The Church since Fatima is in the process of being transformed into a pile of spiritual ruins and its demolition is carried out especially by subversion and infiltration. Since the Council the Church fell into step with the world. We clearly see that the message of Fatima has not come to an end. During this month of October the doctrinal discussions with Rome will start.

Dear Friends and Benefactors,

The enthusiastic response to the Rosary Crusade we encounter throughout the world fills us with consolation and prompts us to take up this theme once again with you. If we are petitioning Heaven with this multitude of Aves, it is because the hour is indeed grave. We are sure of Our Lady’s victory because she herself foretold it, but the events that have been unfolding for nearly a century—since this triumph was announced at Fatima — oblige us to suppose that all kinds of other woes could yet befall mankind before this victory.

Yet the rules given at Fatima by the Mother of God were quite simple: if the world does not convert, it will be punished: “There will be a second war, more terrible than the first.” The world did not convert. And God’s answer was not long in coming. Since the Second World War, the world still has not converted. And if people think Russia has converted, they will have to explain to us in what it has converted, and to whom— economic liberalism?

Church turns into a pile of spiritual ruins

Almost one hundred years later, we observe that the world has surely not become better; quite the contrary. The war of the unbelievers rages harder than ever, but it has taken an unexpected turn: the demolition of the Church is being carried out especially by subversion, by infiltrating the Church. Our holy Mother the Church is in the process of being transformed into a pile of spiritual ruins while the exterior façade remains more or less intact, thus deceiving the multitude about its real condition. And it has to be admitted that this subversion acquired an unexpected increase of efficacy on the occasion of the Second Vatican Council. It doesn’t take an advanced degree in theology to figure this out; today it is an historical fact.

The Council: Church in step with the world

What part of the responsibility should be attributed to the Council itself? This is a difficult question, but it is clear that this Council was not without effect, and its consequences have been well and truly disastrous. Because of it, the Church fell in step with the world. “We, too, in fact, we more than any others, honor mankind,” said Paul VI at the Council’s conclusion. And the man-centered orientation of Vatican II was harped on by John Paul II. But this orientation is indeed odd for the Church of God, supernatural in its essence, having received from Our Lord Jesus Christ not only its constitution and means, but first and foremost its end, which is nothing else than the continuation of His own redemptive and salvific mission:

“Go into the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned.” (Mk. 16:15-16).

And now, here is the tragedy: the divine mission of the Church has been replaced by a purely human one. It is a great mystery that leaves one astounded. Salvation now comes second, to say the least.

Voice of the watchmen fell silent

Few men—very few men, unfortunately—understand that the terrible crisis of the Church since the Second Vatican Council is a chastisement more terrible than any other, for this time the catastrophe is spiritual: what is wounded, what is noiselessly killed in the midst of an indifference worse than death, are souls. The loss of grace in a soul is the most terrible harm that can happen to it because it makes no noise, it is not felt. And the voice of the watchmen has fallen silent. The call to conversion, to penance, to the flight from sin, temptations and the world has given way, if not to indulgence, then at least to sympathy with the world. There is a real will to make peace with the modern world.

The mission of salvation has given way to a new sort of humanitarian mission; it is a matter of helping men of every condition and religion to live well together on earth.

Message of Fatima has not yet come to an end

There is no doubt that everything connected in the message of the Blessed Virgin of Fatima, what is referred to as the Secret of Fatima, has not yet come to an end. Certainly, what we are living is per force part and parcel of the events that will end one day, eventually, with the triumph of Mary. What will happen? How will we recognize it? In any case, it will at least entail the conversion of Russia according to the very words of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In 1917 at Rome, the foes of God were celebrating the 200th anniversary of Freemasonry and the 400th anniversary of Protestantism with parades of special violence against the Holy See. The demonstrators boisterously proclaimed the reign of Satan over the Vatican and the Sovereign Pontiff. Maximilian Kolbe, still a seminarian, witnessed these painful events and said:

"This mortal hatred of the Church, of Christ, and of His Vicar on earth is not just an outburst of misguided individuals, but rather a systematic action that proceeds from the principle of Freemasonry: the destruction of all religion, but especially the Catholic religion."

Pisma Ojca Maksymiliana Marii Kolbego franciszkanina, Niepokalanow, maszynopsis, 1970; English tr. from The Immaculata Our Ideal, by Fr. Karl Stehlin (Warsaw, 2005), p. 39]…. The Immaculate will not yield to the advancing enemy

Is it possible that our enemies should deploy so much activity so as to attain superiority while we stay idle, or at best apply ourselves to prayer without getting to work? Might we not have more powerful arms—the protection of Heaven and of the Immaculate Virgin? The Immaculata, victorious and triumphant over all heresies, will not yield to the advancing enemy if she finds faithful servants obedient to her command: she will bring off new victories even greater than can be imagined. We have to put ourselves like docile instruments into her hands, employing all lawful means, getting the word out everywhere by the diffusion of the Marian press and the Miraculous Medal, and enhancing our action by prayer and good example.

Testimony of Fr. Pignalberi reported during the process of canonization.

He founded the Militia of the Immaculata just a few days after the October 13th apparition of Our Lady at Fatima, when the great miracle of the sun took place. It was in fact on October 16, with six fellow seminarians, that he consecrated himself to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the purpose of leading the whole world to God by the Immaculata.
Consecration to the Immaculata

One cannot but be struck by the affinity between the message of Fatima and the response of the Polish Franciscan while reading his act of consecration:

Pennance and devotion

Very dear faithful, it is in this same spirit that we launched the Rosary Crusade. But prayer is only a part of it: let us not forget the other two very important elements, penance and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. By mortification, we wish to make reparation for the insults given to Mary, and in union with her sorrowful Heart we wish to associate ourselves as closely as possible to the sacrifice of the Cross of our Lord, because by it our salvation is effected. Thus we are at the heart of the message of Fatima: “God wishes to introduce devotion to my Immaculate Heart.” Perhaps not enough emphasis is given to this aspect, which seems to us even more important than the consecration of Russia and which is the second condition indicated by Mary to the pope for her triumph: consecrate Russia and promote devotion to her Immaculate Heart.

Doctrinal discussions

In this month of October we are going to enter into a new phase in our relations with the Vatican, that of the doctrinal discussions. What is at stake is very important, and we recommend them to your prayers. Undoubtedly that also is a part of our Crusade, and obviously this intention is included in the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary we all desire. That also completely outstrips all our own powers, and it would be folly pure and simple to undertake such an enterprise were it not sustained by the power of the supernatural means such as prayer and penance.

We do not want to conclude this letter without also thanking you for your generosity, which enables our work to develop throughout the world. There is one thing, though, that slows us down: the harvest is abundant, but workers for the harvest are lacking. Our Lord has already said it and has shown the remedy: pray for vocations! How we should like to come to the aid of all the faithful who only have the Mass once a month, or only on Sundays, unable to benefit from normal pastoral care… Yet the good Lord has gratified us this year with 27 new priests, and we expect an even slightly larger number next year. But even that is not enough, so great is the demand worldwide.

You are deeply thanked for all your efforts. May God reward you with the abundant graces and blessings we implore on you all, your families, your children. May Our Lady of the Rosary, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, protect you.

