Marcel: A Poetic Tribute to a Catholic Bishop

In Her mantle, kept to dwell, Our dear Lady blessed Marcel

The Queen lamenting, warned about; a time of scourges deserved

Perversions abound, Faith in doubt, Our Lord Jesus Christ not served

Alas, in sweetness, She points out, The Prelate of priesthood preserved

Forming men, loyal and devout; with venerable ways conserved.

The Lord’s precepts he kept well, was His faithful son, Marcel

The Holy Virgin in tears foretold; scarcely could one have conceived

Apostasy set forth so bold, that even Rome be deceived

But made in Athanasius mold; A Prelate who keeps Faith received

For all Tradition to uphold; confirming all Truth believed.

A Prince who the Church will tell, a good Pastor was Marcel

The Mother spoke in secret lock; in children’s ear was given

Ministers neglect Christ’s stock; from the path of Life are riven

One Shepherd who from harm does block; this Prelate leads sheep to Heaven

Generously he feeds the flock; by his staff are gently driven.

Source

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SSPX 2013 Winona Priestly Ordinations

Fulfilling the mission of the Society of St. Pius X - to form holy priests - 11 new priests were added to its company on Friday, June 21st, along with one Dominican for the Avrille (France) community.

These young deacons were ordained to the Priesthood of Our Lord Jesus Christ by Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta during a beautiful 4-hour long ceremony that included the solemn Pontifical Mass. In attendance were 82 priests, many religious, and over 1,500 faithful, who travelled from all parts of the United States (and beyond) to witness this wonderful event for the Catholic Church, as well as to pray for the increased holiness of the ordinands.

Also, not to be forgotten on that day, was the ordination of 6 subdeacons to the diaconate, though they are not shown in the image gallery below.

Source: SSPX

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SSPX Declaration on the 25th Anniversary of the 1988 Consecrations

Declaration on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the episcopal consecrations (30th June 1988 – 27th June 2013)

1. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the episcopal consecrations, the bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X would like to express solemnly their gratitude to Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and  Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer for the heroic step they courageously took on June 30, 1988. Most especially they would like to express their filial gratitude towards their venerable founder who, after so many years spent serving the Church and the Sovereign Pontiff, so as to safeguard the Faith and the Catholic priesthood, did not hesitate to suffer the unjust accusation of disobedience.
2. In his letter addressed to us before the consecrations, he wrote, “I beseech you to remain attached to the See of Peter, to the Roman Church, Mother and Mistress of all churches, in the integral Catholic Faith, as expressed in the Professions of Faith, in the catechism of the Council of Trent, in conformity with that which you have been taught in the seminary. Remain faithful to the transmission of this Faith so that the reign of Our Lord may come.” It is indeed this phrase which expresses the profound reason for the act which he was going to undertake “so that the reign of Our Lord might come,” adveniat regnum tuum!
3. Following Archbishop Lefebvre, we affirm that the cause of the grave errors which are in the process of demolishing the Church does not reside in a bad interpretation  of the conciliar texts – a “hermeneutic of rupture” which would be opposed to a “hermeneutic of  reform in continuity” – but truly in the texts themselves, by virtue of the unheard of choice made by Vatican II. This choice is manifest in its documents and in its spirit; faced with  “secular and profane humanism,” faced with the “religion (as indeed it is) of man who makes himself God,” the Church as unique custodian of Revelation “of God who became man” has wanted to make known its “new humanism” by saying to the modern world, “we too, we more than any other, have the cult of man.” (Paul VI, closing speech, 7th December 1965). But this coexistence of the cult of God and the cult of man is radically opposed to the Catholic Faith which teaches us to render the supreme cult and to give the primacy exclusively to the one true God and to only His Son, Jesus Christ, in whom “dwelleth all the fullness of the Divinity corporeally” (Col. 2:9).
4. We are truly obliged to observe that this Council without comparison, which wanted to be merely pastoral and not dogmatic, inaugurated a new type of magisterium, hitherto unheard of in the Church, without roots in Tradition; a magisterium resolved to reconcile Catholic doctrine with liberal ideas; a magisterium imbued with the modernist ideas of subjectivism, of immanentism and of perpetual evolution according to the false concept of a living tradition, vitiating  the nature, the content, the role and the exercise of ecclesiastical magisterium.
5. Henceforth the reign of Christ is no longer the preoccupation of the ecclesiastical authorities, despite the fact that Christ’s words, “all power is given to me on earth and in heaven,” (Mt 28:18) remain an absolute truth and an absolute reality. To deny them in action is tantamount to no longer recognising in practice the divinity of Our Lord. Hence because of the Council, the sovereignty of Christ over human societies is simply ignored, and even combatted, and the Church is imbued with this liberal spirit which manifests itself especially in religious liberty, ecumenism, collegiality and the New Mass.
6. Religious Liberty, as exposed by Dignitatis humanae and its practical application these last fifty years, logically leads to demanding God-made-Man to renounce His reign over man-who-makes-himself-God, which is equivalent to dissolving Christ. In the place of a conduct which is inspired by a solid faith in the real power of Our Lord Jesus Christ, we see the Church being shamefully guided by human prudence and with such self-doubt that she asks nothing other from the State than that which the Masonic Lodges wish to concede to her: the common law in the midst of, and on the same level as, other religions which she no longer dares call false.
7. In the name of a ubiquitous ecumenism (Unitatis redintegratio) and of a vain inter-religious dialogue (Nostra Aetate), the truth about the one true Church is silenced; also, as a large part of the clergy and the faithful no longer see in Our Lord and the Catholic Church the unique way of salvation, they have renounced to convert the adepts of false religions, leaving them rather in ignorance of the unique Truth. This ecumenism has thus literally killed the missionary spirit through seeking a false unity, too often reducing the mission of the Church to that of delivering a message of a purely terrestrial peace and of a humanitarian role of lessening want in the world, placing it thereby in the wake of international organisations.
8. The weakening of faith in Our Lord’s divinity favours a dissolution of the unity of authority in the Church, by introducing a collegial, egalitarian and democratic spirit, (see Lumen Gentium). Christ is no longer the head from which everything flows, in particular the exercise of authority. The Sovereign Pontiff who no longer exercises effectively the fullness of his authority, and the bishops who – contrary to the teaching of Vatican I – esteem that they can collegially and habitually share the fullness of the supreme power, commit themselves thereby, with the priests, to listen to and to follow ‘the people of God,’ the new sovereign. This represents the destruction of authority and in consequence the ruin of Christian institutions: families, seminaries, religious institutes.
9. The New Mass, promulgated in 1969, diminishes the affirmation of the reign of Christ by the Cross (“regnavit a ligno Deus”). Indeed, the rite itself curtails and obscures the sacrificial and propitiatory nature of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Underpinning this new rite is the new and false theology of the paschal mystery. Both one and the other destroy Catholic spirituality as founded upon the sacrifice of Our Lord on Calvary. This Mass is penetrated with an ecumenical and Protestant spirit, democratic and humanist, which empties out the sacrifice of the Cross. It illustrates the new concept of ‘the common priesthood of the baptised’ which undermines the sacramental priesthood of the priest.
10. Fifty years on, the causes persist and still engender the same effects. Hence today the consecrations retain their full justification. It was love of the Church which guided Archbishop Lefebvre and which guides his sons. It is the same desire to “pass on the Catholic priesthood in all its doctrinal purity and its missionary charity” (Archbishop Lefebvre, Spiritual Journey) which animates the Society of Saint Pius X at the service of the Church, when it asks with insistence for the Roman authorities to regain the treasure of doctrinal, moral and liturgical Tradition.
11. This love of the Church explains the rule that Archbishop Lefebvre always observed: to follow Providence in all circumstances, without ever allowing oneself to anticipate it. We mean to do the same: either when Rome returns to Tradition and to the Faith of all time – which would re-establish order in the Church; or when she explicitly acknowledges our right to profess integrally the Faith and to reject the errors which oppose it, with the right and the duty for us to oppose publicly the errors and the proponents of these errors, whoever they may be – which would allow the beginning of a re-establishing of order. Meanwhile, faced with this crisis which continues its ravages in the Church, we persevere in the defence of Catholic Tradition and our hope remains entire, as we know by the certitude of Faith that “the gates of hell will not prevail against her.” (Mt 16:18)
12. We mean to follow well the injunction of our dear and venerable Father in the episcopacy: “Dear friends, be my consolation in Christ, remain strong in the Faith, faithful to the true sacrifice of the Mass, to the true and holy Priesthood of Our Lord, for the triumph and the glory of Jesus in heaven and on earth” (Letter to the bishops). May the Holy Trinity, by the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, grant us the grace of fidelity to the episcopacy which we have received and which we want to exercise for the honour of God, the triumph of the Church and the salvation of souls.

