Former Toronto SSPX priest sentenced to prison

Look at that punchable face. I remember it. Rostand was a priest at Transfiguration of Our Lord SSPX chapel in Toronto sometime before 2010. I attended there for a few months assisting in the choir between appointments. He was a creep. Aloof. Arrogant. Immature. I had no idea he was a pervert but it all fits. 

One year is hardly enough for this filthy degenerate. The scandal on the children and youths, the Society, the Church and the priesthood is scarcely satisfied.

Europe's courts are no better than our own.

Enjoy the millstone you stinking cesspool!

Former US SSPX district superior sentenced to 1-year in prison for molesting multiple underage boys - LifeSite (lifesitenews.com)

"The former U.S. district superior for the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) was sentenced to one year in a French jail after admitting in April to having molested seven underage boys between 2002 and 2018 in France, Spain and Switzerland.

 French outlets reported that a criminal court in Gap sentenced Father Arnaud Rostand, 58, to 12 months in prison with deferred incarceration. He is also required to undergo four years of “socio-juridical” monitoring and psychiatric treatment, as well as provide compensation for his victims."

Morality of "vaccines" and ...

The most recent Letter to Friends of  Benefactors" of the Society of St. Pius X in Canada has a worthwhile section on a matter recently addressed on this blog. I urge you to visit the link and read it in its entirety. If only we heard such logic and clarity from our bishops.

I point to the matter of wearing a mask over one's nose or mouth in the church where, as in the case of the Province of Ontario, the government's medical authorities and Premier have commanded it and in our churches, our Catholic bishops have affirmed it and even police it. 

"If the unjust law goes against God's law, I may not obey it. But if it is not directly against God's law, I am not bound to obey it, but I must make a judgement. If submitting to the law would lead to a greater good, then I may submit to the unjust demand."

If one peruses my posts on this matter, this is the very logic that I used to describe the matter.

The mask is not against the Laws of God, it is not a matter of morality or conscience. While one can ignore the masking request in those things under their own control that is the person's right. In a church, public space and owned completely under corporation sole by the bishop, one may consider the matter unjust. Yet, submitting to the annoying and bothersome and perhaps, inane and insane request does fulfill a "greater good" to the "unjust demand." That is, the very survival of the parish no matter what form of the Mass is at stake.

The matter of the injection is something completely different. It can be good and charitable and necessary, notwithstanding the abortion question and the health effects we see. For example: in one case, a person takes the injection out of charity to one's elderly parents who have taken the injections and have a real fear of the disease. The charity is to take it so one can assist, visit or live with them and relieve them of the stress and concern. This is particularly charitable when the person would have not taken it if the circumstances were different. Another is a man that must provide for his family whose employer has used unjust threats and coercion. He must survive, he must support his family, he cannot allow them to suffer and cannot find a new appointment or receive government insurance due to the evil actions of his employer and the government. Both are cases known to me. Both are justified.

In my own case, I have not and will not take the injections. First, I believe I already had SARS-CoV-2 in that mysterious illness in December 2019 and, I have judged, based upon my research, that there is more risk from the injection rather than the virus, should I catch it or catch it again. The matter of abortion and the testing on fetal stem cells is a factor because so many of our medications have been done this way and we do not even know. For example, is my Wigwag prescription tested on some kind of fetal stem lines? It seems so. What is the difference? I need the Wigwag, it is not my fault how it was developed. I do not need any of these injections. This is how we must each interpret it for ourselves. Using Catholic teaching, our own well-formed conscience and logic.

We are in a time of tyrants. Where insanity, literally, has taken over the minds and spirits of our leaders. Where some, out of misplaced fear, have shut themselves up for 18 months in a prison of real or imaginary walls. 

We cannot change them. We must outlast them.

November 2021 - Letter to Friends and Benefactors: "Morality of vaccins" - District of Canada (sspx.ca)

What is the correct attitude towards abuse of power?

We should note first that the power of the state or of the Church is not the same as the power of that of parents. Parents have dominative power over their children. They can command their minor children to do anything except sin. The State and the Church authorities have legal power which is limited. Bob's dad can tell Bob at what time he has to go to bed, but the government can't tell Bob or Bob's dad at what time to go to bed. 

Saint Thomas Aquinas sums up the teaching of the Church on how we should treat an unjust law [1]. The laws of God can never be unjust (for He Himself is the rule) and so we are always bound to obey them. The laws of man however can be unjust either because (ed. they are) opposed to God’s Law or because (ed. they are) damaging to some human good. If an unjust law is opposed to God’s Law, it cannot be observed even if we had to pay with the price of our life. Saint Thomas More was ordered to recognise Henry VIII as head of the Church. This was a lie and therefore against God’s Law. He chose to be put to death rather than to lie. 

If however the law is not directly opposed to God’s Law, but simply very burdensome, or intended by the lawgiver for some ulterior motive, or quite simply, something that the lawgiver has no power to command, this law does not oblige in conscience. If the government required me to have my children take part in secularist propaganda classes and I refuse; although I am disobeying the law, it is not a sin. 

Note the difference: if the unjust law goes against God's law, I may not obey it. But if it is not directly against God's law, I am not bound to obey it, but I must make a judgement. If submitting to the law would lead to a greater good, then I may submit to the unjust demand. This is what our Blessed Lord meant when He said, “if a man were to take away thy coat, let go thy cloak also unto him.” (Mt. 5, 40) He gave us the example in this when he submitted to the unjust sentence of the high priests and of Pilate and gave Himself to die in order to save us from our sins.

