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Apologia pro Marcel Lefebvre
Volume 3, Chapter XXX
The National Pastoral Congress
The Remnant – 31 May 1980
The NC News Service reporter Robert Nowell reported last week from London that the conclusion of the National Pastoral Congress there raises the question: “Are Catholics in England and Wales going Dutch?” The same report stated that the Congress (May 2 to 6), raised “enormous difficulties for the bishops of England and Wales” inasmuch as “British Catholics, like their Dutch counterparts before them, have formed new opinions based on their interpretation of Vatican II.” They believe that Vatican II showed that “the Christian faith and its demands are something that could be open to free discussion among members of the Church, with decisions being defensible through reasoned arguments.” Thus the Congress held in May discussed contraception and concluded that because of the present confusion, uncertainty and disagreement over the issue, the Church’s teaching on marriage had reached an impasse and should be given “a fundamental re-examination of the teaching on marriage, sexuality and contraception that would leave the door open to change and development.”
The Congress asked that careful consideration be given to ordaining married men to the priesthood, and raised the question whether women priests might become foreseeable in the future. The Congress also discussed the question of general absolution, Communion under both species, etc., etc., all of which issues have been negatively dealt with by the Vatican.
The bishops will meet July 14 to 16 to consider response to the Congress' recommendations.
****
The National Pastoral Congress was the English and Welsh version of the notorious Dutch Pastoral Council which ended in 1970 and the American "Call to Action” Congress in Detroit in 1976. The virtual identity of the resolutions passed by these three notorious conventions demonstrate with terrifying clarity what is at stake in the struggle for the soul of the Church which has been taking place since the Second Vatican Council. Mgr. Lefebvre is not an elderly nostalgic who is unable to adapt! He is a successor of the Apostles who has appreciated that the Church is not undergoing a process of legitimate cultural adaptation to the twentieth century, but is in the midst of a revolution which, if it succeeded, would destroy her identity as the Mystical Body of Christ, prolonging the Incarnation throughout the centuries. A revolution can be defined as the forcible overthrowing of an established system. No-one who reads the accounts of the three conventions objectively could possibly dispute that this was precisely their intention. The virtual identity of the resolutions and demands of all three conventions is perhaps what is most alarming.
Nero is reputed to have played the lyre while Rome burned. The authorities in the Vatican appear to be concerned more with the rite of Mass which Archbishop Lefebvre celebrates than with the fact that the Church established by Our Lord Jesus Christ is being systematically destroyed in country after country, with pastoral consequences involving the salvation of millions of souls that are terrifying to contemplate. At the risk of appearing tedious, it must be stressed yet again that the alleged disobedience of Mgr. Lefebvre must be set within the context of a Church that is disintegrating, and that, in reality, this disobedience is obedience to the fundamental axiom upon which the Church is built, and for which she exists: Salus animarum suprema lex –“The salvation of souls is the supreme law.”
In the December 1980 issue of Christian Order, the Editor, Father Paul Crane, S.J., commented: "In a Joint Pastoral Letter, read in all churches on Sunday, 27 July, the Archbishops and Bishops of England and Wales spoke of the National Pastoral Congress as 'a great grace given to the Church in England and Wales.' I am afraid this view is shared be fewer that they think.”
Father Crane went on to cite the opinion of Gregory Macdonald, a distinguished layman who had been head of the BBC Central European Service and had been decorated by the Queen. Mr. Macdonald commented, after a meeting during which Congress delegates from his deanery made known their views, that he had seen Democratic Centralism at work, that is: "Leninism, the creed of revolutionary change, a manipulation of confused majorities by determined minorities, posing as a renewal of Catholicism in a parish hall.”
The National Pastoral Congress
By Rev. C.A. Howrath, S.M.
One need not comment on the praiseworthy aspects of the Congress, and of the Sector Reports and Recommendations, which speak for themselves. In my conviction there are also grave defects, in particular :
1. The recommendation that the church should change her teaching on contraception.
2. The request that those in irregular conjugal unions should be admitted to the Sacraments.
3. That grounds for General Absolution should be extended.
4. The desire expressed for multiplication of group Masses in all sorts of circumstances, with the involvement of as many as possible in liturgical-ministerial functions.
5. The desire for admission of women to Holy Orders.1
6. Recommendations for what amounts to proliferation of bureaucracy : all sorts of bodies and officials at every level, with in-service training and various kinds of national, diocesan, deanery and parish institutions. (There is enough of this kind of organization already, and we should make better use of what exists before we increase it.)
7. Recommendations for what would amount to indiscriminate increase of ecumenical activity, with increase of inter-Communion ("Eucharistic hospitality"), and membership strongly urged of the British Council of Churches.
8. The regrettable failure of the Sector on Evangelism to state in any adequate fashion the Church’s fundamental mission: to proclaim God's glory and bring souls to Jesus Christ for their eternal salvation.
9. The report of the Sector on Education and Formation said much that was good. But it proved impossible to persuade group, topic, and sector meetings to adopt a simple statement that all catechesis at every level must be in conformity with the Church's magisterium; or to endorse the principle that memorization should be restored as an important element in religious education. A request that the hierarchy should provide a fully orthodox catechism or "core curriculum" as they are required to do by the General Catechetical Directory and by the Apostolic Exhortation Catechesi tradendæ was rejected.
10. The Sector on Religious Education did not seem to advert to one great fundamental defect that has plagued us for years: neglect of the content of catechesis, resulting in bad and inadequate teaching. There were one or two references in the report to a "core curriculum"; and there was a commendable statement put forward by the young people of our sector (appearing at the end of the report), but even here no express reference to the final criterion of true Catholic teaching.
11. Failure to state unambiguously this criterion: viz., fidelity to the Church’s Magisterium in its dogmatic and moral teaching, “in all its rigor and vigor" (to quote the Pope’s words in Catechesi tradendæ), vitiated the whole work of the Congress. It is true that there were a few general references to our unity with the Holy See in Cardinal Hume’s and Archbishop Worlock’s addresses, but there was no adequate response in any of the sector reports to the clear words of the Pope on the matter; which, especially in his Second Message to the Congress, were so emphatic. On the contrary, some of the recommendations were in confrontation with the magisterium.
Are British Catholics Going Dutch?
This is a slightly abbreviated version of an article I wrote for the 30 June 1980 Remnant. By a fortunate coincidence, as the article explains, Mgr. Lefebvre had just paid a visit to London, and the Mass he celebrated could hardly have provided a greater contrast to the one which concluded the Liverpool Congress.
Quote:The 31 May 1980 issue of The Remnant carried a headline on page 15 asking: "British Catholics going Dutch?" The answer is that during the National Pastoral Congress for England and Wales, the deplorable examples of the notorious Dutch Pastoral Council and America's equally deplorable Detroit conference were followed. This was totally predictable but does not necessarily indicate that the generality of British Catholics are going Dutch. All that it proves is that ninety-five per cent of the delegates to the Congress were totally indoctrinated card-carrying trendies. The story behind the Congress is simple. For several years this Liberal clique had been demanding a congress so that “grass roots” feeling could be heard. The bishops of England and Wales lacked, as a body, the moral fiber to resist this demand. A few individuals were strongly opposed to it, but they were caught in the trap of collegiality.
The Congress then became an initiative of the hierarchy, and the prestige of the hierarchy was involved. Therefore, it had to be a "success." If the delegates had unanimously recommended that Judge Rutherford should be canonized, and that the Catholic Church should affiliate with the Watchtower Society, droves of grinning inane bishops would have proclaimed that this was the clear voice of the Spirit There was, of course, no likelihood of this happening, as Jehovah's Witnesses are primarily concerned with theology, grossly defective theology, but theology nonetheless. The one thing which characterized this Congress was the complete absence of any interest in any world beyond the one we live in.
However, as the bishops' credibility became bound up with the Congress it meant that the Catholic press had no viable alternative but to proclaim it a success; and the secular media would, of course, base its reporting on the reaction of the bishops and the Catholic press. Thus, the reality of the Congress had already been effaced from the record. It has been proclaimed a triumphant success and the bishops are officially "euphoric." Newman's “Second Spring" is officially blossoming all around us – though not in the sense that Newman had anticipated. If the resolutions of this Congress are acted upon it means that the Catholic Church as he understood it has been repudiated in favor of some vague form of pan-Christian movement dedicated to the propagation of diluted Marxism. One of the most consistent themes of the resolutions is that everything must be done ecumenically. Virtually all the resolutions regarding the liturgy contradict the latest Vatican document condemning abuses,2 and all the standard Liberal demands to open the way to contraception, married priests, women priests, etc., etc., etc., were passed with hardly a dissenting vote.3
In theory, every parish was a hive of enthusiastic activity, with packed meetings earnestly and prayerfully discussing the carefully selected resolutions designed to ensure that only topics which the Liberals wished to have discussed would be discussed. The reality of the Congress is that the interest of perhaps ninety-five per cent of British Catholics was nil. In my own area some parishes had no meetings at all, others managed to press-gang half a dozen people for a few sessions. The bishops pressured parish priests into holding meetings when the low level of interest became so apparent that it was impossible to hide the farcical nature of the consultation process. In one large parish in London a friend of mine decided to go to oppose any Liberal proposals, and found that she was the only person there! Anyway, two thousand delegates appeared at Liverpool – frequently because they had been nominated or selected because of their known Liberal views, or because they were eager to go and no one else wished to, and such people are almost invariably Liberal activists. As always, they profited from the apathy of the silent majority – a majority which is normally silent not because it is silenced but because it is apathetic. Thus, an abuse such as Communion in the hand will initially be desired by as few as one per cent of Catholics, but will not be actively opposed be even that number. The success of a revolution depends not on widespread support but on minimal opposition.
There were a few delegates at the Congress who were recognizably Catholic, but, just as was the case at Detroit, they were swamped when it came to votes. One of these delegates has told me that she was surprised not so much at the uncatholic ethos of the Congress, which she had expected, but at the open hostility, verging at times upon hatred, manifested towards anyone who displayed even a vestigial attachment to Catholicism. The Congress organizers had shown considerable acumen in inviting delegates from traditionally oriented organizations such as Pro Fide (the British equivalent to Catholics United for the Faith), and the Latin Mass Society. Thus the Latin Mass Society was allowed to organize a Tridentine Mass as an official Congress event, and to have a stand in the Congress exhibition. Right to life organizations also took part. This will help to establish the myth that the Congress was truly representative.
Its culminating event could not have been symbolic of the ethos of the Conciliar Church. This was a con-celebrated Mass in Liverpool Cathedral at which, under the approving and mawkish smiles of the entire hierarchy, the Congress resolutions, almost all of which included propositions incompatible with Catholic doctrinal or moral teaching, or which were in conflict with Tradition, were carried up to the altar in the Offertory Procession. The prelate behind the Congress, Archbishop Derek Worlock, later proclaimed that the Church in Britain had been transformed, and that he is euphoric. He ought to be, as for many years he has not given the least indication that he so much as remembers what the Catholic Faith is.
A Refreshing Contrast
A most refreshing contrast was provided in a visit to London by Archbishop Lefebvre. He arrived here after visits to Spain and Ireland and then went straight from London to France before visiting the United States. His Grace celebrated a most moving and beautiful Pontifical High mass in the Chelsea Old Town Hall and gave great boost to the morale of British traditionalists, as his visits always do. In his sermon he stressed the fact that the greatest enemies of our faith are now found within the Church, as St. Pius X had warned. The National Pastoral Congress might have been held just to prove his point. His Grace urged traditionalists to be true to the Faith they had received, and to hand on that same Faith to their children. He also stressed the apostolate of the written word and urged Catholics to study and to circulate sound Catholic literature. I had long private interview with him and was pleased to learn of the vigorous measures he is taking to ensure that the Society of St. Pius X remains firmly within the Church. The state of the Church in most Western countries is now so bad that it is easy to understand why so many Catholics reject it immediately. It is surprising that more do not. The problem facing traditionalists at present is to uphold tradition within the Church without becoming schismatic. Many traditionalists in France now deny that Pope John Paul II is a true Pope and insist that the New Mass is intrinsically invalid. The Archbishop has stated that no priest belonging to the Society of St. Pius X will be permitted to hold either theses and is insisting that they either accept his ruling or leaves the Society.
1. Father Howrath might also have mentioned the demand for married priests.
2. Inæstimabile donum, see pp. 127-128.
3. See The Tablet, 12 May 1980.
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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Apologia pro Marcel Lefebvre
Volume 3, Chapter XXXI
Letter of Mgr. Lefebvre to Cardinal Palazzini
19 June 1980
Your Eminence,
Father Emmanuel du Chalard, Superior of our house in Albano, has informed me of your intervention with the Holy Father to try to reach a solution to the problem of “traditionalists” within the Church, amongst whom the Society of St. Pius X is one of the most active elements.
The situation occasioned by the post-conciliar reforms, far from becoming less serious is growing in the face of confusion in ideas and the truths of the Faith, brought about by the implementation of these reforms. The destruction is evident everywhere.
The salvation of souls is at stake. A healthy reaction on the part of fervent, faithful Catholics was only to be expected. They sought for priests who had remained faithful to Tradition and asked them for teaching in the Faith and the sure transmission of grace through the sacraments and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, according to the best and surest tradition of the Church.
However, incredible though it may appear, these priests, these believers, and I myself found ourselves considered by Church authorities as disobedient, as rebels, even though the Apostles, the Church Fathers and all the popes up to Vatican II justify our position and oblige us to act in this way.
Opinion polls among the Catholic population show that the majority of Catholics support us and approve of us.1
What is to be done to avoid continual discord between the bishops and these people?
The attached documents show some recent attempts to achieve this end, which have been successful. But if the climate of recent discussions between the Vatican and myself has markedly improved, there have been no concrete results.
Cardinal Seper, the intermediary chosen by the Pope himself, promised me in the course of our most recent discussions that there would soon be a decree from the Holy Father, leaving priests freedom to choose between the new and old rites. I have never, however, seen this decree, and I have waited for it in vain for almost two years.
So as to facilitate its appearance I have delayed ordinations, suspended confirmations, come to Rome every two months to see Cardinal Seper, but to no avail.
You have, Your Eminence, agreed to take up Cardinal Seper's work. I am pleased at this and hope that your efforts will be crowned by success. You asked me for a declaration a month ago, and I have prepared it and signed it as you wish.
I have attached a short memorandum to this letter. All I can do now is to pray and to wait. I can do no more.
The question which urgently needs a solution is not that of Ecône and its founder, but that of the Liturgy. It is of the greatest importance to the whole Church. “Let there be no more persecution of those who keep the traditional Liturgy!" This is what we beg the Holy Father to say, and to instruct the entire episcopate to this effect.
After this the question of Ecône and all the traditional religious initiatives will easily find a solution for the good of the Church and of souls.
Cardinal Seper has approved this method of procedure. This is what will help to solve everything. The climate is now favorable in every quarter. The declaration on the Holy Mass will be well received in the main.
Your Eminence, permit me to consider as final the most recent declaration which you have requested from me, and which I have had passed on to you by Father du Chalard. Henceforth millions of souls, thousands of priests will wait for a word from the Pope, for a gesture on his part in the matter of the old Liturgy, restoring it to a position it ought never to have lost. This would be the salvation and the true renewal of the Church.
In conclusion I invite you, Your Eminence, to come and visit Albano and Ecône, let us say in October when the seminarians are present. You will then perhaps better understand the urgency of a happy solution.
We pray for this intention with all our heart; and I beg you, Your Eminence, to allow me to express my respectful and brotherly feelings in Christo et Maria.
+ Marcel Lefebvre
1. This might possibly be the case among practising Catholics in France, but in most countries the attitude of the majority of Catholics to the contemporary crisis is one of apathy, as explained in my commentary on England’s National Pastoral Congress (see pages 192-199).
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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Apologia pro Marcel Lefebvre
Volume 3, Chapter XXXII
The 1980 Ordination Sermon
27 June 1980
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
My dear brethren,
Is it not a profound joy for us all to be assembled here again, for the annual ordinations to the priesthood?
Many of you faithful pilgrims come each year to share our prayers, our joys, and our pains, but each time also numerous pilgrims come for the first time, and this year we have the special joy of receiving a group from the New World,1 who are attending this ceremony for the first time here at Ecône. I am sure they will return home full of consolation and great joy, full of assurance and conviction that they have seen the living Church, the Church Militant, the immemorial Church. They will go back and take with them what they have seen and heard and will therefore rejoice the hearts of the faithful who have not come, but who are with us in prayer, in thought, and in spirit.
My dear brethren, on the occasion of this ordination to the priesthood, we cannot help thinking that it was ten years ago that the Society of St. Pius X was founded – ten years. The approval of Bishop Charriére for our Society was given to us on 1 November 1970, and here we are in 1980. In glancing back over these ten years, we can only sing a hymn of thanksgiving. Not to sing a hymn of thanksgiving today in our hearts, would be to ignore the favors of God, to fail in recognition and gratitude toward God Himself, to Our Lord, to the Blessed Virgin Mary, to our patron saints and especially to St. Pius X.
