SSPX / DICI: Communiqué of the General House of the Society of St. Pius X concerning the episcopal consecration of Fr. Jean-Michel Faure.

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JMJ

The following is the communiqué of the SSPX regarding the Bishop Williamson's consecration of Fr. Faure.

As a follow-up to this article,  I would like to highlight the rationale for denouncing the consecration.

Communiqué of the General House of the Society of St. Pius X concerning the episcopal consecration of Fr. Jean-Michel Faure.

On March 19, 2015, Bishop Richard Williamson performed the episcopal consecration of Fr. Jean-Michel Faure at the Benedictine Monastery of the Holy Cross in Nova Friburgo, Brazil.

Bishop Williamson and Fr. Faure have not been members of the Society of St. Pius X since 2012 and 2014, respectively, because of their violent criticisms of any relations with the Roman authorities. According to them, such contacts were incompatible with the apostolic work of Archbishop Lefebvre.(1)

The Society of St. Pius X regrets sincerely that this spirit of opposition has led to an episcopal consecration. In 1988 Archbishop Lefebvre had clearly indicated his intention to consecrate auxiliary bishops who would have no jurisdiction, because of the state of necessity in which the Society of St. Pius X and faithful Catholics found themselves at that time. His sole goal was to make available to the faithful the sacraments which priests ordained by the bishops would offer(2). After having done everything conceivable to gain permission from the Holy See(3), Archbishop Lefebvre proceeded with the solemn consecrations on June 30, 1988 before several thousand priests and faithful and hundreds of journalists from around the world. It was abundantly clear from all the circumstances that, despite the lack of authorization from Rome, this action done in the most public (4) manner was for the good of the Church and of souls(5).

The Society of St. Pius X denounces this episcopal consecration of Fr. Faure, which, despite the assertions of both clerics concerned(6), is not at all comparable to the consecrations of 1988(7). All the declarations of Bishop Williamson and Fr. Faure prove abundantly that they no longer recognize the Roman authorities, except in a purely rhetorical manner(8).

The Society of St. Pius X still maintains that the present state of necessity renders legitimate its action throughout the world, without denying the legitimate authority of those for whom it continues to pray at every Mass. The Society intends to continue its work of priestly formation according to its statutes. It has every intention to keep the deposit of the Faith and the purity of the Church’s moral teaching, in opposition to errors, from wherever they may come, in order to pass on such Faith and morals in the traditional liturgy and by preaching, in accordance with the missionary spirit of its founder: Credidimus caritati [1 John 4:16].

Menzingen, March 19, 2015

Courtesy of the SSPX.org

Notes

1. Bishops Williamson and Faure believe that the contacts with Rome are incompatible with the apostolic work of Archbishop Lefebvre.
1. This is contained in the 'mandate' read at the Faure consecration (highlighted below). 
2. Archbishop Lefebvre's goal was to make available to the faithful the sacraments which priests ordained by the bishops would offer.
1. This is tied to those who rely upon the SSPX for sacraments as the rationale was clearly set out by the Archbishop prior to the consecration. (ref)
2. Further, the bishops were subject to the Superior General of the SSPX.
3. Archbishop Lefebvre attempted to gain permission from the Holy See.
1. Bishop Williamson apparently did not imitate Archbishop Lefebvre (see text highlighted in red below).
4. Action was done in the most public manner.
1. As it was announced and coincided with the priestly ordinations, those attending (faithful and press) were numerous.
5. For the good of the Church and of souls.
1. This seems somewhat absent from the 2015 mandate as it refers to those 'faithful Catholics' who are presumably the 'resistors'.
6. Bishop Williamson and Faure assert that the consecration is comparable with that of 1988.
1. Bishop Williamson stated that this is simply a continuation of operation 'survival' in the sermon at the consecration.
7. Bishop Williamson and Faure no longer recognize the Roman authorities, except in a purely rhetorical manner.
1. See the last highlighted sentence of the mandate.  It demonstrates that Bishop Williamson and Faure will decide when the Pope is "wholly Catholic", giving new meaning to being more Catholic than the Pope. As noted in previous articles, this is approach to obedience deviates from Catholic teaching.

Suffice to say, the 2015 event is not in continuity with the 1988 event.

P^3

Addendum

Letter to Future Bishops

That is why, convinced that I am only carrying out the holy will of Our Lord, I am writing this letter to ask you to agree to receive the grace of the Catholic episcopacy, just as I have already conferred it on other priests in other circumstances. I will bestow this grace upon you, confident that without too long a delay the See of Peter will be occupied by a successor of Peter who is perfectly Catholic, and into whose hands you will be able to put back the grace of your episcopacy so that he may confirm it.
The main purpose of my passing on the episcopacy is that the grace of priestly orders be continued, for the true Sacrifice of the Mass to be continued, and that the grace of the Sacrament of Confirmation be bestowed upon children and upon the faithful who will ask you for it.
I beseech you to remain attached to the See of Peter, to the Roman Church, Mother and Mistress of all Churches, in the integral Catholic Faith, expressed in the various creeds of our Catholic Faith, in the Catechism of the Council of Trent, in conformity with what you were taught in your seminary. Remain faithful in the handing down of this Faith so that the Kingdom of Our Lord may come.
Finally, I beseech you to remain attached to the Priestly Society of St. Pius X, to remain profoundly united amongst yourselves, in submission to the Society's Superior General, in the Catholic Faith of all time, remembering the words of St. Paul to the Galatians (1:8-9): "But even if we or an angel from heaven were to teach you a different gospel from the one we have taught you, let him be anathema."

