Jonathan Ekene Ifeanyi, Ed.
 |
| A priest offering the Traditional Latin Mass. |
 |
| The Novus Ordo Missae. |
 |
| One of the numerous errors of the Novus Ordo Missae, communion in the hand while standing, given by lay people, including women! |
 |
| Pope Paul VI initiated the problematic Novus Ordo Missae. |
This piece is
essentially the opinions of eminent theologians regarding the errors of the
conciliar church, particularly the question of the validity or invalidity of
the Novus Ordo Missae as
well as the new rite of ordination.
Father Paul Kramer,
responding sharply to David O'Connell’s theologically illiterate manner of
gratuitously asserting his benighted position that “The Novus Ordo Church is the
Catholic Church, which is the True Church”, writes:
“The problem with that
proposition is that a Novus Ordo is per
se contrary to the dogma of
faith, which requires adherence to the traditional rites (Constance Sess. 39),
the preservation of the traditional "order of the liturgy received and
approved by the Church" (Auctorem Fidei [33]; Pius IV, Professio Fidei Trudentina; Trent Sess.
VII can. xiii de sacramentis in genere,
etc.) Thus, being contrary to the Catholic faith in its liturgy, the Novus Ordo
quite simply, is not Catholic.
“Furthermore, since the Novus Ordo violates the bond of communion of worship, it is materially schismatic, in accordance with the teaching of Innocent III, Juan de Torquemada, and Francisco Suarez.
“This is patent in view
of the fact that a "New Order of Mass" violates the most solemn
infallible pronouncements and thus breaks the second bond of communion; and
therefore, Innocent III teaches that a pope who changes the rites is not to be
obeyed, and Torquemada and Suarez explain that such a pope who changes the
rites falls into schism. This has been the constant and unchallenged teaching
of the Church down through the ages, summed up by Pius XI in Quas Primas, where it is stated
that it is the duty of the Roman Pontiffs to "safeguard the liturgy and
preserve it from adulteration".
“The doctrine that binds
the Church to adhere to the traditional rites was already in place during the
patristic age, and is rooted in apostolic teaching:
“23 ego enim accepi a
Domino quod et tradidi vobis quoniam Dominus Iesus in qua nocte tradebatur
accepit panem. 24 et gratias agens fregit et dixit hoc est corpus meum pro
vobis hoc facite in meam commemorationem. 25 similiter et calicem postquam
cenavit dicens hic calix novum testamentum est in meo sanguine hoc facite
quotienscumque bibetis in meam commemorationem” - 1 Cor. 11: 23-25”
Again, he writes:
"The term "Roman rite" properly refers to the rite that "grew out of the apostolic tradition" (Jungmann), and has been "handed down by the Roman Church" (Quo Primum). The Novus Ordo did not grow out of the apostolic traditions in Rome, but was "fabricated", and is "the result of a manufacturing process" (Joseph Ratzinger), is not the "rite handed down" (Council of Constance Sess. 39); and does not conform to "the order of the liturgy received and approved by the Church" (Auctorem Fidei 33), and is therefore contrary to the profession of Faith (Pius IV Professio Fidei Tridentina; Pius IX Vatican I). Hence, the NO is simply not a form of the Roman Rite, but is a newly concocted rite, which is intrinsically opposed to Catholic tradition, and is therefore incapable of being legitimately promulgated whether as a norm or as an option."
Of course the Novus Ordo
is simply the greatest triumph of the Masonic effort at Vatican II - the
Council which Freemasonry has always plotted for and looked forward to, as the
means by which to put into effect so many of its satanic designs against God and
His Holy Church. The liturgical revolution concerning Holy Mass was spearheaded
by Archbishop Annibale Bugnini—who was later found to have been a
Freemason. Novus Ordo worship service was written in the 1960s by a
Freemason (Archbishop Annibale Bugnini ) and six Protestant ministers. In 1970
a photograph was published showing Paul VI posing with the Protestant ministers
that had worked with Anibale Bugnini, head of the Consilium ad Exsequendam Constitutionem de Sacra Liturgia [Council
to Carry out the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy], to draft the Novus Ordo
worship service. Not only were these six individuals heretics personally,
but they were there acting in their official capacity as such. The six were Dr.