† Bernard Fellay

On the Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, October 11, 2009

Rosary Crusades frees the Traditional Mass and the SSPX from the so-called excommunication. These acts of Pope Benedict XVI can be seen as a sign of good-will and as a step in the right direction although much still needs to be done in order to remedy the situation. A new Rosary Crusade of twelve million rosaries has been launched in order that Russia be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and that she will grant to the Church the grace of doctrinal fidelity.

Dear Friends and Benefactors,

Effects of Rosary Crusades

When we launched a new Rosary crusade during our pilgrimage to Lourdes last October, we were certainly not expecting such a quick answer from Heaven to our petition! Indeed, as it has happened with our first petition, which our good Mother in heaven answered so effectively through the intermediary of the Vicar of Christ and his motu proprio on the traditional Mass, the Blessed Virgin was pleased to grant us a second grace even more quickly during the same visit to Rome in the month of January when I presented the bouquet of 1,703,000 rosaries for the Sovereign Pontiff’s intentions, I received from the hands of Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos the decree remitting the “excommunications.”

These acts are signs of good-will and a step in the right direction

We had asked for that back in 2001 as a sign of the Vatican’s good will towards the traditional movement. For since the council everything that is or aspires to be traditional in the holy Church has been subjected to continual bullying and even exclusion. This treatment has obviously partially, and even totally, destroyed our confidence in the Roman authorities. So long as this trust is not partially re-established, as I said then, our relations will be minimal. Trust is not only a good sentiment, it is the fruit that results naturally when we recognize in these authorities pastors who have the good of what we call “Tradition at heart”. And our preliminary requests were formulated with this in mind. As a matter of fact, our position and our attitude toward the Holy See cannot be understood unless the perception of the state of crisis in which the Church finds itself is taken into account. It is not a question of a superficial event or a personal outlook. It is a question of a reality that exists independently of our perception that is acknowledged from time to time by these same authorities, and is verified time and time again by the events. This crisis displays complex and changeable aspects, which are at times profound and sometimes circumstantial, nonetheless we all suffer from it.

New liturgy and theology continue to exacerbate crisis

The faithful are especially afflicted by the ceremonies of the new liturgy which alas are quite often scandalous and also by ordinary preaching which takes moral stances in complete opposition with the Church’s centuries-old teaching and the example of the saints. Parents have very often had the profound sorrow to see their children lose the faith after having been confided to institutions of Catholic education, or to deplore their nearly total ignorance of Catholic doctrine for want of serious catechetical instruction. An incalculable number of religious have shown a loss of the evangelical spirit, especially that of renunciation, poverty, and sacrifice after the revision of their constitutions and their post-conciliar re-education, which had as an almost immediate consequence such a drop in vocations that several orders and congregations have been closing their convents one after another if they have not completely disappeared altogether. The situation of many dioceses is equally dramatic.

All of this forms a coherent whole and has not happened by chance, but came in the wake of a council which intended to reform and bring the Church up to date. We are accused either of seeing a crisis where none exists or of falsely attributing to the Council the undeniably disastrous and extremely serious results everyone can see, or else of taking advantage of the situation to justify a wrong attitude of rebellion or independence.

The Rupture

Yet when we take the writings of the Fathers of the Church, or of the Magisterium, or the liturgy, or theology through the ages, we find a unity to which we adhere with our whole heart. And this doctrinal unity is flagrantly contradicted, offended, and lessened in practice by current lines of conduct. We did not invent a rupture; it unfortunately exists, and one has only to see how some episcopates treat us even after the withdrawal of the excommunications to ascertain how deeply the moderns reject everything that savours of Tradition, to such a degree that it is impossible not to call this rejection a rupture with the past.

Effects of Bishop Williamson's remarks

Truly, we were as surprised by the violence of the reaction of the progressivists and of the Left in general toward us as we were by the publication of the decree of January 21. It is true that they found a golden opportunity in the unfortunate words of Bishop Williamson, which enabled them by an unjust amalgamation to ill-use our Society as a scapegoat. In fact, we were instrumentalized in a much more important battle: that of the Church, which rightly bears the name militant, against the wicked spirits in the high places as St. Paul says. And, we do not hesitate to inscribe our own short history into the great history of the Church, the history of this titanic wrestling for the salvation of souls announced in Genesis and described so strikingly in St. John’s Apocalypse. This contest often remains on the spiritual plane, but from time to time it descends from the level of spirits and souls to the corporeal plane and becomes visible, as in times of open persecution.

Where does the Pope stand?

In what has happened over the last few months, we must discern a more intense period in this battle. It is quite clear that the one who is ultimately being targeted is the Vicar of Christ in his effort to begin a certain restoration in the Church. People fear to see the head of the Church drawing nearer our movement; they are afraid of losing what was gained by Vatican II, and they are doing their best to neutralize this. What does the pope really think? Where does he stand? The Jews and the progressivists demand of him to choose between Vatican II and us…, so much so that to reassure them the Secretariat of State found nothing better than to set as a necessary condition of our canonical existence that we fully accept what we consider the principal source of the current problems and to which we have always been opposed… Nevertheless, they, like us, are bound by the anti-modernist oath and all of the Church’s condemnations. And so we do not agree to discuss Vatican II except in light of these solemn declarations (profession of faith, the anti-modernist oath) made before God and the Church. And if they seem incompatible, then obviously the novelties are wrong. We are relying upon the announced doctrinal discussions to bring about as much light as possible about these issues.

An incomplete and canonically imperfect situation

Taking advantage of the new situation after the decree on the excommunication, which did not change the Society’s canonical status, many bishops have tried to make us square the circle by requiring us to obey Canon Law to the letter in every particular as if our situation were perfectly in order, while they were at the same time denying our canonical existence. A German bishop has already announced that before the end of the year the Society would once again be outside the Church… What a rosy future to look forward to! The only viable solution, which is also what we had asked for, is an intermediary situation, which is perforce incomplete and canonically imperfect, but would be accepted as such without our being constantly accused of disobedience or rebellion, without our being subjected to untenable prohibitions. For, all things considered, the abnormal state of the Church, which we call a state of necessity, is proven yet again by the attitude and speech of certain bishops with respect to the pope and Tradition.

How will things unfold; we have not the least idea. We maintain our proposal to accept our present imperfect situation as temporary while beginning at last the announced doctrinal discussions in the hope that they will bear good fruit.

New Rosary Crusade of twelve million rosaries launched

But on this difficult path, and confronted with such violent opposition, we ask you, dear faithful, once again to have recourse to prayer. It seems to us that the time has come to launch a broad offensive, deeply anchored in the message of Our Lady of Fatima, to which she promised a happy outcome since she announced that in the end her Immaculate Heart will triumph. We ask her for this triumph by the means she herself requested: the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart by the Supreme Pastor and all the bishops of the Catholic world, and the propagation of the devotion to her Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. That is why, to this end, we desire to offer her between now and March 25, 2010, a bouquet of 12 million [five-decade] rosaries as a crown of as many stars around her person, accompanied by an equivalently important number of daily sacrifices, which we will take good care to look for first of all in the faithful accomplishment of our duty of state, and with the promise to propagate devotion to her Immaculate Heart. She herself presented this as the purpose of her apparitions at Fatima. We are deeply convinced that if we carefully carry out what she asks of us, we shall obtain very much more than all we could ever have dared to hope for, and especially that our salvation shall be ensured if we profit from the graces she has promised us.

