Has the SSPX Strayed from the Teaching of the Church and Archbishop Lefebvre?
-A Layman's Thoughts-
There have been a lot of
wild accusations made about the SSPX and in particular Bishop Fellay.
The chief of these is that the SSPX has abandoned the principles set
down by Archbishop Lefebvre.
This is a serious
accusation as principles are the guides used to aid in decision
making. Bad principles will lead to bad decisions.
One of the key principles
that guides the SSPX happens to be an article in the Apostle's Creed:
"I believe in the Holy, Catholic, Church".
This article is so
important that the authors of the Catechism of Trent wrote:
Since,
therefore, it is impossible that anyone be infected with the
contagion of heresy, so long as he holds what this Article proposes
to be believed, let pastors use every diligence that the faithful,
having known this mystery and guarded against the wiles of Satan, may
persevere in the true faith.
The Marks of the Church of Christ
The explanation of the Four Marks of the Church forms
a significant part of the article in the Catechism of the Council of
Trent. This is understandable as it is by these marks that a Catholic
recognizes the Church. A Church that they profess belief in each
Sunday in the Nicene Creed to be One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic
Church and daily in the Apostle's Creed to be Holy and Catholic. A
Church that they must belong to in order to be saved.
Apostolic
The Church of Christ can
be recognized by its Apostolic origin, for "the Holy Ghost, who
presides over the Church, governs her by no other ministers than
those of Apostolic succession".
Catholic
The Catholic Church is
Universal, "embraces ... all mankind" and includes "all
the faithful who have existed from Adam to the present day, or who
shall exist, in the profession of the true faith, to the end of
time". Finally, the Church is called Universal because
"all who desire eternal salvation must cling to and embrace
her".
Holy
The Church is Holy for the
following reasons: it is consecrated and dedicated to God; because
the Church, as the Mystical Body of Christ, is united to its head:
Our Lord Jesus Christ; and lastly the Church has the true worship of
God.
The Catechism of Trent
closes this explanation with the following:
... the Church
alone has the legitimate worship of sacrifice, and the salutary use
of the Sacraments, which are the efficacious instruments of divine
grace, used by God to produce true holiness. Hence, to possess true
holiness, we must belong to this Church. The Church therefore it is
clear, is holy, and holy because she is the body of Christ, by whom
she is sanctified, and in whose blood she is washed.
Lastly, in this crisis of
the Church it is also critical to note that:
"... the
Church, although numbering among her children many sinners, is called
holy. ... so in like manner the faithful, although offending in many
things and violating the engagements to which they had pledged
themselves, are still called holy, because they have been made the
people of God and have consecrated themselves to Christ by faith and
Baptism. ..." (Catechism of Trent)
One
Finally we reach the first
'Mark' of the Church of Christ: Oneness, or more succinctly the
Church of Christ can be known by its Unity. This is the one mark
that, in my opinion, has suffered the most in this crisis as a result
of a 'diabolical disorientation'.
For completeness, I will
use two additional resources: The documents of the First Vatican
Council and finally the theology textbook Fundamentals of Catholic
Dogma by Dr. Ott.
The authors of the
Catechism divide their explanation into Unity of Government and Unity
in Spirit, Hope and Faith.
Concerning Unity of
Government the doctrine is clear and precise: Christ is the invisible
head of "the Church, which is his body", the visible
"governor" is the Pope "the legitimate successor of
Peter".
Of the Pope, the authors
further explain, that the Fathers of the Church are unanimous in
teaching that the "visible head is necessary to establish and
preserve unity in the Church".
Interestingly, the authors
of the Catechism of Trent expended four to five times as many lines
expounding on the unifying role of the Pope vs the following passage
which lists the other unifying aspects within the Church.
Moreover,
the Apostle, writing to the Corinthians, tells them that there is but
one and the same Spirit who imparts grace to the faithful, as the
soul communicates life to the members of the body. Exhorting the
Ephesians to preserve this unity, he says: Be careful to keep the
unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; one body and one Spirit. As
the human body consists of many members, animated by one soul, which
gives sight to the eves, hearing to the ears, and to the other senses
the power of discharging their respective functions; so the mystical
body of Christ, which is the Church, is composed of many faithful.
The hope, to which we are called, is also one, as the Apostle tells
us in the same place; for we all hope for the same consummation,
eternal and happy life. Finally, the faith which all are bound
to believe and to profess is one: Let there be no schisms amongst
you, says the Apostle. And Baptism, which is the seal of our
Christian faith, is also one.
