In this article published in his magazine "The Combat for the Faith" of March 2016, Fr. Guy Castelain SSPX, explains the legal and thematic realtionship between
in 2007. It makes it very clear that the purpose of these docuмents is to bring traditional Catholics under their control by conditionnally accepting Vatican II and the Novus Ordo and that Summorum Pontificuм has nothing to do with "freeing" the 1962 missal.
There is much that is good in this article as well as troublesome. It was written to warn others regarding the indult communities but seems oblivious to the ugly fact that Bishop Fellay had betrayed the SSPX long before. We learn from Dr. Chonowski that the betrayal was formally underway by 2001 and by the secret GREC meetings long before that. Fr. Castelain offers no positive means to counter these measures other than avoiding indult communities and seems unaware of the reformed missal about to be introduced.
For clarity, please use the link.
THE TRUE MISSION OF THE COMMISSION ECCLESIA DEI
There are some who affirm that Francisco does not intend to abolish the motu proprio Summorum Pontificuм once the FSSPX is recognized. While we can not claim that it will, history has something to say about it.
We present below an article on the history of the Ecclesia Dei Commission and its mission, written by Fr. Guy Castelain (FSSPX) in his magazine "The Combat of Faith" of March 2016. By reading it, we will understand that Ecclesia communities Dei exist in function of the SSPX, and they continue to exist because of it, so that if the Fraternity is "recognized" by Rome, these communities will no longer have a reason to exist.
In this regard, Dr. Peter Chojnowski, a renowned Thomistic philosopher, writer and lecturer who has been a close associate of the FSSPX, tells us in his blog : " In 2001, I was told by a District Superior of the FSSPX who had just met with Bishop Fellay - who in turn had just met with Cardinal [Castrillón] Hoyos - who ... the Cardinal told Bishop Fellay that the plan was to have all the traditional groups under Bishop Fellay. When the surprised Bishop Fellay asked the Cardinal: 'And what about the Fraternity of Saint Peter?' the Cardinal said 'They will be under you!' However, the condition was that all four bishops of the SSPX should enter together. This was in the time of John Paul II . "
"Let all those who imagine that there is a vocation identity between the Ecclesia Dei institutes and the FSSPX open their eyes. The Ecclesia Dei commission and the institutes attached to it are a great danger to the work founded by Bishop Marcel Lefebvre. They have the vocation to neutralize, paralyze and dissolve it "
THE TRUE MISSION OF THE COMMISSION ECCLESIA DEI
On November 22, 1989, Archbishop Lefebvre said in an interview with François Brigneau on Radio Courtoisie: "Despite the persecutions, we can say violent, from Rome and from the Roman commission ( Ecclesia Dei, ndlr) that is responsible for the recovery of the traditionalists to submit them to the Council [...] the situation is more stable, stronger, more dynamic than ever "(Month derniers cahiers, première série, n ° 1, Pour saluer Mgr Lefebvre, par François Brigneau, Publication FB, p.35).
Archbishop Lefebvre said it right: The Ecclesia Dei commission "is responsible for the recovery of the traditionalists". Today, this mission has not changed. This we must demonstrate. To do so, it is necessary to go through the great stages they have made and make the history of the aforementioned commission. Four docuмents must be taken into account: 1) The Letter of October 3, 1984; 2) the Motu proprio of July 2, 1988; 3) the Motu proprio of July 7, 2007; 4) the Motu proprio of July 2, 2009. The letter of October 28, 2013 from the Nuncio to the San Pedro Fraternity will serve as confirmation of the thesis.
1) The Circular Letter Quattuor abhinc annos of the Congregation for Divine Worship addressed to the episcopal conferences on October 2, 1984.
This docuмent predates the creation of the Ecclesia Dei commission, but it is extremely important. In effect, this will remain as the fundamental docuмent that will inform the spirit of the future commission that will refer to it.
In 1980, Rome asked all the bishops of the world to make a report on the application of the liturgical reform wanted by Pope Paul VI. This report had, among other things, to express itself on "the difficulties encountered in carrying out the liturgical reform" and "the possible resistance" that should have been "overcome".