Letter from Father Pagliarani about the motu proprio “Traditionis custodes”

THIS MASS, OUR MASS, MUST REALLY BE FOR US LIKE THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE IN THE GOSPEL, FOR WHICH WE ARE READY TO RENOUNCE EVERYTHING, FOR WHICH WE ARE READY TO SELL EVERYTHING.

Dear members and friends of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X,

The motu proprio Traditionis custodes and the letter that accompanied it have caused a profound upheaval in the so-called traditionalist movement. We can point out, quite logically, that the era of the hermeneutics of continuity, with its equivocations, illusions and impossible efforts, is radically over – swept aside with a wave of a sleeve. These clear-cut measures do not directly affect the Society of Saint Pius X. However, they must be an occasion for us to reflect deeply on the situation. To do so, it is necessary to step back and ask ourselves a question that is both old and new: Why is the Tridentine Mass still the apple of discord after fifty years?

First of all, we must remember that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the continuation in time of the most bitter struggle that has ever existed: the battle between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. This combat culminated at Calvary in the triumph of Our Blessed Lord. It was for this struggle and it was for this victory that he became incarnate. Since Our Lord’s victory was through the Cross and through His Precious Blood, it is understandable that its perpetuation will also be marked by conflicts and contradictions. Every Catholic is called to this combat. Our Lord reminded us of this when He said that He came “to bring the sword upon the earth” (Matt. 10:34). It is not surprising that the Mass, which perfectly expresses Our Lord’s definitive victory over sin through His atoning Sacrifice, is itself a sign of contradiction.

But why has the Mass become a sign of contradiction within the Church itself? The answer is simple and increasingly clear. After fifty years, the various elements that confirm the answer have become obvious to all well informed Catholics: the Tridentine Mass expresses and conveys a conception of Christian life – and consequently, a conception of the Catholic Church – that is absolutely incompatible with the ecclesiology that emerged from the Second Vatican Council. The problem is not simply liturgical, aesthetic or purely technical. The problem is simultaneously doctrinal, moral, spiritual, ecclesiological and liturgical. In a nutshell, it is a problem that affects all aspects of the Church’s life, without exception. It is a question of faith.

On one side is the Mass of All Times. It is the standard of a Church that defies the world and is certain of victory, for its battle is nothing less that the continuation of the battle that Our Blessed Lord waged to destroy sin and to destroy the kingdom of Satan. It is by the Mass and through the Mass that Our Lord enlists Catholic souls into His ranks, by sharing with them both His Cross and His victory. From all this follows a fundamentally militant conception of Christian life that is characterised by two elements: a spirit of sacrifice and an unwavering supernatural hope.

On the other side stands the Mass of Paul VI. It is an authentic expression of a Church that wants to live in harmony with the world and that lends an ear to the world’s demands. It represents a Church that, in the final analysis, no longer needs to fight against the world because it no longer has anything to reproach the world. Here is a Church that no longer has anything to teach the world because it listens to the powers of the world. It is a Church that no longer needs the Sacrifice of Our Blessed Lord because, having lost the notion of sin, it no longer has anything for which to atone. Here is a Church that no longer has the mission of restoring the universal kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ, because it wants to make its contribution to the creation on this earth of a better world that is freer, more egalitarian and more eco-responsible – and all this with purely human means. This humanist mission that the men of the Church have given themselves must necessarily be matched by a liturgy that is equally humanist and emptied of any notion of sacredness.

This battle that has been waged for the past fifty years, which has just seen a highly significant event on July 16th, is not a simple war between two rites: it is indeed a war between two different and opposing conceptions of the Catholic Church and of Christian life – conceptions that are absolutely irreducible and incompatible with each other. In paraphrasing Saint Augustin, one could say that the two Masses have built two cities: the Mass of All Times has built a Christian city; the New Mass seeks to build a humanist and secular city.

Since Almighty God has allowed all this, it is certainly for a greater good. Firstly for ourselves, who have the undeserved good fortune of knowing the Tridentine Mass and who can benefit from it! We possess a treasure with a value we do not always appreciate, and which we perhaps preserve too much out of simple habit. When something precious is attacked or scorned, we begin to appreciate better its true value. May this “shock”, provoked by the harshness of the official texts of July 16th, serve to renew, deepen and rediscover our attachment to the Tridentine Mass! This Mass – our Mass – must really be for us like the pearl of great price in the Gospel, for which we are ready to renounce everything, for which we are ready to sell everything. He who is not prepared to shed his blood for this Mass is not worthy to celebrate it! He who is not prepared to give up everything to protect it is not worthy to attend it!

This should be our first reaction to these events that have just shaken the Catholic Church. Our reaction, as Catholic priests and as Catholic laity, must be profound and more far-reaching than all those feeble and sometimes hopeless commentaries.

Our Blessed Lord certainly has another objective in mind in allowing this new attack on the Tridentine Mass. No one can doubt that in recent years many priests and faithful have discovered this Mass, and that through it they have encountered a new spiritual and moral horizon, which has opened the door to the sanctification of their souls. The latest measures taken against the Mass will force these souls to draw all the consequences of what they have discovered: they must now choose – with all the elements of discernment that are at their disposal – what is necessary for every well-informed Catholic conscience. Many souls will find themselves faced with an important choice that will affect their faith, because – and let us say it once more – the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the supreme expression of a doctrinal and moral universe. It is therefore a question of choosing the Catholic faith in its entirety and through it, choosing Our Lord Jesus Christ, with His Cross, His Sacrifice and His universal kingship. It is a matter of choosing His Precious Blood, of imitating the Crucified One and of following Him to the end, by a complete, rigorous and coherent fidelity.