It was pointed out that the phrase "Wholly Catholic" was a repetition of "Perfectly Catholic" found in the above letter.

Let's compare the two sentences:

Archbishop Lefebvre:
I will bestow this grace upon you, confident that without too long a delay the See of Peter will be occupied by a successor of Peter who is perfectly Catholic, and into whose hands you will be able to put back the grace of your episcopacy so that he may confirm it.

Bishop Williamson:
By this handing down of the episcopal power of Orders, no episcopal power of jurisdiction is assumed or granted, and as soon as God intervenes to save His Church, which has no more human hope of rescue, the effects of this consecration and of its emergency Mandate will be without delay put back in the hands of a Pope once more wholly Catholic.

Is there a difference?

There is obviously the difference in tone and hope.  In the first there is hope, in the second, they see the situation as hopeless and await an act of God. 

For Archbishop Lefebvre, I don't see the submission as being conditional upon successor of Peter being 'perfectly Catholic'. How would one judge that, it being within the internal forum. All that is necessary is for the See of Peter to be occupied by someone into whose hands they are 'able to put back the grace' of their episcopacy.  I see this as being manifested by a legitimate command by the Pope. 

If the conditions are met, then there is an obligation to obey.

For Bishop Williamson, God has to intervene before the he will put himself in the hands of a Pope 'once more wholly Catholic'.  In short, his submission is conditional upon an 'Act of God'.  Frankly, I am not aware of any crisis of the Church being resolved by an Act of God.


Reference Materials - 1988 and 2015 Mandates!

Here's the 'mandate' that  was read at the consecration of Bishop Faure.

MANDATUM APOSTOLICUM 2015
We have a Mandate to consecrate from the Roman Church which in its fidelity to Sacred Tradition received from the Apostles commands us to hand down faithfully that Sacred Tradition – namely the Deposit of the Faith – to all men by reason of their duty to save their souls.
For indeed, on the one hand, the authorities of the Church of Rome from the Second Vatican Council down to today are driven by a spirit of modernism which undermines in depth Sacred Tradition to the point of twisting its very notion: There shall be a time when they will not endure sound doctrine, turning away their hearing from the truth, turning unto fables, as St Paul says to Timothy in his second Epistle (IV, 3,5). What use would it be to ask such authorities for a Mandate to consecrate a bishop who is going to be profoundly opposed to their most grave error? 
And, on the other hand, to obtain such a bishop the few Catholics who understand his importance might have hoped, even after Vatican II, that he could come from the Society of St Pius X founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, like the four consecrated for them in 1988 by a previous emergency Mandate. Alas, when the authorities of that Society showed by their constant turning towards the Roman authorities that they were taking the same modernist road, that hope proved to be vain. 
From where then could these faithful Catholics obtain the bishops essential to the survival of their true faith? In a world making political war day by day more on God and on His Church, the danger for the Faith seems such that its survival can no longer be left to depend on a single fully anti-modernist bishop. The Church herself asks him to appoint an associate, who will be Father Jean-Michel Faure.
By this handing down of the episcopal power of Orders, no episcopal power of jurisdiction is assumed or granted, and as soon as God intervenes to save His Church, which has no more human hope of rescue, the effects of this consecration and of its emergency Mandate will be without delay put back in the hands of a Pope once more wholly Catholic.

Mandatum Apostolicum 1988
We have this Mandate from the Roman Church, always faithful to the Holy Tradition, which She has received from the Holy Apostles. This Holy Tradition is the Deposit of Faith which the Church orders us to faithfully transmit to all men for the salvation of their souls.
Since the Second Vatican Council until this day, the authorities of the Roman Church are animated by the spirit of modernism. They have acted contrary to the Holy Tradition, “they cannot bear sound doctrine, they turned their ears from the Truth and followed fables” as says St. Paul in his second Epistle to Timothy (4:3-5). This is why we reckon of no value all the penalties and all the censures inflicted by these authorities.
As for me, “I am offered up in sacrifice and the moment for my departure is arrived” (II Tim 4:6). I had the call of souls who ask for the Bread of Life, Who is Christ, to be broken for them. “I have pity upon the crowd” (Mk. 8:2). It is for me therefore a grave obligation to transmit the grace of my episcopacy to these dear priests here present, in order that in turn they may confer the grace of the priesthood on other numerous and holy clerics, instructed in the Holy Traditions of the Catholic Church
It is by this Mandate of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, semper fidelis (always faithful), then that we elect to the rank of Bishop in the Holy Roman Church the priests here present as auxiliaries of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X: