12-06-2020, 06:21 AM
Testimony of Fr. Victor-Alain Berto, the private theologian of Archbishop Lefebvre at the Second Vatican Council:
As a complement to what Fr. Berto speaks of [above] in reference to the extensive knowledge of theology of Archbishop Lefebvre, it is interesting to note that the Archbishop held two doctorate degrees:
Archbishop Lefebvre had:
- a pre-Vatican II Catholic formation
- two doctorate degrees – one in philosophy and one in theology
- an anti-modernist, anti-liberal, anti-revolutionary formation by the great Fr. Le Floch*
He truly is the best guide and source to go to in this crisis in the Church!
*About Fr. Le Floch:
“Fr. Henri Le Floch was a teacher under whom one would give his eye-teeth to be formed. Thoroughly Catholic, thoroughly committed to the scholasticism of St. Thomas, thoroughly anti-liberal and anti-Modernist, thoroughly imbued with the Roman school of theology, and with the competence to convey these truths so they be central to one's life, Fr. Le Floch trained his men. Archbishop Lefebvre readily admitted that were it not for the solid formation he received from Fr. Le Floch, he too might have succumbed to the creeping liberalism of the age.” (John Vennari, article in The Angelus called,“Marcel Lefebvre, The Biography,” August 2005)
Archbishop Lefebvre in his own words:
- “He [Fr. Le Floch] was the one who taught us what the popes were to the world and the Church, what they had taught for a century and a half - against liberalism, modernism and Communism, and the whole doctrine of the Church on these topics. He really made us understand and share in this battle of the popes to preserve the world and the Church from these scourges which plague us today. That was a revelation to me.” (Bishop Tissier de Mallerais, Marcel Lefebvre, The Biography p. 36)
- “Fr. Le Floch made us enter into and live the history of the Church, this fight that the perverse powers take to our Lord. We were mobilized against this dreadful liberalism, against the Revolution and the forces of evil which were trying to overcome the Church, the reign of our Lord, the Catholic States, and the whole of Christianity.” (Marcel Lefebvre: The Biography, Bishop Tissier de Mallerais, pp. 36-37)
- "I will never thank God enough for allowing me to know that truly extraordinary man." (Marcel Lefebvre: The Biography, Bishop Tissier de Mallerais, p. 35)
Quote:I say this in the presence of God: I had the very great and undeserved honor of being his theologian. Sworn confidentiality prevents me from speaking about the work that I did under him, but I betray no secret by telling you that Archbishop Lefebvre is a theologian, and by far superior to his own theologian, and God grant that all the [Council] Fathers might be theologians to the same degree as he is! He has a perfectly sure and refined theological habitus, to which his very great devotion to the Holy See adds that connaturality that allows him, even before discursive thinking intervenes, to discern intuitively what is and what is not compatible with the prerogatives of the Rock of the Church.
He in no way resembles those [Council] Fathers who, as one of them had the gall to boast publicly, used to take from the hands of a peritus [expert], in the car that was bringing them to St. Peter’s, the ‘ready-made’ text of their intervention in aula [in the Council Hall]. Not once did I submit to him a memorandum, a note, or an outline, without him reviewing, recasting, rethinking and sometimes rewriting them from start to finish, by his own personal, diligent work. I did not ‘collaborate’ with him; if the word were English I would say that I really ‘sublaborated' with him [i.e., worked under his supervision], in keeping with my status as a private theologian and his honor and dignity as a Father of an Ecumenical Council, a Judge and Doctor of the Faith together with the Roman Pontiff.” (January 3, 1964) Source
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As a complement to what Fr. Berto speaks of [above] in reference to the extensive knowledge of theology of Archbishop Lefebvre, it is interesting to note that the Archbishop held two doctorate degrees:
Quote:"Le 21 septembre 1929, Marcel Lefebvre est ordonné prêtre par Mgr Liénart en la chapelle Notre-Dame du Sacré-Cœur à Lille. Il revient ensuite à Rome pour préparer son doctorat en théologie, tout en faisant office de grand cérémoniaire au séminaire.Déjà titulaire d'un doctorat en philosophie, il obtient le doctorat de théologie le 2 juillet 1930."
"On September 21, 1929, Marcel Lefebvre was ordained a priest by Mgr. Liénart in the chapel of Notre-Dame du Sacré-Cœur in Lille. He then returned to Rome to prepare his doctorate in theology, while serving as master of ceremonies at the seminary. Already holding a doctorate in philosophy, he obtained his doctorate in theology on July 2, 1930."
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Archbishop Lefebvre had:
- a pre-Vatican II Catholic formation
- two doctorate degrees – one in philosophy and one in theology
- an anti-modernist, anti-liberal, anti-revolutionary formation by the great Fr. Le Floch*
He truly is the best guide and source to go to in this crisis in the Church!
*About Fr. Le Floch:
“Fr. Henri Le Floch was a teacher under whom one would give his eye-teeth to be formed. Thoroughly Catholic, thoroughly committed to the scholasticism of St. Thomas, thoroughly anti-liberal and anti-Modernist, thoroughly imbued with the Roman school of theology, and with the competence to convey these truths so they be central to one's life, Fr. Le Floch trained his men. Archbishop Lefebvre readily admitted that were it not for the solid formation he received from Fr. Le Floch, he too might have succumbed to the creeping liberalism of the age.” (John Vennari, article in The Angelus called,“Marcel Lefebvre, The Biography,” August 2005)
Archbishop Lefebvre in his own words:
- “He [Fr. Le Floch] was the one who taught us what the popes were to the world and the Church, what they had taught for a century and a half - against liberalism, modernism and Communism, and the whole doctrine of the Church on these topics. He really made us understand and share in this battle of the popes to preserve the world and the Church from these scourges which plague us today. That was a revelation to me.” (Bishop Tissier de Mallerais, Marcel Lefebvre, The Biography p. 36)
- “Fr. Le Floch made us enter into and live the history of the Church, this fight that the perverse powers take to our Lord. We were mobilized against this dreadful liberalism, against the Revolution and the forces of evil which were trying to overcome the Church, the reign of our Lord, the Catholic States, and the whole of Christianity.” (Marcel Lefebvre: The Biography, Bishop Tissier de Mallerais, pp. 36-37)
- "I will never thank God enough for allowing me to know that truly extraordinary man." (Marcel Lefebvre: The Biography, Bishop Tissier de Mallerais, p. 35)
"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