Yes, thanksgiving for all the favors, for all the blessings we have received – we, in particular, members of the Society of St. Pius X, and also, I would add, those who, for one reason or another, have thought it best to leave us; they have themselves paid tribute to the Society, they themselves have written to us: "We will remember all our lives the favors and graces we received in the seminary at Ecône."
We cannot help thinking that today we should thank God and we, in particular, dear friends, members of the Society of St. Pius X; priests, those who are about to be ordained priests and subdeacons today, and all seminarians here present, not to mention all those who would like to be with us – from America, from Buenos Aires – priests of the Society who could not be present, but who had to remain in their priories or in their districts; they are certainly united with us today in thought and in prayer. So we thank God for the graces we have received under the protection of our holy Pope, St. Pius X, and the Blessed Ever Virgin Mary, our Mother in Heaven.
What graces, my dear friends, above all the grace to have kept the treasures and the gifts which Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself gave to His Church, because that is the Society of St. Pius X; it is nothing else – to keep us, to receive us, to do us good and to sanctify us by the gifts which Our Lord Jesus Christ put into the hands of His Apostles, which His Apostles bequeathed to Holy Church, and which the Church has always given to us.
But today, when we consider the general condition of the churches, i.e., the parishes, the seminaries, the religious orders, then these gifts take on a value infinitely greater, because we could have been in that utterly baffling situation, thrown into total confusion. We could have found ourselves in that situation. Why has God chosen us? Why has God given us the grace to keep the Church going, and to preserve all these treasure of the Church? The treasure of faith, the treasure of grace, the treasure of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the treasure of the sacraments – treasures incomparable.
That is what we have received, my dear friends, and that is why we must thank God today; and I think I can include all who are joined to the Society of St. Pius X, in one way or another. I am thinking of our Sisters, from St. Michel-en-Brenne; I am thinking also of all our oblates, religious and lay; I am thinking also of all those who live with us, in our houses, everywhere and who are deeply united to the Society, and who therefore share in the graces of the Society. And I must not forget all those who in one way or another have kept their fidelity to the Church and who are united with us. Is it not because we are united in this unity of the Faith in the Church, and in the sacraments of the Church and in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?
I think of those monasteries where today some will receive priestly ordination – the monastery of Dom Augustine, the monastery of Dom Gerard, both here present. I think of all those monasteries and convents of nuns who have also tried to keep the Faith, to keep Tradition and therefore are united to the priests who have remained faithful and who look, in a sense, to us, asking us to support them by our prayers and our encouragement: Dominicans at Brignoles, Fanjeaux, Poncallec; Carmelites, here present; also nuns from Mainz, nuns from Schellenberg who are united with us in prayer. They could not come because they are cloistered. All these nuns, and I could not forget how many nuns are united with us in thought and in their conviction that they must keep the immemorial Faith!
So then, all the graces received, all the vocations realized – priestly vocations, religious brothers and sisters, active and contemplative vocations: this is the Church, the Church which goes on. I think of all those priests who are here present, all who have shown us by example of faithfulness, who have encouraged us, and who themselves, I think, find encouragement in the example of the Society – all this is the Church, continuing Church.
And if we should thank God for the graces which have been given to the Society, I think we should also thank God for the graces given by the Society. I cannot help thinking of all the houses, scattered across the world, forty or more houses of our priests, and besides these, many places of worship which have been opened and which are served by our Fathers every Sunday.
And, of course, I do not forget all that is done by those dear priests who, like us, defend the Faith and who dedicate themselves with their whole heart and soul to celebrating the holy and immemorial Mass, administering the immemorial sacraments to their faithful people and thus preserving the Catholic Faith. Oh, I cannot forget them, but I think above all of what has been accomplished by the grace of God by the Society of St. Pius X, the tenth anniversary of which we are celebrating; and so we can scarcely contemplate the graces which have been poured out upon us.
When I think of all the dying who have had a real priest, a priest who came to help them die a holy death, who came to bring them the consolation of the Sacraments of Extreme Unction, Communion, Viaticum, these souls have been strengthened and prepared to receive the grace of final perseverance. And all the children, all the schools that we have, by the grace of God, been able to open or to develop, so many children preserved from the contamination of the world, and who have kept the Faith. And all those families who gather in the thousands upon thousands around our churches, often makeshift little churches like catacombs, where the sanctuary lamp shines – small, but always well kept, decorated with flowers, well arranged little churches worthy of the Holy Mysteries which are celebrated, where everything is beautiful, even in poverty, by the care of the priest who faithfully preserves the ceremonies of the Church and who sees to it that his chapel is beautiful for Our Lord Jesus Christ, beautiful for the holy angels who dwell there, beautiful for the Blessed Virgin Mary. The faithful who come into these churches, are consoled, strengthened, and feel the grace of God, the grace of the Holy Ghost; and they go home refreshed, reassured that they have received into themselves the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ, by the Holy Communion, the Eucharist, and thus the Church goes on.
This, my dear brethren, is what the Society is: schools, priories, parishes, chapels, scattered over the world. And tomorrow, again with the grace of God, since all this is happening almost miraculously, tomorrow the opening of a university in Paris. To tell the truth, I am astonished myself. I can’t get over it. Of course we were dreaming, hoping some day to open and begin a university. And today in Paris, tomorrow in Rome, the day after tomorrow, perhaps in the United States, we would like to give the Truth, to communicate the Truth to those who no longer have it, who have lost it, who have been led astray by false modern philosophies.
What will happen to this world tomorrow if there is no longer any ability to recognize the Truth? To recognize the truth about philosophy, the truth about theology, the truth about Sacred Scripture, and thus to recognize Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. What a joy then for us to think that these young men and women who will come to receive this university education, will be pillars of the Truth, luminaries of the Truth – everywhere they will be, and probably in important positions, which will make them a beacon for the spread of Truth.
So we thank God again that He Himself has sent us the professors we needed. These professors themselves came to us in Paris and told us: "It is this year or never for us; either you take us this year or we get other jobs and you can no longer count on us." What was I to do? Good professors, committed, who said: "From now on, after all that we have been through, we wish to be under the Society of St. Pius X; we wish to teach under the authority of the Society of St. Pius X; we wish one of your priests there, to direct and counsel us, because we feel that there, at least, the Church will be, and the Truth." So what was I do do? Faced with this proposition, in spite of the difficulties which that could mean, we decided to open this university; that is what God wanted, a unique, extraordinary occasion, which God has given us, something like a tenth anniversary gift. Let us thank Him.
This, my dear brethren, is what God has done by means of the Society of St, Pius X. And tomorrow, what will we be? Well, we will always be the same, we do not have to search out our path; we can only remain the Church; we can only keep the Church going; we can only keep preaching Our Lord Jesus Christ, preaching the Truth, teaching the Truth, and tomorrow – well, if God wishes (and I think He does wish it, and will wish it), He will integrate us into the official Church, just as we are, just as we are.
It is not a question of changing, of going either to the right or to the left; we wish to remain the Church and we wish to remain what we have always been since the beginning of the Society, because we have no other motive than to keep the Church going; and thus we have always thought that one day, when God wills it, when He decides, then we will go back into the official Church, since they have put us out of an official Church which is not the real Church, [but] an official Church which has been infested with Modernism; and so we believed in the duty of disobedience, if indeed it was disobedience! To obey, but to obey the immemorial Church, to obey all the popes, to obey the whole Catholic Church. So we thought it our duty to disobey those cardinals who asked us to adopt, in part, Modernist errors, because we did not want to poison our souls and our hearts with the errors which have been condemned by our holy patron, St. Pius X, and we remain faithful to the Anti-Modernist Oath – the oath which St. Pius X requires us to take. We remain faithful to that. They will receive us with the oath in our hands, or we will remain what we are. And we are convinced, we pray for this, and perhaps, my dear brethren, things will soon work out. This goal which seems impossible – to be taken as we are, with what we are doing, with what we are accomplishing, with our Faith – this seems almost impossible. But God can do the impossible, and we are more hopeful than ever, we are perhaps closer than ever, to being recognized officially in holy Church, as the Society of St. Pius X, with all that we are, all that we think, all that we believe, all that we do.
And so, by the same token, all those who, like us, have defended the same Faith, the same Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the same Sacraments, will come with us, will be accepted by us. There is no doubt about it. So we must pray today, in a very special way, for this intention, because you can imagine what we would be, how many we would be here, if we were not persecuted by certain members of the Church. Not five or six thousand, but twenty, fifty thousand, would profit by the graces that God gives us, that the Church gives to us, whereas now they are dying without Christ, perishing, losing the Faith, abandoned. We must think of all these souls and hope these unjust persecutions against us may cease.
