Is the Society of St. Pius X, an emanation of the "Conciliar Church"? - A Translation of Côme de Prévigny's French Article on Credidimus Caritati
Further thoughts on the implications of the term 'conciliar Church'. As noted in my earlier article , the 'resistance' appears to understand the term as a completely separate entity - with its own hierarchy etc.
If that were true, then there would be new implications.
Which 'church' gave the official approval for the founding of the SSPX? The One, Holy, Roman, Catholic, Apostolic Church or the 'Conciliar Church'?
The following article provides a good background of the issue that the 'resistance' needs to reconsider in their accusation that the SSPX has a malformed understanding of Church ecclesiology.
Courtesy of Credidimus Caritati
Among the marginal environments of Tradition, there are some people who are attempting to twist the thoughts of Archbishop Lefebvre, and attempt to state that the "Conciliar Church" should be considered as an independent structure, independent from the Catholic Church as founded by Our Lord. Of course, these people condemn the attitude of Archbishop Lefebvre, who spent his time to meet with these authorities, although imbued from the ideas of the Council, in order to find a modus vivendi.
The same people bring forth the idea that, as he received the approval of Bishop Francois Charriere - the Bishop of Lausanne-Fribourg - on November 1, 1970, Archbishop Lefebvre would have been approved by the True Church. And the same slayers of the "Conciliar Church" - an expression carved by Bishop Benelli - do not hesitate to elevate Bishop Charriere to the rank of second founder of the Society. After all, he is the one who signed the birth certificate of the Society, its decree of erection. But was he on the same wavelength as Archbishop Lefebvre?
The two men met each other in Dakar when the Bishop of Fribourg came to visit for a fortnight, the Swiss who were working in Senegal. On that occasion, they sympathized and Archbishop Lefebvre kept in touch. As the University of Fribourg kept rather a good name, the Archbishop chose to setting his seminary in that town, and then solicited his friend, Bishop Charriere, for approval. But the latter gave him the advice to send his future priests to the interdiocesan seminary:
Of course, Bishop Charriere voted in favour of that declaration. Moreover, Bishop Charriere was quite involved in ecumenism. He was not afraid of dialogue with Protestants and, at the same time when he was having talks with Archbishop Lefebvre in view of the recognition of his work, he flew to the Soviets' Moscow in order to represent Paul VI at the funeral of the schismatic Patriarch Alexis 1st, an ally of the politcal power of Brezhnev, as a true ecumenical gesture.
In many respects, Bishop Francois Charriere was a typical representative of what Bishop Benelli used to call the "Conciliar Church". But he was also the man who granted the diocesan right to the institute called "Society of St. Pius X". So, if we were to consider that expression as something that designates a structure completely different from the Catholic Church, we would be forced to conclude that the Society of St. Pius X is not an emanation of the Catholic Church but rather an emanation from a schismatic entity. Thus to pretend that such was not the thinking of the founder, sounds like trying to break in through a wide open door.
Côme de Prévigny
1. The Little Story of My Long Life, Archbishop Lefebvre page 101
If that were true, then there would be new implications.
Which 'church' gave the official approval for the founding of the SSPX? The One, Holy, Roman, Catholic, Apostolic Church or the 'Conciliar Church'?
The following article provides a good background of the issue that the 'resistance' needs to reconsider in their accusation that the SSPX has a malformed understanding of Church ecclesiology.
Courtesy of Credidimus Caritati
Among the marginal environments of Tradition, there are some people who are attempting to twist the thoughts of Archbishop Lefebvre, and attempt to state that the "Conciliar Church" should be considered as an independent structure, independent from the Catholic Church as founded by Our Lord. Of course, these people condemn the attitude of Archbishop Lefebvre, who spent his time to meet with these authorities, although imbued from the ideas of the Council, in order to find a modus vivendi.
The same people bring forth the idea that, as he received the approval of Bishop Francois Charriere - the Bishop of Lausanne-Fribourg - on November 1, 1970, Archbishop Lefebvre would have been approved by the True Church. And the same slayers of the "Conciliar Church" - an expression carved by Bishop Benelli - do not hesitate to elevate Bishop Charriere to the rank of second founder of the Society. After all, he is the one who signed the birth certificate of the Society, its decree of erection. But was he on the same wavelength as Archbishop Lefebvre?
The two men met each other in Dakar when the Bishop of Fribourg came to visit for a fortnight, the Swiss who were working in Senegal. On that occasion, they sympathized and Archbishop Lefebvre kept in touch. As the University of Fribourg kept rather a good name, the Archbishop chose to setting his seminary in that town, and then solicited his friend, Bishop Charriere, for approval. But the latter gave him the advice to send his future priests to the interdiocesan seminary:
"So I went to see Bishop Charriere. I asked him if there wasn't something else at Fribourg which would be better than this house of the Holy Ghost Fathers, somewhere that the seminarians I was looking after could stay and receive a better formation. He answered me: "You know, your Excellency, the situation right now is very bad and is getting worse and worse. I am very pessimistic about the future of the diocese and the priestly formation. I am pessimistic; I do not know how things are going to turn out. In any case, yes, we do have an interdiocesan seminary which serves all the Swiss dioceses and even accepts secular students. So it could very well receive your students also. I suggest you inquire there."1Being quite foreign to the ideas of the Coetus, Bishop Charriere was in reality a man imbued with the ideas of the conciliar spirit, even before Vatican II. On the occasion of his accession to the See of Fribourg, La Voix Ouvriere, the daily newspaper of the Communist part in French speaking Switzerland praised the reputation of being "left wing" of the new bishop. It was also at the same time that he encouraged the Ecumenical Council of Churches (ECC) even though it was strictly forbidden by Rome. As early as 1960, the prelate sent to the Secretary for the Unity of Christians, of which he was an active member besides Cardinal Bea, a note on the liberty of conscience, which was going to be promoted to train the minds of people. Along with the writings of Bishop Emile de Smedt, that note gave of the groundwork to the conciliar declaration Dignitatis Humanae.
Of course, Bishop Charriere voted in favour of that declaration. Moreover, Bishop Charriere was quite involved in ecumenism. He was not afraid of dialogue with Protestants and, at the same time when he was having talks with Archbishop Lefebvre in view of the recognition of his work, he flew to the Soviets' Moscow in order to represent Paul VI at the funeral of the schismatic Patriarch Alexis 1st, an ally of the politcal power of Brezhnev, as a true ecumenical gesture.
In many respects, Bishop Francois Charriere was a typical representative of what Bishop Benelli used to call the "Conciliar Church". But he was also the man who granted the diocesan right to the institute called "Society of St. Pius X". So, if we were to consider that expression as something that designates a structure completely different from the Catholic Church, we would be forced to conclude that the Society of St. Pius X is not an emanation of the Catholic Church but rather an emanation from a schismatic entity. Thus to pretend that such was not the thinking of the founder, sounds like trying to break in through a wide open door.
Côme de Prévigny
1. The Little Story of My Long Life, Archbishop Lefebvre page 101
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