Devotion to Mary to be fostered

Consequently, we also ask from our priests a particular effort to facilitate this devotion for the faithful by emphasizing not only the Communion of reparation on the first Saturdays of the month, but by encouraging the faithful to live in close intimacy with our Lady through the consecration to her Immaculate Heart. It would also be good to make better known and to delve into the spirituality of the great herald of the Immaculata, Fr. Maximilian Kolbe.

Our Society was consecrated to the Immaculate Heart twenty-five years ago. We wish to renew this happy initiative of Fr. Schmidberger by putting into it all our soul and fostering this spirit in our hearts. It stands to reason that we have no intention of commanding Divine Providence what to do, but we have learned from the examples of saints and Holy Scripture itself that great desires can hasten quite strikingly the designs of the good Lord. Thus we make bold to lay this intention before the Immaculate Heart of Mary, asking her to take you all under her maternal protection. May God bless you abundantly!

On the Feast of the glorious Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ,

† Bernard Fellay

Winona, April 11, 2009

Clarifying the ultimatum from Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos. In 2007 the traditional Mass is freed for all priests, but before the decree of excommunication is withdrawn, Cardinal Hoyos wants to impose conditions upon us. We launch a new Rosary Crusade to obtain the withdrawal of the decree of excommunication.

Dear Friends and Benefactors,

In this letter, I would have liked to give you first of all some news about the internal life of the Society. However, current events in the Church at large and especially concerning the developments in favor of Tradition compel us to dwell longer upon these topics of a more external nature, because of their importance. Once again, it seems to us necessary to tackle this subject, so as to express as clearly as possible something which might have caused some concern at the beginning of the summer. As the media related in a rather surprising manner, I must say, we did receive an ultimatum from Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos. But the thing is rather complex and needs to be clarified in order to be well understood. A glance back at recent past events will help us to grasp things a little more clearly.

1. Our Pre-conditions

From the beginning when Rome approached us and proposed some solutions, that is, at the beginning of 2001, we clearly stated that the manner in which Church authorities were treating the problems raised by those who desired to attempt the experience of Tradition with Rome did not inspire confidence in us. Logically we had to expect to be treated in like manner once the issue of our relationship with Rome would have been settled. Since that time, and in order to protect ourselves, we have been asking for concrete actions which would unequivocally show Rome’s intentions towards us: the traditional Mass for all priests, and the withdrawal of the decree of excommunication. These two measures were not sought directly in view of gaining some advantage for ourselves, but to re-instill into the Mystical Body a breath of traditional life, and thus, indirectly, help to bring about a sound rapprochement between the Society and Rome. The first responses were hardly engaging and were rather a confirmation of our misgivings: it was not possible to grant freedom for the Mass, because, in spite of the realization that the Mass had never been abrogated, some bishops and faithful thought it might be repudiation of Paul VI and of the liturgical reform…As for the excommunication, it would be lifted at the time of the agreement. In spite of this demurrer, we did not cut the slender thread of fairly difficult relations, aware as we were that what is at stake far exceeds our own plight. It is not a matter of persons, but of an attitude which for centuries has been that of all the members of the Church, and which remains ours, unlike the new spirit, called “the spirit of Vatican II.” And it is obvious for us that this new spirit is at the root, and is the main cause of the present misfortunes of Holy Mother Church. Hence, the basic motivation behind our actions and our relations with the Roman authorities has always been to do prudently all we can to bring about the return of the Church to what she cannot deprive herself of without rushing headlong to suicide. Our situation is very delicate: on the one hand, we recognize both the Roman authorities and the local bishops as legitimate. But on the other hand, we contest some of their decisions, because, in various degrees, they are opposed to what the Magisterium always taught and ordered. In this, there is no pretense on our part of setting ourselves as judges or of picking and choosing. It is nothing more than the expression of an extremely painful observation of a contradiction which goes against both our Catholic consciences and faith. Such a situation is extremely grave, and cannot be treated with levity. This is also the reason why we move only very slowly and with the utmost prudence. If we are obviously greatly interested in obtaining a situation which is concretely livable in the Church, the clear awareness of the much more profound key issue which we have just described, forbids us to place the two issues on an equal footing. It is so clear for us that the issue of the Faith and of the spirit of faith has priority over all that we cannot consider a practical solution before the first issue is safely resolved. Holy Mother Church always taught us that we had to be ready to lose everything, even our own life, rather than lose the faith. What is strange is that the blows are now coming from within the Church, and that is the stark reality of the drama through which we are living.

2. In 2007, One of the Pre-conditions was Fulfilled, the Motu Proprio

In 2007, the new Sovereign Pontiff Benedict XVI finally granted the first point we had requested, the traditional Mass for the priests all over the world. We are deeply grateful for this personal gesture from the pope. And it causes us a great joy, because we have a great hope that we can see in this a renewal for the whole Mystical Body. Yet, the motu proprio has become (because of the very nature of what it states and gives back, i.e., the traditional Mass), the object of the fight we mentioned earlier in this letter because the traditional worship is opposed to the cult which meant to be “new” the “Novus Ordo Missae”. It has become an occasion of fight between the progressivists, who give lip service to their full ecclesial communion while they more or less openly oppose the orders and the dispositions coming from the Sovereign Pontiff, and the conservatives, who consequently find themselves in a situation where they resist their bishops. So whom are we to obey? The progressivists know quite well that what is at stake is much more than a liturgical dispute. In spite of the efforts of the motu proprio to minimize opposition by affirming continuity, what is at stake is the very fate of a Council which meant to be pastoral, and which was applied in such a way that Paul VI already could speak of the “self-destruction of the Church.”

3 - Hope of a Rapid Fulfillment of Second Pre-condition

This first step of Rome in our direction gave us to hope that a second would soon follow. Some signs seemed to point this way. But, whereas we had long ago proposed the itinerary we had mapped out, it would seem that Rome has decided to follow another route. In spite of our reiterated request for the withdrawal of the decree of excommunication, and as it seemed that there was no longer any major obstacle to prevent the accomplishment of this act, we witnessed a sudden turn of events: Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos wants to impose upon us conditions before going any further, even though we had clearly said that we expected a unilateral act. Our attitude seems to him ungrateful towards the Sovereign Pontiff, and even worse: haughty and proud, since we continue to openly denounce the evils from which the Church is suffering. Our latest Letter to Friends and Benefactors particularly aroused his displeasure. This earned for us an ultimatum, the precise conditions of which we still have not yet been able to figure out. For either we accept the canonical solution, or we will be declared schismatic! When we take a stand this is interpreted as a delay, a voluntary procrastination. Our intentions and our good will to really discuss with Rome are doubted. They do not understand why we do not want an immediate canonical solution. For Rome, the problem of the Society would be resolved by that practical agreement; doctrinal discussions would be avoided or postponed. For us, each day brings additional proofs that we must clarify to the maximum the underlying issues before taking one more step toward a canonical situation, which is not in itself displeasing to us. But this is a matter of following the order of the nature of things, and to start from the wrong end would unavoidably place us in an unbearable situation. We have daily proofs of this. What is at stake is nothing more nor less than our future existence. We cannot, and will not leave any ambiguity subsist on the issue of the acceptation of the Council, of the reforms, of the new attitudes which are either being tolerated or fostered. Confronted with these new difficulties, we take the liberty of appealing once more to your generosity. Given the success of our first Rosary Crusade to obtain the return of the Tridentine Mass, we would now like to offer to Our Lady a new bouquet of a million rosaries (5 decades) to obtain the withdrawal of the decree of excommunication through her intercession. From November 1st until the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord, we will take it to heart to pray with renewed fervor that, in these difficult hours of history, the Holy Father may fulfill with fidelity his august functions in accordance with the wish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the good of all the Church. We are utterly convinced that such a gesture coming from the Sovereign Pontiff would have as profound an effect on the Mystical Body as the freedom of the traditional liturgy. Indeed, the excommunication did not cut us off from the Church, but it has driven away a good number of her members from the Church’s past and from her Tradition. And she cannot deprive herself of them without suffering serious harm. It is truly obvious that Holy Mother Church cannot ignore her past, since she has received everything and is still to this day receiving everything from her divine founder, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Through the excommunication, what has been censured and penalized is the very attitude which specified the combat of Archbishop Lefebvre, i.e., this relationship to the Church’s past and to her Tradition. Since then, because of this reprobation, many fear to come to the sources of living water which alone can bring back the good old days of Holy Mother Church. Yet, Archbishop Lefebvre did nothing more than adopt the attitude of St. Paul, to the extent that he requested that the following words be engraved on his tomb: “Tradidi quod et accepi”- I have handed down what I have received. Did not St. Pius X himself write that the “true friends of the Church are not the revolutionaries, nor the innovators, but the traditionalists”?