I close, my dear friends, with a few words to you who are about to be ordained priests, and to you I say, "Keep your faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ.” Everything depends on Our Lord Jesus Christ. Nothing exists without Our Lord Jesus Christ, nothing in the material world, nothing in the supernatural world. Without Jesus there is nothing. Jesus is the Creator of all things, Jesus is the Redeemer of all souls. Without Him, there is no hope. Without Him, there is no being, no possible existence. So what is Our Lord Jesus Christ? What are the essentials that you have studied in your theology? Jesus Christ is Savior; Jesus Christ is Priest; Jesus Christ is King. These are the three essential attributes of Our Lord Jesus Christ by the very fact of His hypostatic union, i.e., His union with God Himself in One Person.
So these three attributes: Savior-Redeemer, Priest and King, where are they made concrete? Where do we live them? Where do we grasp them? In Holy Mass. In Holy Mass Our Lord Jesus Christ is Redeemer. Who can deny that? The Sacrifice of the Cross is His Redemption, the Redemption of Our Lord. Thus in offering your Holy Sacrifice of the Mass you contribute to the Redemption of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Redemption which Our Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished.
Priest. But where is He more priest than in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? He is the Priest, you are only His ministers, you act only in the person of Christ, Who is the true Priest; thus your Sacrifice of the Mass is still Our Lord Jesus Christ in one of His essential attributes.
And finally, King. "God reigned from the Cross." Our Lord reigned from the wood of the Cross; that is His throne, that is His crown. There He has conquered the world, and there He has a right to His kingship. So it is also in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass that His Kingship shines forth irresistibly; we must all submit to Him and revere, adore and thank Him as King.
And so – Redeemer, Priest and King – this is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass; all the days of your lives you will discover Our Lord in His essential attributes, and you will share in them.
Poor creatures that we are! To share in the essential attributes of Our Lord Jesus Christ, to share in His Redemption, to share in His Priesthood, to share in His Kingship – what responsibility! What a responsibility to all His faithful people! What a profound joy for you! With what humility and what joy you should perform these sacred mysteries. You should also bring your people to share in these attributes of Our Lord, by Holy Communion, by giving Jesus Christ Himself in the Eucharist. What a joy! Nothing is more beautiful than the priest distributing Holy Communion, nothing is greater, more sublime, nothing richer in virtues, in gifts, in graces. The faithful expect this of you.
Therefore, be faithful, my dear friends, be faithful to all you have been taught here at Ecône. It is only the echo of what the Church has always taught. Remain close to your seminary, remain close to what has made you a priest, remain close to the Society of St. Pius X; in this way you will go on, while waiting for your reward from the hands of your Mother in heaven, the Mother of the Priesthood, who has been by your side, here at Ecône, every day.
Oh, how touched we are, every evening, when we see you kneeling before the Blessed Virgin Mary before taking your rest; you say some prayers to the Blessed Virgin Mary, commending yourselves to her, asking her to sustain you, asking her to help you to become holy priests. And now, here you are ready to be sent out, ready to go, as Our Lord said, “Go forth, preach the Gospel!” that is what you will do, and all our prayers today will go with you, the prayers of your parents, your friends, and all those who love you and who are united with you here below and in heaven.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
1. The Angelus pilgrimage
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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Apologia pro Marcel Lefebvre
Volume 3, Chapter XXXIII
Diverse Condemnations
14 July 1980 – L'Osservatore Romano
The following report was certainly very good news for all traditional Catholics who concurred with Mgr. Lefebvre’s frequent reiterations concerning the radical incompatibility between Catholicism and Masonry.
German Episcopal Conference Forbids Catholic Membership in Masonry
In the years 1974 -1980, official conversations took place in Germany between the Catholic Church and Freemasonry by order of the German Episcopal Conference and the Grand United Lodges.
The attempt was made, in the course of these conversations, to establish whether Masonry had undergone changes in the course of time such as to make it possible, from now on, for Catholics to be members.
The talks were held in a cordial atmosphere, characterized by frankness and objectivity.
After a careful examination of these first three degrees, the Catholic Church ascertained that there exist fundamental and insuperable differences.
Freemasonry, in its essence, has not changed. To belong to Freemasonry calls in question the foundations of the existence of Christ. A thorough examination of Masonic rites and of fundamental considerations, as well as the objective finding that Freemasonry has not changed, lead to the obvious conclusion: Membership of the Catholic Church and at the same time of Freemasonry are not reconcilable.
* * * *
Schillebeeckx: “I'm Against all Condemnations”
The Remnant – 18 July 1980
Catholic theologians who have earned Rome's displeasure in recent times are currently making their rounds trying to offset the situation by public speech-making wherever they go and by the usual self-serving propaganda.
Thus the Dutch theologian Edward Schillebeeckx, who has been under fire from the Vatican since last December, was on visit to the United States earlier this month and, in New York, decried what he called the “scapegoat role” to which modem-day theologians are being subjected by the Vatican today. He said that Vatican condemnations of “innovative thinkers make no sense in modem times." “There is unrest among the faithful,” he conceded, “but it’s not because of what the theologians are saying but because of cultural change. Without the theologians," he insisted, “it would still be the same, but some people need a kind of scapegoat for the unrest," and hence the theologians “are singled out for that scapegoat role" (Courier-News, N.Y., 3 July 1980).
Schillebeeckx cited recent condemnations of Fr. Jacques Pohier of France and Fr. Hans Kung of West Germany as typical examples of "a bad situation" in the Church, adding that he is opposed "to all condemnations” since "it's very dangerous to do that." He said that most of the Vatican's doctrinal officials who had questioned his writings" are amateurs" in biblical scholarship and misconstrued his writings "because of their scholastic thinking." "They are unable to understand phenomenological thought," he said. "To them past statements of concepts are immutable and must be repeated the same way." Schillebeeckx went on to include Pope John Paul II as among those who are unable to understand his philosophical thinking. The Pope, he said, who comes from Poland, is trying to apply worldwide the "Polish model" of a monolithic-type Church. “It was the right thing for Poland in a special situation, with a monolithic-type Church set up against the monolithic Communist state, but as a model for the Western pluralized world, it doesn’t work,” he said. With different church needs and models in the U.S., Africa, Europe and elsewhere, he said “the Church cannot be monolithic, but must adapt to many diverse faces.”
Schillebeeckx said that the Pope’s summoning to the Vatican of the Dutch bishops, and their agreement to restrain various innovative practices in Holland was another bloc-style move, but the effect had been completely negative. “It is accepted by only a small minority,” he claimed. “The Catholic people are going on as before. The clergy do not accept it.”
Asked if the Pope’s effort tended to reserve Vatican II reforms, Schillebeeckx commented: “In the Pope’s opinion it is not a reversal, but I think it is.”
* * * *
This report is interesting for two reasons. it is yet another useful reminder for traditional Catholics who see the Pope purely in Liberal terms that the Liberals themselves consider him to be a conservative. It also provides confirmation of the ineffectiveness of the Dutch Synod which had given rise to such a optimism. A very orthodox Dutch priest had written to me at about this time giving precisely the same assessment of the impact of the Synod upon parish life in Holland, i.e., everything had continued as before.
Catholic University? By Father Tom O’Mahony
The Remnant – 18 July 1980
The appalling state of decline into which the Catholic Church in America has fallen is very apparent in the writings and speeches of professional theologians and Scripture scholars, who go about their iconoclastic work uncondemned except by small groups of the laity. Many of these dissenters even teach in seminaries and Catholic colleges.
The Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C., to which all Catholics contribute, instead of being a model for other Catholic centers of higher learning, has become a symbol of contestation, a haven almost for those who would change the defined teaching of the Church.
Fr. Charles Curran, Professor of Moral Theology at C.U., is one of the best known dissenters in the U.S. Yet he was invited by the Jesuits of the University of St. Louis to speak on the campus. Since he has published works on every aspect of human sexuality, no one can be in any doubt that he will attack defined Catholic doctrine whenever he gets the chance. Why then was he honored with this invitation? Unlike his brother bishop of Baton Rouge, who refused to allow Curran to speak at a diocesan facility, Archbishop May (of St. Louis); publicly stated that he refused to interfere and that the Holy See has yet to pass judgment on Curran.
Some years ago, a Vatican curial official, Cardinal Garrone, said that nowadays bishops are practising a hands-off policy and are leaving it up to Rome (to make unpleasant decisions). This policy, said the Cardinal, is disastrous as, by the time Rome can get around to the problem, the harm has already been done. More than likely, this was what the Pope had in mind in his Chicago talk to the bishops last year.
