‘You Act like Pontius Pilate’
 Archbishop, You were clear in your letter about the outlines of a protocol of agreement between Ecône and Rome: Ecône, which up until now we support; Rome, which we resist, just as you do. The loyalty demanded by the service of the Truth obliges us to declare: We do not want this peace. It appears to be wise. It is, indeed, no more wise than Pilate pretended to be. Jesus was delivered to Pilate because He was accused of saying: “I am the King of the Jews” (John 19:21), whereas the Jews claimed to “have no other king than Cesar” (John 19: 15). In reality, Jesus was not brought before Pilate for a royalty “whose origin is not of this world” (John 18: 36). And Jesus did not mean to die to conserve anything. He did not mean to die for anything except to “give testimony to the Truth” (John 14:6); regardless of appearances, it was Pilate who depended on Jesus rather than Jesus on Pilate. Your Excellency, you submit the Mass to the Pope because it disturbs the celebration of the “new mass” (as Paul VI called it), just as Jesus disturbed the Pharisaic order “by teaching throughout all Judea” (Luke 23:5). IN REALITY, THE MASS SHOULD NOT BE SUBMITTED TO THE POPE, since the Pope must respect it. We want, with God’s grace, to testify to the Truth; we do not want a peace that “diminishes the Truth” (Psalm 11:2).
Your Excellency, you have recourse to the Pope to conserve the Mass. And you admit that there can be in the Church - inevitably in the same Church - the Mass that is THE MASS and the “new mass.” And you believe that “unity would be restored immediately at the level of the local Bishops.” Thus, the unity of the Church would no longer be the radiation of the unique Sacrifice “that Christ commanded from His beloved Spouse”! The unity would no longer be that of “the heavenly Jerusalem that is free and is our mother” (Gal 4: 26). Unity would find itself degraded into a juxtaposition made under the iron fist of an unconditional authority. This is a parody of unity! It is a sacrilege against unity! Archbishop, we do not want this peace or this unity, which would be against the Truth, against the sanctity of the Church, against the Liberty that comes only from the Spirit of Truth. To “save” Jesus, Pilate put Him on par with Barabbas (Marl 15: 9). How could Pilate, mocking the Justice that he should represent, imagine that a changeable mob would impose justice on their [Pharisee] leaders? Pilate could only wash his hands (Mat 27: 24). Your Excellency, in order to save the Mass that is the Mass, you put it on par with the “new mass,” in the name of the Religion that you profess. How can you imagine that, instructed by your example, those unstable and weak people who follow you rather than the Truth could restore the sense of the true Religion in a Church occupied by the “high priests” of the god of the Universe? One cannot sit at the same table with Satan. It is Hell that is paved with these good intentions that justify the means by their end, perpetrating a manifest evil under the illusion of doing a good.
Your Excellency, if there were to be in the Church - God forbid - as you desire the Mass that is THE MASS and the “new mass,” the shrewd polls made about [the preferences of] the “people of God,” duly manipulated, would transform the Mass of the minority into a mockery. The only result would be that the broad sacrilegious practice [of the Consecrations in the “new mass”], but actually deprived of object [because these Consecrations actually do not take place], would have all their blasphemous character now effective against the [true] Real Presence. Have you considered this? Should the price of this false security, founded on the illusion of an unconditional submission to those who did all they could to destroy the Church, be to inflict on the Crucified Christ the blows of the most insolent flagellation ever? Your Excellency, we do not want this peace that would be laden with so many sins. It falls to us, to us and not to the Crucified Christ, “to complete” [by this accord] what would be lacking in this flagellation without us. Archbishop, your protocol of peace gives the final blow to a trust that we no longer can have in you, regarding both the question of the Mass and that of “authority.” How Msgr. Lefebvre changed Masses You have celebrated the “new mass” since the beginning of April 1969 until December 24, 1970.
To those same friends, who, encouraged by you, were working to write the text that became the Letter of Cardinals Ottaviani and Bacci, you gave comforting assurances: “We will have 600 Bishops [to sign this letter].” This would be enough to move the Pope! Instead, there was not one single Bishop, not even yourself. As a matter of fact, you were more concerned about “not giving scandal” than about defending the Truth. We fear that your letter n. 16 [to friends and benefactors] reveals that you did not change. You continued to celebrate the “new mass” both at Fribourg and Ecône. The first hopes, nonetheless, started to appear: Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Paul Aulagnier, Bernard Waltz, and three others. On December 24, 1969, at the end of the noon meal, the Dominican priest who signs these lines, then staying at Ecône, with respectful irony said this to you: “Monsignor, it is a pity that, while supporting Tradition, you celebrate the ‘new mass,’ which is not the Mass of the Tradition.” This simple observation literally set fire to the gunpowder. The “six,” all your living hope, exploded. Each one in his way and all together posed the same question to you: How is it possible to base fidelity to Tradition upon a “mass” that was “innovated” against Tradition? That incident was very vehement and, by the way, quickly closed. Still, be it by some coincidence due to the action of the Holy Ghost along with an interior movement on your part, the fact is that on December 24, 1970 at the midnight Mass, you returned to saying the Mass according to rite promulgated by St. Pius V, to the great joy of all present. Probably you followed the Holy Ghost. But, alas, everything has happened as if you were following your grassroots. Thenceforth you have followed the same tactic. If you would not have supported the Traditional Mass, the seminary of Ecône would have been deprived of its end, and those who supported you would have felt the obligation to abandon you. Suspicions of other doctrinal concessions to Progressivism Nonetheless, you have never made a serious doctrinal study of the “new mass.” You affirm it is valid without justifying it. And you have issued “norms” [on how to behave regarding it] from which many of the faithful, or even Ecône seminarians, can deduce whatever they want. And now - all this is unhappily too coherent - you admit that the Mass and the mass can exist together in the Church. This is “ecumenism” inside the Church, the paroxysm of a false ecumenism that replaces with a deceitful union the true unity, which is the unconditional submission to the Liberty inspired by the Truth.
Why do you refuse to enunciate clearly, on the “authority” the principles that unavoidably explain your judicious accusations? Instead, as a supposed counter-attack, you imitate the [blind] false prophets who “lead each other into the pit” (Matt 15:14), by announcing a false peace followed by a false prosperity! We must either speak or be silent. But we cannot not proclaim the error and silence the truth. It is with profound sorrow, believe me Your Excellency, that we are obliged in conscience to remind you of this. We can no longer trust you. We are not “against you,” we are still “for you,” but we can no longer “be with you.” You count on saving everything through the SSPX; the whole Church, certainly, will be thankful to you for what you have done. But, Your Excellency, you promise too much to be true. Do you remember the promise of the 600 Bishops that never materialized? Remember that when on that “May 5, 1975 you acted firmly no matter what [against Rome],” it was because you opposed those whom today you think you can trust, those whose victim you have become since you are following them. Your Excellency, we can no longer “be with you.” We are only “unconditional” with regard to the Truth! Holy Thursday April 12, 1979 M.L. Guérard des Lauriers, O.P. |
No comments:
Post a Comment