George, Canon Jasper, Dr. Shepherd, Dr. Kunneth, Dr. Smith, and Brother Max
Thurian, representing respectively the heretical “World Council of Churches”,
the Anglican and Lutheran communions, and the French Protestant Taize
community. After the Consilium
had met and finished its work of suppressing the Traditional Latin Mass and
replacing it with the New Order worship service, Dr. Smith, the Lutheran
representative, publicly boasted, "We have finished the work that Martin
Luther began." Brother Thurian had been the subprior at Taize from
its foundation in the late 1940s. In 1969 he expressed his satisfaction with
the Novus Ordo Missae by stating that
Protestants could now celebrate the "Lord's Supper" with the same
prayers as Catholics. On May 12, 1988, the French daily Le Monde announced that
Max Thurian had not only become a Catholic, but had been ordained to the
Catholic priesthood by Cardinal Ursi of Naples, without being received into the
Church, without the Profession of Faith, etc., a known scandal in Rome at the
time. On July 24, 1996, Fr. Thurian, now a member of the International
Theological Commission, published in L'Osservatore
Romano an article highly critical of the Novus Ordo, including the
statement that "the great problem of contemporary liturgical life (apathy
towards worship, boredom, lack of vitality and participation) stems from the
fact that the celebration has sometimes lost its character as mystery, which
fosters the spirit of adoration." Anibale Bugnini, the architect of
the Novus Ordo, was Secretary of the Consilium
(1964-1970). Bugnini stated publicly that his aim in designing the
"New Mass" was "to create a worship service that any Hindu,
Buddhist, or Protestant could attend and feel perfectly at home
with." Fr. Malachi B. Martin worked inside the Vatican near Bugnini
and publicly stated that Bugnini was definitely a Mason. The same fact was
announced by Tito Casini, Italy's leading Catholic writer, who made public in
April 1976 that "the reform (of the liturgy) has been conducted by this
Bugnini who has been unmasked at last; he is indeed what we have long
suspected, a Freemason". (C.f. Pope John’s Council, Pg. 165, by M.
Davies). Rome's Grand Mason wrote a public letter praising Bugnini's work.
At a meeting on June 19, 1975, Cardinal Seper and eighteen other cardinals called
for Bugnini's dismissal, which occurred on July 9, 1975, on the grounds that he
had been responsible for the proliferation of messes sauvages [wild masses],
that is, of unauthorized Eucharistic Prayers. By 1971, only one year after the
Novus Ordo became mandatory, there were two hundred of these published and in
use. Because of the scandal Bugnini was banished from Rome by Paul VI in
January 1976 to be pro-Nuncio in Iran, where in 1980 he betrayed American
hostage secrets to the Iranian ayatollahs. Bugnini died at the age of 70 in
1982. Paul VI made no change to what the Freemason Bugnini and the six
Protestants wrote is the Novus Ordo that is still in force in the post
conciliar Church, except a small change in the introduction, when Alfredo
Cardinal Ottaviani pointed to the heretical nature of the new definition of the
Mass.
Indeed, many Cardinals,
Archbishops, etc., both in the Vatican itself and elsewhere, are known to be
Masons. (There is said to have been a bishop in Minnesota who wore his Masonic
ring publicly.) A sensation was caused when a list of Masonic Italian Cardinals
was published in the 1970's. Is it not true? With the suppression of our
beloved, all-holy, Tridentine Latin Mass, we can easily see the rise of evil in
the world, and the confusion in our own Catholic lives. Surely it's the evil
fruit of the Devil!
Now, however, I'm sure some who read Father Kramer's post must have concluded instantly that the Novus Ordo Missae as well as the new rite of ordination is per se invalid, and that Father Kramer holds this view!