For this reason, dear faithful, we launch again this Rosary Crusade on the occasion of our pilgrimage to Lourdes for the 150th anniversary of the Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin. We thank the Mother of God for the maternal protection she extended over us during all these years, and especially for the twenty years since the Episcopal Consecrations. We entrust to her all your intentions for yourselves, your families and your work. To her we entrust our future and beg for this fidelity to the faith and to the Church without which no one can work out his salvation. I thank you wholeheartedly for your untiring generosity which enables us to continue the magnificent work founded by Archbishop Lefebvre. We ask our good Mother in Heaven to protect you and to keep you all in her Immaculate Heart.

† Bernard Fellay

On the feast of St. Anthony Mary Claret, 23 October 2008

The Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum has acknowledged that the Traditional Mass was never abrogated, nevertheless there has been no fundamental change in the Church`s new doctrinal orientations which are at the source of the ever-deepening crisis. The Society launches a Rosary Crusade for the Church`s return to Tradition which would provide a solid basis for a possible future agreement.

Dear Friends and Benefactors,

The SSPX's course after Summorum Pontificum

The motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, which acknowledged that the Tridentine Mass was never abrogated, raises a certain number of questions concerning the future of the relations of the Society of St. Pius X with Rome. Several persons in conservative circles and in Rome itself have made themselves heard, arguing that, since the Sovereign Pontiff had acted so generously and thus given a clear sign of his good will towards us, there would be nothing left for the Society to do but to “sign an agreement with Rome.” Unfortunately, a few of our friends were deceived by such an illusion. We would like to take the opportunity of this Eastertide letter to review once again the principles governing our actions in these troubled times and point out a few recent events which clearly indicate that, basically, nothing has really changed except for the motu proprio’s liturgical overture, so as to draw from all this the necessary conclusions.

The fundamental principle that dictates our action is the safeguarding of the faith, without which no one can be saved, no one can receive grace, no one can be pleasing to God, as the First Vatican Council states. The liturgical question is not paramount; it only becomes such inasmuch as it is the manifestation of an alteration of the faith and, consequently, of the worship due to God.

Cardinal Ratzinger's thought of the Second Vatican Council's new orientation

A notable change of orientation took place at Vatican II with regard to the Church’s outlook, especially on the world, other religions, the State, and even itself. These changes have been acknowledged by all, yet not all judged them in the same way. Until now, they were presented as being very profound, even revolutionary. One cardinal at the Council could even speak of “the 1789 Revolution in the Church.”

While still a cardinal, Benedict XVI phrased it thus: “The challenge of the sixties was to assimilate the best values expressed in two centuries of ‘liberal’ culture. These are values which, even if they originate outside the Church, can find a place, once purified and corrected, in her vision of the world. This is what was done.”(1) In the name of this assimilation, a new vision of the world and its components was imposed: a fundamentally positive vision, which dictated not only a new liturgical rite, but also a new mode of presence of the Church in the world: much more horizontal, and more concerned about social and temporal problems than those of a supernatural and eternal character…

New orientation towards other religions

At the same time, the Church’s relationship with the other religions underwent a transformation. Since Vatican II, Rome has avoided any negative or deprecatory observations about other religions. For example, the classic term of “false religions” has completely disappeared from ecclesiastical vocabulary. The words “heretic” and “schismatic,” which used to designate the religions closer to the Catholic Church, have also disappeared, except when they are occasionally employed, especially the term “schismatic,” to label us. The same holds true for the term “excommunication.” The new approach is called ecumenism, and contrary to what everyone used to think, it does not mean a return to Catholic unity, but rather the establishment of a new kind of unity that no longer requires conversion.

Now the Church is said to “subsist in” rather than “is” the Church of Christ

Christian denominations are considered under a new light, and this is especially clear for the Orthodox. In the Balamand Declaration, the Catholic Church officially pledged herself to not convert the Orthodox and to collaborate with them. The dogma “outside the Church there is no salvation,” recalled in the document Dominus Jesus, underwent a reinterpretation for the sake of the new vision of things.

They could not keep this dogma without broadening the limits of the Church, and this was accomplished by the new definition of the Church given in Lumen Gentium. The Church of Christ is no longer the Catholic Church, it subsists in her. They may say that it subsists only in her, but the fact remains that they claim that the Holy Ghost and this “Church of Christ” act outside the Catholic Church. The other religions are not without elements of salvation… The “Orthodox Churches” become authentic particular churches in which “the Church of Christ” is built.

Obviously, these new views completely changed the Church’s relations with the other religions. It is impossible to speak of a superficial change; for what they want to impose on the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ is a new and very profound mutation. John Paul II consequently was able to speak of a “new ecclesiology,” admitting an essential change in the part of the theology that treats of the Church. We simply cannot understand how they can claim that this new understanding of the Church is still in harmony with the traditional definition of the Church. It is new; it is radically different and obliges the Catholic to observe a fundamentally different behavior towards the heretics and schismatics, who have tragically abandoned the Church and scorned the faith of their baptism. From now on they are no longer “separated brethren,” but brothers who “are not in full communion”… and we are “deeply united” by baptism in Christ in an “inamissible”(2) union. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s latest clarification of the word “subsistit” is very revealing on this point. Even as it states that the Church cannot teach novelty, it confirms the novelty introduced at the Council…

The goal of the new evangelization is dialogue not conversion

Likewise for evangelization: the sacred duty of every Christian to respond to our Lord Jesus Christ’s command is at first upheld: “He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be condemned” (Mk. 16: 15-16). But then it is alleged that this evangelization only concerns the pagans, so that neither Christians nor Jews need be bothered. Very recently Cardinals Kasper and Bertone, addressing the controversy over the new prayer for the Jews, stated that the Church has no intention of converting them.