After the answers sent to Rome, it seemed that the problem of the priests and the faithful attached to the Tridentine rite was, so to speak, fixed.
In fact, the problem of the old mass remained completely. Modernist Rome realizing that it could not suffocate the movement in favor of the old mass, decided to try to take control:
"The sovereign pontiff, wishing to give satisfaction to these groups" granted the celebration of the Tridentine Mass "but observing the following norms", being the first: "That it is very clear that these priests and these faithful have nothing to do with those who they question the legitimacy and doctrinal rectitude of the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970, and that his position be unambiguously and publicly acknowledged. "
Therefore it was well established that a priest could not benefit from the old Mass except on the condition of abandoning the fight against the mass of Paul VI, and that this position should be public and known to all.
On the other hand, this concession should "be used without prejudice to the observance of the liturgical reform in the life of the ecclesial communities." It was also clear that this concession could not have the pretension of supplanting the mass of Paul VI and that it should retain all its rights of liturgical "primacy".
There are several conclusions to be drawn from this pardon: 1) Its publication made the whole world believe that the Mass of St. Pius V was forbidden, since it was not and could not be (the docuмent of July 7, 2007 of Benedict XVI confessed it ); 2) made believe, therefore, that a special permission was necessary to celebrate the old mass; 3) far from being liberated, the old mass was, because of the conditions to be met to benefit from it, instrumentalized to achieve the acceptance of the new Mass of Paul VI.
This pardon was then a "doctrinal trap". Thus, those who pretended to enjoy the Mass of St. Pius V "legally" did, in fact, a "legal" profession of officially accepting the new Mass that they had rejected until that moment. Consequently, this Motu proprio , far from being a victory for the supporters of the ancient liturgy, was in reality a victory of modernist Rome in favor of the conciliar liturgical reform. It was clear then that the SSPX could not in any way avail itself of such pardon. The priests of this Fraternity should never ask permission to celebrate their Mass in a church or sanctuary based on this pardon. The imposed conditions prohibited them, in any case, from obtaining this faculty, since their position regarding the new Mass did not allow them to comply with the requirements.
2) The Apostolic Letter Ecclesia Dei of July 2, 1988, in the form of motu proprio of Pope John Paul II.
Ecclesia Dei are the first two words of a text published by Rome the day after the alleged excommunication of Bishop Lefebvre. Indeed, on June 30, 1988, the bishop proceeded to what he called "the survival operation of Tradition", consecrating four bishops to whom he gave no jurisdiction. These, supported by the principles of canon law of the Church, were to ensure a substitution (provided by the ecclesiastical law in several matters) in the heart of the conciliar crisis for the preaching of the faith, the administration of the sacrament of confirmation and Sacrament of order.
The excommunication, although existing on paper, was in fact devoid of foundation. Bishop Lefebvre, before consecrating, studied and studied the ancient canon law to ensure that he acted according to the Spirit of the Church contained in this axiom: Suprema lex, salus animarum . A thesis of Father Murray even had, in 1995, the audacity to prove that, according to the new right of John Paul II, excommunication was not founded!
The excommunication of July 1, 1988
On July 1, 1988, the decree Dominus Marcellus Lefebvre unjustly excommunicated, both from the point of view of the canon law of 1917 and the new one of 1983, the consecrating bishop and the four consecrated bishops.
Excommunication null and void, ghost excommunication, excommunication of paper playing the role of scarecrow to cause fear to the poor people who had rediscovered hope in the Church thanks to the Athanasius of the twentieth century.
The Motu proprio Ecclesia Dei from July 2
The scarecrow was going to fulfill its effective role in precipitating the good people, the formalists and the fearful in the "open arms" of conciliar Rome: the threat of schism and therefore the fear of the eternal loss of his soul. Everything then went to effectively remove them from the Brotherhood of Bishop Lefebvre and take them forever to the conciliar Church.
Thus, John Paul II decreed the establishment of a commission for those "who wish to remain united to the successor of Peter in the Catholic Church, preserving their spiritual and liturgical traditions."
