RESISTANCE: Nice Try, Mr. McCall!

RESISTANCE: Nice Try, Mr. McCall!

By

Fr. Pierre Roy

1/23/18

French Original Here

[Note: Sodalitium Pianum does not support Fr. Roy’s ‘non-una cum’ position, but this particular article is excellent.  It was translated from the original French by DeepL, which is a much better utility than Google Translate, and then tweaked afterwards.  As such it will not be perfect.]

Following the publication of an article by Brian McCall, published in the Catholic Family News, an article that can destabilize certain souls, we want to give some answers. For this writing is in fact nothing more than a new attempt to deflect the debate on a secondary aspect of the battle raging in the Church, namely the unity of the troops, without regard for truth and Faith.



Of course, we address ourselves to souls of good will, because we well know that some people are on the lookout for such arguments to discredit priests who believed they had to leave the Society of St. Pius X in recent years, and that, in reality, these people do not care at all about the truth, but only to defend the party. Among these, let us mention a few who thought it appropriate to say: “We will always be with the FSSPX, even if there are still two priests left in the Fraternity.” Or: “Our only interlocutors will always be the priests who belong to FSSPX, and no other.” Explaining to them that we could certainly claim that we always wanted to be with Our Lord Jesus Christ, since he is the only [thing] necessary (unum necessarium), but that it was extremely dangerous, especially in the time of deceit in which we live, to take the decision to follow this man or this group no matter where he will lead us, they found themselves mouth-blown and tried to explain that this was not really what it was. To those who are of good will and willing to look at things as they are and not as they would like them to be, [we offer] these few words.
Mr. McCall’s argument could be understood if one were to play a game of chess or tug-o-war with apostate Rome, as a certain district superior said in 2017: “It’s a real rope pull, but little by little, Tradition regains its rights in Rome.” So yes, in this case, we should keep the most complete unity between us and keep our divisions quiet, the most important thing is to have as much meat as possible on our side of the rope.
Mr. McCall’s argument would also be understandable if we were in the field of diplomacy, the smartest being the one who can win… But is that really the case?
So we’ll start by correcting some of Mr. McCall’s mistakes, hoping they’re mistakes, not deceptions, and then we’ll play the same game as he did, that is, we’ll make some assumptions.

Mr. McCall, do you take your readers for bowling pins?
To begin with, we will assume that Mr. McCall is right, and that we are in a tug-o-war with modernist Rome. Mr. McCall has much to be sorry for: fifty years after its foundation, the Society of St. Pius X has only 637 priests, whereas it could count 1800! Isn’t it a shame that the FSSPX has remained so small? David is so small that he can’t even wear his armor in front of the big Goliath!
We understand Mr. McCall’s disarray. But does he have the right to offer us a distorted version of what has happened since 2011, where Bishop Fellay would in fact be innocent of any crime?

No smoke without fire
McCall begins his article by noting that since 2011, there have been numerous statements on the Internet and mainstream media that Bishop Fellay is ready to sign an agreement with Rome. Well, this is undeniable for anyone who keeps up to date. Perhaps it would be good to start by reminding Mr. McCall of the old saying that “there is no smoke without fire”? Indeed, there is no need to look very far to discover where this endless succession of articles comes from. It is enough to listen to Bishop Fellay’s statements over the last few years, which Mr. McCall has lightly and lightly cleared in his article, to realize that there is a fire in the ship. Isn’t it Bishop Fellay himself who said “that all we need is the stamp”, that “Rome gives us everything we want”, and other things like that, all along the second half of his Superior Genralship? But let us move on to that.

A denial of reality
Mr. McCall went on to say “that in the fall of 2017, Bishop Fellay and the Society of St. Pius X are still in the same canonical situation with regard to Rome [as in 2011]”. Well, Mr. McCall, let us tell you that a priest ordained in 2011 in the said Fraternity heard confessions because of the state of necessity in which the Catholic faithful found themselves, and not under the ordinary “jurisdiction” of one of the worst apostates the Church’s history had seen, which continues to scandalize the Catholic Church every day. Similarly, a priest ordained in 2011 celebrated the marriages because of the need for the Catholic faithful.
Today, in 2018, if this priest is still part of the FSSPX, he will hear confessions and celebrate marriages by invoking the authority of Francis. So nothing has changed on paper, but many things have actually changed. Mr. McCall is therefore well placed in the caricature when he states that “during those years when the compromise was predicted, a number of priests and followers left the ship on a preventive basis, deciding that a break with the FSSPX was necessary even before the planned compromise arrived.
We agree that there are degrees in the compromise, but the compromise is already well under way, there is no doubt about that. Moreover, it is until now in Canada that we have heard rumours of a priest who was once our district superior, who was once known for his doctrinal and moral intransigence, and who is now forcing the newlyweds who refuse to accept the presence and jurisdiction of the local modernist priest to accept this presence and jurisdiction, thereby depriving them of a right that the Church has given them; and this is just one example of how nothing has changed! It’s all right, Madam Marquise, it’s all right, Mr. McCall!

