The Resistance of Fr. Girouard

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JMJ

Fr. Girouard has resurfaced on the internet while his sacrificium.org website undergoes "reconstruction".

What is interesting is the mission statement that was posted on the site ... that is all the content that I found.  I guess Father is going lite.

I noted on another 'resistance' website that claimed Fr. Girouard has 'good reasons' for not wanting his name on the internet.  I'm curious as to what conspiracy there would be about that ...

I hadn't realized that it had been such a long time (4 years) since his departure from the SSPX.
Here's a breakdown of his 'mission' statement.

Mission Statement
June 2nd, 2013.
Dear reader,

Ok, so it's good to know that he's put together a mission statement - although I suspect that it won't actually say what they will do to accomplish their vision.

The reasons we have decided to leave the SSPX Christ the King parish in Langley, BC, are not complicated or hard to grasp. Let us firstly say what has not been a part of our decision.

 Ok, I'll grant that one. There are two reasons at the root of this situation. First, Fr. Girouard disobeyed a legitimate command from his superior.  Second, he has a warped understanding of the crisis / constitution of the Church. See the following links.

http://tradicat.blogspot.ca/2014/02/sspx-and-resistance-comparison-of.html
http://tradicat.blogspot.ca/2016/07/fr-girouards-opinions-and-reality.html

If I, Father Girouard, refused my punitive transfer to Montreal, and if a group of 25 adults and 10 children, representing about a third of the Langley parish, have decided to start a new parish and to ask me to become their pastor, it was not because of emotions. We are not angry, bitter, or resentful towards the SSPX, even if we have been betrayed by its management. We didn’t leave for the love of change or to seek some excitement either.

So he refused a transfer to the district house, but not because he was betrayed etc.  I wonder what was the nature of the betrayal?  I  mean really where's the compromised regularization? Fundamentally, the people that are following Fr. Girouard (and Fr. Girouard himself) are simply trapped in pride.  Father because he refused a lawful order and the faithful because they would have to swallow their pride in order to admit that the 'sell-out' wasn't as imminent as they thought.

We basically have been forced out of a location we have helped to build and maintain, because we could not anymore stand the propaganda thrown at us by ways of action or omission. We realized that to remain silent and inactive in front of the evils besetting our beloved Society would be a grave sin. Not only because we would put ourselves in harm’s way, but also because we would thus contribute to the destruction of the traditional movement. We have spent a lot of time and energy researching and studying the documents that shed light on the actual crisis of the SSPX. Thanks to the good work of His Excellency Bishop Williamson, and of the many priests and faithful of the Resistance, we were able to understand what happened, and to make the right decision, with the hope that it will encourage more priests and more faithful to do the same.

Well, knowing Fr. Girouard and having read the resistance documents and understanding the teaching on obedience - sorry this is a crock.  This is not about their 'investment' in the SSPX, this is about their not understanding the teaching of the Church and agitating within their chapel.

What we came to realize was that, for all practical purposes, the Society of St. Pius X has become nor more no less than the 10th religious congregation to have rallied the Conciliar Church. Even if the deal has not been signed yet, the principle of such a deal has been adopted by the July 2012 General Chapter, and this is what constitutes the big Revolution in the Society. It doesn’t matter whether the Chapter asked for 3 or 6 or 200 conditions. They have decided that the Society could henceforward sign a pact with those who are unrepentantly, and unceasingly, destroying the Catholic Church.

Ok, so I've heard this before and repeatedly from the various twigs of the resistance.  I would like them to suck it up and prove where the Archbishop stated that we needed to set aside Catholic principles such as obedience in order to fight the modernists.

No Catholic worthy of the name can accept to go along with such a plan. We cannot say that we are Catholic, and that we love Our Saviour, His mother, and the saints, if we accept to negotiate with those who are contributing, by their actions or by their silence, to the damnation of countless souls for which Our Lord gave His life. For example, how can we even accept to deal and talk with people who promote the Novus Ordo Missae? How can we not see with a deep horror that this Mass is an abomination to God?

Ah, here we have it.  "How can we even accept to deal and talk with people who promote the Novus Ordo Missae?".  This is the consequence of their lack of understanding of the constitution of the Church and the phrase 'conciliar Church' see attached link for a comparison between the Church, SSPX and 'resistance'   as well as obedience.  In a nutshell, the people who signed the declaration should know better and Fr. Girouard definitely knows better ... unless his seminary formation was lacking (entirely possible as it was under Bishop Williamson and he seems to have had some odd ideas about religious formation).  The reason why the SSPX talks with Rome is because that's where the center of the Catholic Church is ... that is also why Archbishop Lefebvre went to Rome.

So really, who is following the line of Archbishop Lefebvre?  The 'resistance' only narrowly quotes the Archbishop and only when it suits their intentions.

I remember Archbishop Lefebvre quoting prophet Malachy when talking against the New Mass: “The son honoreth the father, and the servant his master: if then I be a father, where is my honor? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts. To you O priests, that despise my name, and have said: Wherein have we despised thy name? You offer polluted bread upon my altar, and you say: Wherein have we polluted thee? In that you say: The table of the Lord is contemptible. If you offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if you offer the lame and the sick, is it not evil? offer it to thy prince, if he will be pleased with it, or if he will regard thy face, saith the Lord of hosts.” (1:6-8).

