"And I beheld, and heard the voice of one eagle flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice: Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth.... [Apocalypse (Revelation) 8:13]
As our readers may recall, Bishop Fernando Rifan was one of the most outspoken persons in the traditionalist movement, having very close bonds to the cupola of the Society of St. Pius X.
At the time he merged with progressivist Rome, he was considered a forerunner of what SSPX would be
in the future. The reward he received for his betrayal was to be made a
Bishop and be given an apostolic administration under his leadership.
Then, he guaranteed his followers that he would never give up the
Tridentine Mass and would always hold fast to the values of Tradition.
Shortly after, he was praising the New Mass (here and here) and concelebrating it along with other Brazilian Bishops, praising Vatican II and participating in charismatic-ecumenical international meetings.
On September 1, 2016, he took part in the recently established World
Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, as shown in the photos on this
page. Above, we see him abandoning his cassock and wearing a
progressivist clergyman-suit, planting a tree along the banks of Paraiba
River in Brazil.
Below first row, he is the first from the left wearing
sunglasses, standing with other ecclesiastics in a so-called "embrace
of the Paraiba River" which is threatened by pollution. In the second row, an overview of that "embrace;" third row, during the speeches, he stands in the front line behind the yellow papal flag.
At the ecumenical event the Cardinal of Rio spoke, along with two Protestant pastors, a representative of the Candomblé – the Brazilian Voodoo – and a leader of the Spiritist Council of Rio.
Rifan's trajectory is a good example of what those traditionalist leaders who merge with progressivist Rome become.
Photos from the Diocese of Barra do Pirai & Volta Redonda, first seen in Fraters in Unum
TradCatKnight Radio, " 7 Reasons to Avoid the Pitfall of Pseudo-Traditionalism"