The Society is hoisted by its own petard. The rules that gave the SG ultimate power through an inner circle of appointees will as the bishop knows prevent any internal coup. And riding roughshod over the attitudes of the rest of the membership and laity has been its MO throughout, creating a long-running climate of suspicion and distrust. Both Lefebvre and Fellay have exhibited a level of arrogance in assuming their word and mercurial behaviour was the only position traditionalists could take during the crisis. Take it or leave it has been their response to ciriticism, turning the battle for the faith into an unending clash of personalities.

How very true.

But “Tradition” is a varying and heterogeneous collection of religious societies and communities which certainly do not all want to be scooped up by Conciliar Rome, or headed up by Bishop Fellay. For this reason Archbishop Lefebvre repeatedly refused to be called the head of Catholic Tradition.

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Don't forget that Bishop Williamson also repeatedly refused to be called the head of Catholic Tradition, represented by the Resistance.

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Just imagine you're waiting outside the SSPX General Chapter,



But it's playing-out like the papal conclave of 1958,
when hours after you see white smoke, you're told it's a mistake...
and by the way, John XXIII is your new pope.


A.  The Menzingen brotherhood calls all voting SSPX priests into a guarded meeting room and locks all the doors.

B.  Within an hour, an excited priest texts the outside world: "The new Superior General... is Father Scott!!

C.  Then suddenly, no more texts.  There's muffled voices in the room, a scuffle. The guards manhandle a few dissenters.

D.  30 minutes later, a text is sent:  "Correction, the new Superior General is... uh... Bishop Schneider??

E.  Afterwards, the voting priests are detained and debriefed for hours, threatened with excommunication if they report 
    what really happened.

F.  Bp. Fellay announces it was a close vote, that Bp. Schneider can speak Latin and he hopes Pope Francis will be pleased(?)

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I've been reading a disturbing book about Pope Paul VI, Saul, Why Do You Persecute Me? by Michel San Pietro, Monastery of the Magnificat of the Mother of God, Quebec, 1977 (1991 ed.). And as I turn the pages, it's not an easy read, but I've been surprised that quite often I have to pinch myself to remember I'm not reading about +Fellay, but rather +Montini.
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E.g., on page 9, it has this: "Beautiful ideas and grand enterprises entice him. Firm-willed and tenacious under the appearance of weakness, he is tirelessly sustained by unrealizable but incorrigible hopes. He is a man of utopias. People were already saying in Milan, 'Archbishop Montini is pursuing an illusion, a generous dream... but a dream just the same.' The unreal is his kingdom!"
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E.g., on page 52 it has this: "The confusion was maintained for a long time by beautiful words, perfectly faithful to the age-old Faith, but contradicted in practice by acts that attacked the Faith. As Father Yves Congar, O.P. (a great admirer of Paul VI) says, 'The Pope talks to the Right but acts to the Left, and actions are what count'."