ROME AND THE ARRANGEMENTS. MONS. MARCEL LEFEBVRE. (CONTINUATION

 

II.2.  Rome

 

¨ Reconciliation and non-recognition of Tradition as Bishop Lefebvre wanted

 

 “On June 2, I wrote to the Pope again: it is not necessary to continue the conferences and contacts.  We do not have the same goal.  You want to unite and reconcile and we want to be recognized as we are.  We want to continue the Tradition, as we do. "  (Archbishop Lefebvre, Fideliter n ° 70 p. 4)

 

 “As we talk about reconciliation, Archbishop Lefebvre just wants to hear about recognition.

 

 The difference is not small.  Reconciliation involves a reciprocal effort, as well as the admission of past mistakes.  Archbishop Lefebvre affirms that the whole Church is wrong and that he, Archbishop Lefebvre and his followers are always right. "  (Cardinal Gagnon, July 31, 1988, Avvenire)

 

¨ Gather all the traditionalists in Rome

 

 “Everything that has been granted to them has been granted only with the objective of making all those who adhere to or are linked to the Fraternity detach themselves from it and submit to Rome.  I have had the opportunity to see at least three letters that Bishop Perl sent in response to the people who wrote to him.  It is always the same.  It is absolutely necessary to make an effort with those who have not understood the need to join the Pope and the Council.  It is a pity, he writes, to note that there were no more demonstrations. "  (Archbishop Lefebvre, Fideliter, n ° 79, January-February 1991, p. 5.)

 

¨ Full ecclesial communion that includes the collaboration of the protesters under the direction of the bishops

 

 diocesan and that determines the composition of the Roman commission.

 

Full ecclesial communion

 “On the freedom of action of the local bishops in relation to the Ecclesia Dei Commission, Cardinal Mayer recalled what the Motu proprio of July 2 (n ° 5) said.  The Commission has the responsibility, explained the cardinal, to collaborate with the bishops, with the dicasteries of the Roman Curia and interested circles, with the aim of facilitating the full ecclesial communion of priests, seminarians, communities or religious taken individually, that until now were linked in various ways to the Fraternity founded by Archbishop Lefebvre…”(Christian Family, November 3, 1988)

 “It is evident that, far from trying to stop the application of the reform undertaken after the Council, this concession aims to facilitate ecclesial communion for people who feel linked to these liturgical forms.  "(Audience of the Holy Father with the religious of the Abbey of Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux", Osservatore romano, October 2, 1990) What does this full communion mean?  The following is the manifest.  (With the Motu proprio "Tradicionis Custodes" the diocesan bishops were already granted the much desired authority to determine the formation of new groups of the tradition, the ordination of the priests of the groups already adhered to Eclesia Dei as the case of the San Pedro Fraternity that does not have its own bishops, not the Neo Fraternity or Opus Dei)

 

Obedience

 "It is in the name of obedience to the Vicar of Christ that we ask you for a public act of submission, to repair what your writings, your words, your attitude are offensive towards the Church and her Magisterium."  (Paul VI, Letter to Archbishop Lefebvre, June 29, 1975, cited by J. Madiran, The savage condemnation of Archbishop Lefebvre) (Bishop Lefebvre did not perform that public act of submission as Bishop Thuc did when he consecrated to the bishops of Palmar de Troya: Because Monsignor Thuc did this without a mandate (permission) from Rome, on September 17, 1976, Paul VI “excommunicated him.” So Archbishop Thuc immediately “repented” and resigned to what he had done in Spain, and Paul VI lifted his "excommunication".)

 

 Nothing has changed since then.  Archbishop Lefebvre responded: “We must admit that the trick was played well and Satan's lie was used wonderfully.  The Church will destroy itself through obedience.  (…) It ensures that those who keep the Catholic faith are condemned by the same people who must defend and spread it. “ (Archbishop Lefebvre, October 13, 1974, Le coup de maître de Satan, ed. San Gabriel, p. 6)

Apostolate under the direction of the bishops

 The Archbishop of Avignon explains to his priests that the Pope has granted the Benedictine monastery of Barroux "full reconciliation with the Apostolic See with the possibility of using the liturgical books in force in 1962 and developing a pastoral influence through the works. ministries currently assumed, taking into account canons 679-683 which refer to organized collaboration between religious institutes and the secular clergy and to the coordination of all apostolic works and activities under the direction of the diocesan bishop (can 680). » (Letter from Archbishop Bouchex, Archbishop of Avignon, to the priests of his diocese, August 17, 1988)

 It is, therefore, to a close and daily dependence to which canon 680 submits the monastery of Barroux:

 “Between the various institutes and also between them and the secular clergy, that an organized collaboration be fostered, as well as, under the direction of the diocesan bishop, a coordination of all apostolic works and activities, keeping safe the character, the purpose of each institute and the founding laws. “ (New Code of Canon Law, 1983)

 

 The Fraternity of Saint Peter is constituted as a clerical society of apostolic life of pontifical right.  However, as in the case of the Barroux monastery, this in no way means independence from the bishops to be free from their deleterious influence.

