French SSPX Bulletin from December 24th reports a preparation for Episcopal Consecrations?

[Stone]

Dear friends:

Before starting I want to warn that I am new to the forum. Also say that I am Spanish and that my knowledge of the English language is limited, so I use a simultaneous translator, so, for now, I apologize for any possible errors in writing.

I wanted to briefly share with you my concerns, which I assume we share to a large extent. The SSPX is in a critical situation. Even if a desired excommunication occurs, as the shared French bulletin suggests, the internal situation is actually fragile and there is no clarity on fundamental issues. Especially with regard to the sacrament of orders, both the new rite of priestly ordination and, above all, the new rite of episcopal consecration. There we see the whole problem with Huonder, the priests who are not ordained sub conditione... In short, it is the main problem, I believe, that joins others of lack of firmness in all kinds of issues: doctrinal, moral, traditions...

On the other hand, the Resistance, which this year will mark a decade since the creation of the beautifully named Union Priestly Marcel Lefebvre (USML), has turned out to be a failure. Almost nothing has improved the inconsistencies and weaknesses that the SSPX had. And, although I understand the decentralized organization of the apostolate, I believe that from there to a total atomization of individual priests there is a middle ground. Anyway, now Bishop Williamson, recently according to his Eleison comments, has improved some of his doctrinal positions, as he doubts the new rites of order, he has called his controversial opinion (albeit not convincingly, but oh well) Eucharistic miracles in the Novus Ordo and well, let's say that it has corrected some of its errors a little. In short, I don't know what we can expect from the new bishops consecrated by him, namely Ballini, Stobnicki and Morgan. To which the until now conservative Viganó joins, in the absence of confirmation of his subconditione consecration.

As for Sedevacantism, well, I consider that we have not had a Pope since 1958. Now, the Thuc lineage seems dubious to me and I do not share the dogmatization of Sedevacantism of the groups that come precisely from the Thuc lineage. I sincerely believe that it is impossible to prove the validity of Thuc's consecrations due to his mental state and lack of qualified witnesses.

So what can we expect? In this blog, what position do you have? What does Father Hewko think of this? The point is that we need bishops, without bishops the Church simply becomes extinct. We know that God will not allow this, but for the salvation of souls it is necessary to do something. Yes, you have to pray the Rosary, but, as we say in Spain: pray to God and hit the hammer. That is to say, we have to organize ourselves better, even if we maintain a certain independence, even if we are several groups, fine, but we must have a more solid organization. How about? Bishop Faure seems to have that intention, I don't know, I just think we should be prepared for a possible total debacle of the SSPX.

In Christ.

Welcome to The Catacombs, Boanerges!

A few replies to your comments. 

It has been disappointing, or rather tragic, to see the compromise and decline of the SSPX. Indeed, decline usually (always) follows compromise, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, but the decline is evident. Hence, the utter importance of clinging to uncompromising clergy for direction and guidance. 

We have seen the similar compromises in many members of the fake resistance (USML), particularly by it's nominal head, Bishop Williamson, who makes great allowance for the New Mass and (it necessarily follows) the New Mass Eucharistic 'miracles.' In fact, what was quietly known for some time was made public some months past that belief in the New Mass 'miracles' is a prerequisite for obtaining any episcopal assistance from Bishop Williamson [see here]. 

A more blatant compromise is hard to imagine. And yet this is the current status of those priests who left the compromising SSPX and either continued to compromise under Bishop Williamson though with the veneer of resistance, or continued the path of Archbishop Lefebvre in opposing the errors of Rome since Vatican II [such as Frs. Hewko and Ruiz]. 

It was something of a scandal when Bishop Williamson announced some years ago: 

· Congregations and seminaries are not needed today. They are outdated. God does not want there to be a structure or congregation for the Resistance.

· Seminarians who are ready for ordination should not be ordained, because there is no structure or congregation for them to be ordained into.

· We shouldn’t try to get priests to work together. It’s bound to fail, so it’s better not to attempt it at all.

This mentality is not Catholic. It is well known fact that people working in isolation, working in silos, are not as effective as those working together. It is a sabotaging mentality to say the things Bishop Williamson has about priests in this regard. During the many heresies affecting the Church, no prelate encouraged priests to work alone in fighting the Arians, for example. And this is certainly not how Archbishop Lefebvre functioned. Again this mentality is a novel one among Catholics.

While we are glad to see that Bishop Williamson's Eleison Comments often repeat traditional Catholic teaching, there have been many, many times they have not [see here and here, for example]. And it is this double-tongued speech that gives rise to much confusion. The things of God do not create confusion.