New idea of what Tradition is

Add to this the pope’s positions on religious liberty, and we can easily conclude that the combat for the faith has not slackened over these last few years. The motu proprio that introduces the hope of a change for the better in matters liturgical is not accompanied by the logically related measures that should follow in other domains of the Church’s life. All the changes introduced at the Council and in the post-conciliar reforms, which we denounce precisely because the Church had already condemned them, have been upheld. The only difference is that now they claim at the same time that the Church does not change… which amounts to saying that these changes are perfectly in line with Catholic Tradition. This confusion of terminology combined with the assertion that the Church must remain faithful to her Tradition might well be troubling to more than a few. So long as facts do not corroborate this new assertion, we must conclude that nothing has changed in Rome’s intention to pursue the conciliar course despite forty years of crisis, despite vacant convents, abandoned rectories, and empty churches. Catholic universities persist in their divagations, and the teaching of the catechism is uncertain while Catholic schools are no longer specifically Catholic: they have become an extinct species…

An agreement is not possible

For these reasons the Priestly Society of St. Pius X cannot sign an “agreement.” It definitely rejoices at the pope’s desire to reintroduce the ancient and venerable rite of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, yet it also observes the opposition— sometimes very tenacious—of entire bishops’ conferences. Without giving up hope and without impatience, we can see that the time for an agreement has not yet come.

This does not prevent us from continuing to hope, nor from following the line of conduct defined in the year 2000. We are still asking the Holy Father to annul the 1988 decree of excommunication because we are convinced that this would be a boon for the Church, and we encourage you to pray for this to happen. But it would be very imprudent and hasty to dash off ill-advisedly in pursuit of a practical agreement that would not be based on the Church’s fundamental principles, and especially the faith.

Rosary Crusade for Church`s return to Tradition

The new Rosary Crusade we have invited you to join, to pray that the Church recover and resume her bimillennial Tradition, calls for some clarification. This is how we envision it: let everyone pledge to recite daily a rosary at a fairly fixed time of day. Given the number of our faithful and their distribution throughout the whole world, we can be assured that at every hour of the day and night prayerful voices will be ascending to heaven, voices earnestly praying for the triumph of their heavenly Mother and the coming of the reign of our Lord “on earth as it is in heaven.”

† Bernard Fellay

Feast of St. Justin, April 14, 2008

With joy we receive the motu proprio of July 7th declaring that the traditional Mass was never abrogated. We see in it an answer from Heaven to our Rosary Crusade, not only because of its promulgation, but especially because of the extent of its overture towards the traditional liturgy. More than 5,000 priests worldwide have requested the training videos on the ceremonies of the Mass and the unanimous feedback is more than positive. What an increase of grace will occur for families and Society now that the traditional Mass may be freely celebrated. 

Dear Friends and Benefactors,

The traditional Mass was never abrogated. What joy, dear faithful, filled our hearts at the announcement of Pope Benedict XVI’s motu proprio of July 7th. We see in it an answer from Heaven to our Rosary Crusade, not only because of its promulgation, but especially because of the extent of its overture towards the traditional liturgy. Indeed, it is not only the missal that is declared to be Church law, but also other liturgical books.

It must be said that if the Mass was never abrogated, it has kept all its rights. In reality, the motu proprio grants nothing new to the Mass of All Time; it merely states that the Mass of St. Pius V, called “of John XXIII” for the occasion, is still in force despite its absence and an interdiction against its celebration lasting nearly forty years. The Tridentine Mass is still the Catholic Mass. The subtle and awkward distinction made between ordinary and extraordinary form of the same rite in speaking of the new and the old Mass will not fool anyone. In this domain, facts speak for themselves. What must be retained is the assertion of the Mass’s perpetual status as a universal law of the Catholic Church. The very word “law of the Church” excludes indults, permissions, or conditions. The bishops are trying to neutralize the salutary effect of the motu proprio by imposing binding and odious restrictions on its implementation.

They are certainly not following the Sovereign Pontiff’s will. It will be most interesting to watch the progress of this more or less open rebellion, which is largely hidden from public view. The history of the Church for the next several decades will be determined by this confrontation. Let us pray that the pope may have the strength to uphold and to impose what he has just restored to the Church.

It goes much further than the simple celebration of the Mass. The motu proprio leaves the door ajar to the former liturgical spirit in the sense that it enables it to develop. The liturgy comprises several elements, of which, obviously, the most important is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, but this treasure is set amongst an ensemble of liturgical books. Most of them, or at least the most well-known, are going to acquire a new life: the ritual that contains the rites used by the priest to confer the sacraments and blessings; at least part of the pontifical that contains the sacrament of confirmation; and the breviary. These liturgical books form a whole that will undoubtedly allow the traditional liturgical spirit to resume its place in the life of the Church.

The initial effects of the motu proprio are interesting, even if they are almost insignificant when one considers the Church at large. Still, some bishops are actively supporting the movement; and despite the difficulties imposed by other Ordinaries, priests are learning and beginning to celebrate the Holy Mass. More than 5,000 priests worldwide have requested the training videos on the ceremonies of the Mass produced by the Society. That shows that priests evidence a certain interest in the Mass of All Time!

What is noteworthy is the unanimous feedback we hear from priests who are discovering the Tridentine Mass. The following testimonies are not exceptional: “It’s two different worlds!” “Celebrating facing the altar or the people is altogether different!” “By celebrating this Mass, I’ve discovered what a priest is!”

These testimonials speak volumes, and are worth more than all the argumentations.

There is no point in asking them what they think about the holiness of the new rite… It is obvious that if the genuine freedom to celebrate were guaranteed not only in writing but in practice, the number of Tridentine Masses would immediately increase tenfold.

Whoever is aware of the titanic struggle that has been raging in our Catholic Church for at least two centuries, understands that a large part of the crisis in the Church revolves around the Mass. Two Masses, two theologies, two spirits: A new spirit was inoculated into the veins of the Mystical Body by means of the New Mass, “the spirit of Vatican II.” The traditional Mass, on the contrary, radiates the Catholic Spirit. The rite of St. Pius V entails an incomparable coherence of faith and morals. To the eyes of anyone who attends it seriously, it quickly becomes manifest that this Mass is demanded by the faith and provides substantial nourishment for it. Soon the logic of the faith becomes clear to the faithful soul: the just man lives by faith. We must live by our beliefs. The whole of Christian morality, with all its demands of self-denial, sacrifice, and detachment from the world, flows from it. God is holy, and whoever desires to approach Him must live a life of purity, for His holiness requires that the faithful soul put on the spotless garment of grace. The Mass not only opens the eyes of the faithful to this reality, the sublimity of the Christian vocation, but above all it gives them the means to live it. What an abundance of grace is poured out upon the faithful of “good will” at Mass, and even more upon the priest who celebrates it!

The radiant grace of the Mass calls for another sanctification: that of the Christian family, and ultimately all of society. If society was Christian for centuries, for more than a millennium in fact, this must be attributed above all to the Mass, this holy rite that was completed in its essential parts by the end of Antiquity. We are able to celebrate the so-called “Tridentine Mass”, or the “Mass of St. Pius V”, without difficulty using manuscripts of the tenth or eleventh centuries.

One cannot but be struck by the fact that the decadence, indeed the disappearance, of Christian society noticeably accelerated once the new rite was introduced. Who would only like to see in that mere chance or coincidence? We are still engaged in the titanic struggle for the salvation of souls which runs throughout the history of the human race. Let us hope that the advances made by the motu proprio do not cause us to lose sight of this much deeper view of things. The new situation is cause for hope, but also for redoubled courage to carry on the combat along the route traced by Archbishop Lefebvre.