The Society of Saint Pius X has the duty to assist all those souls who are currently in dismay and are confused. Firstly, we have the duty to offer them the certitude that the Tridentine Mass can never disappear from the face of the earth. This is an absolutely necessary sign of hope. Moreover, each of us, whether priest or faithful, must extend a warm helping hand to them, for he who has no desire to share the riches he enjoys is, in all truth, unworthy of possessing them. Only in this way will we truly love souls and show our love for the Church. For every soul that we win to Our Blessed Lord’s Cross, and to the immense love that He manifested through His Sacrifice, will be a soul truly won to His Church and to the charity that animates His Church, which must be ours, especially at this present time.

It is to Our Lady of Sorrows that we entrust these intentions. It is to her that we address our prayers, since no one has penetrated deeper than Our Blessed Lady, the mystery of the Sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus Christ and of His victory on the Cross. There is no one greater than Mary who has been so intimately associated with His sufferings and His triumph. It is in her hands that Our Blessed Lord has placed the whole Catholic Church. It is therefore to her that the most precious thing in the Catholic Church has been entrusted: the Testament of Our Lord Jesus Christ – the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Menzingen, July 22nd, 2021.

Feast of Saint Mary Magdalen.

Don Davide Pagliarani, 

Superior General.

letter_from_the_superior_general_en.pdf (sspx.org)

It's Sunday once again and the most church attendance will not be at the Cathedral of St. Michael but somewhere else because for most non-essential Catholics

There is, in fact, 

 

Ontario Premier Ford has declared that attending church is as essential as buying pool noodles - non-essential retail. The blame for this lay at the door of the man pictured above. Ford reduced church attendance to ten persons; Collins cancelled the public Mass and would let nobody attend other than at a contrived Communion service. He had his Mass you did not. What clericalism! Collins thinks this is a victory and thanked the Premier for his munificence.

As churches "fill" to the maximum of 15% per Mass I thought it might be fun to show you where the largest attendance will be today and what form of the Holy Mass it will be and offered by which group of priests.

On Aldgate Avenue in Toronto's south Etobicoke community, there is a former Baptist church long ago purchased and owned by the Society of St. Pius X known as the Church of the Transfiguration. The priests serve the faithful in Toronto, Orillia, Sudbury and St. Catharines from St. Michael's Priory and a few years ago, began a school in New Hamburg, west of Kitchener where there is also now a church in town sold to them by the Lutherans. During the varied CCP Virus fascist lockdowns, it is important to note that these priests did everything imaginable working within the draconian orders to provide the faithful with the Mass, in person and the sacraments. Unlike the man pictured above they did not close their church. They did not refuse Holy Communion and they did not refuse Baptisms as some Ontario bishops went so far as to do. These priests did not abandon the faithful. There is a fundraiser for a new church in Toronto worthy of support at this link.

Northwest of Toronto, in Markham, is a massive church and privately-owned. It is on the old farm of Canadian mining magnate, Stephen Roman. Roman had a vision - to build a cathedral for his Slovak-Byzantine Rite Catholic community surrounded by houses and shops recalling his village in Slovenia. In 1984, Pope John Paul II, whilst on a trip to Canada, blessed the bells and cornerstone of the already constructed walls and roof but yet, unfinished cathedral. Once able to be occupied the church was consecrated by the Slovak bishop. For complex reasons, the bishop later left in a dispute with Roman's heirs. Fast forward to 2021. Helen Roman-Barber heads the foundation which owns the church and has made it available to other Catholics. Jesus the King Melkite Church is there due to a fire at its home a number of years ago.

The Church of the Transfiguration on Aldgate normally has three Masses on Sunday, the third being at 5:00 P.M. It seats about 120 under normal circumstances with overflow in the hall. Due to demand and attendance restrictions, that Mass at 5:00 has been replaced now by two, one at 4:00 P.M. and one at 6.00 P.M. -- but not at the Church of the Transfiguration on Aldgate but at the Cathedral of the Transfiguration in Markham. Occupancy is at least, if not more than St. Michael's Cathedral, normally around 1,000.

How fitting, after months of denial of the Mass and Sacraments to the faithful that more people will be able to attend the Mass today offered by the priests of the Society of St. Pius X than that of Cardinal Collins in his own Cathedral.

SSPX: Allegations of cover-up or stonewalling of criminal investigation is "false!"

In my continuing effort to be fair and balanced in the matter of ChurchMilitant's reporting on allegations of sexual abuse and cover-up by some in the Society of St. Pius X, I present here, the latest response from officials in the Society and comment.


https://sspx.org/en/publications/newsletters/toward-transparency-repentance-and-healing-57684

The scourge of perversion, predation and sexual abuse in the Church must be cut out. We know that it has reached the highest levels. Theodore McCarrick is not the first prelate to have been found out, only the most prominent and recent. The cover-up of McCarrick's actions even reached Francis Bergoglio himself. Why would we doubt that even in the Society, sodomites embedded themselves? Others, for whatever reason, whether in denial and acting in good faith to prevent scandal, did not make public reports. Did some act maliciously? Maybe. 

As we were told by St. Gregory the Great; "It is better to let scandal arise than truth to be suppressed." 

Just as this disease has infected our dioceses and religous orders and does not change the truth of the Faith, so it is that any malefactors in the Society of St. Pius X, whomever they may be, do not change the good work done by 99.9% of the priests, nuns and religous and the faithful Catholic communities. 

