côme de Prévigny
On September 14, the Apostolic See presented to the authorities of the Society of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX) a doctrinal preamble and the draft of a canonical structure. The first general-assistant, Father Niklaus Pfluger, has confirmed that the text - kept inside a safe in Rome - is amendable. What will be the response of Bishop Fellay? Nobody knows. It should probably not be known in the next few weeks, as a sound journalist indicates. The rejection by Rome of going back to the tactless method of the ultimatum, as well as the subsequent exotic journey of the Superior General of the Society, seem to indicate, moreover, that a reasonable time should be spent with turning towards God and considering things in a supernatural way, for the good of the Church and the salvation of souls. Is there more to gain in continuing to protect the souls that Providence has placed on the path of the priests of the Society or in destroying the barriers that will allow new souls to benefit from the services that she dispenses and from the effect in favor of Tradition to be accomplished throughout the Church? Only God knows it. May Bishop Fellay respond in the best way to His holy will.The fact remains that the Society will either accept that the Holy See will regularize its situation, or prefer to keep the status quo of a situation that will remain, whatever else it may be, extraordinary, if its superiors consider that the mutual confidence is still not confirmed on a level that could allow the foundation of Abp. Lefebvre to continue into the future. The dividing line on which it stands will suddenly become razor-thin, and two obstacles may arise, whatever may be the response given.
If the Society refuses what many call - probably on purpose - the last chance, weariness could invade some spirits, as it did in the past. It is a classic: history does not repeat itself, they will say in a diplomatic way. Others believed in the past that the FSSPX would negotiate away what is essential, and would suffer the most dreadful schism, with dramatic overtones. It did not happen. Moreover, experience shows that history can repeat itself by finding always new subjects, worn out by a demanding struggle and hardened by bitter experience. On the other hand, if the Superior considered that a regularization would bring more to the Society than it would detract from her, other characters, believing themselves invested of a divine mission, could be the victims of a spirit of disunion and, despoiled of their grace of state, invited to increase the obstacles and minimize the efforts already accomplished, insisting on grievous tired arguments.
True, the Society of Saint Pius X is not the Church, but, if its authorities confirm that they are not negotiating the faith and their profession of it, prudence invites us to follow them, either by keeping patience towards that for which they may have invited us, or by working in the new fields of apostolate that they will have shown us. The hand of God has acted so much through the work founded by Abp. Lefebvre that all seems to indicate that He wishes to continue to grant it a fundamental role in the life of the Church. It suffices to consider its impact on the Catholic world in proportion to what it represents in actual numbers in order to understand that the common good demands us to support it ardently, not as an end in itself, but as a means at the service of the Church.
Those who have a burning love for Rome will show it increasingly to her, and those who have at heart the desire to maintain the demands of a Tradition under persecution will continue to direct towards her this doctrinal rigorousness, not in competition but in complete coherence. Abp. Lefebvre, through his missionary pragmatism as well as through his adherence to principles, did not lead us to any other way. Before his seminarians, he warned those who, when "doubt spreads everywhere, when spirits are troubled, when circumstances demand that, those in the frontline, being in a certain way in a frontal assault, become snipers, and will believe they have a special mission. But it is dangerous to assume being a sniper. One may not only not fulfill the will of God, not fulfill the will of his superiors, but may also involuntarily destroy, without a doubt, the work that the Good God asks us to fulfill." This reflection applies both to the clergy and to the faithful.
Let us thus entrust ourselves more than ever to Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary!