Nice quote, but as usual they left out the context.

The mission of the SSPX has never been to integrate the structure of the conciliar Church in order to “transform” it from the inside. Such an illusion has been condemned by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1988 after the consecrations. The Society’s mission is to train true Catholic priests. These priests will in turn preach the Truth and fight vigorously against error, without compromise or “talks”, “dialogue”, “negotiations”. Thus this little legion will be like a beacon attracting the souls of good will.

Ok, that still isn't their mission but alludes to the rule of the SSPX. The SSPX purpose is

... when the Archbishop founded the SSPX, he made its purpose firstly and primarily to be “the priesthood and all that pertains to it and nothing but what concerns it”. “We are a priestly society. The essential character of our Society is its priestly nature. That is its end.” (Courtesy of SSPX.org)

This however does not preclude discussions with Rome and that is exactly what the Archbishop stated in the letter to the four priests to be consecrated bishops and after the consecrations before his death: http://tradicat.blogspot.ca/2013/09/one-and-two-years-after-sspx-episcopal.html

Now I know it is hard for the resistors to swallow this one, but seriously, if the Archbishop didn't actually say the words  (no canonical regularization without doctrinal etc) - then people are making their own assumptions about what he would do today.  What I know is that he said that the Superior General would be in charge of the negotiations.

The faithful and the good priests have been betrayed by the actual management of the Society. A management that does not tolerate dissent or critics. The only way for us to receive the truth and to speak it loud and clear, is to separate ourselves from the new SSPX. We have to be ready to make a lot of sacrifices, and we have to pray a lot for the solution of the crisis, and for our perseverance in the good fight.

Now it would be wonderful if the 'resistance' actually did respect the truth and Catholic principles but they don't.  See the next paragraph.

You will maybe ask me: when will be the time to join Rome? How could we know if we have a good Pope? The answer is quite simple: When the Pope publicly condemns the New Mass and forbids its celebration under pain of excommunication; when he publicly condemns and rejects the whole of the Second Vatican Council; when he throws to the garbage bin all the reforms that came since the Council; when he demotes all heretic and immoral Bishops and priests; when he repairs the injustices done against Archbishop Lefebvre and the faithful priests. In other words, when he will truly, by his actions, clean up the mess.

Well, that really is a nice dream and should keep people attached to Fr. Girouard for the rest of his natural life.  The reality is that if a Pope issued a legitimate command, which is what Bishop Fellay stated in 2012, then we as Catholics have an obligation to obey such a command.  Other wise, we would simply be liberal Catholics like the 'resistance' who "... deny the existence of any divine authority to which obedience is due, and proclaim that every man is the law to himself ...".  Seriously, isn't that what the 'resistance' is, a loose association of clerics who have no links to authority?  Even the SSPX has the link that it was canonically founded and unjustly suppressed as the appeal was never heard?

And when can we go back and trust the SSPX again? The answer is pretty much the same as the above: When Bishop Fellay, the other members of the 2012 Chapter, and all the priests of the Society who have promoted the new line will be demoted and barred from any future office; when the texts of the Chapter will be officially and legally condemned; when H.E. Bishop Williamson and the faithful priests will be vindicated by the new management; when a book on the history of this crisis will be published and read yearly in our communities; when a new General Chapter will condemn in the most strong manner the New Mass and Vatican II, and will forbid any contact with conciliar authorities, until Rome has cleaned its mess.

Here Father Girouard shows his true ecclesiology - schism.  He is refusing any contact with the 'conciliar authorities' and demands that the SSPX does likewise.  Sorry, this is beyond protestantism and falls right into the error of the Schismatic Orthodox.

You will tell me this is not realistic and could never happen! I will answer simply: So what? What’s the problem? Let us only do our duty and glorify God, and let Him deal with the others. Pray and sacrifice for their conversion, sure enough. But compromise and put ourselves in harm’s way? Never! Let us nevertheless remain united in prayers.

Now what Father leaves out of this 'mission statement' is ... simply everything.  What is their mission?  What are they trying to accomplish?  Perhaps it is hidden somewhere.

If you have any questions or, would like to know more, go to our website at thebastion.faith.

Signed by Father Patrick Girouard and the faithful of the chapel of St. Joseph Defender of the Church.

Well this is amuzing because the website is ... unless there's hidden text, only a repository for the 'mission statement'.

Maybe Father's mission statement could be summed up in this manner:

I will:

1. Refuse orders that I don't like, even if they meet the criteria for obedience.
2. Not have contact with the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.

Yep, that about sums it up . . . it is also a pretty good summary for the majority of 'resistors' that I have encountered.

Here's what I would write as the mission statement of the SSPX:

Our Mission is to form priests who are uncompromising in their adherence to the Dogmas, Doctrines, and Principles of the Catholic Church.

Frankly, the 'resistance' is compromised at their root because they have cast aside a number of doctrines and principles.  

They definitely are not a Catholic 'resistance'.

P^3