Ecône, 27th June 2013, on the feast of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour
Bishop Bernard Fellay
Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais
Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta

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Do SSPX Catholics Lose the Faith? A Rebuttal of Jeffrey Mirus

I would like to suggest the article written by Mr. Riddle for Angelus Press. It is quite good and serves as a worthy rebuttal for an article highly (and unjustly) critical of the Society of St. Pius X. I quote:

In an article that no objective reader would call fair or just, Jeff Mirus posts the apparent reflections of a young lady who grew up as a Catholic whose family received the sacraments from the priests of the Society of Saint Pius X. In addition, it seems the young lady went to a school administered by the same Society, it appears, for all of her education (at least her pre-collegiate education). Mirus begins with a note that while negative anecdotal evidence can be found about any person or group, this “seems fairly typical and dovetails with a very real canonical, theological, and pastoral situation.” With no separate explanations, the reader may ask exactly on what basis this seems “fairly typical” to Dr. Mirus, or what the exact nature of the “very real canonical” situation is – a precision he refused to offer in his response to Mr. Chris Jackson of The Remnant. 

As someone raising six children in St. Mary’s, Kansas – the largest Society community in the United States – and who grew up in a conservative Catholic family, later attending Christendom College – an institution Mr. Mirus helped found – I think I can bring a unique perspective to bear in examining the possible veracity of the young lady’s assertions. Her words will be italicized; my response will be in normal font.

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Christ Acts through the Liturgy: Why the Fight for the Mass Still Matters

Source: Christ Acts through the Liturgy: Why the Fight for the Mass Still Matters by Mark Riddle.

It has been almost six years since Pope Benedict XVI issued the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. Despite deficiencies in the text (two forms of one rite, for example), the point of this motu proprio – that the Traditional Latin Mass had never been abrogated – sent shockwaves through the entire Catholic world.

Traditional Catholics had argued for decades that the traditional Mass had never been abrogated; in return they were met with scorn, ridicule, and accusations of disobedience from the corners of the “conservative” Catholic world, ever eager to be in the right. Thus, despite the noted deficiencies in the text, Summorum Pontificum was, and remains to this day, an incredibly controversial text. This is not because of the juridical questions directly, but because of the clear statement that the ancient liturgical rite of Rome, which had formed countless saints, and which the reformers sought to kill, had never been abrogated.

Fast forward over five years to March 13, 2013. Benedict XVI, having announced his abdication in early February, had renounced the burden of that office, leading to the election of Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio, who would take the name Francis. In the uncertainty that followed, the question of the liturgy returned increasingly to the fore of Catholic discourse.

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First Communions at Chapel of St. Jude in Eddystone

On Sunday, May 5th of this year in Eddystone, PA, the SSPX Chapel of St. Jude gave the Most Blessed Sacrament in Holy Communion to four children for the first time.  This chapel is led by the pastor Fr. Jordan Fahnestock.  This particular Sunday was also the May Crowning for the Chapel.

Source: SSPX.ORG

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58 Confirmed in Kansas City SSPX Ceremonies

I wish to present some images from the Confirmations and the Pontifical Low Mass at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Kansas City, Missouri, from Saturday, May 11, 2013. 58 confirmands (32 young men and 26 ladies) knelt before Bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais to receive the Holy Ghost and become Soldiers of Christ.  Please join me in praying for all of them.