The success gained by our rosary crusade, the zeal that we saw deployed, inspires us to renew our confidence in our heavenly Mother, not by a crusade a month or two long, but by a perpetual rosary crusade. Yes, may this prayer never cease to ascend heavenward for the good of the Church and the salvation of souls! We are convinced that Our Lady will not remain unmoved by such an onslaught of Ave Marias, and will hasten the Church’s recovery. In keeping with the fine sentiment of the Swiss General, General Guisan, who on seeing a soldier praying his rosary said: “How I should like to see Switzerland encircled by this chain!” we should like to encircle the entire Church with a chain of rosaries, to encircle her with an immense and continual string of Ave Marias for her defense and protection.

Thus, we are now launching a perpetual Rosary Crusade to obtain from Heaven not only that the decree of excommunication be withdrawn, but especially that Catholic Tradition be fully re-established in its due place—a crusade that will continue until the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

May all the saints come unto our aid, and may Our Lady bless you.

† Bernard Fellay

The Feast of All Saints, 1 November 2007

Should a Motu Proprio grant the permission to celebrate the Tridentine Mass it would certainly be of great benefit to the Church. Nevertheless, we should not expect a drastic and rapid improvement but rather a more gradual one because of the circumstances in which this permission would be received. Let us pray an do penance in order that more and more souls benefit from assistance at the Tridentine Mass which gives more glory to God.

Dear Faithful and Benefactors,

Possible Motu Proprio would allow Tridentine Mass

For a long time we have desired to send you this letter to give you some news of our dear Society. We have postponed sending it because we wanted to explain to you our position after the publication announced months ago of the motu proprio on permission to celebrate the Tridentine Mass. For, last October while we were gathering our spiritual bouquet for obtain­ing the liberation of the holy Mass, everything seemed to indicate an imminent publication of a motu proprio by Pope Benedict XVI concerning the question. But it seems that the staunch opposition of certain episcopates has constrained the Sovereign Pontiff to delay it “a little while.”

Our take on this “little while”

This “little while” is turning into a lengthy duration, so that we shall not wait any longer to share with you our take on the situation.

First, let me thank you warmly for your generous prayer. Our [General] Chapter had set the goal of offering a million rosaries by the end of October. The harvest was abundant indeed, as we were finally able to send the pope a spiritual bouquet of two and a half million rosaries. In our letter [to the pope] accompanying the bouquet, we indicated that we had wanted to show by this concrete act our will to collaborate in the rebuilding of the Church and Christendom.

It is obvious to us that this terrible crisis, which has afflicted the Church since the Second Vatican Council, will not come to an end without a vast effort and a very great determination on the hierarchy’s part, beginning with the Vicar of Christ. For, in the circum­stances, it will take overcoming the lethargy created by a bad habit; it will mean refuting errors and even heresies and other positions totally incompatible with the doctrine of the Church, the Bride of Christ, which have become embedded in the Mystical Body. A happy result cannot be hoped for without the powerful help of Heaven. That is why we turned, and are still turned, towards Our Lady and Our Lord to obtain an improvement in the Church.

Serious arguments made for the Tridentine Mass

Even if till now the desired result has not come about, nevertheless, in the month of October we were witness to a scene concerning the Mass of All Time that had not been seen in the last decade. For, contrary to the usual slogans, which attribute attachment to the Latin liturgy to nostalgia or a particular sensibility, this time serious arguments were being made: freedom for priests to celebrate the Tridentine Mass would create doctrinal problems, they tell us; this Mass endangers the achievements of Vatican II.

How could we not rejoice over this sudden discovery?

If we closely consider the arguments advanced this time, especially by the French episcopate, but also at Rome and in Germany, one notices that the bishops in fact are afraid of this Mass. Even Rome is being extremely careful not to disavow Paul VI’s reform while outlining the possibility of a return to the old Mass. The progressivists’ fear is such that it is necessary [for Rome] to go to great lengths and to argue forcefully for broadening the permission for priests to celebrate the Tridentine Mass. Certainly, that also explains why we have not yet received either thanks or a response to our letter from the Sovereign Pontiff or even the Vatican.

Seven conclusions about a possible Motu Proprio:

In the present situation, we can and we must draw some conclusions for the future, even if we do not yet know the exact terms of this much talked-about motu proprio.

1) If we consider how Roman documents have been received during the last decade by the episcopate and the faithful, we are obliged to say that what prevails is a very great indifference that has frustrated the measures recommended in them by Rome. Whether it be the place of laymen in the liturgy or, more recently, liturgical prescriptions; whether it concern the Declaration Dominus Jesus or the condemnation of abortion and euthanasia, one cannot fail to notice that the documents have had no real effect. One can well wonder even now whether the motu proprio will not have the same fate.

2) Nonetheless, since the document extends a favor rather than imposes a restriction, and since, moreover, it is addressed to persons who are very interested in the matter, it could well be that the expectations of the faithful and priests will awaken the hierarchies in some countries from their lethargy and disturb their resistance. This is what certain bishops are thinking of when they warn of a risk of liturgical anarchy in their dioceses. Considering the multiplicity of forms the New Mass has taken in reality, one might wonder where this new-found fear of “division” can be coming from. On the contrary, the traditional liturgy has always proven to be a factor of unity, especially because of its sacred language, Latin.

3) It is quite unlikely that this motu proprio will be followed by a mass movement. The priests and faithful who desire the old liturgy are proportionally few in number, and the others have lost the taste for it or the interest. It will take many serious efforts to restore to its place of honor in the whole Church the venerable and sacred rite that sanctified centuries and centuries of Christendom.

4) It will be, rather, a movement that will take off slowly, but which will slowly gain strength as the riches and beauty of the lost liturgy are rediscovered. Indeed, simply by granting the Tridentine Mass the right to exist (this Mass was never suppressed!), it will gradually impose itself since the New Mass cannot rival it.

5) At any rate, a broader permission to celebrate the old Mass is a blessing for the Church. Certainly, the publication of this document might engender a certain confusion “among us,” in the sense that it will create the impression of a rapproche­ment between the official Church and Tradition. When it happens, an appeal by Rome for renewed unity should be expected. For the SSPX, a greater liberalization of the holy Mass is a cause for rejoicing, a step towards the restoration of Tradition; however, the distrust born of years of self-defense and combat against “those who should be our pastors” will not be easily allayed. Indeed, the New Mass should be considered an effect much more than a cause of the crisis that has afflicted the Church for nearly forty years. In other words, our situation will be practically unchanged by the return of the old Mass so long as it is not accompanied by other absolutely essential rectifications.

6) Ecumenism, liberalism, and this spirit of the world that defiles the Bride of Christ are still the principles animating the Conciliar Church. These principles kill the spirit of God, the Christian spirit. We must understand more than ever the roots of the crisis in order to keep ourselves from rushing blindly into the new situation that would be created by the motu proprio. Before thinking of the measures that will need to be taken for our canonical regularization, an in-depth discussion of these questions is indispensable. We hope that Rome at last understands our demand to see any discussions preceded by what we call our preliminaries or preconditions, one of which would be met by the motu proprio. For thirty years we have refused to take the poison; it is for this reason that we have been rejected, and it is still the condition (more or less hidden) that Rome imposes for accepting us. Ecumenism, religious liberty, and collegiality remain the points of contention over which we will not budge.

7) What we have been saying up to this point is just speculation. The concrete circumstances, that is, the actual terms of the motu proprio, may require other distinctions and clarifications.

