Friday, April 30th, 2010
By Fra Pio-Francis T.O.S.F.

Interview conducted by Br.Pio-Francis TOSF

FATHER JOVEN SOLIMAN <frjsoliman@yahoo.com>;

Rev. Fr. Joven Soliman is a former priest of the SSPX

Ave Maria Mater Boni Consilii!
Fra Pio: Dear Rev. Fr. Joven Soliman, may God give you His holy peace!
Fr. J.S: Thank you, Brother. May God give you His holy peace, too!
Fra Pio: Rev. Father, please tell us about yourself. Are you a cradle Catholic or did you come to Tradition later on in your life?
Fr. J.S: I was baptized Catholic, but grew up ignorant of the Catholic faith. I was not really a practicing novus ordo Catholic, which in a way a blessing because later on it was not difficult for me to come to Tradition. It was at the age of sixteen that I took religion seriously taking some notice that some of my classmates were becoming Protestants. I was convinced that the Catholic religion is the only true religion, but I was ignorant how to defend it against their objections. From that time I decided to study seriously the Catholic Faith, although not aware of the crisis in the Church. So I came to Tradition gradually until I decided to stop going to the new mass at the age of twenty.
Fra Pio: Where and when did you enter the seminary and who was your ordaining bishop?
Fr. J.S: I entered Holy Cross Seminary in Goulburn, Australia on April 1992 and spent three years of Philosophy there. I continued my theological studies in Econe, Switzerland from 1995 to 1998. Finally, I was ordained priest by His Excellency Bishop Bernard Fellay on July 11, 1998 at Our Lady of Victories Church in Quezon City, Philippines.
Fra Pio: I have read that you were the first Filipino priest ordained for the SSPX that you were the Prior in Manila, is that correct? Do you have any other family members in religion?
Fr. J.S: Yes, it is correct, and I was the prior in Manila from October, 2003 to September 6, 2008. I have a sister who is an Oblate Sister of the SSPX and she is assigned in Switzerland.
Fra Pio: Father, you have since left the Society of St. Pius X. Can you tell us why it is that you left that priestly Society?
Fr. J.S: I left the Society of St. Pius X suddenly on September 6, 2008. I cannot tell you the reason in an interview why I left because it is not for public consumption. Whether my action was right or wrong, for me it was an act of protest. So you may call it for personal reason why I left.
Fra Pio: Father, do you believe that Benedict XVI is the current Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Roman Catholic Church which Jesus Christ founded for the salvation of man?
Fr. J.S: No, for me, Benedict XVI is an anti-pope and precursor of the Antichrist. Even Archbishop Lefebvre called him a heretic in one of his conferences.
Fra Pio: What led you to discover that sedevacantism is truly the unfortunate situation we see ourselves in today?
Fr. J.S: The lifting of the excommunication of the four bishops of the SSPX on January 21, 2009 made me consider studying sedevacantism. Although I was already out of the SSPX at that time, I was not yet officially expelled. A few priests were expelled from SSPX because of their public opposition to that so called “lifting of Excommunication”. When no priests in the Philippines expressed criticism to the decree of Jan. 21, 2009 and to the letter of Benedict to the Bishops on March 10, 2009, I gave two conferences criticizing the two docuмents to some faithful who maintained communications with me.
Fra Pio: Were you always partial to the sedevacantist position or did you rebel against it at first?
Fr. J.S: Being trained in the SSPX, it is natural that I was against the sedevacantist position. I thought that the SSPX position is the prudent one between sedevacantism and modernism, but I sympathized with those who hold the sedevacantist position because I knew they are Catholics who are fighting the errors of the novus ordo religion. Since the decree of January 21, 2009 to July 25, 2009, I had plenty of time to study seriously the sedevacantist position and arriving at the inevitable conclusion that Ratzinger can not be a legitimate pope but an anti-pope I began to omit the name of Benedict XVI from the Canon of the Mass last July 25, 2009 and I stopped saying the Mass according to the rubrics of John XXIII.
Fra Pio: What has been your experience since leaving the Society, is there an understanding of the incredible crisis we face today in the Philippines, or is Tradition there associated with the SSPX alone?
Fr. J.S: For the first four months after I left the priory in Manila in September 2008, I spent those times saying Mass in private and without an apostolate even thinking of asking permission from the Superior General to grant me an extended sabbatical in Albano, Italy because I know some priests there. That “lifting of excommunication” made me decide that I can no longer return to SSPX. It would be dishonest for me to ask for readmission just to disagree with their present orientation and to be expelled because of it. After January 21, 2009, I started giving conferences to some faithful and on September 27 of last year, I started saying Mass publicly to a handful of faithful knowing that the Holy Mass is offered not una cuм Benedicto. My situation is quite difficult since I have no church or a chapel to say Mass but in a house of one of the faithful. It is like going back to the catacombs. I heard that my former confreres warned the faithful against me, saying that I am dangerous, yet they say good things about Ratzinger who is the real enemy. Just only a few understand the crisis we face today in the Philippines. It is sad that a lot of the faithful understand the crisis as a question of the Latin Mass. For them, they are satisfied with the ‘62 Missal of John XXIII and take for granted the integral Catholic faith. The majority in Tradition are associated with the SSPX, but there are also some of the motu-proprio groups coming out.