Source: SSPX.ORG

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May I Trasmit "That Which I Have Also Received": A Testimony Against Activism

The theme of this month's Holy Cross Seminary Newsletter resolves on prayer and the necessity to place prayer first in our lives - even before our apostolic works.  The full newsletter is below but I quote from it now to highlight some noteworthy sections:

Prayer is work and it is the work of God. Man was. created in order to share in the divine occupation of. glorifying God in his life on earth and in heaven. Nonetheless, man may, and must, apply himself to the. vicissitudes of life in a prayerful manner, as is befitting. the talents God has given him.

What a work prayer is! It is a work we do not take on alone. Christ was sent to dwell among us for this reason – to pray for us and to pray with us. Christ is our success. If we refuse to work with Him, our prayer becomes restless, we seek distractions from His loving and piercing gaze, and we avoid prayer for some other good work. This temptation to ignore prayer for good works is the fallacy of activism. Activity becomes a replacement for prayer and may accomplish some good, but for others who will profit from the work – for such an activist is not growing, but is spiritually undeveloped and therefore risks losing his soul. St. Paul illustrates this danger: But I chastise my body, and bring it into subjection: lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway (I Corinthians 9:27).

How many misguided souls made spiritual dwarves are caught up in busy-work and not the work of adoring God as He wishes? Such a soul has no recollection and fails to purify his intentions in his activities, which become more and more for the glory of the worker. By contrast, the true apostolate is genuine when the apostle is “pre-occupied” with, and steeped in, the life of prayer.

St. Pius X, in Hærent Animo (his 1908 Encyclical on priestly holiness, §27) says: There are some who think, and even declare openly, that the true measure of the merits of a priest is his dedication to the service of others; consequently, with an almost complete disregard for the cultivation of the virtues which lead to the personal sanctification of the priest (these they describe as passive virtues), they assert that all his energies and fervour should be directed to the development and practice of what they call the active virtues. One can only be astonished by this gravely erroneous and pernicious teaching.

The 1917 Code of Canon Law directs Bishops to ensure that their clergy adhere to a regimen that fosters holiness of life and “success” in the ministry, beginning with frequenting the Sacrament of Penance, daily mental prayer, regular visits to the Blessed Sacrament, the daily Holy Rosary and examination of conscience and the spiritual retreat.

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Blessing of the Chapel of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Dayton, Ohio

On April 26, Fr. Arnaud Rostand (District Superior of the Society of St. Pius X) came to bless the new chapel of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Dayton, Ohio. A Solemn Mass was said by Fr. Rostand, and he was assisted by the pastor, Fr. Adam Purdy (deacon), and Fr. Michael McMahon (subdeacon) from La Salette Boys Academy.

For those unfamiliar with the consecration of a Church in the traditional site, please see the first part in my series of posts on the Consecration of a Church.  This is a blessing - not a consecration.

 

Image Sources: SSPX Website

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Cornerstone for upcoming SSPX Virginia Seminary Blessed

The process for building the new seminary in Virginia for the Society of St. Pius X is well under way.  As summarized by the Society's website, "With the Blue Ridge Mountains as the backdrop and a blue sky overhead, Bishop Bernard Fellay presided over the various ceremonies: the blessing of the cornerstone and cloister bells, then a Pontifical Mass, followed by a conference concerning the new project and current affairs in the SSPX."

In late 2011, the Society had broken ground for an additional seminary in Virginia.  Your support for this project is also much appreciated and needed.

Photos are courtesy of the Society's website.

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Fr. Daniel Themann: 3 Part SSPX Conference

The following videos document a public conference given by Fr. Daniel Themann on April 16, 2013, at St. Mary's, Kansas, which answers some questions from the so-called "Resistance" concerning the SSPX's recent discussions with Rome. Fr. Themann carefully outlines necessary principles for properly understanding the situation while contrasting examples of Archbishop Lefebvre during his own talks with the Holy See, particularly of what led up to the "May Protocol". Source: the Society of St. Pius X

Editor's Note: The videos have been removed from YouTube. Visit the SSPX website mentioned above.

