Meg asks on another thread: Is it possible that Bp. Fellay has been influenced by a seer (Marian?) of some sort? I seem to recall that he's been influenced in the past. That's all that I can think of that might account for his strange stance, and that he doesn't address the obvious contradiction.Thanks, Meg, for the lead-in to a new topic, which, I think, may help to answer your question.
Just this morning my attention was directed to the Spanish online source
Non Possumus. Meg’s suspicions, I think, are well confirmed in recent articles appearing there. Some of you know Spanish, and your knowledge will be greatly enriched by reading this material. Others will just have to take my word for what follows. My Spanish isn’t great, but I think I can give you all a brief introduction to a smattering of its contents. English translations are often provided for blog content anyway.
It seems that back in 1995(?) Bp. Fellay was introduced to a (self-proclaimed?) woman mystic, who went by the pseudonym
‘Madame Rossinier.’ Her real name was Germaine Connaz. She’s dead now. Anyway, a youg Swiss priest, Father Lovey, made the introductions. ( He is the son, reportedly, of the man who originally convinced Abp Lefebvfre to consecrate +F as a bishop.)
Fr. Lovey tells us that the mystic’s writings over a period of 22 years were compiled into 21 “Notebooks,” which served, along with other works, to inspire the activities of an already existing (?) diocesan movement called
‘Homes of Christ-Priest.’ Clumsy sounding, I know, but that’s how I translate its name out of Spanish.
+Fellay, apparently, was quite taken by the woman. In a Letter to Friends and Benefactors #51 in 1996, he encouraged families to join this “magnificent work.” Evidently, this “mensajera del Cielo,” this “privilegiada del Cielo,” conveyed to the Superior General a very attractive message, viz. that SSPX was the chosen instrument by which God would eventually restore the Church to her ancient, pre-Conciliar orthodox tradition. The idea most certainly appealed to +Fellay, and, it appears, he swallowed the mystic’s blandishments hook line and sinker.
Later, in 1998, in No. 60 of Cor Unum, +Fellay wrote “in terms full of conviction enthusiasm,” what amounted to a full endorsement of Madame Rossinier’s “divine messages.” Yes, he recognized that they fell into the category of private revelation. But, golly, when one merely scratched a bit under the surface of them, one was confronted with a “treasure of grace.”
He assured the faithful that her mystic works were “invested with sufficient authenticity that they might have no doubt (about them).” He encouraged the faithful to “accept with thanksgiving” the “gift” which her writings offered to them.
This is not hearsay. This stuff is in print. +Fellay has left a clear paper trail. I encourage folks to go to
Non Possumus at
http://nonpossumus-vcr.blogspot.com/Click on specific articles on the subject:
http://nonpossumus-vcr.blogspot.mx/2016/07/madame-rossiniere-monsenor-fellay-y-la.htmlhttp://nonpossumus-vcr.blogspot.mx/2013/09/monsenor-fellay-y-madame-rossiniere-un.htmlhttp://nonpossumus-vcr.blogspot.mx/2013/09/la-fsspx-y-madame-rossiniere-el.htmlSeveral priests tried to warn Bp. Fellay about what a phony this woman was. They include Fathers Ortiz and Joly, who paid an unannounced and unexpected visit to Madame Rossinier one day at her home. They said that she came to the door in blue jeans and a “cigarro” (cigarette?) draped from her mouth(?). The woman'sTV blared in the background. These priests reported the rather unusual circuмstances of their visit to Bp. Fellay, who, reportedly, took Fr. Lovey to task, but quickly reinstated him.
(
Non Possumus (NP) reminds the reader, in amusement, how the SG remonstrated with the three bishops, when, earlier, they warned him of agreeing to any practical accord with Rome. He had accused them, then, of not having a “supernatural” outlook on things.)
Bp. Fellay was peruaded that after near 30 years of the Society’s existence, the objectives of the Archbishop had still not been realized. They were, at that point, confused, perhaps, lacking a certain precision and exactitude. He thought, apparently, that the seer’s influence would help propel the Society towards the clear achievement of the still, somewhat inchoate, earlier goals of the late Archbishop. Her writings, he thought, would help disperse the mists of "imprecision" still hovering over the Society.
In Cor Unum,Message of April 16, 1998 ,Pg. 54,we discover that the seer’s “mystic inspirations” would “mark the beginning of the realization of the mission of the Fraternity.” It would be “as a (new) Pentecost in the work of Msgr. Lefebvfe.” It would be “as a field of wheat in spring, the church will germinated a new life in the world… the moment is near when everything will begin to bear fruit.”
Shades of the store front evangelist haranguing his awestruck congregation with mesmerizing language!