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jueves, 13 de octubre de 2022

MONSIGNOR MARCEL LEFEBVRE: A MAN AT THE TOTAL SERVICE OF GOD. THE FAITH AND THE HOLY CHURCH.

 

S. S. PIO XII Y MONS. LEFEBVRE

  Marcel Lefebvre was born in Tourcoing on November 29, 1905 into a family of industrialists from the north of France. After finishing high school, he followed in his older brother's footsteps by entering the French Seminary in Rome in October 1923.

Archbishop Lefebvre always held in high regard the rector of the French seminary, Father Henri Le Floch, who educated him in love and veneration of the teachings of the Popes. The Rector of the seminar energetically explained the great encyclicals that condemn modern errors, such as liberalism, modernism and communism.

On September 21, 1929 , Marcel Lefebvre was ordained a priest by Bishop Lienart, in Lille, France.

He then returned to Rome to prepare for his doctorate in theology, while serving as grand master of ceremonies at the seminary. Having already earned a doctorate in philosophy, he obtained his doctorate in theology on July 2, 1930 at the Gregorian University in Rome.

From 1930 to 1931 he served as parochial vicar in a working-class neighborhood in Lille, while waiting for his bishop's permission to enter the community of the Fathers of the Holy Spirit (missionary Congregation).

He began his novitiate on September 1, 1931. After making his religious profession on September 8, 1932 , he embarked on November 12 of that year for Libreville (Gabon), where he was appointed seminary professor, a position he held until 1934, when he was appointed rector until 1938. On this date, suffering from malaria and being completely exhausted, he was sent by his superiors to "rest in the jungle" on a mission.

From 1938 to 1945 , Father Marcel was superior of various missions in Gabon. He shows there a great sense of organization, and being an excellent administrator, always attentive to improving the facilities to facilitate everyone's tasks: this is how he has electricity generators, machinery, running water, etc. installed in the missions.

In October 1945 he was called to France where he was in charge of the Philosophy Scholasticate of the Spiritans, in Mortain (Manche). He then dedicates himself to rebuilding the house, which had been damaged during the war, and to train his seminarians according to the teachings of the Popes.

On June 25, 1947, he learned that he was appointed Vicar Apostolic of Dakar (Senegal) , and on September 18, 1947 , he was consecrated bishop in the Church of Notre Dame des Anges, in Tourcoing, France.

In 1948 , Pius XII appointed him Apostolic Delegate for the countries of French Africa, that is, the equivalent of Apostolic Nuncio. Furthermore, as the delegate must have the rank of archbishop, Archbishop Lefebvre was appointed Titular Archbishop of Arcadiopolis in Europe. He was thus the Pope's representative in a diocese, 26 apostolic prefectures and 17 apostolic vicariates, in a territory that ranged from Morocco and the Sahara, to Madagascar and La Réunion, through French West Africa, Cameroon, Equatorial Africa and French Somalia, with a Catholic population of more than two million faithful. Being Archbishop of Dakar (Senegal) . In 1949, the French Overseas Minister presented him with the Knight's Cross of the French Legion of Honor in front of the cathedral.

SERMON AT PONTIFICAL MASS

At least once a year, the Apostolic Delegate reports to the Pope on his action and at the same time receives directives from him. In this way he was in relationship with all the dicasteries of the Roman Curia. In the Secretary of State, where he goes as a diplomat, Bishop Lefebvre frequents the two substitutes: Bishop Tardini and Bishop Montini; the latter (the future Paul VI) received the delegate kindly, but showed no sympathy for his ideas.

After the election of John XXIII in 1958, Archbishop Lefebvre was removed from his post as Apostolic Delegate, but remains Archbishop of Dakar . But for his uncompromising frankness in defending the teachings of the Popes and for his denunciation of the "believing socialism" of Senegalese President Senghor, he earned the latter's wrath and undoubtedly contributed to hastening his desired (quietly) resignation. for Rome.