Bishop Fellay Condemns McCall’s Charges a priori
Mr. McCall rightly acknowledges that Rome’s modernists are ill-intentioned. They “seek the destruction of any group that remains faithful to Tradition, or at least they seek to contain it”. If even Mr. McCall can recognize this fact, which is as obvious as the nose in the middle of a face, what about Bishop Fellay? Isn’t he in a much better position to know that? Still, he condemned McCall’s attitude no later than March 22, 2016, stating that “we must achieve a minimum of confidence, a climate of serenity, to eliminate these accusations a priori. It also requires acts in which there is a willingness to destroy us. Now, it is always a little bit like this idea which is still with us, (…) widespread in a fairly common way: if they want us, it is to suffocate us, and eventually destroy us, absorb us completely, disintegrate us. It’s not integration, it’s disintegration! Obviously, as long as this idea reigns, you can’t expect anything.” The McCall Traditionalists, who believe in bad Roman intentions, are an obstacle to reconciliation for Bishop Fellay,”because it is very clear that Pope Francis wants to let us live and survive,” he told DICI the same day.

Depending on whether you will be powerful or miserable…
If we want to consider with M. McCall that the Roman way of deceiving the FSSPX is eventually to “force the FSSPX into a continual state of division and defection so as to keep their numbers low enough that they can be ignored, as opposed to the other way that would be to deceive the FSSPX by leading it into the conciliar Church”, then at the very least it must be considered that Bishop Fellay, as well as his priests, would be the only way to do so. It was not Bishop Fellay who fell into their trap, but rather the priests who abandoned him and the Fraternity to which they had promised fidelity. No, but let’s face it, Mr. McCall, we almost feel like crying when we see how poor Bishop Fellay, totally innocent of any compromise, was left to be abandoned by his naughty unfaithful priests! Are you not, moreover, ignoring the fact that several priests were thrown out of the ship, even though they had no intention of leaving the ship in a preventive manner? Is it not the chief’s role before any other person to keep the unity of the group he leads? When the division is constantly rumbling for seven years in a given group, isn’t it natural to look to the one who directs it to ask why there is so much turmoil? Have you read Bishop Fellay’s Doctrinal Declaration of April 15,2012 before writing your paper? Doesn’t it give you any trouble?

Unity in Diversity
Let’s move on to the different paragraphs where M. McCall amalgamates the departure of the sedevacantists and that of the Ecclesia Dei communities, as if the supreme evil were to leave a religious community with which we disagree, and as if the Fraternity could have gathered in its midst people with such different positions in this crisis of the Church… This reminds us of the famous “unity in diversity” of Rome today. In fact, in order to be able to maintain together priests with such different doctrinal positions in the crisis of the Church and at the same time prevent endless internal quarrels, we see only one solution: to keep everyone under anesthesia and forbid them to think. But would Rome have to fear more than 1800 priests gathered together but anesthetized, or the same priests who are partly scattered but determined and willing to reflect on the ins and outs of what is happening before their eyes?
Let us note in passing that for Mr. McCall, if one leaves the FSSPX, it is preferable to join the Ecclesia Dei communities in order to be a thorn in the foot of the Vatican, rather than to be dispersed in the four winds. This says a great deal about the real thought of our author, and we hope that priests aspire to something more noble than being a thorn in the foot of the Vatican apostate. It’s of no interest when you know the fate that awaits this Babylon of the end of time.

Some hypotheses
It is our turn to make some assumptions that are worth what they are worth. Mr. McCall will do whatever he wants with them.

