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| Apologia pro Marcel Lefebvre - Volume III |
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Posted by: Stone - 09-25-2025, 09:50 AM - Forum: Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre
- Replies (15)
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Apologia pro Marcel Lefebvre
by Michael Davies
Volume III
Taken from the SSPX Asia website
![[Image: cover.jpg]](https://www.sspxasia.com/Documents/Archbishop-Lefebvre/Apologia/Vol_three/Images/cover.jpg)
Contents
Introduction
I 1979 - A Year of Hope
II The Pope, the Bishops and the Priests
III Catholic Universities
IV A Condemnation and an Instruction
V Mgr. Lefebvre: Two Viewpoints
VI The Role of the Pope
VII Is Sunday Mass to be Suppressed?
VIII The Ecumenical Heresy
IX A Sermon at Albano
X The Condemnation of Küng
XI Letter of Mgr. Elchinger to Mgr. Lefebvre
XII The Dutch Synod
XIII On the Feast of the Purification
XIV A Day in the Life of Archbishop Lefebvre
XV Dominicæ Cenæ
XVI From the Superior General's Desk
XVII The Religious Life
XVIII Thirty Pieces of Silver
XIX An Encyclical from the Pope Tübingen
XX Inæstimabile Donum
XXI Archbishop Lefebvre in Venice
XXII A Meeting with Cardinal Seper
XXIII Letter to Friends & Benefactors, No. 18
XXIV Frequent Confession
XXV Archbishop Gerety
XXVI Letters to the Pope and Cardinal Palazzini
XXVII Archbishop Hunthausen
XXVIII Priests in Politics
XXIX Lourdes -1980
XXX The National Pastoral Congress
XXXI Letter of Mgr. Lefebvre to Cardinal Palazzini
XXXII The 1980 Ordination Sermon
XXXIII Diverse Condemnations
XXXIV Archbishop Lefebvre is Not a Rebel
XXXV The Christian Family
XXXVI Our Lady Of Pointet
XXXVII Letters of Mgr. Lefebvre
XXXVIII Letter To Friends & Benefactors, No. 19
XXXIX Letter to the Sovereign Pontiff
XL Letter of Cardinal Seper to Mgr. Lefebvre
XLI The Bishops' Synod - 1980
XLII We Are Not Rebels
XLIII The 1980 Bishops' Synod
XLIV "Liberalism has Penetrated the Church"
XLV Letter of Mgr. Lefebvre to Cardinal Seper
XLVI Golden Jubilee of Mother Marie Christiane
XLVII Mgr. Lefebvre in Mexico
XLVIII Letter of Cardinal Seper to Mgr. Lefebvre
XLIX Masonry Condemned
L Letter to Friends and Benefactors, No. 20
LI Letter to Friends and Benefactors of the Sisters of the Society of St. Pius X No.1
LII Letter of Mgr. Lefebvre to Cardinal Seper
LIII Persevering in Tradition
LIV The 1981 Ordination Sermon
LV What is the Priesthood?
LVI Letter to Friends and Benefactors, No. 21
LVII Letter of Cardinal Seper to Mgr. Lefebvre
LVIII The Plight of the Papist Priest
LIX Mgr. Lefebvre, An Australian Viewpoint
LX Letter of Mgr. Lefebvre
LXI Rastafarianism
LXII Fasting and Abstinence
LXIII Letter to Friends and Benefactors, No. 22
LXIV Correspondence
LXV Pope John Paul II at Canterbury
LXVI A Sermon at Martigny
LXVII The 1982 Ordination Sermon
LXVIII Blessing of the Chapel of St Irenaeus
LXIX Letter of Mgr. Lefebvre to Cardinal Ratzinger
LXX Only the Latin Mass is Forbidden Today
LXXI The First General Chapter
LXXII A Courageous Bishop Dies
☩ ☩ ☩
Apologia pro Marcel Lefebvre
Volume 3
Introduction
VOLUME II of the Apologia took the story of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre up to the end of 1979, with the celebration of his Golden Jubilee providing a fitting climax. It has been suggested that I should have referred to another event which brought the year 1979 to a very encouraging climax for every faithful Catholic. This was, of course, the action taken by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in December 1979 to prevent Hans Kung from teaching as a Catholic theologian. This was only one of a series of actions to uphold orthodoxy occurring in the first full year of the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, actions which made 1979 a year of hope for those who had been praying for a pope who would initiate a return to Tradition.