Later, Father Kramer was asked whether the new rite of ordination in the Novus Ordo was valid or not and he answered, sharply:
"The new rite of ordination is unquestionably valid—beyond all legitimate theological dispute. All arguments against its validity are based on error of fact and fallacious argumentation. I have made a post on this point already. The reason given, that the person who attends the NO is thereby agreeing with its errors is false...Most priests simply do not know that the NO is contrary to the Church's doctrine on liturgy. For most of them it's not their fault...The problem with the NO is that it is a bogus rite which is contrary to the profession of faith. It is not a Catholic rite, but a counterfeit rite that has no rightful place in Catholic worship. It violates the second bond of communion, the bond of worship".
Reading this, what came to my mind immediately was Archbishop Lefebvre—the modern day St. Athanasius—particularly Lefebvre’s admonition that “the Society of St. Pius X, its priests, brothers, sisters and oblates, cannot tolerate among its members those who refuse-to pray for the Pope or affirm that the Novus Ordo Missae is per se invalid”.
 |
| Archbishop Lefebvre resisted Paul VI. |
Again, the Archbishop writes:
“As with the question of the invalidity of
the Novus Ordo, those who affirm that there is no Pope over simplify
the problem. The reality is more complex. If one begins to study the question
of whether or not a Pope can be heretical, one quickly discovers that the
problem is not as simple as one might have thought. The very objective study of
Xaverio de Silveira on this subject demonstrates that a good number of
theologians teach that the Pope can be heretical as a private doctor or
theologian, but not as a teacher of the Universal Church. One must then examine in what measure
Pope Paul VI willed to engage his infallibility in the diverse cases where he
signed texts close to heresy if not formally heretical...But we can say that in
the two cases cited above as in many another, Paul VI acted much more the
liberal than as a man attached to heresy. For when one informed him of the
danger that he ran in approving certain conciliar texts, he would proceed to
render the text contradictory by adding a formula contrary in meaning to
affirmations already in the text, or by drafting an equivocal formula. Now
equivocation is the very mark of the liberal who is incoherent by nature...The
liberalism of Paul VI, recognized by his friend Cardinal Danielou, is thus
sufficient to explain the disasters of his pontificate. Pope Pius IX in
particular spoke often of the liberal Catholic, whom he considered a destroyer
of the Church. The liberal Catholic is a two-sided being living in a world of
continual self-contradiction. While he would like to remain Catholic, he is
possessed by a thirst to appease the world. He affirms his faith weakly,
fearing to appear too dogmatic, and as a result his actions are similar to
those of the enemies of the Catholic Faith...CAN A POPE BE LIBERAL and remain
Pope? The Church has always severely reprimanded liberal Catholics, but She has
not always excommunicated them.” (Ibid).
Unfortunately, due to the
Sedevacantists' confusion which has simply spread almost all over the Catholic
world, most lay Catholics who attend the Traditional Latin Mass—including many
within the SSPX—spread the same error that the Novus Ordo is per se invalid, that priests ordained in the
new rite are not valid priests and that Vatican II popes are not valid popes.
This error—as well as the error of the Novus Ordo Missae—which has caused
unimaginable confusion, is what this piece intends to correct. Father Peter
Scott (SSPX) has answered all the questions in his piece which first appeared
in the September 2007 issue of The
Angelus magazine. The piece, featured below, answers both the question
of the new rite of ordination and that of the validity or invalidity of the Novus Ordo Missae.
Ought priests of the
Conciliar Church to be “re-ordained” when they come to Tradition? Father Scott observed that more and
more priests ordained in the new rite are turning to the traditional Mass.
However, since it was nearly 40 years (by 2007) since the new rite of
ordination was introduced, some traditional Catholics question the validity of
their ordination and hesitate to receive the sacraments from them. Here are the
answers to this question, as presented by Father Scott:
I) The three
sacraments that confer a character cannot be repeated.
This principle was
already established with respect to the sacrament of baptism in the letter of
Pope St. Stephen I to St. Cyprian condemning the latter’s practice of
re-baptizing heretics when receiving them into the Church. This was also
defined by the Council of Trent, which declared an anathema against those who
maintained that the three sacraments that imprint an indelible mark, namely,
baptism, confirmation, and holy orders, can be repeated (Session VII, Canon 9, Denzinger [Dz.]
852).
2) When it concerns
the validity of the sacraments, we are obliged to follow a “tutiorist”
position, or safest possible course of action.
