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Dear friends and benefactors of
the Society of St. Pius X,
Over the past few weeks many of
you have had the opportunity to attend the conference given by Fr. Franz
Schmidberger, former superior general of the SSPX and current first assistant to
Bishop Fellay.
For those of you who were unable
to attend, we have dedicated much of this month’s report to an overview of his
excellent conference, which dealt with several very important issues concerning
our struggle for the faith.
From his conference and from
previous conferences given by Bishop Fellay it is quite clear that the superiors
of the SSPX are keeping to the course set by Archbishop Lefebvre which he made
clear in his declaration of 1974.
The Declaration of Archbishop
Lefebvre
November 21, 1974
We hold fast, with all
our heart and with all our soul, to Catholic Rome, Guardian of the Catholic
faith and of the traditions necessary to preserve this faith, to Eternal Rome,
Mistress of wisdom and truth.
We refuse, on the other hand,
and have always refused to follow the Rome of neo-Modernist and neo-Protestant
tendencies which were clearly evident in the Second Vatican Council and, after
the Council, in all the reforms which issued from it.
All these reforms, indeed, have
contributed and are still contributing to the destruction of the Church, to
the ruin of the priesthood, to the abolition of the Sacrifice of the Mass and
of the sacraments, to the disappearance of religious life, to a naturalist and
Teilhardian teaching in universities, seminaries and catechistics; a teaching
derived from Liberalism and Protestantism, many times condemned by the solemn
Magisterium of the Church.
No authority, not even the
highest in the hierarchy, can force us to abandon or diminish our Catholic
faith, so clearly expressed and professed by the Church's Magisterium for
nineteen centuries.
"But though we,"
says St. Paul, "or an angel from heaven preach a gospel to you besides that
which we have preached to you, let him be anathema" (Gal. 1:8).
Is it not this that the Holy
Father is repeating to us today? And if we can discern a certain contradiction
in his words and deeds, as well as in those of the dicasteries, well we choose
what was always taught and we turn a deaf ear to the novelties destroying the
Church.
It is impossible to modify
profoundly the lex orandi [law of prayer] without modifying the lex
credendi [law of belief]. To the Novus Ordo Missae correspond a new
catechism, a new priesthood, new seminaries, a charismatic Pentecostal
Church-all things opposed to orthodoxy and the perennial teaching of the
Church.
This Reformation, born of
Liberalism and Modernism, is poisoned through and through; it derives from
heresy and ends in heresy, even if all its acts are not formally heretical. It
is therefore impossible for any conscientious and faithful Catholic to espouse
this Reformation or to submit to it in any way whatsoever.
The only attitude of
faithfulness to the Church and Catholic doctrine, in view of our salvation, is
a categorical refusal to accept this Reformation.
That is why, without any spirit
of rebellion, bitterness or resentment, we pursue our work of forming priests,
with the timeless Magisterium as our guide. We are persuaded that we can
render no greater service to the Holy Catholic Church, to the Sovereign
Pontiff and to posterity.
That is why we hold fast to all
that has been believed and practiced in the faith, morals, liturgy, teaching
of the catechism, formation of the priest and institution of the Church, by
the Church of all time; to all these things as codified in those books which
saw day before the Modernist influence of the Council. This we shall do until
such time that the true light of Tradition dissipates the darkness obscuring
the sky of Eternal Rome.
By doing this, with the grace
of God and the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and that of St. Joseph and St.
Pius X, we are assured of remaining faithful to the Roman Catholic Church and
to all the successors of Peter, and of being the faithful dispensers of the
mysteries of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Many of you have, no doubt, heard
of an important upcoming event for the SSPX. This July will see the SSPX
superiors gathering for the next General Chapter, during which time the Superior
General for the next twelve years will be elected. We might well expect the
devil to cause agitation before such an important meeting. In anticipation of
this, our members have begun to recite certain prayers to ask for the guidance
of the Holy Ghost and the intercession of the Mother of God and our heavenly
patron. I encourage all of you to join us by saying these prayers each day.
- Prayer to Holy Ghost (Come, Holy Ghost)
- Invocation: "Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray
for us." (3 times)
- Invocation: "St. Pius X, pray for us."
Sincerely in the Sacred Heart of
Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Fr. John D. Fullerton |