It was further suggested that by documenting the case of Archbishop Lefebvre in isolation from these events, the account I had given lacked balance, and gave the impression that while the Vatican was taking action against traditional Catholics, epitomized by the Archbishop, it was ignoring the deviations from orthodoxy among Liberal or progressive Catholics. It was by no means my intention to give such an impression, and the explanation of my failure to refer to these events is simply that the book was concerned solely with the case of Archbishop Lefebvre, and not with presenting a generalized picture of events in the Church during the period that it covered. However, in this and subsequent volumes I shall broaden the scope of my account and refer to events not relating directly to the Archbishop. This should have the effect both of broadening the interest of the book and helping to place the case of Archbishop Lefebvre in its correct historical perspective. I shall begin this volume by listing some of the events which made 1979 a year of such hope.
This volume should be particularly useful in helping the reader to put the case of Archbishop Lefebvre in its correct historical perspective. It includes abundant documentation to prove that, as Pope Paul VI admitted, the Church is undergoing a process of self-destruction. Against a background of continual decline in every aspect of Catholic life subject to empirical verification, from baptisms to vocations, we see entire hierarchies acquiescing in, if not actively encouraging, the subversion of Catholic teaching on faith and morals among the flocks for whose pastoral care they are responsible. This volume will document frequent instances of excellent pronouncements from the Pope and the Holy See intended to halt the abuses and the decline, but, alas, no steps are taken to discipline the overwhelming majority of bishops who do not make even a pretense at implementing the papal directives. "The hungry sheep look up and are not fed." The most depressing incident narrated in this book is that of a visit by the Chief Shepherd of Christ's flock to Canterbury Cathedral where he behaved, to all intents and purposes, as if the Anglican sect and its invalidly ordained ministers form part of the one true Church founded by Our Lord.
This volume also documents the visits of a good shepherd, a bonus pastor, into the dioceses of shepherds who have opened the doors of the sheepfold to allow wolves to enter and ravage their flocks with impunity. Unfortunately, in the eyes of the media and of the Vatican, it is the good shepherd who must be censured and not the bad shepherds, the hirelings, who have abandoned their flocks. It cannot be denied that Archbishop Lefebvre breaches the letter of Canon Law; it cannot be denied that his judgments are sometimes hasty and expressed intemperately. Equally, it cannot be denied that he is motivated by a single desire - the salvation of souls: Salus animarum suprema lex - "The salvation of souls is the supreme law."
The most effective answers to the distorted and frequently vindictive accounts of the Archbishop which appear in the Catholic press can be found in his sermons, of which a good number appear in this volume. They are profoundly spiritual and totally Catholic. Their message is simple: "Let us keep the Faith - the simple and solid faith of the just and the faithful soul, according to the model of Mary and Joseph and all who have followed their example." This "simple and solid Faith" is expressed in beautiful and inspiring terms in the Profession of Faith of the priests of Campos, Brazil, which concludes this volume, as Appendix II. This is the Faith of our Fathers, this is the Faith that we must hold and we must cling to if we are to be saved. "Blessed be God!" wrote Cardinal Newman, "We have not to find the truth. It is put into our hearts, to preserve it in- violate, and to deliver it to our posterity." It is to this sublime task that Archbishop Lefebvre and the priests of his Society have dedicated their lives. May God bless them for it and sustain them in it.
I must offer my thanks to my friend, Norah Haines, without whose help this volume would not yet be complete. I cannot thank her sufficiently for all that she has done to help me with so many books, for so many years. I must also thank my son, Adrian, for translating the correspondence between Archbishop Lefebvre and the Holy See, and Father Philip Stark for translating the Archbishop's sermons and other items from the French. Finally, I must thank Carlita Brown for typesetting yet another of my books without complaining (too much) about the constant corrections and revisions.
Work on Volume IV is already well underway, but I cannot yet say when it is likely to appear.
Michael Davies
27 Apri11988
St. Peter Canisius
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| Attendance of Traditional Latin Mass strongly correlated with Stronger Belief in the Real Presence |
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Posted by: Stone - 09-25-2025, 09:40 AM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism
- No Replies
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Published Article: Attendance of Traditional Latin Mass
strongly correlated with Stronger Belief in the Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament
![[Image: AVvXsEgFFreiD2scGnTSNPxnzW56jShaxhN725zV...=w640-h360]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgFFreiD2scGnTSNPxnzW56jShaxhN725zV-wkU2_Htj5P0jy6m-zsHwOZN1EHu-DqOraR3HgsszfLtUgSJUsUBPxZghAdueafAR5wBZwfjmRD6aTIDBpJCmgznjlQB49LB2sXTf_UxVwnSUTHvVzDDfhbS60TkmMD9hPAgpAIZ3aRe4UY7PXUICA=w640-h360)
Pontifical Mass in the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, Philadelphia
roratecaeli.com | September 24, 2025
It seems obvious to those of us attached to Traditional Catholicism, but Dr. Natalie Lindemann, at William Paterson University (Wayne, New Jersey), actually went to the trouble of conducting the social research to prove it and publishing a detailed analysis of the results in the article "Liturgy Matters: Traditional Liturgical Practices Predict Belief in the Real Presence."