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Bishop Fellay's Letter to Friends and Benefactors #80

The following is an excerpt from Bishop Fellay's Letter to Friends and Benefactors #80.  He specifically focuses on a summary and assessment of the 2012 Doctrinal Talks.  The following is an excerpt from his letter.  You may read the rest of it at SSPX.ORG.

It has been quite a long time now that this letter has kept you waiting, and it is with joy, in this Easter season, that we would like to take our bearings and to present a few reflections on the situation of the Church.

As you know, the Society found itself in a delicate position during most of the year 2012, following the final approach of Benedict XVI in attempting to normalize our situation.

The difficulties resulted, on the one hand, from requirements that accompanied the Roman proposal - to which we could not and still cannot subscribe - and, on the other hand, from a lack of clarity on the part of the Holy See that did not allow us to know precisely the will of the Holy Father or what he was ready to concede to us. The trouble caused by these uncertainties vanished as of June 13, 2012, with a clear confirmation, on the 30th of the same month, by a letter from Benedict XVI himself clearly and unambiguously spelling out the conditions that were being imposed on us for a canonical normalization.

...

Compelled by the facts, it is necessary to conclude that the Council has favored, inconceivably, the diffusion of liberal errors. Faith, morals, and ecclesiastical discipline have been shaken to their foundations according to the predictions of all the popes.

The destruction of the Church is rapidly advancing. By an exaggerated authority given to the episcopal conferences, the Sovereign Pontiff has rendered himself ineffectual. In a single year how many painful examples of this have we witnessed! Still, the Successor of Peter, and he alone, can save the Church.

...

Today, along the same lines, we can only repeat what Archbishop Lefebvre and Fr. Schmidberger in turn declared. All the errors that they denounced, we denounce. We beg Heaven and the authorities of the Church, in particular the new Supreme Pontiff, Pope Francis, Vicar of Christ, Successor of Peter, not to allow souls to perish because they no longer learn sound doctrine, the revealed deposit of the faith, without which no one can be saved, no one can please God.

What good is it to devote oneself to serving people if one hides from them what is essential, the purpose and the meaning of their life, and the seriousness of sin that turns them away from it? Works of charity done for the poor, the needy, the infirm, and the sick have always been a true concern for the Church, and we must not excuse ourselves from it, but if it becomes merely man-centered philanthropy, then the Church is no longer carrying out her mission, she is no longer leading souls to God, which can really be done only by supernatural means: faith, hope, charity and grace. And therefore by denouncing anything that is opposed to them: errors against faith and morality. Because if people sin, for want of that denunciation, they are damned for eternity. The Church’s reason for being is to save them and to help them avoid the misfortune of their eternal perdition.

Now obviously that could not possibly please the world, which then turns against the Church, often violently, as history shows us.

Here we are then, at Easter 2013, and the situation in the Church remains almost unchanged. The words of Archbishop Lefebvre take on a prophetic tone. It has all come to pass, and it all continues for the greater misfortune of souls who no longer hear from their pastors the message of salvation.

Without becoming upset over the duration of this terrible crisis or over the number of prelates and bishops who pursue the self-destruction of the Church, as Paul VI acknowledged, we continue, to the extent of our abilities, to proclaim that the Church can change neither her dogmas nor her morality. For no one can meddle with these venerable institutions without provoking a genuine disaster. Although some accidental modifications pertaining to the external form must be made - as it happens in all human institutions - in no case can they be made contrary to the principles that have guided the Church in all the preceding centuries.

The consecration to St. Joseph, which the General Chapter decided on in July 2012, is taking place right at this decisive moment. Why St. Joseph? Because he is the Patron of the Catholic Church. He continues to carry out for the Mystical Body the role that God the Father had entrusted to him with regard to His Divine Son. Since Christ is the Head of the Church, Head of the Mystical Body, it follows that he who was in charge of protecting the Messiah, the Son of God made man, now finds his mission extended to the entire Mystical Body.