Right now a new controversy has shaken C.U. The student newspaper, The Tower, has been announcing the weekly meetings of homosexual and lesbian students. The paper has also featured articles on this perversion, and even quoted two priest faculty members in favor of the view that homosexual acts are not necessarily sinful in all instances. One priest said it could be a “morally good thing to do,” according to Paul A. Fisher of The National Catholic Register. The two priests on the faculty who refused to condemn as sinful all homosexual activity are Fr. Robert Kinast, a member of the pastoral staff in theology, and Fr. Thomas Sullivan, Assistant Professor of Religion Religious Education.
The President of the College, Dr. Edmund Pelligrino, has, according to reports, expressed dismay at the excessive use of alcohol by students at C.U.
Another serious matter is that most of the students interviewed by the student paper admitted that they were either agnostics or practicing atheists. Yet it was their standard of morality, or more correctly, lack of it, which was promoted in the editorials.
Another sign of the times is that the once proud Catholic University of Norte Dame had hired Fr. McBrien, who has never hidden his heretical views on the nature of the Church, to be chairman of one of its faculties.
Again, Hans Küng and Fr. Edward Schillebeeckx, who are notorious dissenters, had told the press that they have been invited (Schillebeeckx just last week at Berkeley) to speak on Catholic campuses in the U.S. And, to top it all, we still find the ubiquitous Fr. Brown, S. S., an avant garde biblical scholar whose writings are a mere rehash of the condemned Modernist views, is still invited into various dioceses to speak to the clergy and laity. Recently he was invited to speak at Religious Congresses in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Diocese of Orange. When the laity objected to this by even taking out advertisements in the papers, Cardinal Manning defended Fr. Brown. So did Msgr. John F. Barry, director of the Office of Religious Education.
This is extremely serious, as Fr. Brown's views are well known, or should be. Two of his views, concerning the apostolic succession of the bishops and the nature of the Mass as a Sacrifice, were attacked by the late Cardinal Sheehan, who was himself a professional biblical scholar.
Fr. Raymond Brown also denies the Virgin Birth and holds that the infancy narratives are not history but mere symbols – a concoction of early Christians. He even holds that it could be that Christ was the result of a rape of Our Lady by a Roman soldier!
What are Catholics to conclude from all of this? Some, with an axe to grind, will welcome these views and follow them on the ground that the above priests were not only not condemned by the bishops, but even defended against their critics. Others will write off the Church as a confused and confusing institution, which apparently has lost its way; while others still will feel that, after all, Archbishop Lefebvre is right, at least he is consistent, he has never deviated one iota from traditional Catholic teaching.
The end result cannot but be devastating, as seminarians are exposed to this theological mish-mash as the "new theology" and "scriptural scholarship." This is evident from a statement by Fr. John Meier, Prof. Of Scripture at the New York Archdiocesan Seminary. Defending Brown and condemning his critics, Fr. Meier said: “If they (Brown's critics) ever knew what some of the rest of us are doing, they'd have a heart attack. "
It may well happen that America will once again become a mission country, with the missionaries coming this time from the crowded seminaries of black Africa, according to the prediction of one of that continent's bishops made during the first synod of bishops in Rome. Stranger things can happen, because in the fourth century eighty percent of the bishops fell into the Arian heresy, and in the time of the persecution of the Church in England, only Bishop St. John Fisher had the intestinal fortitude and strong faith to stand up for Christ.
Perhaps this is where we now are, as the only public statements coming from the National conference of Catholic Bishops concern the secular pieties of the age: the Panama Canal, capital punishment, racism, and other subjects which are the stock-in-trade of professional Liberals. Not that there is anything wrong with support of such causes, provided one realizes that in many cases there is no clear answer to such questions, but there are very clear answers when it comes to dogma and morals, which it is the sworn duty of bishops to defend at any price, even martyrdom!
* * * *
This article appeared originally in the 1 June 1980 issue of Father O'Mahony's Most Holy Trinity parish bulletin, El Paso, Texas. Father O'Mahony might also have remarked that there is one man to whom Catholic University would never open its doors, and that is Archbishop Lefebvre who has never “deviated one iota from traditional Catholic teaching.” As St. Basil observed in the year 372, commenting upon the Arian heresy: “Only one offense is now vigorously punished – an accurate observance of our fathers’ traditions.1
1. See Apologia I, p. 372.
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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Apologia pro Marcel Lefebvre
Volume 3, Chapter XXXIV
Archbishop Lefebvre is Not a Rebel
By Jean Madiran 1
July 1980
Respectfully, patiently, after the visit of Pope John Paul II to France, we renew our case : in spite of all the official declarations over the marvelous results of the Council, the Church Militant today is in decay. She will recover herself in sanctity; and by the path of authority. This authority will show up in a practical way by beginning again to forbid what should be forbidden; and to stop forbidding what should never have forbidden in the first place. It should never have been forbidden to priests to say the Mass they were ordained to celebrate: this prohibition, without any legal or moral value, exists only by virtue of the sociological weight of arbitrary administrative decision. The Catechism of the Council of Trent and the Catechism of St. Pius X should never have been banned, blocking the handing down of the three things that must be known in order to be saved: this prohibition is null and void. Neither the person of Archbishop Lefebvre, nor the re-birth of the missionary Church,should ever have been struck by prohibition.Because the missionary church is the means by which people are converted from the modern world to the Christian Faith. It is the opposite of a Church exposed to all influences, leading souls to despair of the traditional Faith and let themselves be debased by modern democracy.
Patiently, respectfully, we say by way of reminder and petition: Archbishop Lefebvre is not a rebel! All the condemnations lodged against him rest on a single foundation, on the initial fact that he has not accepted the first condemnation, that of 1975.2 Everything flows from that: not to have submitted and to have complicated his case by persisting in not submitting. Now this first condemnation has no legal or moral right to exist. Even today, five years later, we do know by whom it was lodged, we do not know who is responsible for it : there is no mention of it in any document. There is strong suspicion that it was Paul VI himself, but secretly. This initial condemnation arose from the unbelievable scheme of inviting Archbishop Lefebvre to two friendly talks, concealing from him the fact that in reality he was being summoned as a defendant with the object of conducting an investigation against him.
Thus Archbishop Lefebvre was not given to understand what was happening before he was condemned; and he was condemned anonymously, by someone whose identity cannot be discovered in the official texts of the verdict which was made known to him. And it is this legal non-entity that is the basis for all that has subsequently been viciously built up, and comprising the so-called sanctions and suspension. If it had been a question of simply disciplinary cruelty touching only his personal convenience, Archbishop Lefebvre would have been able to bow to the injustice. But it was a question of a major administrative move against the handing down of the knowledge necessary for salvation and against the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This is why Archbishop Lefebvre has continued to view his missionary activity according to the powers, rights, and abilities which were his after the foundation of his Society and which have not validly been forbidden him. The result has been a sad and confused situation. The only way out is to declare the nullity of the arbitrary prohibitions and to return to fundamental norms.
What fundamental norms? First, the principle that it is not true that one can be validly excluded from the Catholic communion simply for having formulated an opinion – however bold or reckless – on the pastoral orientation and modern spirit of Vatican II and Pope Paul VI. It is not true that one can continue to belong to the Catholic communion when one no longer adheres to the dogmatic decisions of Nicea or Trent. By an anomaly which amounts to treason, too many of those in the present-day apostolic succession admit to their communion those who water down or brush aside the dogmatic decisions of Nicea or of Trent, so that they may profess adherence, at least general or verbal, to non-dogmatic orientations of Vatican II; and they drive from their communion those who question the modern orientations of Vatican II but profess all defined dogmas. It is a “communion” of a new type, suggested by Teilhard, a humanist communion, ecumenical, philanthropic, democratic, or whatever, but no longer a Catholic communion. The prohibitions designed to set up, defend and impose the new communion have no validity in the Church.
We said so at the end of the reign of Paul VI, when he declared in the spring of 1978: My pontificate is completed. We recalled that Pius XI at the end of his reign was convinced that he should lift the unjust ban lodged against Action Française: by putting it off, he ran out of time. The lifting of the ban, virtually without conditions, was one of the first acts of his successor, Pius XII. Though fundamentally different in many ways, the so-called “Lefebvre case” and that of the “traditionalists,” is analagous in this: there is no other way out. The longer we wait, the deeper will be the wounds to the Church, and the more advanced the decay of the Catholic fabric. Doubtless there will remain a number of unanswered questions: but they will begin to be manageable about the moment we recognize the nullity of the prohibitions against the Mass, against the catechism, against the person of Archbishop Lefebvre and against the priests whom he has formed and ordained, waiting for the Second Spring of the Church.