 “To promote the necessary unity of the Church, the members of the Fraternity of Saint Peter will follow with special diligence their communion with the diocesan bishop and the presbytery, according to the norm of canons 679-683.  In the same way, they will observe in the exercise of the pastoral the prescriptions of the law, in particular those that refer to the valid and licit celebration of the sacraments of penance and marriage, as well as the annotations that are transcribed in the books parish according to canon 535, § 1. “ (Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, October 18, 1988, Augustine, Cardinal Mayer, president).  The same goes for the Good Shepherd Institute.  (see below VI) (Currently these provisions already apply also to the Neo Fraternity, unfortunately in terms of the diocesan bishop, confessions in the modernist Churches and to the marriages that the Congregation performs where the modernist parish priests must be present)

Composition of the Roman commission

 “This Commission is an organism of the Holy See at the service of the Fraternity and of the different organs with which it will be necessary to deal in order to establish and consolidate the work of reconciliation.  Furthermore, it is not she but the Holy Father who, ultimately, will make the decisions: therefore, the question of the majority does not arise; the interests of the Fraternity are guaranteed by their representation on the Commission, and the fears that you have expressed in relation to the other members do not have to persist, since the election of these members will be made by the Holy Father himself. “ (Letter from Cardinal Ratzinger to Archbishop Lefebvre, May 30, 1988)

 

¨ It is more than a matter of ritual: a whole conception of the Church

 

 “In reality, if Bishop Lefebvre did not accept the proposed protocol, it is precisely because he suddenly understood its true meaning.  "They wanted to deceive us," he said equivalently.  It meant: “They wanted us to accept the Council.  This shows how wrong it would be to reduce this painful matter to a matter of Latin or ritual, or even a protest against certain abuses.  It is a whole conception of the universal Church and the particular Church, of the episcopal ministry and of the ministry of Peter, which is questioned here. “ (Cardinal Decourtray, Address to the Plenary Assembly of the Bishops of France, Lourdes, October 26, 1988, DC n ° 1973, p. 22)

 “The fundamental question is not a question of Latin, not even of liturgy, important as it may be.  What is at stake is the mystery of the Church. “(Archbishop Jullien, Archbishop of Rennes, Le Choc du mois, December 10, 1988) (See also above, I 4)

 

¨ In this context there are two trends

 Or bring the assembled back to the New Mass and the Second Vatican Council, excluding any setbacks.

 

 Or integrate Tradition (with the old Mass) in the pluralistic and evolutionary space: "The ancient Roman rite preserves its citizenship in the Church within the multiformity of Catholic rites, both Latin and Eastern."  (Cardinal Castrillón-Hoyos, homily of June 24, 2003 during a mass celebrated according to the ancient rite)

 Tradition will be only one form among others of spirituality, one form among others of apostolate: freedom ... ¨ We must think like all bishops, recognize the orthodoxy of the New Mass and adhere to that of the Second Vatican Council

 "Everything must coincide with what the bishops think:" Cardinal Ratzinger said openly when responding to the great Frankfurt daily Die Welt that questioned him after the consecrations: It is inadmissible and we cannot accept that there are groups of Catholics in the Church who do not submit to what bishops in the world generally think. "

 (Archbishop Lefebvre, Fideliter, n ° 66, November-December 1988, p. 11)

Celebrate the New Mass:

 Here is an example given by Cardinal Ratzinger.  For example, in Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet, Monsignor, when the protocol will be signed, that the matter will be resolved, it is obvious that Saint-Nicolasdu-Chardonnet is not going to stay as it is now.  Why?  Because Saint-Nicolas is a parish of Paris and depends on Cardinal Lustiger.  Therefore, it will be absolutely necessary that in the parish of Saint-Nicolas-du-Chardonnet there is a new mass regularly, every Sunday. “(Archbishop Lefebvre, Press Conference, Ecône June 15, 1988, Fideliter June 29-30, 1988, p. 17) Undoubtedly this same fate awaits the Neo Fraternity, for now it seems impossible, but not for long. if they continue with the fervent desire to be recognized by Modernist and apostate Rome.