In 1962 he was transferred from the Archdiocese of Dakar to the Diocese of Tulle , in France, but retaining the personal title of Archbishop. The French bishops pressured Rome not to be appointed Archbishop of Albi, as had been planned, and only accepted his arrival in France on the condition that he be sent to a small diocese. The French bishops did not want him for his "integralist tendencies," that is, traditional.

In the diocese of Tulle, the situation was somber due to the decrease in vocations, little religious practice, poverty and discouragement in which the priests lived. Archbishop Lefebvre contemplates strong measures: he encourages the priests of him, visiting them and supporting them. He was very impressed by the difference he could see between the flourishing missions he left behind in Africa and the desolation he found in the dioceses of France.

On July 26, 1962 , Archbishop Lefebvre was elected, by a large majority, Superior General of the Fathers of the Holy Spirit . He had been Bishop of Tulle for only 6 months.

On January 25, 1959 , Pope John XXIII announces the convening of an ecumenical council. Archbishop Lefebvre is appointed member of the Central Preparatory Commission of the Council , attending all the sessions, sometimes presided over by the Pope, and will witness clashes, sometimes violent, between the liberal tendency and the conservative members of the Commission. This he saw as a bad omen for the future council.

During the council, faced with the growing importance of modernist theses, and with the support of a prepared and organized group, he decided to create, with other bishops, the Coetus Internationalis Patrum (International Group of Fathers) of which he was its first president. . He knows Mons. Antonio de Castro Mayer, bishop of Campos, in Brazil, who will also be part of the Coetus . Through his fight within the Coetus and through his interventions, Archbishop Lefebvre fights against the modernist influence that spreads in the council, but the results were insufficient.

As Superior General of the Spiritans , he fights against relaxation and theological deviations, but unfortunately without success, because the superiors he appoints are not always worthy of his trust. He reforms the organization of the Congregation; he transfers the General House from Paris to Rome; he travels the world to visit homes, encourage and organize.

In 1965, the 'updating' ( aggiornamento ) of the religious congregations, requested by the Council, begins. Archbishop Lefebvre wants this reform to be carried out in the sense of correcting deviations, and of a greater sanctity of religious life. He is not opposed to all reforms, even bold ones, as long as they are part of fidelity to the founders. At the General Chapter of the Congregation, in 1968, some members try to put it aside and the prevailing mood in favor of reforms is unhealthy. In order not to have to sign the decrees that would put the congregation to modern taste, Bishop Lefebvre leaves the General Chapter, and once his successor has been chosen, he retires to a guest house run by nuns in Rome. He is sixty-three years old.

For several years it has been requested by priests, and above all by seminarians, who are looking for a serious formation. He directs them at first to the French Seminary in Rome, run by the Spiritans, thinking that there they could maintain a healthy line, but unfortunately, it was not so, since the rector of the seminary paid little attention to the advice of the Superior General .

So Monsignor directs certain seminarians to a religious society established in Rome (of Fr. Theodosios), and others to the Catholic University of Fribourg , in Switzerland. At the insistence of new priests and seminarians who implore him to found a priestly work, he submits to the decision of the Bishop of Freiburg, a friend of his, who willingly authorizes him to open a "hostel" for seminarians from all countries.

Thus the seminary was born. Archbishop Lefebvre rents twelve rooms in a religious hostel in Freiburg, and receives the first candidates on October 13, 1969 . The beginning was difficult, the dropouts were numerous, in addition to the fact that Archbishop Lefebvre fell seriously ill.

In June 1970 , he bought a house, also in Freiburg, to house the seminarians who continue their studies at the university; on the other hand, with the permission of Bishop Adam, Bishop of Sion (Switzerland), he accepts the Ecône house given to him by the owners, to install the Year of Spirituality for newcomers (in accordance with the Council, in its Decree on priestly formation).

On November 1, 1970 , Bishop François Charrière, Bishop of Fribourg (Switzerland), approved the statutes of the Saint Pius X Fraternity, written by Bishop Lefebvre, and established it in his diocese . The purpose of the Fraternity, fixed in its statutes, is “the priesthood and everything that is related to it and only what concerns it.”