While we wait, we repeat with Alexis Curvers: May it please God to make of Pope John Paul II the instrument of salvation, granting to him the triple grace of a faith as trusting as that of Jairus, as profound as that of the widow of Naim, as passionate as that of Martha, in a word, all-powerful against death.
1. Jean Madiran is the Editor of Itinéraires. This article is a translation of his editorial for the July/August 1980 issue.
2. The reasons for the Archbishop not accepting his initial condemnation in 1975 are explained on pages 122-123 of Apologia I.
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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Apologia pro Marcel Lefebvre
Volume 3, Chapter XXXV
The Christian Family
Extract from a Sermon pronounced by
His Excellency Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre
on the Pardon 1 at Lanvallay (Brittany), France
27 July 1980
My dear friends,
It was with great joy and great satisfaction that a few minutes ago we blessed this chapel dedicated to Saint Anne. We thank God that we are able to provide these places for Catholic worship, and to place this chapel under the protection of St. Anne, heavenly patroness of Brittany. We thank all who have had a part in the establishment of this chapel, in making such places as this truly worthy of the Holy Sacrifice and of the Holy Mysteries which are to be celebrated here, making them worthy of St. Anne.
Since we are honoring St. Anne, Patroness of Brittany, let me say a few words which the occasion calls to mind. It seems to me that St. Anne, by her example, gives us three great lessons: she asks those who are joined in the bonds of matrimony to live as Christians and to have Christian families. St. Anne has set us an example, as we are told in the Gospel. She lived with St. Joachim sine querela (without quarreling) for many years in peaceful marriage. St. Anne and St. Joachim lived in the faith. Where Christian marriage is concerned, they are models for Christian spouses. This is the first important lesson that St. Anne gives us by her example.
And by her example she also shows how Providence blesses Christian homes. Although she was barren, look how God gave her a child in her old age: Mary, who would be the mother of Jesus. This is why St. Anne is often represented, as you see her in this statue here, pointing out in a Bible the passages referring to Mary. She was no doubt inspired by the Holy Ghost to do this: a virgin will have a son. So Mary herself received a profoundly Christian education.
The second lesson that St. Anne gives us is Christian education of children – Christian homes, Christian education.
And finally, a third point: St. Anne gives true priests. For let us not forget that Mary was born and chosen by God to give birth to the Eternal High Priest. St. Anne also had the great privilege, at an advanced age, of having a child who would become the mother of the great High Priest. She was therefore the grandmother of Jesus – Jesus the Eternal High Priest. So St. Anne’s message for us is that, in Christian homes, there are vocations – holy vocations, vocations to the priesthood, to the religious life. This, I think, is the great thing St. Anne teaches us and spreads her blessings over Brittany.
There have been many good and saintly homes in this Catholic land of Brittany, where education has been given – a little rough sometimes, but a Christian education. The women of this area, especially on the coast, whose husbands went down to the sea in ships – these women remained at home with their children and taught them. In their faith, in their Christian families, they found a spiritual strength and courage to raise their children – sometimes all alone – at home and to give these children a Christian education.
Thousands and thousands of priests came from such homes, thousands of religious.2A historian of this area told me that, from 1850 to 1900, there was an average of thirty-five priests ordained per year in every diocese ! Thirty-five priests ordained every year in every diocese: this shows what Christian families could produce, not counting men and women who entered the religious life – their number is legion! There is no mistake about it. In the Holy Ghost Fathers alone, while I was Superior General, in 1962, there were listed in the directory for the Diocese of Vannes, 120 missionary Holy Fathers, 120 missionaries in the Holy Ghost Fathers alone, from the Diocese of Vannes ! Not to mention the Diocese of Quimper and the Diocese of Brieuc, where we also had many missionaries. God has given innumerable missionaries and innumerable religious coming from Christian homes. This is what devotion to St. Anne has brought to this area: Christian homes, Christian education, innumerable vocations.
Even after the Revolution, when members of religious orders were persecuted and priests were killed, there came a renewal. After that there was the law of separation, and more persecution of religious orders, the exile. Wonderful stories are told of whole families who prevented the police from going into monasteries and convents to drive out the monks and nuns. The persecution was so harsh and painful that many religious had to leave Brittany, and they took the Faith to South America, and to North America and elsewhere. But this had the result of lessening, to certain extent, the number of vocations at the beginning of this century. Then, during the First World War, there was another upsurge of vocations, when the numbers in the seminaries and the numbers ordained were greater than in the preceding fifty years.
And now we find ourselves face-to-face with a persecution much more insidious, much more serious. The public persecution by the enemies of the Church was better. It was better for the revolutionary mobs to destroy the convents, for the priests and religious to be martyred. It was better than the persecution that is taking place today. Today the priests and souls consecrated to God are not pouring out their blood, but they are being perverted. They are being perverted by ideas – for example, the idea of the state school, which is replacing the Catholic school everywhere, and by all the false modern ideas which have penetrated the seminaries, the convents, the Catholic schools, and, as you will have noticed, my dear friends, they have penetrated even truly Catholic homes. Thanks be to God that your homes are truly Christian, you who are here today, but how many others are still? How many are still Catholic? How many observe the laws of God? By all the standards which are given, by all the ways the devil gets into homes, families no longer have the Christian faith, so they have no more children, and there are no more priests, no more religious.
And even in the Catholic schools, what kind of education is given? The books that are forced on them nowadays! We read recently a fine letter from the Mother Superior of the St. Pius X School in St. Cloud (Sisters of Pontcales), who refused the contract which the State wished to impose upon her, and explained her reasons. Well now! We must admit that something terrible is going on here. She explains very clearly that the books given them, which are required in schools under this contract of association with the State, these books undermine Christian morality. In natural history books these poor, helpless children are shown things that are truly pornographic. How do you think morality can survive this sort of thing, Catholic morality, the law of God? It is impossible! So our enemy the devil, rather than persecuting priests and religious and their families openly, and spilling their blood, prefers to corrupt minds and hearts in a more radical, far more serious manner.
Well then, what can we do about it? We can fight against those who would corrupt our souls and hearts. We must have Christian homes, we must have large families, we must have families where the Faith is alive. It is a great joy to see, among those who are called “traditionalist,” who are nothing more or less than truly faithful Catholics, a great number of children. This is where vocations will come from again.
Where do our seminarians get their vocations, for the most part? From homes that are faithful, faithful to the Catholic faith. It would be possible to find numerous vocations in other ages, but in any age it is absolutely necessary to keep the Faith, to keep the Catholic Faith and to keep the message which St. Anne came to bring to the world, and especially to Brittany.
Christian homes, Christian education, the sanctification of priests, and an increase in the number of priests. This is what we should learn at the hands of St. Anne. We shall pray for this, my dear friends, shall we not? We shall pray that there may be many Christian families, families which keep themselves from evil, which are not afraid to remove from their homes a television which brings things that children should not see, which corrupt the hearts of children, to keep out of their homes everything which may corrupt the hearts of their children, and make of their home truly a place where Christ dwells, where the children are uplifted by the statues and pictures all around them, by the words they hear, which support them and train them in the Catholic Faith.
Finally, you will see to it, I am sure, that there are Christian schools again. If we can no longer have confidence in the Catholic schools of today, we must have others, and this is what we shall try to do. No doubt we would need many more priests, many more Catholic teachers, but whatever it may be, we shall bend all our efforts, I am sure, and you will do the same, to refound Catholic schools, so that your children, after a careful upbringing at home, may not be corrupted in the schools and put you in a hopeless situation. How many parents tell us this – by letter and in person! Their children are fine until about the age of ten, or twelve or fifteen and then – all of a sudden – they fall away from the straight and narrow path of faith and morals.
Parents are grief-stricken at this terrible situation – the ruin of mind and heart.
So we must have good schools, and we are happy to say we have been able to open some. Do not hesitate to send your children, however far away it may be, to Catholic schools. Thank God there are now some orders of nuns – at Pontcalec, the nuns of Fanjeaux, and Brignoles, who are conducting schools where you can send your daughters. They also have schools for little boys.
On our side we are making efforts to open schools for boys. We hope to open a school near here, in the area of Nantes, and if we can, we shall not hesitate to do so. We are absolutely committed to helping you to raise your children in a Christian way. You know that we have opened a university in Paris, so that your older children may take several years of philosophy, to give them a solid foundation, a firm grounding, so that they may do some good in the world around them, and be able to communicate this truth to others, to share this Catholic Faith with their children and all those they come in contact with, and upon whom they can have an influence.
