What American, or English speaker remembers a speech or a writing from Bishop Fellay? I doubt any American even bothered to read what +Fellay has written. He just does not know how to communicate in English. Maybe he does in some other language? Few English speaking persons really know +Fellay, he is just a Bishop that writes something once in a while, that no one reads all the way through.
On the other hand, I could bring up hundreds of letters from +Williamson since I came to ther SSPX like 15 years (Same for Fr. Timothy Pfieffers letters from the Ridgefield Retreat House, which are excellent communications. In English speaking countries, there is no comparison, Bishop Willaiamson is a great communicator in few words, and +Fellay is a non-communicator in many words.
English speaking peoples will not easily side with +Fellay if he is opposed to +Williamson. Without +Williamson the SSPX becomes a distant foreign thing to the English speaking peoples.
Yes, and I don't think it's just the language. Before Fr. T. Pfeiffer, a French priest was in charge of the Ridgefield Retreat House, and he wrote a newsletter, and I learned
tons from that, as well as his sermons, as I'm sure many people did. Somehow he managed to teach in English, even though French was his first language.
Also, how many people of different languages around the world have learned a lot from +W? How much have native French speakers learned from +F? I used to read +F's letters way back when, and there were some good things in them, but I definitely can't point to anything I've
learned from them, or been particularly inspired by. It's a combination of many factors; it helps that +W is a natural born, extremely gifted teacher.
Part of it is that +W is a straight-shooter. +F seems to have an increasingly difficult time saying something straightforward like, "2+2=4." Even if he wants to say it, he seems to couch it in some excess stuff like, "we may say that 2+2 is, we may say, I really have the impression, is generally considered to be 4..." Another part of it, I think, is that +W gives
practical application. (Likewise Fr. Tim Pfeiffer as you mentioned, and the French priest before him.) If I hear a sermon or read a newsletter that says, "be holy," that's all very nice, but how? What should I do/stop doing/do differently? I can't really think of any changes I've made to my life specifically because of +F's influence, but there are lots I can think of thanks to +W and other SSPX priests who give
practical examples.
Another example of the phenomenon you mentioned, is that on retreat, I can recall the priests citing numerous times: "As Bishop Williamson used to say..." Again, part of this is because +W
taught for many years, and +F never has. All I've heard +F talk about for the last 12 years is "relations with Rome." Plus - this could be
partly the language thing - but also rarely if ever hear, "as +Bp. TdM used to say" or "as +Bp. dG used to say..." I think it's primarily that +W realizes that there is a crisis such has never been seen before in the Church, and he wants to save souls by waking us up to it in every way possible, by
teaching as much as possible, in whatever forum he can. I thought part of the
duty of a bishop was to teach. :confused1: I didn't think they were supposed to be just Sacrament machines. Especially in times when all the other bishops around the world are either not teaching, or teaching badly.
Anyhow, I think you summed it up well:
"Bishop Williamson is a great communicator in few words, and +Fellay is a non-communicator in many words."
Topic: Wise words about Bp Williamson expulsion (Read 4494 times)