Given the attacks against
the Papacy, the Fathers of the First Vatican Council put forth the
following more detailed explanation on the relation of the Pope and
the Church's unity:
"The eternal
shepherd and guardian of our souls, in order to render permanent the
saving work of redemption, determined to build a church in which, as
in the house of the living God,all the faithful should be linked by
the bond of one faith and charity.
...
In order, then,
that the episcopal office should be one and undivided and that, by
the union of the clergy, the whole multitude of believers should be
held together in the unity of faith and communion, he set blessed
Peter over the rest of the apostles and instituted in him
the permanent principle of
both unities and their visible foundation. " (First
Vatican Council Session 4)
Echoing the Fathers of the
First Vatican Council, Dr. Ott, in his text Fundamentals of Catholic
Dogma, provides a detailed explanation of unity:
"One may,
with the Vatican Council, distinguish a two-fold unity of the Church:
Unity of Faith
This consists in
the fact that all members of the Church inwardly believe the truths
of faith proposed by the teaching office of the Church, at least
implicitly, and outwardly confess them. ... Unity of Faith leaves
room for various opinions in those controversial questions which the
Church has not finally decided.
Unity of
Communion
This consists, on
the one hand, in the subjection of the members of the Church to the
authority of the bishops and of the Pope (unity of government or
hierarchical unity) ; on the other hand, in the binding of the
members among themselves to a social unity by participation in the
same cult and in the same means of grace (unity of cult or liturgical
unity).
The unity of both
faith and of communion is guaranteed by the Primacy of the Pope, the
Supreme Teacher and Pastor of the Church (centrum unitatis : D 1960).
One is cut off from the unity of Faith by heresy and from the unity
of communion by schism.
...
St. Thomas
declares that the unity of the Church is founded on three elements:
The common faith of all members of the Church, the common Hope of
eternal life, and the common Love of God and of one another in mutual
service. Fidelity to the unity of the Church is a condition for the
attaining of eternal salvation. "
Visibility of the Church
There is one last aspect of the Church that I think
it is important to consider prior to moving on to an examination of
the present position of the SSPX, namely the 'visibility of the
Church'. There seems to be a tendency to associate the visibility of
the Church with the buildings used by Catholics. Bricks and Mortar
do not constitute the visibility of the Church.
When we speak of the visibility of the Church, we do not
mean simply that her members, her rites, and her ministry can be
seen. What we mean is that these can be recognized to constitute the
true Church of Christ ; so that, in other words, we can point out a
certain society, and say of it "This is Christ's Church."
...In order to understand this property of visibility, we must
carefully note the distinction between the body and the soul of the
Church. The former consists of those external elements which go to
make a society, viz. the ministry of the pastors and subordination of
the sheep, the profession of the faith and participation in the
sacraments ; the latter means the internal gifts of sanctifying
grace, of faith and charity, and other virtues. The external elements
are necessary for the Church's social existence ; the internal
elements must be possessed by her members if they would attain the
end for which they were called to the Church, i.e. eternal salvation.
(A Manual of Catholic Theology - Wilhelm and Scannell 1908)
Conclusions Concerning The Four Marks, and Visibility
The four marks of the
Church are integral to external elements that constitute the
visibility of the Church:
- A unity that can be traced back to the Apostles in Government, Faith, & Worship.
- A universality from the beginning to end of time embracing all peoples in the profession of the same faith.
The marks and the
visibility of the Church are woven into a tapestry of the Church.
Remove or mar one and the entire tapestry is ruined.
A Church that lacks this
visibility, cannot be the Church, just as a Church that lacks the
Four Marks cannot be the Church.
So where is the Visible,
One, Holy, Catholic Apostolic Church of Christ? Where is the
continual uninterrupted “assembly of men united in the profession
of the same Christian faith and in the communion of the same
sacraments, under the rule of legitimate pastors, and in particular,
that of the one Vicar of Christ on earth, the Roman Pontiff.”
Given that the doctrine of the Faith, Sacraments and
Vicar of Christ are found intact only in the "assembly of men"
united under Pope Francis. That is where we find the Church of Christ
- even in these days of crisis within the Church.
If a person claims the
name of Catholic and refuses to acknowledge this fact, they should be
wary that they aren't being described by the following words:
"For in
after ages there would not be wanting wicked men who, like the ape
that would fain pass for a man, would claim that they alone were
Catholics, and with no less impiety than effrontery assert that with
them alone is the Catholic Church." Catechism of Trent
Ecclesiology of the SSPX & Archbishop Lefebvre
Now we should have sufficient understanding to answer
the question posed at the beginning of this article. Namely: Has the
SSPX Strayed from the Teaching of the Church and Archbishop Lefebvre?