We cannot choose a less
certain option, called by the moral theologians a simply probable manner of
acting, that could place in doubt the validity of the sacraments, as we are
sometimes obliged to do in other moral questions. If we were able to follow a
less certain way of acting, we would run the risk of grave sacrilege and
uncertainty concerning the sacraments, which would place the eternal salvation
of souls in great jeopardy. Even the lax “probabilist” theologians admitted
this principle with respect to baptism and holy orders, since the contrary
opinion was condemned by Pope Innocent XI in 1679. Innocent XI condemned the
position that it is permissible in
conferring sacraments to follow a probable opinion regarding the value of the
sacrament, the safer opinion being abandoned.... Therefore, one should not make
use of probable opinions only in conferring baptism, sacerdotal or episcopal
orders. (Proposition 1 condemned and prohibited by Innocent XI, Dz. 1151)
Consequently, it is
forbidden to accept a likely or probably valid ordination for the subsequent
conferring of sacraments. One must have the greatest possible moral certitude,
as in other things necessary for eternal salvation. The faithful themselves
understand this principle, and it really is a part of the “sensus Ecclesiae,”
the spirit of the Church. They do not want to share modernist, liberal rites,
and have an aversion to receiving the sacraments from priests ordained in such
rites, for they cannot tolerate a doubt in such matters. It is for this reason
that they turn to the superiors to guarantee validity.
3) A negative doubt is
to be despised.
This axiom is accepted by
all moral theologians. A negative doubt is a doubt that is not based upon any
reason. It is the question “what if” that we frequently ask for no reason at
all. Such a doubt cannot weaken moral certitude and is not reasonable. (Cf.
Prummer, Manuale Theologiae Moralis, I, §328.) Consequently we
cannot question the validity of a sacrament such as holy orders without having
a positive reason for doing so, namely, a reason to believe that there might be
some defect of one of the three elements necessary for validity: matter, form,
and intention.
4) When a doubt arises
in the administration of a sacrament that cannot be repeated, it is possible
and even obligatory to reiterate the sacrament “sub conditione,” that is
under the condition that it was invalid the first time.
Thus it is that both
moral certitude as to the administration of the sacrament is acquired and the
sacrilege of simulating a sacrament that has already been administered is
avoided. This is frequently spoken of in the rubrics of the Roman Ritual, for example in the case
of adult converts from heresy in whom there is a positive doubt as to the
validity of baptism, or even foundlings who “should be baptized
conditionally, unless there is a certainty from due investigation that they
have already been baptized.” The condition is thus expressed: “if you
are not baptized....” In fact, the custom before Vatican II was to baptize
all adult converts from Protestantism, it being impossible to guarantee with
moral certitude the form, or intention, or simultaneity of matter and form
necessary for certain validity. Likewise, it is the custom to administer
conditionally the sacrament of Confirmation to those confirmed in the new rite,
in the frequent case that a valid form and intention cannot be established with
certitude.
Under similar
circumstances, there is no sacrilege in reiterating conditionally a priestly
ordination, as Archbishop Lefebvre himself did many times.
5) The matter and the
form of the Latin rite of priestly ordination introduced by Pope Paul VI in
1968 are not subject to positive doubt.
They are, in effect,
practically identical to those defined by Pope Pius XII in 1947 in Sacramentum
Ordinis. (In this, priestly ordination differs from the sacrament of
Confirmation, which in the new rite uses an entirely different and variable
form, and one whose validity has been questioned.)
However, this moral
certitude may not necessarily exist with vernacular translations of the form,
which would have to be reviewed to exclude all positive doubt. One such change
was the provisional ICEL translation of the form itself, substituting “Give
the dignity of the presbyterate” for the traditional expression “Confer
the dignity of the priesthood.” Michael Davies comments: “In English speaking
countries the priesthood has never been referred to as the presbyterate” (The
Order of Melchisedech,1st ed., p.88). It is not always easy to determine
what English translation was used, and whether or not it induces a positive
doubt.