Entering Lent, let us remember that the gifts of Heaven are obtained by purifying prayer and penance, that God listens more willingly to the prayer of a pure and humble heart. Let us continue, then, our crusade of prayer, and join to it some voluntary penances to wrest from Heaven what the Churchmen find so hard to give to our souls. Even if God does not seem to listen to our supplications, let us not be discouraged. He is putting us to the test, and wants to make us earn even more merits.

† Bernard Fellay

On the First Sunday of Lent, February 25, 2007

The Church has been in a crisis since Vatican II because the priesthood has been slighted. This is one of the fundamental elements of this crisis. One of the most decisive points for the Church’s restoration is and will be the priesthood. Of all the churchmen of the 20th century, Archbishop Lefebvre was probably the one who understood this most clearly.

Dear Friends and Benefactors,

“By celebrating the old Mass, I discovered what the priest is.”

Several times lately we have received this moving testimony from priests who are getting to know us. This short sentence sums up the essence of the profound mystery that has struck the Church:

The Church has been in a crisis since Vatican II because the priesthood has been slighted. This is one of the fundamental elements of this crisis.

One of the most decisive points for the Church’s restoration is and will be the priesthood. Of all the churchmen of the 20th century, Archbishop Lefebvre was probably the one who understood this most clearly. In founding the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, he sought nothing but the restoration of the priesthood for the sake of restoring the entire Church, and to do this by re-establishing the intimate, unimaginably profound link that exists between the priest and the Mass.

The priest was the forgotten man of Vatican II, as Fathers of the Council have frankly admitted. In the Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, while entire chapters were dedicated to the bishops and especially to the laity, one of the great “discoveries” of Vatican II, only a few paragraphs refer to the priest, and when they do it is to subordinate him to the bishops or to the universal priesthood of the baptized.

As early as 1971, the International Theological Commission would say: “Vatican II modified the image of the priest in two regards. The Council treated of the common priesthood of all the faithful before treating of the ministerial priesthood…. Moreover, it highlighted the place of the bishop, the center of each particular Church and member of the universal college of bishops. The place of the priest in the Church became blurred.”^[1]

Loss of identity, an uncertain place in the Church…and yet the decree Presbyterorum Ordinis gives the same definition of the priesthood as the Council of Trent! But the context is such that another idea is put forward, that of the priest as preacher, as Martin Luther would have it, and not the priest as the one who offers the Sacrifice. This would lead Fr. Olivier, a recognized expert on the subject, to say about the crisis that befell the priesthood after the Council: “The real problem is so unusual in Catholicism that one can easily understand the instinctive blindness that has allowed a perception of the cause to be avoided: the will to be faithful to two Councils that completely diverge from each other is simply impossible.”^[2]

To this new presentation of the priesthood, a new Mass with an intentionally Protestant savor corresponds perfectly… The conjunction of these two elements, the definition of the priesthood and the new Mass, have sufficed to provoke the most severe crisis touching the priesthood in the Church’s entire history.

Let us say it quite simply: the priesthood has been cleverly denatured. The “president” (præesse), the “preacher” (prædicare) are indeed sacerdotal roles, but they are not the essential: this belongs to the “sacrificare” (the “sacrificer”).

Insofar as the priest has not understood that his reason for being is sacrifice, that his ordination ordains him for the offering of sacrifice, the sacrifice of Our Lord on the cross, the priest will not truly know what he is or who he is. The priest without the Mass, without sacrifice, is an eye that sees not, an ear that hears not, feet that do not walk.

The Church’s enemy will never better succeed in striking her heart; for the heart of the Church, that which communicates supernatural life to the entire Mystical Body, that which diffuses life throughout the whole organism, is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. For a Mass protestantized in the name of ecumenism, according to Bugnini’s very words, a corresponding priesthood was required…

The priests we quoted at the beginning of this letter have understood this in a lightening flash when they came in contact with the traditional Mass. And then, they tell me, they are both frustrated and happy. Frustrated, because “they” hid from them this treasure, they deprived them of it. Happy, inundated with happiness, at understanding the extraordinary grandeur of their vocation, the thrilling reality of their participation in the priesthood of Our Lord Jesus Christ “in persona Christi.” The priest is associated, immersed even, in the sacrificial act of Our Lord, Sovereign Priest, and he thus participates with his whole being, which he surrenders to Jesus, priest and victim, for the salvation of souls, for the redemptive act. All of this was made away with in the New Mass.

Poor priests who know not what they are!

Very dear faithful, we do not doubt that you rejoice with us when priests discover what they are. These are beautiful victories over the crisis in the Church, strongholds and citadels reconquered for the Church Militant, joining ranks with the new priests Divine Providence gives us every year. This year there will be seventeen, ten in this month of June, and seven in December. In such occurrences, we see accomplished in a tangible way one of the goals of our Society, whose end is the priesthood and everything related to it.

It should be the constant concern of the superiors to maintain among the members a lively will to accomplish and to reach this end. As in every society, from time to time it is necessary to stop and examine the road traveled, to verify if and how the end of the society is being pursued, and to consider the state of its members. This work is done particularly during the course of the “Chapter,” an assembly which for us, the SSPX, meets every twelve years. It is also on this occasion that the capitulants, numbering forty, elect the Superior General, who will lead the Society, assisted by his council, for the next twelve years.

We have no need to insist upon the importance of such an event for our Society. During the six months preceding the Chapter, our Statutes command us to offer prayers to obtain from Divine Mercy His grace, His light, and the help of the Holy Ghost.

We invite you to join our prayers and sacrifices by a novena, and if you can, by a day of fasting. The novena will commence on July 2. It consists of the prayer of the Veni Sancti Spiritus three invocations to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and one to St. Pius X. The day of fasting has been set for Friday, July 7.

Please receive our warmest thanks for your most touching and faithful generosity, without which the Society would not have the means to develop and to grow, a growth that is somewhat miraculous… We count on your prayers, and ask Our Lady to obtain for you by her intercession all the graces and spiritual support you need.

May God bless you abundantly.

† Bernard Fellay

The Feast of Pentecost, 4 June 2006

1. The Priestly Ministry [French] (Paris: Cerf, 1971).
2. Daniel Olivier, The Two Faces of the Priest [French] (Paris: Fayard, 1971), p. 106.

Celebrating the Centenary of Archbishop Lefebvre`s birth, let us examine the Archbishop`s answers to Cardinal Ottaviani`s questions concerning the situation in the Church. Liberal errors prior to the Second Vatican Council were condemned by the Popes but since the Council they are actually favored. Archbishop Lefebvre proposed a solution to the destruction of the Church which is still valid for the present.

Centenary of Archbishop Lefebvre's birth

In a few weeks we shall have the great joy of celebrating the centenary of the birth of our venerated founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. What an extraordinary figure this tireless missionary presents, missionary first of all in Africa to bring the Gospel, and then missionary in Europe and the whole world so that the Catholic Faith might be preserved whole and entire.We would like to dwell upon his magnificent stature and the profound virtues that characterized him throughout his life, but in light of the audience we had at the end of August with Pope Benedict XVI, we shall be content to reproduce a document that sheds light both on the wisdom and perspicacity of our founder, as well as upon the rule which guided him and which we, too, wholly espouse.