This is the plan – a vast project – and certainly we are in a situation such as our ancestors perhaps never knew, because, once again, it would have been better if we have been persecuted by force of arms rather than by this infiltration of false ideas and corruption of morals, because this is deeper, and we will have more trouble in swimming against the tide. But with the grace of God, the protection of St. Anne, with the protection of the Most Holy Virgin, I am sure we shall succeed at least in saving those souls that wish to be saved. So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church.
So we beg you to join your prayers to ours; let us pray together for the graces we need from God. Without God we can do nothing, without the graces of Christ we can do nothing. He it is Who saved us on the Cross and gives all graces possible to us.
Let us ask St. Anne, His grandmother, let us ask His Mother Mary to obtain these graces for us, so that we may remain faithful children of Our Lord, of the Blessed Virgin and St. Anne.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
1. The “Pardons” of Brittany, unique to that reign of France, are the feasts of the patron saint of a church or a chapel at which an indulgence is given.
2. i.e., members of religious orders.
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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Apologia pro Marcel Lefebvre
Volume 3, Chapter XXXVI
Our Lady Of Pointet
Sermon pronounced by His Excellency Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre
at the First Solemn Mass of Father Alain Lorans, In Honor of Our Lady of Pointet 1
13 July 1980
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen
Dear Father, from now on you are a priest. You no longer face years of formation, but rather a burden of responsibility. The great honor of the priesthood is yours, with the grace of God, with the support of those who love you and of all those who, already in heaven, put their mantle of protection around you so that you may be able to carry out a wonderful apostolate.
As we all know, you have been chosen to lend a helping hand to all those who will come to the Catholic university soon to be opened in Paris, where you will have a special apostolate, marked by a special enthusiasm and a special importance, because this is what Our Lord Himself did. He chose a small group, He formed His Apostles, and with these twelve Apostles He transformed the world. An apostolate based on a chosen few is a very important apostolate. You will have to bring these souls, especially chosen by God, to an understanding of the ideal they are searching for, and to make of it a Christian ideal, so that, whatever the vocation to which they are called, they will fulfill it in a Christian manner, a Catholic manner, in union with Our Lord, according to the teachings of Our Lord, in the light of Our Lord Jesus Christ, because Our Lord came to you too, as to us, when He said to His Apostles and His disciples: “You are the light of the world."
And so, particularly in this task to which you have been assigned, you will be the light of the world. Now what is the light of the world? Where is this light of the world? Our Lord Himself gives the answer: "I am the Light of the world." We don't have to look for it; it is already there. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Light of the World, Light, that is to say, from God. Could we have a light more clear, more dazzling than one which comes from God Himself, which is God? Our Lord is God, so we will find the light in Him, and He is what you will teach. You will act as St. Paul, who said, "I have wanted to know nothing among you except Christ and Him crucified." This is what St. Paul said; his entire message is summed up in this – to speak of Christ, Christ Crucified.
Your task will be to show these chosen souls how to know Christ, how to unite themselves with Our Lord, meditating on His words, on His life, on what He is; and in this way they will find the light of their life. What a beautiful apostolate! How I hope these souls entrusted to you may profit from your ministry and give to the world the basic principles it needs, the basic principles of our first catechism, the catechism which summarizes the teachings of the Church, all the teachings of Our Lord. This should be the foundation of the life of every individual, of family life, of social life, political life. We must lay this foundation which is so necessary for people and for families, so that peace and prosperity and the truly Christian life which ours should be, may flourish.
And you will not only be the light of these souls; you will also give them life – the life of Our Lord. Not only His light, but His own life, the supernatural life of grace, grace which you will give them in the sacraments and especially in the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion – sacraments which we need almost every day to sustain us in the spiritual life. You will make them understand that they need these sacraments, this life, this divine life. Today, alas, it is so hard to lift oneself up to these spiritual realities, as we are caught up in the material world, the materialistic world which wants to know only earthly joys and closes its eyes to eternal realities.
It is hard to understand that the supernatural life, the divine life of Our Lord in us, is the one thing necessary. It is what will get us to heaven. We should be already in eternity, at this moment. Our soul is eternal and imperishable and therefore we must bathe our soul in the life of Our Lord, in the supernatural life and make it truly full of eternal life. The day God calls us and tells us that our life here below is over, that life will continue, as it says so well in the Preface of the Requiem Mass, "Life is not taken away but changed.” God does not extinguish our life. It goes on, with a change. It changes, yes, in incidental ways, but it does not end; it goes on, if we have been careful to imbue it with the eternal life of Our Lord Jesus Christ. So this is what you will do; you will build this bridge between the life of God, the life of Our Lord, and these souls who will come to you, searching for true life.
And finally you will set an example. As Our Lord said, you are not only the salt of the earth, you are not only the light of the world, but you act in such a way that the world may give glory to God when they see your works: “…and seeing your good works they will glorify the Father Who is in heaven.”
You will set this example, therefore, and exemplify the virtues of Our Lord by gentleness, goodness and perseverance in the priestly life, in the apostolate. And you will do good for souls, for all who come to you. This should be your ideal.
I am sure you already understand this, and I am sure that you realize that what I have been talking about is nothing more than an extension of your Mass. Live your Mass every day, every second of your life, prolong it through the course of the day, that is, prolong the teaching you give us in the words of the Epistle and Gospel, the words of Our Lord. Prolong this life of sacrifice which you will make present, in a few moments, on the altar, by the presence of Our Lord, who is prolonging His Sacrifice of the Cross and showing us His love. Here it is: you will love souls, you will give yourself to souls, you will sacrifice yourself for souls, for love, for love of God and love of your neighbor. This is the whole Sacrifice of the Mass. You will give yourself to souls as you give Communion. You will give Christ to souls through knowledge of Him, Christ in His life. This is your Holy Mass, this is the Communion you will give, this is the Christ you will give to souls. Thus your whole priestly life is a continuous Mass. You are a priest. You have begun your first Mass. But your Mass must never end. Your whole life now will be a continual Mass. May God give you the grace to live your Mass and encourage all around you to do the same, and to understand that our whole lives should be a Mass, an oblation which is complete and continuous, a continuous sacrifice of ourselves for love of God and love of our neighbor.
This is your ideal, this is what we are going to pray for all together, today, pray for you that this joy of yours, the profound joy of offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, may remain in you, that you may continue in this joy, in this spiritual peace which will make you a true priest.
I must not end without putting you under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary was with the Eternal High Priest throughout His life, right up to His complete self-sacrifice on the Cross. She was there. So then, be assured that Mary, Mother of the priest, will be with you too, all the days of your life.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Ghost. Amen.
1. Translated from Fideliter, September/October 1980 (No. 17).
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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Apologia pro Marcel Lefebvre
Volume 3, Chapter XXXVII
Letters of Mgr. Lefebvre
14 September 1980
Most Holy Father,
With the aim of dispelling any doubts which may still exist as to my attitude, I declare once more what I declared to Your Holiness in my letter of 8 March 1980, namely that I quite agree with what Your Holiness stated on 6 November 1978 concerning Vatican II: "The Council must be understood in the light of the whole of holy Tradition, and on the basis of the unvarying Magisterium of Holy Mother Church.”
In the audience which Your Holiness granted me in November 1978, Your Holiness expressed joy at the thought that there was no problem of Faith which separated us, and asked me if I was ready to sign this declaration. I have reaffirmed my readiness many times since that audience.
What explanation can there be, then, for the fact that the unjust situation in which we have been placed continues indefinitely?
May God grant that for the good of the Church and of souls Your Holiness will make a helpful decision as soon as possible.
May Your Holiness deign to allow me to express my feelings of filial respect and submission in Christo et Maria.
+ Marcel Lefebvre
+ + +
Letter of Mgr. Lefebvre to Cardinal Palazzini
14 September 1980
Your Eminence,
The interest which Your Eminence has shown towards a solution to our case touches my heart, and I thank you for it, the more so as despite all my goodwill, inexplicable delays continually defer the case to later dates.
There can be no doubt that your dedicated efforts are encountering strong opposition. Accordingly the unjust situation in which we are put continues with all its consequences for the Church and the salvation of souls. Those responsible for this sad state of affairs will answer for it before God.
This is why I beg you to be so kind as to send to the Holy Father this final declaration, which should at last allow the difficulties to be resolved. If I call to your attention only that part of my declaration that concerns the Council, this is because this problem is by far the most important and because the other points are subsumed into the first. I do this also to avoid giving rise to sterile polemics which risk delaying a solution still further.