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March 2013 SSPX German Ordinations

On March 15th, Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta raised 5 acolytes to the dignity of major holy orders through ordination to the subdiaconate at Priesterseminar Herz Jesu (Sacred Heart Seminary) in Zaitzkofen, Germany.  Source: SSPX

Prayer:

God, in Baptism you called me by name and made me a member of your people, the Church. Help all your people to know their vocation in life, and to respond by living a life of holiness. For your greater glory and for the service of your people, raise up dedicated and generous leaders who will serve as sisters, priests, brothers, deacons, and lay ministers. Send your Spirit to guide and strengthen me that I may serve your people following the example of your Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name I offer this prayer. Amen.

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March 2013 SSPX Winona Ordinations

On Friday, March 15, 8 young men were raised to the minor holy orders of Porter, Lector, Exorcist and Acolyte, preparatory steps for the sacred priesthood.  On the following day, Sitentes Saturday, 6 acolytes were elevated to the rank of subdeacon (the first of the major holy orders), thus continuing the progressive cycle in seminary life which will climax in the priesthood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

The website of the SSPX.ORG has some stunning photos of these ordinations.  Below are just a few of them.

 

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SSPX's 2013 Easter Reflection

The following is taken from the website of the Society of St. Pius X. These sentiments proudly and correctly teach us the great importance and connection between Calvary and the Resurrection. Also, please do not forget that the Society of St. Pius X needs the generosity of traditional Catholics to continue its saving ministry. Please consider making a tax deductible donation to them here.

Throughout the Christian world, Easter resounds with the shouts of "Alleluia!" Praise be given to God for all he has done to mankind! To save the slave, He has delivered His Son. The Father has so loved the world that he handed over His Son for us all. This is the wonder of the Good Friday drama that the depth of God’s love has been revealed to men.

We cannot speak of Easter Sunday without reference to Good Friday. The Resurrection cannot come unless One has previously died. "Per Crucem ad Lucem - by the Cross to the Light!" The victory of Christ over death ("O Death, I shall be your death") is the fruit of the total sacrifice of Christ on Calvary. Truly, no greater love has man shown than to give one’s life for those he loves. Yet, Our Lord did more. He showed the greatest love by dying for those who hated Him!

What did Christ do during the three days (according to the Jewish count) in the sepulcher? The Scriptures speak to us in different ways of the abode Christ’s soul went to after death.

To the ‘good’ thief, He said: "In this very day, you will be with me in Paradise." And yet, on Easter Sunday, the risen Christ tells Mary Magdalen that He has not yet ascended to the Father, for heaven is closed until Ascension Thursday.

The Apostles’ Creed tells us that "He descended into Hell", although this does not mean the Hell of the damned. The Latin takes away the ambiguity speaking of it in the plural ‘inferos’ vs. the singular ‘infernum’. What does this refer to? It is the literal sense of ‘inferum/infernum’, that is, the lower region(s). Christ’s soul did not visit Satan’s realm, but the lower regions where the just souls were detained.

St. Peter refers to the same place by the name of prison: "He went and preached to the spirits who lay in prison." This is because the just in limbo, called also elsewhere the bosom of Abraham, were held captive until the Redeemer had fulfilled His mission of ransoming them from all debts to God.

And so, on Easter Sunday, the cries of victory resound loud and clear. The Eastern Christians greet each other with these words which proclaim their rock solid faith: "Christ is risen - He is risen indeed." Victory for the Church triumphant celebrating the anniversary of their glorious King, crowned only after the bloody battle; victory for the Church militant for "This is the victory which has conquered the world, our faith"; victory for the Church suffering because His rising with the glorious body is the pledge of their own resurrection and glory one day after their purgation.

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His Excellency Bishop Tissier de Mallerais: Confirmation Sermon

Bishop Fellay and the other three bishops who have been associated with the Society of St. Pius X are true servants of the Church. They are at the front of defending the restoration so sought by Abp. Lefebvre of all things in Christ and resisting the errors of modernism and ecumenism. How on earth can anyone look at their priests, seminarians and followers and say that they aren't Catholic? It makes me weep that the situation of the SSPX is like this today, but these tears do not come in vain. Prayers and penance will help end the greatest crisis of faith in the Church.