Adhere to the Second Vatican Council:

 “As for those who, not without merit, rejected the schismatic act of June 30 and asked for reconciliation, it is clear that they must, with our kind and prayerful help, advance confidently, patiently, but demandingly, on the path of true adherence to the Council in its entirety. “(Cardinal Decourtray, Address to the Plenary Assembly of the Bishops of France, Lourdes, October 26, 1988, DC n ° 1973, p. 22)

 In the Benedictine monastery of Flavigny several things were imposed:

 “In the first place, the adoption, for the celebration of Mass, of the said rite of Paul VI.  During the canonical visitation made to the monastery by Dom Prou ​​and Father Roualet, Vicar General of the Diocese of Dijon, each monk signs the letter from Cardinal Ratzinger to Archbishop Lefebvre (whom the latter has always refused to sign) on the acceptance of the legitimacy of the rite of Paul VI and of the Council.  This makes it possible to regularize the ordinations carried out by Bishop Lefebvre, a sign that reconciliation has been achieved.  Finally, at the request of Cardinal Ratzinger, Bishop Balland organized a series of sessions in the monastery on the Second Vatican Council.  (Religious Affairs in the World, April 1988) (See also above I 4)

 

¨ Fidelity to the Living Tradition

 The Motu Proprio, the declarations of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, as well as those of the Bishops, have one voice to praise the living Tradition.  We will see what meaning to give it.  (see below in IV, 5)

 The reasons that push them to this agreement with Rome are the following: ¨ They do not want to fully follow the Tradition.  Fully following Tradition consists of preserving the faith, denouncing errors, keeping the old Mass for reasons of faith, rejecting the Council for its opposition to the reign of Jesus Christ.

 · For most rallies, celebrate the Mass, the sacraments and the catechism only “What we ask from the beginning (Mass of Saint Pius V, catechism, sacraments, all in accordance with the rite of the secular Tradition of the Church) It was granted to us, without doctrinal counterpart, without concession, without denial.  »(Dom Gérard, August 18, 1988) D15

 “Give us back the Scriptures, the Catechism, and the Mass!

 This was our letter to Pope Paul VI in 1972. This is our letter to Pope John Paul II in 1988.»  (J. Madiran, Itineraries, October 1988)

 Archbishop Lefebvre and the bishops have already given the answer: it is not about rite or mass, but about doctrine, principles and, more profoundly, philosophy.

Focus on the essentials: the Mass

 Others argue that it is necessary to focus on what is essential: the mass.  In fact, the most important thing is to keep the faith; now, through the Mass, we receive the graces that allow us to keep the faith;  Therefore, the main thing is to keep the Holy Mass

 It is true that the Mass gives the graces that allow us to keep the faith.  But one cannot keep the faith without fighting against errors: therefore, "this abhorrence of error is the touchstone that recognizes the love of truth."  (The man, Perrin 1941, p. 214) Consequently, attendance at Mass always gives thanks and the spirit of fighting against errors; if the fighting spirit is not present it is because then these graces are badly received.

We have no lights to judge the Pope

 furthermore, they say, we do not have the illustration to judge the Pope for the mistakes he would commit; God alone is the judge.  As good children we must hide the miseries of our Holy Father, in imitation of the children of Noah who hid the shame of his father.  Let's not add scandal after scandal.

 There is judging and judging: judging the conformity or deformity of a person's words and actions in relation to the truth or divine law is within the reach of all who have studied his catechism.  As for judging secret dispositions and hidden intentions, that does not belong to us: it is reserved for God.  Let us be careful to discern the objective: words and deeds, and the subjective: intentions.

 When the wolf is in the fold, the real scandal is not unmasking wolf!  The real scandal is not caring for the good of God, his honor and the good of the sheep who must protect themselves from the wolf.  The scandal continues to do nothing to avoid its influence.

¨ Be in obedience

 Comply!  comply!  Roman authorities have repeatedly told Archbishop Lefebvre.

 Some have thought that obedience to current authorities was compatible with fidelity to Tradition.

 “We take up the challenge and continue our journey in silence, enjoying a status capable not only of remaining faithful to our liturgical tradition with the blessing of the Church, but also, God willing, of serving as a link between these two inalienable requirements: Tradition and obedience ... "

 (Dom Gérard, in the Letter to the Friends of the Monastery, n ° 44)

 

 The facts show the fruits of a misunderstood obedience.  We will give below (VI, 3) the reasons that do not allow voluntary submission to authorities that are opposed to the Catholic faith.