Therefore it was absolutely a commission of recovery of the faithful and priests who had frequented the SSPX.
The effects did not wait: clerics, more formalist than canonists, believed it was their duty to leave the Brotherhood of Bishop Lefebvre to found the Fraternity of St. Peter in order to be "in law". Conciliar legality, it goes without saying.
They were received by a commission that bore a name composed of the three words of the beginning of the letter that was the origin of this commission: Ecclesia Dei afflicta . That is to say: The Church of God is afflicted ... Afflicted why? For the alleged schism of Bishop Lefebvre, a schism that no one could ever prove or prove, and which many specialists have denied.
It was, for these priests, accept to submit to a conciliar commission and, of this fact, go against the spirit of the law: "He who, to keep the letter of the law, goes against the spirit of the law, has sinned against the law "( Regula juris 88 ). For formalism, he committed a kind of "legal sin": a sin against the law under the pretext of being in order with it.
Dissociate from the FSSPX
I do not intend to make a complete analysis here of this Motu proprio of 1988. All the paragraphs deserve, not only a commentary, but a severe criticism, both the presentation they make of the facts is contrary to reality.
I would simply like to call attention to the call made by John Paul II to dissociate himself from the SSPX in this docuмent: "In the present circuмstances, I wish above all to address a call at once solemn and fervent, paternal and fraternal, to all those who until now they have been linked in various ways with the activities of Archbishop Lefebvre, so that they fulfill the grave duty of remaining united to the Vicar of Christ in the unity of the Catholic Church and stop sustaining in any way that this reprehensible way of acting. Everyone should know that formal adherence to the schism constitutes a grave offense against God and carries with it excommunication duly established by the law of the Church "(§ 5, c).
As explained above, in compensation for this separation "a Commission is constituted, with the task of collaborating with the bishops, with the dicasteries of the Roman Curia and with the interested circles, to facilitate the full ecclesial communion of the priests, seminarians, communities, religious or religious, which until now were linked in different ways to the Fraternity founded by Archbishop Lefebvre and who wish to remain united to the Successor of Peter in the Catholic Church, preserving their spiritual and liturgical traditions "(§6, a).
The mission of the Ecclesia Dei commission is therefore very clear: to combat the work of spiritual health of the founding bishop of the SSPX. Then he was right to say that the Ecclesia Dei commission was "in charge of the recovery of the traditionalists."
From 1984 to 1988: same combat
Another extremely important point: the Motu proprio of July 2, 1988, states in point 6 c: "the sensitivity of all those who feel bound to the Latin liturgical tradition, through a wide range of and generous application of the rules issued some time ago by the Apostolic See, for the use of the Roman Missal according to the typical edition of 1962. "
This paragraph refers to footnote 9, which refers to the docuмent of October 3, 1984: Cf. Congregation for Divine Worship, Letter Quattuor abhinc annos , October 3, 1984: AAS 76, 1984, 1.088 -1.089. It is clear then that the Ecclesia Dei commission continued in its original line: they will only be in legality if they no longer fight the mass of Paul VI, if they do not cause harm to the conciliar liturgical reform and if their position is publicly known throughout the world.
So the Ecclesia Dei commission had the purpose:
1) To marginalize the work of Bishop Lefebvre and make it inaccessible; 2) remove priests and the faithful from it; 3) to make all the recalcitrants accept the new Mass; 4) no longer allow anyone the exclusivity of the old mass; 5) and finally, stop the combat of Tradition. Ecclesia Dei became the refuge of Catholics who "prefer the old Mass" for personal pleasure, but have ceased the good fight that consists in rejecting the new Mass for reasons of faith and keep the old for the same reason.
For or against the SSPX
Since then the question of an " Ecclesia Dei option" has been raised, which has finally resulted in a dilemma "for or against Bishop Lefebvre" or "for or against the SSPX". More generally, a false problem now appears: "in the Church with Ecclesia Dei , or outside the Church with the SSPX". Even simpler: Catholic or excommunicated. There was a false dilemma in conscience and, apparently, a dilemma in serious matters, which logically compromised the salvation of those who chose knowingly. It was not, in fact, more than a scruple of conscience invented by the men of the Council to bring its liturgical revolution to a good conclusion and to make the work of Bishop Lefebvre disappear forever.