Not infrequently,
Archbishop Lefebvre is quoted as stating that the New Mass is a "bastard Mass", and
that the same can be said of the new rites for the sacraments, such as holy
orders. How could such a Mass and sacraments be valid? In fact, the expression
is a poor translation of the French “messe batarde,” which is correctly
translated as “illegitimate Mass,” or “illegitimate rites”
being the fruit of an adulterous union between the Church and the Revolution,
the French expression not having the pejorative force of the English
counterpart. Such an expression points out the illicit nature of such a
compromise, but does not have a direct bearing on the validity of the rites. He
explained this during the sermon he gave in Lille in 1976:
“The New Mass is a sort
of hybrid Mass, which is no longer hierarchical; it is democratic, where the
assembly takes the place of the priest, and so it is no longer a veritable Mass
that affirms the royalty of Our Lord.” (A Bishop Speaks, p.271).
It is for this reason
that he called the traditional Mass the “true” Mass, not meaning thereby to
question the validity of Masses celebrated in the new rite.
The new rites of
ordination are similarly illegitimate, for they do not adequately express the
Catholic Faith in the priesthood. By writing very strongly against them,
Archbishop Lefebvre did not intend to declare their invalidity. He stated very
clearly, in Open Letter to Confused Catholics, quoting parts of the
ceremony that are certainly not a part of the form of the sacrament and
consequently not necessary for validity, that such a ceremony destroys the
priesthood:
“Everything is bound up
together. By attacking the base of the building it is destroyed entirely. No
more Mass, no more priests. The ritual, before it was altered, had the bishop
say “Receive the power to offer to God the Holy Sacrifice and to celebrate
Holy Mass both for the living and for the dead, in the name of the Lord.”
He had previously blessed the hands of the ordained by pronouncing these words:
“So that all that they bless may be blessed and all that they consecrate may
be consecrated and sanctified.” The power conferred is expressed without
ambiguity: “That for the salvation of Thy people and by their holy blessing,
they may effect the Transubstantiation of the bread and the wine into the Body
and Blood of Thy Divine Son.” Nowadays the bishop says: “Receive the
offering of the holy people to present it to God.” He makes the new priest
an intermediary rather than the holder of the ministerial priesthood and the
offerer of a sacrifice. The conception is wholly different.” (p.54)
Despite such firm words,
the archbishop has this to say: “The ‘matter’ of the sacrament has been
preserved in the laying on of hands which takes place next, and likewise the
‘form,’ namely, the words of ordination” (ibid., p.51). The
destruction he is speaking about is of the Mass as it ought to be and of the
priesthood as it ought to be. His intention is, consequently, to point out that
it is the Catholic notion of the priesthood that is destroyed, not necessarily
the validity of the sacrament of holy orders.
6) There can be
reasons to doubt the intention of the ordaining bishop in the conciliar Church.
The minister of the
sacrament does not have to intend what the Church intends, which is why a
heretic can administer a valid sacrament. He must, however, intend to do what
the Church does. The positive doubt that can exist in this regard is well
described by Michael Davies:
“Every prayer in the
traditional rite which stated specifically the essential role of a priest as a
man ordained to offer propitiatory sacrifice for the living and dead has been
removed. In most cases these were the precise prayers removed by the Protestant
Reformers, [e.g., “Receive the power to offer sacrifice to God and to
celebrate Mass, both for the living and the dead, in the name of the Lord”]
or if not precisely the same there are clear parallels.... Their omission by
the Protestant Reformers was taken by Pope Leo XIII as an indication of an
intention not to consecrate sacrificing priests." (Ibid., pp.82, 86)
This is the text of Apostolicae Curae (Leo XIII, 1896), §33:
“With this inherent
defect of form is joined the defect of intention which is equally essential to
the Sacrament.... If the rite be changed, with the manifest intention of
introducing another rite not approved by the Church and of rejecting what the
Church does, and what, by the institution of Christ, belongs to the nature of
the Sacrament, then it is clear that not only is the necessary intention
wanting to the Sacrament, but that the intention is adverse to and destructive
of the Sacrament."