As the courses at the University of Freiburg are unsatisfactory, Archbishop Lefebvre obtains permission from the Bishop of Sion to install a complete seminary in Ecône, which will experience rapid development.

Faced with the anguish and discouragement of many Catholics, faced with the disappearance of the faith, the sacking of the liturgy and the loss of all sacred meaning, Archbishop Lefebvre takes his missionary stick and begins to travel through Europe and the the whole world, giving conferences, giving encouragement to the helpless faithful and inviting persecuted priests to come together and keep the faith without compromise.

In 1973 , at the request of a young Australian, Archbishop Lefebvre founded with the help of his sister, Mother Marie Gabrielle, a religious of the Holy Spirit, a religious community, which he had already thought of during the drafting of the Statutes of the Fraternity. . These are the beginnings of the Sisters of the Fraternity , who settle in a house bought in Albano-Laziale, near Rome. Their vocation is to be discreet and efficient assistants to the priests, while leading a semi-contemplative life (1 hour daily of adoration).

The Brothers of the Fraternity develop around the same time, and the institution of the Oblate nuns is contemporary with that of the Sisters of the Fraternity.

In 1971, some pious laymen asked Archbishop Lefebvre if he had any plans to found a Third Order. This Third Order is finally erected in 1981, in accordance with the rules established by the founder.

On November 11, 1974 , an apostolic visit is made to Ecône, following the denunciations of the French bishops who are against this seminary, because it maintains the ancient Mass and Tradition, and because it receives numerous vocations, while their own seminars are empty.

On November 21, 1974 , Msgr. Lefebvre, in a vibrant Declaration affirms his attachment to eternal Rome and his rejection "of the neo-modernist and neo-Protestant Rome, which was clearly manifested during the Second Vatican Council and after the Vatican Council." with all the reforms that originated from there...”

Archbishop Lefebvre is summoned to Rome for a "chat", but in fact he finds himself before a tribunal made up of three cardinals. On May 6, 1975, the Fraternity is unjustly "suppressed" by the bishop of Freiburg. Archbishop Lefebvre then makes an appeal to the Apostolic Signatura, but this appeal is blocked by Cardinal Jean Villot, Secretary of State.

Calmly and peacefully, and faced with this denial of justice, the prelate decides to continue with his work, considering that the Fraternity continues to exist, since its suppression is irregular and in any case unjust.

Mons. LEFEBVRE AND FATHER PIO DE PIETRALCINA

On June 29, 1976 , ignoring threats from Rome, and considering that the fight he is carrying out is essential for the defense of the Mass and the faith, Archbishop Lefebvre ordains 13 priests and 14 subdeacons, without dimissory letters. He is then sanctioned with suspension a divinis which should deprive him of the exercise of any sacramental act. This sanction does not bother him or limit him, but, with a high vision of his duty, he continues to lead the good fight against all the deviations that already make the Church waver.

On August 29, 1976, he celebrated a solemn public mass, in Lille (France) , before more than 7,000 faithful, which the press heavily mediated, treating him as a "rebellious" bishop.

However, he is received in audience by Pope Paul VI on September 11, 1976 . Monsignor discovers that he has been gravely slandered before the Pope. The Pope, however, does not want to give anything in relation to the Mass of St. Pius V, wishing to impose "his" reform, while Archbishop Lefebvre, in the name of fidelity to the perennial Church, does not want and cannot accept the Church "conciliar" nor the new mass.

In September 1976 , Monsignor published his book “ I accuse the Council .”

On November 18, 1978 , just one month after his election, Pope John Paul II received Archbishop Lefebvre in audience. The interview begins favorably, but the intervention of Cardinal Seper, president of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, spoils everything. Archbishop Lefebvre's dossier is placed in his hands .

It is the beginning of a process that lasts many years, during which the founder of Ecône often goes to Rome to defend himself and to try to obtain a return of Rome to Tradition , guardian of the faith, or at least that it may be freely practiced by the Fraternity. But neither Cardinal Seper, nor his successor, Cardinal Ratzinger, are willing to make any favorable gesture in this regard.