Interesting excerpt:
Quote:Catholics who attend a parish that offers Mass in Latin (versus those who do not) report moderately stronger belief in the Real Presence. This effect is stronger if the participant has ever attended the TLM. It seems likely that a priest who celebrates the NO Mass will incorporate more traditional Eucharistic-focused liturgical practices if he also offers the TLM at other times. Anecdotally, I once observed a NO Mass where parishioners received at an altar rail on the tongue: it was while visiting a parish that offers both the NO and TLM. Thus, even if one does not attend the TLM at their parish (instead attends the NO service), they may nevertheless participate in the more Eucharistic-focused behaviors prescribed by the TLM, which may account for stronger Real Presence belief.
Participants who had attended a TLM could share their impressions of it. The majority of responses were positive, with comments about its beauty and reverence. Those who gave positive comments tended to have stronger Real Presence beliefs. Replicating past work (Gray and Perl 2008; Lindemann 2024; Real Presence Coalition 2024; Vinea 2024), participants who attended Mass more often showed stronger belief in the Real Presence, as did those who were more politically conservative (Lindemann 2024). No other demographic predicted Eucharistic belief.
The article was published in the current issue of the Catholic Social Science Review, and is available here.
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| Study finds priests aligned with Pope Francis are more likely to approve of sodomy |
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Posted by: Stone - 09-24-2025, 09:58 AM - Forum: Pope Francis
- No Replies
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No surprise here...
Study finds priests aligned with Pope Francis are more likely to approve of sodomy
‘Approval of Pope Francis is negatively associated with the belief that homosexual sex is always wrong,’ researcher Lucas Sharma found.
![[Image: Shutterstock_2448521985.jpg]](https://www.lifesitenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Shutterstock_2448521985.jpg)
Pope Francis
Shutterstock
Tue Sep 23, 2025
(LifeSiteNews [slightly adapted, not all hyperlinks from original included below]) — A recently published study shows that priests’ approval of Pope Francis during his lifetime is associated with the moral acceptance of homosexual activity.
“Approval of Pope Francis is negatively associated with the belief that homosexual sex is always wrong,” researcher Lucas Sharma found using data from the 2020-2021 Survey of American Catholic Priests.
In his study, Sharma also found that priests’ disapproval of homosexual activity – which the Catholic Church teaches is “intrinsically disordered” and gravely sinful – was correlated with several other factors. These included “ordination date, political conservatism, any degree of reported same-sex sexual attraction, and religious traditionalism.”
As previous studies have found, Sharma observed that heterosexual, recently ordained, politically conservative, and religiously traditional priests are more likely to endorse the Church’s teaching on homosexuality. A priest’s “religious traditionalism” was estimated by the frequency with which he prayed the Divine Office, since its daily recitation is a mandate of the Church, per canon law.
All the above factors were statistically significant in Sharma’s analysis. Interestingly, religious priests were found to be less likely than diocesan priests to believe that homosexuality is wrong.
While the gravely sinful nature of homosexual acts is an unchanging doctrine of the Church, Francis had given many Catholics the impression that the immorality of homosexuality is not as serious as the Church had always taught, or even that it is morally ambiguous.
He signaled this belief in many ways, not least of all by supporting homosexual civil unions, and by approving the blessing of same-sex couples via Fiducia Supplicans, which are both contrary to Scripture and perennial Church teaching.
Catholic laymen and priests immediately thereafter justified both immoral arrangements using Francis’ own endorsement, with many priests sacrilegiously performing blessings of same-sex couples in Catholic churches.
Francis also repeatedly held private audiences with pro-LGBT persons such as Father James Martin, S.J., who is a notorious defender of homosexuality.
Perhaps most famously, when asked by reporters about whether a priest can be homosexual, he said, “If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?” Some Catholics were quick to point out that a Catholic can have homosexual inclinations without wrongdoing – but this depends on refraining from homosexual activity. His statement was ambiguous and as such, led some to infer he was referring to active homosexuals.
Francis frequently gave the impression, not just with regard to homosexuality but with other moral issues, that Church teaching can change. At times, he veered into outright heresy, most clearly both through his endorsement of same-sex civil unions and his claim that one can receive Holy Communion in mortal sin.
Theologians, academics, and prelates felt compelled to correct him in defense of authentic Church teaching.