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SSPX Reaction to the Election of Pope Francis

Fr. Christian Bouchacourt, District Superior of South America, on the evening of the Pope’s election:

Cardinal Bergoglio wishes to be a poor man among the poor. He cultivates a militant humility, but can prove humiliating for the Church. His appearance in the loggia of St. Peter’s in a simple cassock without his rochet and mozzetta is a perfect illustration. He is a fine politician… And idealistic apostle of the poverty of the 70’s, he is completely turned towards the people, the poor, but without being a disciple of the theology of liberation.

Very conscious of the dilapidated state of his clergy, he did nothing to fix things. Never has the seminary of Buenos Aires had as few seminarians as today. It is a disaster, as have been the liturgies presided over by the “Cardinal of the Poor.” With him, we risk to see once again the masses of Paul VI’s pontificate, a far cry from Benedict XVI’s efforts to restore to their honor the worthy liturgical ceremonies.

He was firmly opposed to abortion. But while he wrote a beautiful letter to the Carmelites of Buenos Aires against the homosexual “marriage” bill – which was unfortunately voted through in the end – he had a regrettable discourse read during the protest against this bill, in which the name of Our Lord was not pronounced even once, while the Evangelistic pastor who spoke before him to excite the crowd delivered a more courageous discourse… (see DICI #219, July 24, 2010).

During an ecumenical meeting, he knelt to receive the blessing of two pastors.

He is a man of consensus, who hates confrontations. He kept his distance from the Catholics who denounced the blasphemous expositions that were held in Buenos Aires.

I have met him 5 or 6 times and he has always received me with benevolence, seeking to grant me what I wished, without going out of his way to overcome obstacles….

(sources : SSPX – DICI #272, March 15, 2013 )

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Bp. Williamson - Confirmation, Post Falls, Idaho - February 25, 2013

His Excellency Bishop Wiliamson recently conferred full and conditional Confirmations in Post Falls, Idaho on February 25th of this year. The above video is the sermon from those Confirmations. You will recall that Bishop Williamson is no longer a bishop of the Society of St. Pius X but has instead attached himself to the so called "Society of St Pius X of the Strict Observance".

Regardless, Bishop Williamson is undoubtedly a validly consecrated bishop of the Catholic Church. Not even the Vatican can deny this - and they never have.

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Upcoming Subdiaconate Ordinations (SSPX)

On March 16th, Sitientes Saturday, the following seminarians will be ordained to the first of the major holy orders - subdeacon - at St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary, Winona, MN:

Mr. Charles Deister
Mr. Isaac Delmanowski
Mr. Thomas Duncan
Mr. Andrew Ferrelli
Mr. Peter Fortin

Mr. Joseph Haynos Before their ordination to the subdiaconate, these seminarians will be making a retreat at the Regina Coeli House from March 8-15.  Please keep all of them in your prayers.  It is by his ordination to the subdiaconate that a man takes upon himself the obligation of leading a life of perpetual chastity and of saying daily the divine office. 

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SSPX Statement on the Resignation of Benedict XVI

The Society of St. Pius X has learned of the sudden announcement about the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, which will be effective on the evening of February 28, 2013. Despite the doctrinal differences that were still evident on the occasion of the theological talks held between 2009 and 2011, the Society of St. Pius X does not forget that the Holy Father had the courage to recall the fact that the Traditional Mass had never been abrogated, and to do away with the canonical sanctions that had been imposed on its bishops following their consecration in 1988.

It is not unaware of the opposition that these decisions have stirred up, obliging the pope to justify himself to the bishops of the whole world. The Society expresses its gratitude to him for the strength and the constancy that he has shown toward it in such difficult circumstances, and assures him of its prayers for the time that he wishes to devote from now on to recollection. Following its founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the Society of St. Pius X reaffirms its attachment to eternal Rome, Mother and Instructress [Mater et Magistra] of Truth, and to the See of Peter.

It reiterates its desire to make its contribution, according to its abilities, to resolving the grave crisis that is shaking the Church. It prays that, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the cardinals of the next conclave may elect the pope who, according to the will of God, will work for the restoration of all things in Christ (Eph 1:10).

Menzingen, February 11, 2013,
on the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

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