In 1983 , Archbishop Lefebvre, already increasingly disappointed with John Paul II's modernist texts, is deeply dismayed by the new Code of Canon Law, which translates the deviations of the Council into law. He then seriously contemplates an episcopal consecration and takes the path of public protests against the scandals committed in the upper echelons of the Church.

In 1985 , Archbishop Lefebvre delivered in Rome a study with thirty-nine propositions or Dubia [Doubts] on religious freedom, where he shows the discrepancy of the conciliar doctrine of religious freedom with the previous teaching of the Church.

In October 1986 , the terrible scandal of the interreligious meeting in Assisi took place, to which Monsignor Lefebvre responded with a letter signed jointly with Mons. de Castro Mayer.

In March 1987 he receives the response from Rome to his Dubia . The answer is unsatisfactory. In June 1987, the archbishop published his book on the destruction of Christ's social reign, They Dethroned Him .

On June 29, 1987 , Archbishop Lefebvre publicly announced his intention to seek successors in the episcopate. The response to the Dubia was the sign he was waiting for to proceed with the consecrations, since it is more serious, he explains, to affirm false principles than to do something scandalous. He fixed the date of the consecration of bishops for the feast of Christ the King (October).

Rome then reacts and proposes the visit of a cardinal who will only have the task of information. Archbishop Lefebvre accepts this visit and communicates the news to the 4,000 faithful who attend the thanksgiving mass for his 40 years of episcopate , on October 3, 1987.

On November 11, Cardinal Gagnon begins his visit to the Fraternity, which ends on December 8 at EcôneThe Cardinal will not hesitate to attend the Pontifical Mass of the “suspended” Archbishop, and the pledge ceremony of the young members in a “suppressed” Fraternity! The visitor's report is, as far as could be known, favourable.

EPISCOPAL CONSECRATION

 Archbishop Lefebvre made his demands clear. On February 2, 1988, he confirmed that he will consecrate at least three bishops, with or without the approval of the Pope, for the good of the Church and the perpetuity of Tradition.

Negotiations then begin in Rome between the representatives of the Fraternity and the members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. These end on May 5 with the signing of a Protocol of agreement with Rome. But quickly realizing that Cardinal Ratzinger is unwilling to grant him what he asks, the Monsignor backs down. He consults, and then on June 2, 1988 , he wrote to the Pope about his decision to consecrate four bishops on June 30

On June 30, 1988, he proceeded to consecrate four bishops at Ecône before 10,000 faithful and a crowd of journalists. During the ceremony, Msgr. Lefebvre clearly explains the case of serious need in which he finds himself to transmit the episcopate, for the good of the Church, and despite the opposition of the hierarchy and of Rome. The "excommunication," within the logic of the Roman authorities, will fall the next day, but it remains in suspense. This does nothing but sign the impotence of a once triumphant modernism, but which is already disintegrating into a corruption that makes its stench felt throughout the Church.

During the three years that God will give him, from 1988 until his death in 1991 , Archbishop Lefebvre will accompany the four auxiliary bishops with his moral presence, will introduce their immediate heirs into their position, allowing them to confer from now on the ordinations, to which will attend with modesty.

Despite his failing health, he made one last intercontinental trip in 1990 to visit Gabon.

On February 11, 1991, he gave his last lecture to the seminarians of Ecône.

On March 8, he celebrated his last mass and left for Paris, but on the night of March 9, due to severe pain, he woke up his driver and asked him to return to Switzerland.

He is urgently hospitalized at the Martigny hospital. On March 18 he is operated. But on March 24, Palm Sunday, his condition suddenly worsens.

On March 25, 1991 , the Feast of the Annunciation, Holy Monday , at 3:25 a.m., while the Superior General and Fr. Simoulin, director of Ecône pray at his side, Archbishop Lefebvre surrenders his beautiful soul goodbye. R.I.P. 

 

 

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