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| California bishop suppresses Latin Mass just before departing for new diocese |
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Posted by: Stone - 09-24-2025, 09:55 AM - Forum: Vatican II and the Fruits of Modernism
- No Replies
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California bishop suppresses Latin Mass just before departing for new diocese
On his way to take over the Diocese of Austin, Bishop Daniel E. Garcia has canceled the sole traditional Mass in his now former diocese of Monterey.
Sep 23, 2025
(LifeSiteNews [slightly adapted, not all hyperlinks from original included below]) — On his way to take over the Diocese of Austin, Bishop Daniel E. Garcia has canceled the sole traditional Mass in his now former diocese of Monterey.
Publicized via social media networks and traditional blog Rorate Caeli, Garcia’s letter implementing new liturgical rules was dated September 14. The decree came just five days before the U.S. Papal Nuncio announced Bishop Slawomir Szkredka as the apostolic administrator of the see, after Garcia was named the incoming bishop of the Diocese of Austin on July 2.
Citing Pope Francis’ 2021 Traditionis Custodes restrictions on the traditional Mass, Garcia wrote that “clearly the Church is moving us to greater unity in worship.”
Traditionis Custodes and the subsequent restrictions from Cardinal Arthur Roche prohibited the traditional Mass from being celebrated in parish churches, unless granted direct permission by the Vatican. The sole traditional Mass in the Diocese of Monterey is held at Sacred Heart Parish, which currently has a dispensation from the Vatican that is due to expire this fall.
After deliberating over its future, Garcia had decided to end the Mass and not seek a continuation of the dispensation:
Quote:I have come to a decision for the good of the Church of Monterey not to request a dispensation from the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments for the celebration of the pre-conciliar Mass at Sacred Heart Parish church.
In unity with the Holy Father’s motu proprio. I have directed Fr. Stephen Akers to cease celebration of the pre-conciliar Mass in Hollister as of October 13, 2025.
This decision, wrote Garcia, will “strengthen our unity with the Universal Church.”
“I invite you all,” the outgoing bishop added, “to join in unity with the parish of Sacred Heart and St. Benedict, and in cooperation with your pastor, as they gather around the Table of the Lord celebrating the rich Eucharistic Sacrifice, each Sunday, which has been a great fruit of the Council.”
He urged Monterey Catholics to have the Novus Ordo liturgy “charge your hearts with charity and trust, to build the unity Pope Leo spoke about in the Mass he celebrated early in his pontificate in St. Peter’s Square.”
The news has sparked backlash among Catholics and – further afield – in the online sphere, as critics have questioned why Garcia moved to quash the Latin Mass community.
READ: Vatican cardinal says he was told to ‘wait for the Holy Father to decide’ future of Latin Mass
“The cruelty is the point,” wrote theologian and liturgist Dr. Peter Kwasniewski.
Pope Francis famously declared in July 2021 that “the instrumental use of Missale Romanum of 1962 is often characterized by a rejection not only of the liturgical reform, but of the Vatican Council II itself, claiming, with unfounded and unsustainable assertions, that it betrayed the Tradition and the ‘true Church.’”
But vocal proponents of the traditional liturgy, such as Cardinal Raymond Burke, have decried this characterization of Catholics. Shortly after the motu proprio was published in 2021, Burke hailed it as a “severe and revolutionary action of the Holy Father.”
Speaking to this correspondent in an interview for PerMariam, Burke added that the document itself “is problematic from the point of view of canon law and also of the theological reality of the sacred liturgy.”
Some Catholics have expressed hope that Pope Leo will be more open to the old Mass than his predecessor, and though Leo has shown himself to be more attuned to the liturgy than Francis, he has refrained from wading too deeply into the issue so far.
Last week, the text of a July interview was released in which Leo commented that the question and future of the traditional Mass was unclear:
Obviously, between the Tridentine Mass and the Vatican II Mass, the Mass of Paul VI, I’m not sure where that’s going to go. It’s obviously very complicated.
I do know that part of that issue, unfortunately, has become – again, part of a process of polarization – people have used the liturgy as an excuse for advancing other topics. It’s become a political tool, and that’s very unfortunate.
Since then, Leo has met with both Cardinals Burke and Robert Sarah, two members of the College of Cardinals known for their advocacy of the traditional liturgy. The details of their meeting will remain private, but in his July interview Leo expressed hope of meeting with advocates of the traditional Mass to learn more about the topic.
When asked by the Catholic Herald about the future of the traditional rite, the cardinal archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica – no warm friend of the traditional liturgy – replied: “Better not answer that. I have been told that we will wait for the Holy Father to decide.”
Though Leo has so far given no specific comment on the old rite’s future, it appears that those around him expect some change in the near future.
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