3) The Apostolic Letter Summorum pontificuм of July 7, 2007 in the form of Motu proprio of Benedict XVI .
This docuмent is what led many Catholics to believe that the Mass of St. Pius V had been "liberated." It deserves a comprehensive comment. However, it is necessary, in this article, to limit oneself to what follows.
After falsely applying to the new Mass of Paul VI everything that could be said with all truth of the rite of St. Pius V, the pope recalls that: "In some regions, however, not a few faithful adhered and continue to adhere with much love and affection to the previous liturgical forms, which had impregnated their culture and spirit in such a profound way, that the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, moved by pastoral concern regarding these faithful, in the year 1984, with the special pardon " Quattuor abhinc annos ", issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship, granted the faculty to use the Roman Missal edited by Blessed John XXIII in 1962; Later, in the year 1988, with the Apostolic Letter " Ecclesia Dei ", given in the form of Motu Proprio, John Paul II exhorted the bishops to widely and generously use this faculty in favor of all the faithful who requested it ". The line of thought is clear: conciliar Rome is always on the path traced by the docuмent of October 3, 1984.
Twelve articles come immediately, of which the first ends in these terms: "That is why it is permissible to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass according to the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Blessed John XXIII in 1962, which has never been abrogated, as a form extraordinary of the liturgy of the Church. The conditions for the use of this missal established in the previous docuмents " Quattuor abhinc annis " and " Ecclesia Dei ", shall be replaced as set forth below ". Follow 11 articles that enunciate the new conditions to benefit from the old mass.
One could believe that everything had changed, that the old Mass was definitely free, because the agreed faculties seemed truly more "broad". This is not the case, because Article 11 of the docuмent states bluntly: "The Pontifical Commission" Ecclesia Dei ", erected by John Paul II in 1988, continues to exercise its mission". And it refers to note 5 that says: "Cf. JUAN PABLO II, Lett. ap in the form of Motu proprio Ecclesia Dei , July 2, 1988, 6: AAS 80 (1988), 1498 ". What is this mission? Which is fixed in the docuмent of 1988 already mentioned: to remove the faithful from the work of Bishop Lefebvre and, in reference to the docuмent of October 3, 1984, not to grant the Tridentine rite more than to those who do not question the new mass, without prejudice to the liturgical reform and whose position is publicly known.
Article 12 provides that "The Commission itself, in addition to the powers it already enjoys, will exercise the authority of the Holy See, overseeing the observance and application of these provisions." And in fact, articles 7 and 8 refer to the mentioned commission in case of litigation in the petitions to celebrate the ancient rite.
The line is therefore always the same and the Motu proprio of 2007 does not do more than materially expand the ability to use the ancient rite.
For, formally, its use is always conditioned by the same principles and the same spirit: those formulated in the docuмent of July 2, 1988 that refer to the docuмent of October 3, 1984. Despite appearances, the old mass it was not liberated, it remains captive of the conciliar reform and ended by a renunciation: cease the fight of the Faith regarding the mass of Paul VI and accept in principle the conciliar liturgical reform. The Wikipedia article on this is not wrong: "The provisions presented in this letter follow the logic of the previous texts Quattuor abhinc annos and Ecclesia Dei ."
4) The Apostolic Letter Ecclesiae unitatem of July 2, 2009 in the form of motu proprio of Benedict XVI.
In this docuмent, the successor of John Paul II recalls paragraph 6 a of the docuмent of July 2, 1988 that wants "to facilitate the full ecclesial communion of priests, seminarians, communities, religious or religious, which until now were linked from different forms to the Fraternity founded by Archbishop Lefebvre and who wish to remain united to the successor of Peter in the Catholic Church, preserving their spiritual and liturgical traditions "(n ° 2). Doing this, the pope wanted to "expand and update ... the general indication contained in the motu proprio Ecclesia Dei " (n ° 3).