And about that SSPX dust-up - One more thing!

My, oh my. The Twitterverse dustup caused when Taylor Marshall stated his appreciation for the discovery of the Society of St. Pius X on Easter Sunday quickly drew condemnation from others and erupted into an explosion of expert internet liturgists and canonists. As with Father John Zuhlsdorf, to whom I link below, it still continued last night. You can add Patrick Coffin as well as Timothy Gordon now as the latest expert associated with Trad Inc.

At the risk of being accused of carrying the can for them, I don't - I simply respect them and admire them and to all those priests in Toronto past and present whom I've met, I like them. Trust me, these men are strong enough to carry their own cans, and more. You can read a few below for two recent posts on this same subject. It is important to state it again, because the lies and distortion by the Kings of the Internet have not stopped.

Where some priests whom I know of in the Archdiocese of Toronto cower in their rectories right now playing video games and not answering emails, not hearing confessions, not live-steaming Mass or talks or rosaries and rather, lest their "immuno-compromised" systems don't get the China Wuhan Virus, these priests travel miles and miles at all hours to administer the sacraments including Extreme Unction to those suffering, because it is their "job."

Happily, there are other good priests in Toronto doing their "job."

I am glad to say that after discovering the Toronto Church of the Transfiguration around 15 years ago, I approached it from the heart. They seemed pretty Catholic to me. I remember advising my then spiritual director that I was going to assist there in the Schola. He insisted that I attend the Saturday evening Vigil Mass in the Novus Ordo so he could ensure that I was not "schismatic." Eventually, I ended "spiritual direction." I went on to sing there until other opportunities arose and have gone back here and there if called for a funeral of to substitute or simply to attend a quiet Mass.

https://sspx.ca/en/community/priories

Folks, these internet barkers are know-nothings. The Society of St. Pius X are fully Catholic. Stop accusing them of being "prideful" or "schismatic." First, it is not true, and secondly, when you point fingers, remember, four are pointed back at you.

Now, another important post by "Father Z!"

https://wdtprs.com/2020/04/114052/

Furthermore: If SSPX priests can receive faculties, then they are not suspended!

To follow up my post two below on the Society of St. Pius X and the silly and pathetic dustup involving Voris, Marshall, Gordon, (there, I named them) and others, I inform you of this long but important essay by Father John Zuhlsdorf.

Given the closure of our parishes, the pandemic, the worship of idols by Bergoglio and his betrayal of the faithful Catholics of China, without a doubt in my mind, connected to the China-Wuhan Virus, one would think these people would find something else to write about.

That being said, Father  Z has much to say and it is worth reading and contemplating. 

And remember this, the SSPX is not your enemy! Without them, we would have no Latin Mass, no "Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite." One day, we will say Saint Marcel of
Écône and Gabon!
I pray to live to see that day!

Now, for clarity, click on the link.

WHAT'S THE TRUTH ABOUT THE SSPX?

And this:

https://wdtprs.com/2020/04/another-point-about-the-sspx-they-are-not-a-small-fringe-group/#comments

To all those SSPX haters out there ...

Full Disclosure. I do not attend the SSPX chapel of the CATHOLIC Church in Toronto. I do not chant there. I have and was happy to do so at various times. If I had no work in diocesan Latin Masses leading and developing a schola and choir or as a cantor, there is no doubt that my wife and I would. It's about ten minutes from our home. That being said, I will help them in any way that I can.

The continued vitriol towards them on line, (I won't mention the names here) is simply demonic. I simply refuse to argue with anyone anymore about status and "irregular" communion or, "schism." It's all ridiculous. Given everything we face in the Church from the worship of pagan idols to the "rehabilitation" of Judas Iscariot, the sell-out of the Catholic faithful in communist China and everything else, this is what some have chosen to fight about - and very publicly. 

So, if this offends you, that I defend the priests and religious of the Society and their work and I have argued often that without Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and the Society, there would be no Latin Mass, then so be it. You can move along. 

In the spirit of this, I suggest to you this, by Joseph, no doubt equally frustrated with the shameful public fight.

https://josephsciambra.com/predator-priests-the-latin-mass-and-my-experiences-with-the-sspx/

LIVE NOW! April 5, 2020 - Palm Sunday @ 10.30 AM Latin Mass in the Roman Rite

April 5, 2020 - Palm Sunday @ 10.30 AM

Society of St. Pius X - Church of the Transfiguration 

Toronto, Canada.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDwl5vMKZL0

Click on the link for follow below to YouTube. It will not open on Blogger.

The New Immaculata at St. Mary's, Kansas

God grant your blessings upon the Society of St. Pius X and their courageous priests and bishops who labour for the faith and your people.

When the false church which resides in the true Church of Christ ordains a woman as a deacon and the Ordinary of your diocese goes along with this abomination, the Society will be our only refuge.

You know it and I know it.

The schismatics are not in the Society of St. Pius X, they are in Rome and in your diocese. 

Building a Home Worthy of The Immaculata from Society of St Pius X on Vimeo.

It's about the doctrine, it always was and remains so!

It's about doctrine.

The Social Kingship of Christ.

Collegiality.

Ecumenism.

There is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. 

The Church of Christ IS, the Catholic Church, Christ does not "subsist" in any other. 

Those who may be saved outside of the Church, are saved through Her and cannot ever be known to us and can only be known to God. God is not bound by His sacraments, we are. God can work through anyone, clearly, He works in non-Catholics converts or they would not convert, but no other church is the true Church.

There is no other way. Jesus is the "Way, the Truth and the Life," and "No one comes to the Father," except through Him. Period!

One group at the table is Catholic. One is not.

Communiqué from the General House of the Society of Saint Pius X concerning the Nov. 22, 2018 meeting between Cardinal Ladaria and Fr. Pagliarani

On Thursday, November 22, 2018, Fr. David Pagliarani, Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X, travelled to Rome at the invitation of Cardinal Luis Ladaria Ferrer, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He was accompanied by Fr. Emmanuel du Chalard. Cardinal Ladaria was assisted by Archbishop Guido Pozzo, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei.

The meeting took place in the offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Its purpose was to allow Cardinal Ladaria and Fr. Pagliarani to meet for the first time and together to take stock of the relations between the Holy See and the Society of Saint Pius X since the election of its new Superior General last July.

During the meeting with the Roman authorities, it was recalled that the fundamental problem is actually doctrinal, and neither the Society nor Rome can escape this fact. Because of this irreducible doctrinal divergence, for the past seven years, no attempt to compose a draft of a doctrinal statement acceptable to both parties has succeeded. This is why the doctrinal question remains absolutely essential.

The Holy See says the same when it solemnly declares that no canonical status can be established for the Society until after the signing of a doctrinal document.

Therefore, everything impels the Society to resume theological discussions with the awareness that the Good Lord does not necessarily ask the Society to convince its interlocutors, but rather to bear unconditional witness to the faith in the sight of the Church.

The future of the Society is in the hands of Providence and the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, as is demonstrated by its whole history, from the Society's foundation to this day.

The members of the Society want nothing else but to serve the Church and to cooperate effectively in her regeneration, to the point of giving their lives for her triumph if necessary. But they can choose neither the manner, nor the terms, nor the moment of what belongs to God alone.

Menzingen, November 23, 2018

The SSPX: "But if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it."

This writer does not attend the Society of St. Pius X chapel in Toronto. On Sundays, Vox and Fox drive two hours and two dioceses away to assist in developing the community there in a properly offered traditional Latin liturgy, with Gregorian chant and organ. Our choir is growing, mostly young women, our organist, at 13, can perform on the organ, and the community can sing, Mass I, II, III, IV, VI, VIII, IX, XI, XII, XV, XVII and Credo I-VI plus the Marian antiphons and sprinkling rites. That is the labour that this writer attends to on  Sundays, it is tiring and it is greatly rewarding to see how the community is growing. It is a humble group of faith. No rancour. No polemics. Only the gift by God to allow me to see where the future will be as we pass on to others what we have been given.

In full disclosure, in the past, between other cantor appointments and at other times on special request when their regular director was not available, I have assisted at the Toronto Chapel of The Transfiguration. I have great respect for what they have accomplished across southern Ontario from the St. Michael's Priory. I was a great honour to have been part of the Schola that sang the requiems for Father Nicholas Gruner and Father Stephen Somerville. I have great respect for the Society of St. Pius X and its priests and bishops. Without them, there would be on traditional Mass. The slander that they continue to put up with by people within the novus ordo culture is regrettable. When it comes by those lay pretenders to tradition, it is even more deplorable.

One day when the Church emerges from this darkness, She will acknowledge before God and man the error that overwhelmed Her. She will condemn these and declare them anathema. Then, She will acknowledge the legacy of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and "restore all things in Christ." 

When one views the pictures below and at the link, I defy anyone to state that this is not the work of God. This would not be happening if the Holy Spirit were not directing it. To fail to see this is to be blind. This is not to say that the SSPX is the "Church," but that the SSPX is within the "Church." 

Those who deride them are wrong and do not know scripture.

We only need to look at the Book of Acts and the very words of Holy Gamaliel himself:

ACTS 5: 38. And now, therefore, I say to you, refrain from these men, and let them alone; for if this council or this work be of men, it will come to nought; 39. But if it be of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest perhaps you be found even to fight against God. And they consented to him.

http://fsspx.news/fr/news-events/news/argentine-ordinations-au-seminaire-de-la-reja-32656

Happy Summorum Pontificum Day

On this anniversary of Summorum Pontificum, I say thank you to Pope Benedict XVI, ingloriously reigning as Holy Father and Pontiff from his prison in the Vatican garden under the watchful eye of his two-faced, double-agent, Prison Warden, Ganswein, doing the bidding of the great impostor and his band of merry-minions.

I also restate advice to the SSPX. Just say, "No!"

Look, I don't accept much of the bovine excrement in the documents of Vatican II and I despise the manner in which the deficient and unjustified, abomination of a Mass of the Missal of Paul VI, no blessed or saint in my view, is celebrated, when even done well. 

So, ya gonna kick me out, George?

The SSPX is Catholic, always was and, please God, will be.

They need to sign nothing.

If you can come up with any positive developments in the Church and the spread of the faith arising out of the Second Vatican Council, feel free to post a comment on what those might be...

Pfft to a Rome quickly becoming what Jack Chick proffered.

The Whore of Babylon!

Letter from Müller to Bishop Fellay and the Society of St. Pius X - Just say "No!"

To those bishops and priests of the Society of St. Pius X,

Just say no.

That is all.

Vox.

From www.medias-presse.info comes the following excerpt of a letter from Cardinal Müller to Bishop Bernard Fellay. According to www.medias-presse.info, Cardinal Müller's letter was communicated to all SSPX members by the SSPX General House.