If it cannot be said, as
with Anglican orders, that the Novus Ordo rite was changed
with the manifest intention of rejecting a sacrificing priesthood, nevertheless
the deliberate exclusion of the notion of propitiation, in order to please
Protestants, could easily be considered as casting a doubt on the intention of
doing what the Church does, namely of offering a true and propitiatory
sacrifice. Of course, this doubt would not exist if the ordaining bishop had
indicated otherwise his truly Catholic intention of doing what the Church does.
However, the difficulty
lies in the fact that the accompanying ceremonies in the new rite of ordination
do not adequately express either the Catholic conception of the priesthood or
the intention, as do the ceremonies in the old rite. The following texts from
the archbishop, taken from spiritual conferences to seminarians, refer to the
intention of the priest celebrating Mass. However, the same principles can be
applied to the bishop ordaining a priest:
“In the old rite, the
intention was clearly determined by all the prayers that were said before and
after the consecration. There was a collection of ceremonies all along the
sacrifice of the Mass that determined clearly the priest’s intention. It is by
the Offertory that the priest expresses clearly his intention.
“However, this does not
exist in the new Ordo. The new Mass can be either valid or invalid
depending upon the intention of the celebrant, whereas in the traditional Mass,
it is impossible for anyone who has the Faith to not have the precise intention
of offering a sacrifice and accomplishing it according to the ends foreseen by
Holy Church....
“These young priests will
not have the intention of doing that which the Church does, for they will not
have been taught that the Mass is a true sacrifice. They will not have the
intention of offering a sacrifice. They will have the intention of celebrating
a Eucharist, a sharing, a communion, a memorial, all of which has nothing to do
with faith in the Sacrifice of the Mass. Hence from this moment, inasmuch as
these deformed priests no longer have the intention of doing what the Church
does, their Masses will obviously be more and more invalid.” (Quoted in
Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, The Mass of All Time, pp. 266-267)
There can be no doubt
that Archbishop Lefebvre entertained serious doubts as to the intention of some
conciliar bishops when they ordain priests. In Open Letter to Confused
Catholics (p.50), he points out that the doubt that overhangs the
other sacraments also applies to the ordination of priests and gives examples,
asking the question: “Are they true priests at all? Put it another way, are
their ordinations valid?”
He goes on to explain the
reason why he considers that a doubt exists over the ordaining bishop’s
intention, for it is frequently no longer the intention of ordaining a priest
to offer sacrifice:
“We are obliged to point
out that the intention is far from clear. Has the priest been ordained... to
establish justice, fellowship and peace at a level which appears to be limited
to the natural order only?... The definition of the priesthood given by St.
Paul and by the Council of Trent has been radically altered. The priest is no
longer one who goes up to the altar and offers up to God a sacrifice of praise,
for the remission of sins.” (Ibid., pp.51-52)
Hence the archbishop’s
affirmation that the whole conception of the priesthood has changed and that
the priest is no longer regarded as one having the power to do things that the
faithful cannot do (ibid., p.54), but rather as one who presides over
the assembly. This modernist conception certainly casts a grave shadow of doubt
over the intention of the ordaining bishop.
7) The question of
episcopal consecration in the 1968 rite promulgated by Paul VI is even more
delicate.
The difficulty lies in
the complete change of the wording of the form of episcopal consecration. The very
erudite article of Fr. Pierre-Marie, O.P., published in The
Angelus (December 2005 & January 2006), establishes that the form
is in itself valid. Although radically different from the traditional Latin
form, and although only similar, but not identical, to the forms used in the
Eastern Rites, it is in itself valid, the meaning designating sufficiently
clearly the Catholic episcopacy. For the form of holy orders is variable and
changeable, this being one of the sacraments established only in general terms.
The substance is consequently retained for as long as the words have
essentially the same meaning.