It is useful to underline here two significant points:
1. The commission retains its original name and therefore retains the motu proprio of July 2, 1988, as the founding text, with all that it entails, especially its reference to the pardon of October 3, 1984. She then continues with her original mission: to remove Catholics from the work of Bishop Lefebvre;
2. Paragraph 2 refers explicitly to the docuмent of origin: John Paul II, motu proprio Ecclesia Dei , July 2, 1988, No. 6: AAS 80 [1988] 1498. So this new docuмent remains in line with 1984 and 1988. It is always the same war against Tradition.
On the other hand, in this docuмent, Benedict XVI makes a decision of great consequences. He wants to "reform the structure of the Ecclesia Dei Commission, uniting it closely with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith". Here is the purpose of the letter: to join the Ecclesia Dei commission to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The objective of this maneuver is indicated in n ° 5: "Precisely because the problems that must be dealt with at present with the Fraternity are of an essentially doctrinal nature, I decided - at the twenty-first year of the motu proprio Ecclesia Dei and in accordance with what I had reserved myself (see motu proprio Summorum Pontificuм, Article 11) - to reform the structure of the Ecclesia Dei Commission, uniting it in a close way to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ". With the pretext of focusing the discussions on the doctrinal level (what is fair), Benedict XVI takes a measure that will force the SSPX to have as interlocutor, no longer the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, but a commission which was founded to make it disappear! What is this commission? Ecclesia Dei
From here, the SSPX will be forced to dialogue with its sworn enemy from July 2, 1988: the commission Ecclesia Dei . And this commission, we must remember, rests, as on its cornerstone, on the excommunication of Bishop Marcel Lefebvre.
5) The blessing of Pope Francis on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Fraternity of Saint Peter.
The facts show that the Ecclesia Dei commission and Vatican II continue to carry out the same fight. In his letter of October 28, 2013, the Apostolic Nuncio of Paris, Luigi Ventura, assured the members of the San Pedro Fraternity that "Pope Francis joins the thanksgiving of his members for the work accomplished in the course for a quarter of a century in the service of ecclesial communion cuм Petro et sub Petro ". What ecclesial work is it about? The one that has consisted, as indicated by Motu proprio of July 2, 1988, in separating the faithful from the SSPX to take them to the conciliar Church. The pope, on the other hand, refers to the events that gave birth to him, that is, the consecrations of 1988 and the excommunication of Bishop Lefebvre: "It is at a moment of great proof for the Church, that the Fraternity of Saint Peter was born. "
Francis then encourages them "to continue their mission of reconciliation among all the faithful, whatever their sensitivity". It can not be treated, logically, more than reconciliation with the conciliar Church and the new rite. Here is the proof: "That celebrating the Sacred Mysteries according to the extraordinary form of the Roman rite (Mass of St. Pius V) and the orientations of the Constitution on the Sacrosanctum Concilium Liturgy (arising from Vatican II), as well as transmitting the apostolic faith which is presented in the Catechism of the catholic (conciliar) Church, contribute, in fidelity to the living Tradition of the Church, to a better understanding and application of the Second Vatican Council ".
conclusion
Bishop Lefebvre was quite right in stating that the Roman commission ( Ecclesia Dei ) is in charge of recovering the traditionalists to submit them to the Council.
The mission of the commission Ecclesia Dei , from July 2, 1988, is then to reconcile the priests and faithful attached to the work of Bishop Lefebvre with the conciliar Church.
With this objective, she continues her mission even now: the "recovery" of the priests and faithful of the SSPX and their friendly communities to stop the fight of the Faith.
May all those who imagine that there is a vocation identity between the Ecclesia Dei institutes and the SSPX open their eyes. The Ecclesia Dei commission and the institutes attached to it are a great danger to the work founded by Bishop Marcel Lefebvre. They have the vocation to neutralize, paralyze and dissolve it.
This is clearly inscribed in the founding texts of this commission. Against factum, non fit argumentum. Against the facts, there is nothing to replicate.
P. Guy Castelain +
Topic: A Step for the Regularization of the SSPX? - Dissolution of Ecclesia Dei (Read 27579 times)