Excerpt from Cardinal Müller's letter:

“As you know, Pope Francis has many a time manifested his benevolence towards your Priestly Society, granting, in particular, to all priest members the faculty of confessing the faithful validly and by authorizing local Ordinaries to grant licences for the celebration of the marriages of the faithful who follow the pastoral activity in your Society. Furthermore, discussions are continuing concerning questions relative to the full re-establishment of the communion of your Society with the Catholic Church.

In relation to this, with the approbation of the Sovereign Pontiff, I judged it necessary to submit to the Ordinary Session of our Congregation (which met on May 10 last) the text of the doctrinal Declaration which was transmitted to you during the meeting of June 13 2016, as the necessary condition in view of the full re-establishment of communion. Here are the unanimous decisions of all the members of our Dicastery in this regard:

1) It is necessary to require the adhesion of the members of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X to the new formula of the Professio Fidei dating from 1988 (c.f. annexe). Consequently, it is not sufficient to ask them to express the Professio Fidei of 1962.

2) The new text of the doctrinal Declaration must contain a paragraph in which the signatories declare in an explicit manner their acceptance of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and those of the post-conciliar period, by granting to said doctrinal affirmations the degree of adhesion which is due to them.

3) The members of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X must recognize not only the validity, but also the legitimacy of the Rite of the Holy Mass and of the Sacraments, according to the liturgical books promulgated after the Second Vatican Council.”

www.medias-presse.info adds that Cardinal Müller concluded the letter saying that “during the Audience granted to the Cardinal Prefect on May 20 2017, the Sovereign Pontiff approved these decisions”. The French website also adds that in his accompanying letter to SSPX priests, Father Christian Thouvenot, Secretary General of the SSPX, recalled the words of Bishop Fellay after the meeting of the major superiors in Anzère, Switzerland, on June 28 2016:

“The Society of Saint Pius X does not seek primarily a canonical recognition, to which it has a right because it is Catholic. The solution is not simply juridical. It pertains to a doctrinal position which it is imperative to manifest [...] Divine Providence will not abandon Its Church whose head is the Pope, Vicar of Jesus Christ. That is why an incontestable sign of this restoration will reside in the signified will of the Sovereign Pontiff to grant the means for re-establishing the order of the Priesthood, the Faith and Tradition – a sign which will be, furthermore, the guarantor of the necessary unity of the family of Tradition”.

Published in Fetzen Fliegen

In an act of profound justice, Pope Francis grants faculties for SSPX to solemnise marriages!

Surely no "Ordinary" would refuse Pope Francis' correction of a gross injustice and most loving and generous pastoral concern for the Catholic faithful who marry one another within the chapels and under the guidance and solemnisation of priests of the Society of St. Pius X!

What bishop would not show the same generosity that the Pope has?

What bishop would challenge Pope Francis' sense of justice to the faithful at have found refuge in the Society's chapels?

Good for Pope Francis!

From Rorate Caeli blog!

In a letter approved by Pope Francis, Cardinal Gerhard Müller says, “The Holy Father . . . has decided to authorize Local Ordinaries the possibility to grant faculties for the celebration of marriages of faithful who follow the pastoral activity of the Society.” The Pope's decision adopts a proposal by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, both of which are headed by Cardinal Müller. 

The new provisions are part of a number of ongoing meetings and initiatives aimed at bringing the Society into full communion; Cardinal Müller’s letter mentions specifically the recent decision of Pope Francis to grant all priests of the Society the faculty to validly administer the Sacrament of Penance to the faithful in order “to ensure the validity and liceity of the Sacrament and allay any concerns on the part of the faithful.” 

The grant of faculties for the celebration of marriage is subject to several provisions: “Insofar as possible, the Local Ordinary [that is, normally the local Diocesan Bishop] is to grant the delegation to assist at the marriage to a priest of the Diocese (or in any event, to a fully regular priest), such that the priest may receive the consent of the parties during the marriage rite, followed, in keeping with the liturgy of the Vetus ordo, by the celebration of Mass, which may be celebrated by a priest of the Society.” That is, a priest in good standing is to preside at the celebration of the marriage itself, which in the extraordinary form takes place before the nuptial Mass. The Mass itself may then be celebrated by a priest of the SSPX. 

The letter also foresees that circumstances may exist where those provisions are not possible, or where no Diocesan priest is able to receive the consent of the parties. In such cases, the Pope allows the Ordinary to grant faculties to the priest who will celebrate the nuptial Mass. 

Cardinal Müller closes his letter expressing his conviction that “in this way any uneasiness of conscience on the part of the faithful who adhere to the Society of St. Pius X as well as any uncertainty regarding the validity of the sacrament of marriage may be alleviated, and at the same time that the process towards full institutional regularization may be facilitated”; and that, to that end, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei “relies” on the cooperation of the prelates of the Episcopal Conferences concerned in this matter.

Below, please find the full text of Cardinal Gerhard Müller’s letter:

Your Eminence,

Your Excellency,

As you are aware, for some time various meetings and other initiatives have been ongoing in order to bring the Society of St. Pius X into full communion. Recently, the Holy Father decided, for example, to grant all priests of said Society the faculty to validly administer the Sacrament of Penance to the faithful (Letter Misericordia et misera, n.12), such as to ensure the validity and liceity of the Sacrament and allay any concerns on the part of the faithful.

Following the same pastoral outlook which seeks to reassure the conscience of the faithful, despite the objective persistence of the canonical irregularity in which for the time being the Society of St. Pius X finds itself, the Holy Father, following a proposal by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, has decided to authorize Local Ordinaries the possibility to grant faculties for the celebration of marriages of faithful who follow the pastoral activity of the Society, according to the following provisions.