However, this does not
mean that this new rite of episcopal ordination is valid in every concrete
case, for this could depend upon the translation, modifications (now that the
principle of change has been accepted), and eventual defect of intention. For the
danger of the creeping in of a defective intention, as with the rite of
priestly ordination, cannot be excluded. This is what Fr. Nicolas Portail of
the Society of St. Pius X wrote in the January 2007 issue of Le
Chardonnet:
“The authors correctly
observe that this rite is the vehicle of a conception of the episcopacy
according to Vatican II. It also shows that the functions that are special to
the episcopal order (ordaining priests, consecrating churches, administering
confirmation...) are not mentioned in the consecratory preface, in opposition
to other prefaces in the Eastern Rites. In addition, the specific error of
collegiality is explicitly mentioned in the consecrator’s allocution. It cannot
be denied that this rite is, from a traditional perspective, weak, ambiguous,
imperfect, defective, and manifestly illicit."
Yet, even the bishops who
ordain priests in the traditional rite were all consecrated bishops according
to this new rite. It can easily be imagined how a defect of intention could
creep into the episcopal succession, even in the case of “traditional” priests
who depend upon conciliar bishops for their ordinations. Fr. Portail quotes a
remark by some young priests of the Fraternity
of St. Peter who had just been ordained by Archbishop Decourtray to some
priests of the Society of St. Pius X: “You are more certain of your
ordination than we are of ours” (ibid.).
It would, indeed, be
tragic if all traditional priests did not have moral certitude as to their
ordination, and if there existed two different grades of priests, a higher
grade ordained in Tradition, and a lower grade. It is for this reason that the
superiors have the right to insist on conditional re-ordination for any priest
turning towards Tradition, and will only accept ordinations in the conciliar
Church after having investigated both priestly and episcopal ordinations and
established moral certitude.
Archbishop Lefebvre
clearly recognized his obligation of providing priests concerning whose
ordination there was no doubt. It was one of the reasons for the episcopal
consecrations of 1988, as he declared in the sermon for the occasion:
“You well know, my dear
brethren, that there can be no priests without bishops. When God calls me—this
will certainly not be long—from whom would these seminarians receive the
sacrament of Orders? From conciliar bishops, who, due to their doubtful
intentions, confer doubtful sacraments? This is not possible."
He continued, explaining
that he could not leave the faithful orphans, nor abandon the seminarians who
entrusted themselves to him, for “they came to our seminaries, despite
all the difficulties that they have encountered, in order to receive a true
ordination to the priesthood...” (Fr. Francois Laisney, Archbishop Lefebvre and the Vatican,
p.120). He considered it his duty to guarantee the certitude of the sacrament
of holy orders by the consecration of bishops in the traditional rite, who
would then ordain only in the traditional rite.
We must observe the same
balance as Archbishop Lefebvre. On the one hand, it is our duty to avoid the excess
of sedevacantism, which unreasonably denies the very validity and existence of
the post-conciliar Church and its priesthood. On the other hand, however, we
must likewise reject the laxist and liberal approach that does not take
seriously the real doubts that can arise concerning the validity of priestly
ordinations in the post-conciliar Church, failing to consider the enormous
importance and necessity of a certainly valid priesthood for the good of the
Church, for the eternal salvation of souls, and for the tranquility of the
consciences of the faithful. Given the gravity of these issues, it is not even
a slight doubt that is acceptable. Hence the duty of examining in each
particular case the vernacular
form of priestly ordination, the intention of the ordaining bishop, the rite of
consecration of the ordaining bishop, and the intention of the consecrators.
Just as the superiors
take seriously their duty of guaranteeing the moral certitude of the holy orders
of their priests, whether by means of conditional ordination or careful
investigation (when possible), so also must priests who join the Society of
Saint Pius X accept conditional ordination in case of even slight positive
doubt, and so also must the faithful recognize that each case is different and
accept the decision of those who alone are in a position to perform the
necessary investigations.
For regardless of the
technical question of the validity of a priest’s holy orders, we all recognize
the Catholic sense that tells us that there can be no mixing of the
illegitimate new rites with the traditional Catholic rites, a principle so
simply elucidated by Archbishop Lefebvre on June 29, 1976:
“We are not of this
religion. We do not accept this new religion. We are of the religion of all
time, of the Catholic religion. We are not of that universal religion, as they
call it today. It is no longer the Catholic religion. We are not of that
liberal, modernist religion that has its worship, its priests, its faith, its
catechisms, its Bible."
No comments:
Post a Comment