Both Bishop Williamson (publicly) and Bishop Zendejas (privately) have encouraged people to go to the New Mass, all the while talking out of both sides of their mouths by praising the traditional Mass. Again, this simply sows seeds of confusion. Where exactly do they stand and what exactly are they 'resisting?' If you are not familiar, The Recusant has done a phenomenal job exposing this doublespeak and oblique abandonment of tradition.

As for sedevacantism, The Catacombs holds fast to the position of Archbishop Lefebvre and now Archbishop Viganò, who both have stated that the dire situation of the Church will be resolved in the future by a truly Catholic pope once again. We know that during Archbishop Lefebvre's lifetime, Popes Paul VI and John Paul II wrecked unprecedented damage on the Church. And after much study of the Doctors of the Church and the Saints, and after much prayer and reflection, Archbishop Lefebvre did not say these hellish popes were not popes. We know in these last ten years Francis is continuing and finalizing the destruction begun under Paul VI and JPII. Francis constantly cites Vatican II to implement his radical interpretations of the time bombs placed in those Vatican II documents. He has no creativity on his own, he simply continues to implement the blueprint of destruction begun at the Second Vatican Council.

We firmly believe these words of Archbishop Viganò, in his recent sermon for the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter in Rome, January 18, 2024:

And while our hearts are broken in contemplating the ruins caused by the devastation of the innovators to the detriment of so many souls and the glory of the divine Majesty; while we implore from Heaven a light that will allow us to understand how to combine Our Lord’s promise Non prævalebunt with the steady stream of heresies and scandals spread by the one whom Providence has inflicted on us at the head of the ecclesial body as punishment for the sins committed by the Hierarchy in these decades; while we see the division between those who deluded themselves that they still had a Pope segregated in the Monastery and the schism in the Dioceses of Northern Europe with their wicked synodal journey strongly desired by Bergoglio, we remember the prophecy of Leo XIII of happy memory, who wanted to insert in the prayer of the Exorcism against Satan and the apostate angels those terrible words that at the time must have sounded almost scandalous, but that today we understand in their supernatural sense:

Ecclesiam, Agni immaculati sponsam, faverrimi hostes repleverunt amaritudinibus, inebriarunt absinthio; Ad omnia desiderabilia ejus impias miserunt manus. Ubi sedes beatissimi Petri et Cathedra veritatis ad lucem gentium constituta est, ibi thronum posuerunt abominationis et impietatis suæ; ut percusso Pastor, et gregem disperse valeant.

'Terrible enemies have filled the Church, bride of the immaculate Lamb, with bitterness, they have poisoned her with absinthe; they have laid their wicked hands on all desirable things. There where the See of Blessed Peter and the Chair of Truth was established to enlighten the nations, there they have placed the throne of their abomination and impiety, so that by striking the Shepherd they might also scatter the flock.'

These are not randomly written words: they were written after Leo XIII, at the end of Mass, had a vision in which the Lord granted Satan a period of time of about a hundred years to test the men of the Church. They echo the message of the Blessed Virgin at La Salette, fifty years earlier: “Rome will lose the Faith and become the seat of the Antichrist,” and precede by little more than a decade that third part of the Secret of Fatima in which, in all likelihood, Our Lady predicted the apostasy of the Hierarchy with the Second Vatican Council and the liturgical reform.

God will raise up good bishops, even if for a time, we must suffer under weak or bad ones. Look at Archbishop Viganò, who kind of came out of nowhere. How traditional he is remains to be seen but so far, he looks promising. He denounces the New Mass without compromise (unlike Bishop Williamson) and he is starting a seminary as well. All the attributes we look for in a good bishop. 

At Our Lord's triumphant entry to Jerusalem on the Sunday before His Passion, the Gospel tells us "And some of the Pharisees, from amongst the multitude, said to him: Master, rebuke thy disciples. To whom he said: I say to you, that if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out" [Luke 19: 39-40]. God will raise up who He will to lead the faithful. But Hell will always throw chaff to confuse and blind as many souls as possible.

I wholeheartedly agree with you, the priests and bishop of tradition should be working together and remain united in their disavowal of all things modernist and all things Vatican II. We do not hear much from the other bishops consecrated by Bishop Williamson, some of which occurred in secret. This secrecy is also troubling as God does all things in the light. Christ healed and taught publicly.

Our Lady has always shown Herself to be such a tender and caring Mother. May we mightily implore Her that we may remain faithful in these days of confusion.