To
determine the present thought of the SSPX concerning the Church is it
simply a matter of reviewing some of its recent publications. The
following article titled "Can One Speak of the Conciliar Church"
is useful because it provides the words of the Superior General of
the Society and and accompanying explanation of the present
understanding of the phrase "conciliar Church".
"...
To the extent in which a ‘change of direction’since Vatican II
has occurred, we use the term ‘conciliar Church’. This expression
is commonly understood, not as a distinct object or substance, but
rather as a new spirit, introduced into the Church at the time of the
Council Vatican II, and which constitutes an obstacle the end of the
Church ... Bishop
Fellay recently stated that the contemporary Church, as
represented by the Roman authorities, remains the true Church, one,
Catholic, holy, and apostolic. “When we say extra
Ecclesiam nulla salus, out
of the Church, no salvation, it is indeed to the Church of today that
we refer. That fact is absolutely certain. We must cling to it. […}
Going to Rome does not mean we agree with them. But Rome is the
Church, and the true Church.” He speaks further of “the Church,
which is not an idea, which is real, which stands before us, which we
call the Roman Catholic Church, the Church, with its pope, its
bishops, debilitated as they may be.” Therefore, the official
Church cannot be referred to today as a conciliar Church distinct
from the Catholic Church ..."i
The two key elements of Fr. Gleize's discourse are
that the SSPX considers the phrase 'conciliar Church' to mean a
spirit within the Church and that the "contemporary
Church, as represented by the Roman authorities, remains the true
Church, One, Catholic, Holy, and Apostolic".
These
elements are completely consistent with the analysis performed in the
previous sections of this article.
The
time of the consecrations was one of significant elation and sadness
within the SSPX. Elation at the spectre of extinction being removed
due to a lack of a Traditional Bishop to supply the life blood of the
apostolate of the SSPX: Priests. Sadness at the departure of a
number of collaborators who went on to found the FSSP.
Is
there consistency between SSPX's present understanding of the phrase
'conciliar Church' and the understanding that it held in 1988?
The
letter to Cardinal Gantin sent by the Superiours of the SSPX shortly
after the Episcopal Consecrations provides the needed insight:
"...
we have never wished to belong to this system
which calls itself the Conciliar Church,
and defines itself with the Novus Ordo Missæ, an ecumenism which
leads to indifferentism and the laicization of all society. ... We
ask for nothing better than to be declared out of communion with this
adulterous
spirit which has been blowing in the Church for
the last 25 years; we ask for nothing better than to be declared
outside of this impious communion of the ungodly. We believe in the
One God, Our Lord Jesus Christ, with the Father and the Holy Ghost,
and we will always remain faithful to His unique Spouse, the One Holy
Catholic Apostolic and Roman Church..."ii
It is
obvious that in 1988, the leadership of the SSPX understood the
conciliar Church to be a system, a spirit that was within the Church.
That they considered the Church led by Pope John Paul II to be the
One Holy Catholic Apostolic and
Roman Church is implied as I am not aware of any other organization
through which the "adulterous
spirit" had been blowing in the 25 years since the council.
The
consistency of the SSPX's understanding and use of the phrase
'conciliar Church' is clear. All that remains now is to determine if
its founder shared the same sentiments.
In
this case, I have turned to the Long Island Conference given in 1983.
Interestingly, part of this conference is a rebuttal to those who
accuse the Archbishop of compromising with Rome.
Why
do I maintain relations with Rome? Why do I keep going to Rome?
Because I think that Rome is the center of Catholicism, because I
think that there cannot be any Catholic Church without Rome. iii
I could refer to other quotations, however this one
contains all we need to know about the sentiments of Archbishop
Lefebvre on this topic. Where is the One Holy Catholic Apostolic and
Roman Church? In Rome, the center of Catholicism.
Conclusions
So
what conclusions can be drawn from this analysis?
First,
that the SSPX is in complete agreement with Church Teaching
concerning its understanding of Ecclesiology and the use of the
phrase 'conciliar Church'.
Second,
that it is likewise in agreement with its founder.
Third, that these words
spoken by its Superior General in 1983 could be repeated today:
We
have made no compromise with Rome. That charge is not true. So it is
very sad to think that these priests who were ordained by myself and
who, after all is said and done, receiving everything from Econe and
the Society, should now be turning against the Society. Why? They say
we are making compromises, they say we are going to accept the New
Mass, they say things of this kind, which are absolutely false. You
can see that for yourselves.
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