Insofar as possible, the Local Ordinary is to grant the delegation to assist at the marriage to a priest of the Diocese (or in any event, to a fully regular priest), such that the priest may receive the consent of the parties during the marriage rite, followed, in keeping with the liturgy of the Vetus ordo, by the celebration of Mass, which may be celebrated by a priest of the Society.

Where the above is not possible, or if there are no priests in the Diocese able to receive the consent of the parties, the Ordinary may grant the necessary faculties to the priest of the Society who is also to celebrate the Holy Mass, reminding him of the duty to forward the relevant documents to the Diocesan Curia as soon as possible.

Certain that in this way any uneasiness of conscience on the part of the faithful who adhere to the Society of St. Pius X as well as any uncertainty regarding the validity of the sacrament of marriage may be alleviated, and at the same time that the process towards full institutional regularization may be facilitated, this Dicastery relies on Your cooperation.

The Sovereign Pontiff Francis, at the Audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei on 24 March 2017, confirmed his approval of the present letter and ordered its publication.

Rome, from the Offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 27 March 2017.

Gerhard Card. L. Müller,

President

+ Guido Pozzo

Secretary

Titular Archbishop of Bagnoregio
 - See more at: http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2017/04/step-by-step-vatican-issues-marriage.html#more

SSPX and reconciliation

Without a doubt, their are firm opinions against the SSPX accepting some sort of regularisation in a canonical sense. 

I think we need to look at Holy Gamaliel, who, though a Pharisee, is considered a Saint and is in the Roman Martyrology. 

"And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God." —Acts 5:38–39

Updated thoughts and repost ... 

• The Society of St. Pius X is Catholic, it always has  been. The canonical recognition through a Personal Prelature is the correction of an injustice; -- the unjust excommunication of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and the eventually remitted of the four bishops.
• It is the correction of the unjust suspension of all the newly ordained priests.
• It is the correction of the deep injustice of the suspension of Archbishop Lefebvre in the early 1970's for not agreeing to celebrate the Novus Ordo.
• It is the correction of the injustice of the attempt by Rome to suppress a canonically founded and correctly Catholic seminary.
• The sole purpose of the Society's existence is the formation and education of priests for the salvation of souls.
• The Society is in a stronger and even more credible position now than when first suspended over four decades ago.
• A regularisation would essentially return them to where they were prior to that initial suspension, except that they are in that stronger, more credible, more public reality than back then.
• As long as they have protected their assets and their charism then they have a duty to accept the reasonable offer.
• Failing to do so would leave them open to criticism and persecution by bishops throughout the world and the declaration of formal schism.
• The Church and a future Pontiff have a greater chance of renouncing the errors of modernism and Vatican II with the Society of St. Pius X on the "inside" formally, than being an outside observer, at best.

Last September, 2016, I wrote about the SSPX and the ongoing and progressing talks with the Vatican on full reconciliation and that they had nothing to fear from Francis, provided they controlled their assets and structure. It was titled, "Show me the money." 

We've heard in the last day, that there is a real estate purchase about to take place in Rome for their headquarters.

I will repeat my opinion now as I did then. The Society has nothing to fear as long as it gives up nothing. No control over its assets, no interference in its charism.

I am one who has never accepted the schismatic argument. The Church, beginning under Paul VI and continuing under John Paul II created an injustice against the Society, its priests and religious, and of course, its bishops and the faithful attending its chapels and schools. Benedict XVI tried to remove the injustice and laid the groundwork with Summorum Pontificum and the lifting of the unjust excommunications. Francis seems to be prepared to finish the work.

Remember friends, Bishop Bernard Fellay is no fool.

Many questions why? Why is Francis doing this?

The fact is, it does not matter. What matters is, he is doing it and it is the work of the Holy Spirit, not his, "god of surprises." It is the work of the Holy Spirit because only good will come of it. Francis is, the Pope, and he is being dragged kicking and screaming to this reconciliation even if he does not recognize if for what it is. 

Only good will come of this.

The Vatican and the SSPX: Show me the money!

Bishop Bernard Fellay of the Society of St. Pius X gave a talk in August which can be viewed on Rorate  Caeli. A number of bloggers have commented on what Fellay says. Some have opined that it is a "trap."

Having listened to the entirety of the two videos, there is a takeaway that deserves some thought.

The Church is in a grave crisis, there are good men left in the Vatican, they see the SSPX as a lifeline and that they hold the true faith as it was always taught. The Society has friends that it did not have a decade ago, it has allies. 

An offer of a Personal Prelature is apparently on the table. Much has been made about this and what it would entail and what they would or would not need to accept relating to the Second Vatican Council.

Is it a trap?

Here is how we will all know and it is something that I have no doubt, Bishop Fellay and his colleagues are already well aware of.

It's about the money. Period.

The Society is full of it in liquid terms and in land. It has been a good steward of the wealth bequeathed to it and given to it over decades to foster the work of God. The temporal wealth of the Society is what enables the Society to do the spiritual work of educating priests and saving souls. One cannot exist without the other. 

Is Rome, is Francis sincere?

Follow the money.

UPDATE:

Why do I think this is where the rubber meets the road?

We have the example of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate and the open persecution. We see the attack now on contemplative and cloistered nuns. Have we forgotten that the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter was promised a bishop, as just a few examples? Can these men in Rome be trusted? 