In 1966, thus just a year after the Council’s close, Archbishop Lefebvre responded to questions posed by the Prefect of the Holy Office, Cardinal Ottaviani, on the situation in the Church in the following letter:

Hierarchy infected with liberal errors

I dare say that the present evil seems to me something very much more serious than the negation or placing in doubt of any one truth of our faith. It manifests itself in our day by an extreme confusion of ideas, by the disaggregation of the Church’s institutions, religious institutes, seminaries, Catholic schools, and, finally, of what had been the Church’s permanent support; but it is nothing other than the logical continuation of the heresies and errors which have been sapping the Church for the last several centuries, especially since the liberalism of the 19th century, which has done its utmost, no matter the cost, to reconcile the Church and the ideas that culminated in the French Revolution. In the measure that the Church has opposed these ideas, which are contrary to sane philosophy and theology, it has advanced; on the contrary, the least compromise with these subversive ideas has provoked an alignment of the Church with civil law and risked making it a slave to civil society.

Popes continuously checked liberal errors

Moreover, each time groups of Catholics let themselves be attracted by these myths, the Popes courageously corrected them, instructed them, and, if need by, condemned them. Catholic liberalism was condemned by Pius IX, modernism by Leo XIII, Sillonism by St. Pius X, communism by Pius XI, and neo-modernism by Pius XII. Thanks to this admirable vigilance, the Church was strengthened and developed. Conversions of pagans and Protestants were very numerous, heresy was completely routed, and the States accepted legislation in keeping with Catholic doctrine.

Nevertheless, liberal errors spread

Nevertheless, groups of religious imbued with these false ideas succeeded in spreading them through Catholic Action, and in the seminaries thanks to a certain indulgence on the part of bishops and the toleration of certain Roman dicasteries. It was from among these priests that bishops were soon to be chosen.

Vatican II schemas of the preparatory commission discarded

It is in this context that we must situate the Council, which, through the work of the Preparatory Commission, was preparing to proclaim the truth in the face of these errors in order to make them disappear for a long time from the Church’s midst. It would have spelled the end of Protestantism and the beginning of a new, fruitful era of the Church.

But this preparation was odiously rejected in order to make way for the worst tragedy the Church has ever suffered. We have witnessed the marriage of the Church with liberal ideas. It would be to deny the evidence and to shut one’s eyes not to affirm courageously that the Council allowed those who profess the errors and tendencies condemned by the Popes named above to legitimately believe that their doctrines were henceforth approved.

Innovations of Vatican II

One can and one unfortunately must affirm that, in a general way, when the Council innovated, it shook the certitude of the truths taught by the authentic magisterium of the Church as belonging definitively to the treasure of Tradition.

Whether it be the transmission of the bishops’ jurisdiction, the two sources of Revelation, the inspiration of Scripture, the necessity of grace for justification, the necessity of Catholic baptism, the life of grace among heretics, schismatics and pagans, the ends of marriage, religious liberty, the last things, etc.: on all these fundamental points, the traditional doctrine was clearly and unanimously taught in Catholic universities. Now, numerous Conciliar texts on these truths henceforth allow doubts.

Consequences of these innovations

The consequences have been rapidly drawn and applied to the life of the Church:

Doubts about the necessity of the Church and the sacraments lead to the disappearance of priestly vocations.

Doubts about the necessity and the nature of the “conversion” of every soul lead to the disappearance of religious vocations, the ruin of traditional spirituality in the novitiates, and the futility of the missions.

Doubts about the legitimacy of authority and the duty of obedience provoked by the exaltation of human dignity, the autonomy of conscience, and of freedom shake all societies starting with the Church, religious societies, the dioceses, civil society, and the family.

The normal result of pride is the burgeoning of the concupiscence of the eyes and of the flesh. Perhaps one of the most frightful observations to be made about our epoch is to note to what a level of moral degradation most Catholic publications have descended. They speak without the least reticence about sexuality, birth control by any means, the legitimacy of divorce, of co-education of dating, of dances as a necessary part of Christian education, of priestly celibacy, etc.

Doubts about the necessity of grace in order to be saved provoke the undervaluing of baptism and its postponement, and the abandonment of the sacrament of penance. Moreover, this especially involves an attitude of priests and not of the faithful. The same goes for the Real Presence: it is the priests who act as if they no longer believed by hiding the Sacred Host, by suppressing all marks of respect towards the Blessed Sacrament and all the ceremonies in Its honor.

Doubts about the necessity of the Church as the unique source of salvation and about the Catholic Church as the only true religion originating in the declaration on ecumenism and religious liberty, destroy the authority of the Church’s magisterium. Indeed, Rome is no longer the unique and necessary “Magistra Veritatis”.

We can say that Vatican II actually favors liberal errors

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

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

Solution to the destruction of the Church recommended by Archbishop Lefebvre

Here are the solutions recommended by Archbishop Lefebvre:

Let the Holy Father surround himself with vigorous defenders of the Faith; let him designate them in the important dioceses. Let him deign, by important documents, to proclaim truth, pursue error without fear of contradictions, without fear of schisms, without fear of questioning the pastoral dispositions of the Council.

May the Holy Father deign: to encourage the bishops to uphold faith and morals, each in his respective diocese, as befits every good pastor; to support the courageous bishops, encouraging them to reform their seminaries and to restore studies according to St. Thomas; to encourage the general superiors to uphold in the novitiates and communities the fundamental principles of Christian asceticism, especially obedience; to encourage the development of Catholic schools, a doctrinally sound Catholic press, associations of Catholic families; and, finally, to reprimand the instigators of errors and reduce them to silence. The Wednesday allocutions cannot replace encyclical letters, mandates, and letters to bishops.

“Undoubtedly, it is bold of me to express myself in this way! But it is from a burning love that I write these lines, love of God’s glory, love of Jesus, love of Mary, love of the Church and of the Successor of Peter, Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ….

Everything has been said, and even today there is nothing to add or remove from this remarkable analysis of the logical consequences of the Council, replaced in its historical context, and of the reforms that were then on the horizon, and even of the depth of the crisis which had struck the Church and from which she has still not escaped, held fast by the principles with which the Council and the popes have bound her.

Rome and the “SSPX” problem

We think quite frankly that the solution to the problem that the Society creates for Rome is intimately linked to the resolution of the crisis which has struck the Church. The day that the authorities again look with a benevolent eye and with hope upon the Church’s past and her Tradition, they will be able to get beyond the rupture caused by the Council and to be reconciled with the eternal principles on which the Church has been built for twenty centuries; they will be able to draw strength and to find the solution to the crisis. And then there will no longer be a Society of Saint Pius X “problem”.

That is the reason for our discussions with the Holy See. That is the fundamental problem. The new Mass and the Council are just the tip of the iceberg that has struck the barque of the Church; the spirit of the Council proceeds from liberalism, from Protestantism, and, ultimately, from the revolt against God which will mark the history of men until the end of time. What would be the point of an accord that would consist in letting oneself be sunk by the iceberg.

We heartily thank you for all your prayers and generous sacrifices. All of that is very precious to us. In our visits to Rome and in all our activities, we rely very much upon them. Please be assured in return of the seminarians’ prayers and ours at the foot of the altar in thanksgiving for your unceasing generosity.

May Our Lord’s sacrifice be your daily support! May the Immaculate Heart of Mary be your protection and refuge. With all my gratitude, I bless you.

† Bernard Fellay

On the Feast of St. Michael, September 29, 2005