Speaking to his seminarians, Archbishop Lefebvre gives some comforting words on how to deal with the Church crisis.
A seminary conference given at St. Pius X Seminary in Econe, Switzerland on May 3, 1979
In this climate of divisions that are cropping up everywhere and are the work of the devil, we must above all avoid fruitless discussions. God knows that there are fruitless discussions among traditionalists. It is continuing, and it is only getting louder and more widespread. Maybe some of you have heard about the sorts of little pamphlets that are circulating against me, against my Letter No. 16, against my travels, my contacts with the pope and with Rome, haven’t you?
Personally, you know, it doesn’t matter much to me, but it is unfortunate when it comes from good friends, friends on whom you thought you could count and who sometimes say exactly the same thing as the worst of the progressives. Because I made these good friends treat me like a traitor, because, supposedly, I am making compromises, I am abandoning the Old Mass, handing the traditionalists over to Satan, etc.
Here’s what I mean: when I arrived in Chile, there were articles in the newspapers reporting that, “Cardinal Silva Henriquez says that Archbishop Lefebvre is a traitor and a Judas.” Well, there you have the worst of the progressives, don’t you, Cardinal Silva Henriquez of Chile, who was the friend of Allende [a Communist who became president of Chile—Ed.], and then in contrast others who call themselves enemies of these progressives who also say that I am a traitor just the same. Well, you have to think that they are beginning to agree and that they are—ultimately—closer to each other than they think.
In any case, if that can add something to the little merit that I have, so much the better. If it can add something... they say that I am Pilate. I believe that I have not yet betrayed you. But I think rather that this is like the men who spat on the face of Our Lord Jesus Christ. I really think that that is so, because it is vile to say that I prefer to avoid scandal than to defend the truth. You be the judges.
...[some are upset] by things that are being said now.... But they are all just fruitless discussions. Leave the responsibility to those who say that, all those who spread things of that sort, some of whom were raised in this house. Anyhow—Lord have mercy!—I cannot enter into those discussions.... the only thing that we have to do, what is essential to our work, is to continue quite simply the Tradition of the Church. The work, the building up of the Church by the catechism, by the sacraments, by preaching, plainly and simply.
And if by our prayers and our efforts we can manage to bring it about that instead of being only a few thousand, let’s say, traditionalists who are faithful to Tradition, if we can manage, by breaking the iron curtain that surrounds us and constrains us, to act in such a way that [there are] millions and millions of souls and perhaps hundreds of thousands of priests who again say and participate in the Sacrifice of the Mass according to Tradition, the Mass of All Time, I think that we are obliged in conscience to do all that we can to attain that. If we don’t, we don’t.
At least we will have done all that we can, but that is the only goal that I have in all these procedures that I will initiate with Rome. I have no other goal than to try to break this iron curtain that constrains us and act in such a way that millions of souls are saved because they will once again have the source of grace in the true Mass and in the true sacraments, in the true catechism, in the true Bible: well, I think that we will not have wasted our time. And so I ask you to pray for this. Next Tuesday I will be in a meeting with Cardinal Seper, and in the afternoon there will be a private conversation with him, and I will make every effort to try to convince him finally to act so that the Mass of Our Lord, the True Mass, will truly have a place of honor in the Church....