I don't know the statutes of the Society, how it is structured, how its property is held in various countries. The danger is in the future make up of a "Board," if you will and the power vested in the Superior General. If the Superior General is compromised by Rome and can appoint the Board of Governors of the Society, will he appoint a Board favourable to him that might eventually vote to follow a path out of step with the foundation of the Society. As long as the Society can maintain its property, it can survive whatever Rome wishes to throw at it. If this Pope, or another in the future tries to force the Society to accept a heretical action or sacrilege, they can continue to resist. If they do not control in perpetuity their assets, then they can be plundered over time in the manner of loading them, and all traditionalists, on a boat and then try to sink it. Rome must have no ability to seize their seminaries or chapels or schools. If that is not guaranteed, then we will know Rome's true intention.

One more point. On Hilary White's blog, What's up, S. Armaticus of Deus, ex machina has left a comment. He writes:

"And finally, I think you and all of your readers need to get ready. The finally battle is approaching. Francis will recognize the SSPX unilaterally. And that is when the defecation will hit the oscillating device." 

This is the great danger. That one morning he wakes up and just "does it." As full, complete and universal authority is vested in him, if he does this, without an agreement, the Society is in a position to be formally declared schismatic because they will be forced to submit without security, without clarity of the issues. They, and all those who attend there and support them, will be considered schismatic and their work will be severely affected. It would be an act on the part of Rome of great error and will, in my view, unleash a heavenly fury. Maybe this is what is necessary. 

It is my view, and it has been for a while. that ++Marcel Lefebvre was wrongly "excommunicated," that he was acting, in good conscience, in a "state of emergency." It is further my view, that he was the instrument of God, the Holy Spirit, the fruit has shown this to be obvious. One day, he will be declared a Blessed. 

If we find that the Vatican is prepared to make a deal with the Society of St. Pius X that allows the Society to maintain full and complete control over their assets in perpetuity then Rome's motivation is just and good. If there is any reason on the part of Bishop Fellay to believe otherwise, then he must not sign any agreement and continue on in the current situation until God's good time and a truly Catholic pope.

That's it folks.

Show me the money!

Open Letter to Confused Catholics

http://www.sspxasia.com/Documents/Archbishop-Lefebvre/OpenLetterToConfusedCatholics/

Communiqué of Bishop Fellay - where are the rest of the "Catholic" bishops, or are they, even?

Communiqué from the Superior General to All Members of the Society of Saint Pius X at the conclusion of the meeting of major superiors in Anzère (Valais), June 28 2016

16-07-2016  
Filed under From Tradition, News

Following the meeting of the superiors of the Society of St. Pius X, in addition to the statement he read on June 29, 2016, during the priestly ordinations in Ecône, Bishop Bernard Fellay, the day before, had addressed the priests in a statement that DICI publishes today exclusively.

Meeting of Major Superiors of the Society of Saint Pius X (25-28 June 2016).

For the glory of God,
for the honor of Our Lord Jesus Christ and of His Most Holy Mother,
for our salvation.

In the present grave state of necessity in the Church, which gives it the right to administer spiritual aid to the souls that turn to it, the Society of Saint Pius X does not seek above all a canonical recognition, to which it has a right because it is Catholic. The solution is not simply juridical. It depends on a doctrinal position that it is imperative to express.

When Saint Pius X condemned modernism, he traced the whole argument of the encyclical Pascendi back to one initial principle: independence. Now the world makes all its efforts to change the axis around which it must turn. And it is obvious to Catholics, as it is to those who are not, that the Cross is no longer that axis. Paul VI said it very well: man is (See Closing Speech of Vatican II, December 7, 1965).

Today the world turns around this, according to him, definitively established axis: human dignity, man’s conscience and freedom. Modern man exists for his own sake. Man is the king of the universe. He has dethroned Christ. Man exalts his autonomous, independent conscience, to the point of dissolving even the very foundations of the family and marriage.

The Society of Saint Pius X has always opposed this project of deconstruction of the universe, both the political society, and the Church.

To remedy this universal disorder, the Good Lord raised up a man, a Christian, a priest, a bishop. What did he do? He founded a society—a hierarchical society—the principle and end of which are just the antidote to this universal disorder: The Sacrament of Holy Orders. The purpose of the Society of Saint Pius X continues to be not only the actual remedy of the crisis but also thereby the salvation of all who cooperate in it. The Society is determined to keep doctrinal, theological and social rectitude, founded on the Cross of Jesus Christ, on His Kingship, on His sacrifice, and on His priesthood, the principle of all order and of all grace. Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre fought his whole life long for the triumph of these fundamental truths. It is incumbent on us at the present hour to redouble our efforts and to intensify the same fight on the same principles.

We are not “conciliarists”: for they deny that Christ’s cross is the world’s axis; neither are we dissenters who reject the social nature of the Church. We are a Society of priests of Jesus Christ, of the Catholic Church.

Is this truly the moment for the general restoration of the Church? Divine Providence does not abandon its Church, the head of which is the Pope, the Vicar of Jesus Christ. This is why an indisputable sign of this restoration will be the express desire will of the Supreme Pontiff to grant the means with which to reestablish the order of the priesthood, of the faith, and of Tradition, sign which will moreover be the guarantee of the necessary unity of the family of Tradition.

Christus regnat,
Christus imperat,
Deo gratias,
Amen.

+ Bernard Fellay
Anzère, 28 June 2016
on the vigil of the Apostles Peter and Paul

(Source : FSSPX/MG –DICI dated July 16, 2016)