Fra Pio: What is the main difficulty with the Society’s position, is it a matter of doctrine?
Fr. J.S: Of course it is a matter of doctrine. I don’t need to repeat again what other sedevacantist priests have said before, but one thing that we must notice from SSPX position is the error on the Universal Ordinary Magisterium. With their resist and recognize stand, they can disobey the New Mass, the new catechism, the new code of canon law, reject novus ordo canonizations, disregard the encyclicals, etc. They fail to realize that the liturgy, catechism, canon law, canonizations are also covered by the infallibility of the Church, the Universal Ordinary Magisterium. If we accept the SSPX position, then one can conclude that after Vatican II the Church’s Universal Ordinary Magisterium is now fallible.
Fra Pio: Are there any priests within the SSPX who are sedevacantists that you know of?
Fr. J.S: I don’t know anyone, but there is one who follows the rubrics of St. Pius X for the Mass.
Fra Pio: Are you then the only sedevacantist priest in the Philippines right now?
Fr. J.S: Yes, I would be happy if there is another one.
Fra Pio: How many have followed you and agree with your stance today?
Fr.  J.S: They are more or less thirty faithful.
Fra Pio: It is a great pleasure to have contact with one of your parishioners in the Philippines who has just recently entered Novitiate into the Third Order of Penance of St. Francis. I was particularly impressed with his knowledge concerning the crisis in the Church and his familiarity with Catholic doctrine. Do you spend time educating your little flock there? Is this a part of your apostolate now?
Fr. J.S: Yes, I am instructing them and I hope that little by little their knowledge of Catholic doctrine grows.
Fra Pio: What is your situation now Rev. Father, with such a small flock, is it difficult to continue the apostolate? How can souls help you financially if they so desire?
Fr. J.S: Yes, it is difficult, but I trust Divine Providence. For those who are willing to help, you may give my e-mail address to contact me.
Fra Pio: In your opinion, where do we go from here? That is, what will happen in the future in Rome? Of course the good God will deal with the situation of the vacancy of the Seat of Peter, but in your opinion how will this take place?
Fr. J.S: We are now in the midst of the great apostasy foretold in the Holy Scriptures. One is blind if he say that we are not yet in the great apostasy.The destruction of the faith among nations and individuals after Vatican II is enough to show that the great apostasy is ongoing and the post-conciliar anti-popes are the ones teaching and implementing the doctrines of the Antichrist. It is sad that those traditional Catholics attached to the conciliar church are silent about Ratzinger who promotes the nєω ωσrℓ∂ σr∂єr. It is because of the vacancy of the seat of Peter which is now usurped by an antipope that prepares for the coming of the Antichrist. God knows how the issue of the vacancy will be resolved. Whether by miraculous intervention or by conclave or by an ecuмenical council, God knows. Let us not forget that St. Peter the first Pope was not elected by a conclave. He was directly appointed by Our Lord Jesus Christ. So God knows how it will be resolved and when. What our sensus catholicus tells us now is that the seat of Peter is occupied by an anti-pope at the moment and he is to be opposed and denounced by every Catholic who loves the faith.
Fra Pio: Is there anything that you would like to say to encourage those in the Church who share your position in the crisis? If there are priests of the SSPX who will read this interview what would you like to share with them, what would you say to them about sedevacantism and the crisis in the Church?
Fr. J.S: In these difficult times, it is our duty to keep the Catholic faith whole and entire. Let us keep before our eyes the constancy and perseverance of our ancestors in the faith who did not compromise to heresies and even shed their blood to defend their faith. Receive the sacraments from those priests who do not compromise to the counterfeit church of Vatican II when you have access to them… Pray the holy rosary everyday. If there are priests of the SSPX who read this interview I hope that they find time to study the issue of sedevacantism… They must not read only the writings against sedevacantism but read also the writings of sedevacantists. They must not forget that Msgr. Lefebvre himself said in one of his conferences in 1986 speaking about John Paul II that” it is possible we may be obliged to believe this Pope is not Pope” and this applies now to Benedict XVI. They must not trust Benedict XVI. He is the real enemy, not the sedevacantists.