It will soon be two years since the Holy Father entrusted this matter to Cardinal Seper. In the course of this period nothing has changed. It is clear that during this time our work has continued providentially to make progress, and groups of the faithful who are independent of us, and who intend to keep the Faith, have been growing in numbers considerably. It is accordingly inconceivable that this renewal of the Church should not be supported, encouraged and continued. To admit that the Holy Ghost is at work in this healthy reaction on the part of the faithful, will it be necessary to wait for whole countries to be deprived of priests, and for the majority of the faithful to have become indifferent, or atheists, or members of non-Catholic sects?
How can anybody imagine that we could abandon Tradition – which today brings forth, as it always has done, many holy vocations – in favor of novelties which produce none but bitter fruit, stifling souls and spreading only blasphemies and desecrations?
How could we state that we were wrong to maintain Tradition and to refuse to participate in the "self-destruction of the Church”? If our seminaries are praiseworthy it is precisely because they reject novelties. Furthermore, diocesan seminaries can be considered as sound to the extent that they distance themselves from these novelties.
In the hope that Your Eminence will succeed, with the help of God and grace, in obtaining from the Holy Father a solution that will be just and beneficial for the Church, I ask you to deign to allow me to express my feelings of respect and heartfelt gratitude in Christo et Maria.
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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Apologia pro Marcel Lefebvre
Volume 3, Chapter XXXVIII
Letter To Friends & Benefactors, No. 19
1 October 1980
Dear Friends and Benefactors,
This nineteenth semi-annual letter coincides with the tenth anniversary of the official approval given to our Society by His Excellency Mgr. Charriere, Bishop of Fribourg, on November 1st, 1970. How many events since that date have shown that the Church has been veritably seized and occupied by Modernism. Many books have described in a disturbing way the result of this penetration into Roman ranks and into episcopal curias.
In the face of this sad spectacle, which gets worse every year, one could even say every month, we put aside our expressions of indignation and sadness. Still, we could deplore the persecution whose object is the most worthy and venerable priests, such as our dear friend Canon Catta, treasurer of the Visitandines of Nantes for forty years, and dean of the chapter. More than eighty years of age, he was deprived shortly before his death of his function as dean of the chapter. Mistreated by his confrères at the rest home, he sought refuge for his meals with the Visitandines, who ended by asking him to return to the rest home where, broken-hearted, he succumbed to cardiac arrest, and all this because he persevered in celebrating the Holy Mass of his ordination. His burial was completely contrary to what he had requested. Thus, traditionalists are pursued beyond death, for the crime of fidelity.
On the tombs of these holy priests, over the graves of so many of the faithful, prematurely dead because of this grievous persecution, we should take our oath of fidelity, an oath which is none other than the profession of faith and the Anti-Modernist Oath of St. Pius X, the last canonized Pope. Supported by twenty centuries of Faith and Tradition, we can and must persevere without fear, in the conviction that Truth must triumph, because it is divine. Our Lord said it: "I am the Truth."
Instead of complaining and being discouraged, let us thank God Who everywhere blesses the efforts of those who persevere in the Faith and in Tradition. It would be impossible to note in detail the countless blessings which we have witnessed, or which have been confided to us by those who have received them. The many vocations which are joining the Society or the many communities faithful to Tradition, each have their own moving story. They are flowers blooming amid the brambles and thorns.
Retreat masters of the Society could write books about the conversions they have witnessed. Priests who minister to summer camps tell us with deep emotion of the extraordinary return to the Faith and to the practice of religion recovered by contact with Tradition and above all with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Foundations such as schools, universities, seminaries all have a story which reveals the intervention of Divine Providence. And all the works faithful to Tradition bear witness in the same way. One small example: the bishop of Kansas City (USA), put on the market a large, spacious church, furnished with beautiful altar, organ and pews seating a thousand. The Father in charge of the Southern District made efforts to acquire it through a third party, but the bishop's office got wind of who the buyer was, and his link with Archbishop Lefebvre. The answer was a categorical refusal to sell. A black Protestant bishop then appeared on the scene. Not only was this purchaser very welcome, but, in the name of ecumenism, the price was cut by half. Now, for reasons unknown, this Protestant bishop hastened to re-sell the church to our District Superior, who thus benefitted by the lower price. So the Society from now on can accommodate many of the faithful for beautiful ceremonies in a splendid church in the heart of Kansas City.
Let us keep our trust and our courage, as St. Paul says: “If God is with us, who can be against us?" This month let us pray to the Virgin Mary to deliver Holy Church from her enemies within, as she did at the time of St. Pius V from enemies without.
Help us with your prayers and your generosity to pursue the work of rejuvenating the Church with true and holy priests. May God bless you.
+Marcel Lefebvre
Rickenbach,
1 October 1980
* * * *
A Traditional Catholic University Inaugurated
11 October 1980
The Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on Saturday, October 11th, witnessed an important step forward in the history of the Society of St. Pius X, namely the inauguration in Paris of the Society's first traditional Catholic university – the Institut Universitaire St. Pie X. Staffed by professors drawn from the faculties of the Sorbonne and other French universities, the Institute is pledged to traditional Catholic teaching in the arts, offering degrees in philosophy, history, and literature. As much of the confusion in today’s world is due to a lack of training in these fields, the Institute should prove to be of vital importance in bringing souls back to the Truth of the Catholic Church.
The University’s Rector is Rev. Alain Lorans, recently ordained by Archbishop Lefebvre at Ecône. After a conference in which he described the aims of the University, the buildings and grounds were blessed by His Grace, Archbishop Lefebvre, who went on to offer Solemn High Mass at the Church of St. Nicholas du Chardonnet in the heart of Paris. During this Mass, Fr. Lorans pronounced the Anti-Modernist Oath of St. Pius X, pledging himself and the entire faculty "to uphold unto our last breath the faith of our fathers."
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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Apologia pro Marcel Lefebvre
Volume 3, Chapter XXXIX
Letter to the Sovereign Pontiff
16 October 1980
Most Holy Father,
On the occasion of the second anniversary of your election to the Pontificate, deign to accept our felicitations, our best wishes, and the assurance that we shall pray for you. May God come to your aid to restore to the Church the position and the rights which are Her due, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
Please allow me to tell Your Holiness of the grief suffered by those thousands of priests and millions of the faithful who are desirous of preserving intact their Catholic Faith and of receiving the graces that they need so as to remain members of the Mystical Body of Our Lord, and who because of their fidelity are persecuted and despised by those who ought to encourage and comfort them.
In the hope that at least the universal Father of the faithful will recognize their fidelity and their devotion to the Apostolic See, they await impatiently the result of proceedings undertaken with Your Holiness by the Society of St. Pius X.
Yet this is the seventh letter in two years which I send to Your Holiness; many a times, at your request, I have gone to talk to Cardinal Seper and Cardinal Palazzini. No reply, no solution has come to light so far.
I have made a positive response to the demands for a declaration which were put to me, with no result.
So as to make a last effort, I attach to this letter a form of declaration which I am ready to sign, appending thereto those requests which appeared just to those who questioned me, and which evidently seem necessary for a true renewal of the Church. Accordingly I await a reply to this suggestion.
I am growing older, the time for my resignation draws near; it is essential that I should make provision for my succession in the near future. It seems desirable that a solution to our problems should be found while I am as yet at the head of the Society.
In all conscience, I believe I can affirm that I have done all that I could to make my modest contribution to the work of the Church. Our Lord Himself will judge as to the obstacles which are constantly set in the path of the Church's true renewal. The very facts already have within them the crushing verdict.
It is in complete confidence and filial affection that I submit these thoughts to Your Holiness, begging you to accept that I wish to be a good and faithful servant in Christo et Maria.
+Marcel Lefebvre
Appendix
The Declaration which His Excellency Mgr. Lefebvre is Ready to Sign
In my wish to show my attachment to the Church from which I have never separated myself, I declare that although I have acted in good conscience and in my capacity as a bishop, circumstances have not allowed me to carry out the ordinations in a manner which conforms in every detail with the letter of Canon Law.
Furthermore I declare that I agree with the words of His Holiness John Paul II of 6 November 1978 on the subject of the Pastoral Council, Vatican II: “The Council must be understood in the light of the whole of holy Tradition, and on the basis of the unvarying Magisterium of Holy Mother Church.”
As to the Novus Ordo Mass, I have never said that in its original Latin edition it was invalid per se.
An Agreement Suggested by the Cardinals and Experts
which would be Accepted Officially at the same time as the Document was signed
1. As to what concerns the Liturgy:
Freedom to use the Missal, Ritual, Pontifical and Breviary in the 1962 edition of Pope John XXIII.
The establishment by the hierarchy of special parishes for those who use the liturgical books of Pope John XXIII.
2. A declaration as to the nullity of Mgr. Lefebvre’s “suspension a divinis.”
3. Pontifical recognition for the Society of St. Pius X by the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy.
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre
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