Faith or diplomacy? “Muscle show” in Menzingen?
What if we weren’t in a tug-o-war? If the role of true Catholics in these troubled times was actually anything other than to impress or convert the Vatican? Than to discuss endlessly with apostate Rome? If the Lord had planned to settle the fate of the infidel Vatican himself? If the only role of the Lord’s sheep in this unprecedented crisis was to keep true faith, without compromise, whether dispersed or not? If the commandment of St. Paul were to be put into practice: “For the heretic, after a first and second warning, get away from him, knowing that such a man is wholly perverted, and that he is a sinner condemned by his own judgment”. Titus III, 10-11 If Bishop Fellay’s role were not actually to speak to the Conciliar Church “in the name of so many priests and religious”, but rather to protect them from this sub-church, as Archbishop Lefebvre said: “It is therefore a strict duty for every priest (and every faithful) who wishes to remain Catholic to separate himself from this conciliar Church, so long as it does not return to the tradition of the Magisterium of the Church and the Catholic faith?” (Mons. Lefebvre; Spiritual Journey, 1990) Didn’t our internal problems follow a famous pilgrimage to Rome in the year 2000, which was a demonstration of the power of Tradition? Does the Lord have anything to do with the power of Tradition?
Everyone knows the story of David and Goliath. What would have happened, Mr. McCall, if little David had wanted to start his fight with Goliath by showing him the size of his muscles instead of throwing away the armor he had on his back and confiding in the Lord? “Already I know that Yahweh saved his Anointed One; he will hear him from heaven, his holy abode, by the mighty help of his right hand. They rely on their chariots, those on their horses; we invoke the name of Yahweh, our God. They fold and fall; we stand up and stand firm.” Psalm 20:7-9 What would have happened if David had surrounded himself with muscular men and sought to discuss with the giant rather than give him this speech: “Thou comest to me with the sword, the spear, and the javelin; and I come to thee in the name of Yahweh of the armies, of the God of the battalions of Israel, whom thou hast insulted. Today Yahweh will deliver you into my hands, and I will smite you and take your head away from you; today I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the animals of the earth; And all the earth shall know that Israel has a God; and all this multitude shall know that it is not by the sword or by the spear that Yahweh saves, for to Yahweh belongs the war, and has delivered you into our hands “? I Samuel 17,45-47
What if Rome’s plan was to ensure that the FSSPX’s action was less and less at the level of faith, but rather in the field of political calculations, demonstrations of power and diplomacy? It is well known that an army has the advantage when it fights on its own ground. You don’t have to be a learned person to know that the realm of Faith is not the field of predilection of modernist Rome, but that it prefers to be situated in the realm of politics and diplomacy. Wouldn’t the diplomatic science of Valais, if measured by the Vatican, be comparable to David’s muscles compared to those of Goliath? Did Archbishop Lefebvre do more good to the Church by his Memorandum of Accord of May 5,1988 (revoked the following day) or by the 1988 consecrations, where the man of faith he was manifested, in total disregard of the Roman threats? It is also interesting to note that after the consecrations of 1988, of course, some priests left the FSSPX, but the Fraternity found itself, according to Archbishop Lefebvre himself, in a great peace and serenity, which survived the death of the Archbishop, until new discussions with the heretics loomed on the horizon? On the one hand, we have the results of an act of virtue of faith, on the other hand, those of diplomacy and human calculations.

Two can play at that game
And what if the aim of neo pagan Rome had never been to sign an agreement with the FSSPX, as Mr. McCall says, but rather to ensure that the FSSPX no longer pronounces anathema against it, the only reward it deserves for his works? If its aim was to ensure, even if only a little, the adhesion of the last faithful Catholics? Doesn’t Saint Augustine say in the City of God: “And what are those who refuse to worship the beast and his image, except those who observe what the Apostle says:” Do not engage in the same yoke with the infidels? They don’t worship him, that is to say they refuse him adherence and submission.”
What if we were all not in fact at war with Rome or the Vatican, but with Satan? What if Mr. McCall’s intention was actually far more Machiavellian and subtle than what Mr. McCall attributes to the Vatican? If it was in fact worthy of the Prince of Darkness who is making his last assault, his final battle against the Church? If, therefore, Satan’s purpose was to create situations where priests and faithful of Tradition are obliged to face real problems of conscience where they have to choose between fidelity to faith or fidelity to a work they have loved and served for years? And what if his success was not in the departure and dispersal at the four winds of some, but rather in the fact that most prefer compromise to discomfort? It is interesting to note that in the whole debate that has divided us since 2011, we do not see that Menzingen (the General House of the FSSPX) is trying to demonstrate to its priests that it is legitimate to submit to the jurisdiction of heretics when we consider this question at the level of the Faith. On the contrary, the debate is at the same level where Mr McCall is trying to bring it: on totally secondary aspects: you break the unity, you are disobedient, you have a schismatic spirit, you play the game of the adversary who divides, while God unites, and so on.

An air of déjà vu
We need only remind ourselves that these accusations are precisely those which have been agitated against Archbishop Lefebvre and the other faithful priests who have witnessed the beginning of this crisis. Indeed, if we follow Mr. McCall’s logic, Archbishop Lefebvre would have done better to act with diplomacy, not to be expelled, and to be a thorn in the Vatican’s putrefied foot, rather than to be isolated in the mountains of Valais…
Several priests of the FSSPX have chosen in recent years to remain in the FSSPX, in order to be a thorn in the foot of Menzingen. This did not prevent the latter from moving forward step by step, according to the will of François expressed on May 13,2017: “I do not like to hasten things. Walking, walking, walking: and then we’ll see. For me it’s not a matter of winners or losers, no. It is a problem of brothers who must walk together, looking for a way to take steps forward.”

I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.
What if the Lord’s will was that in the end, the Catholics who remained faithful would be dispersed to the four winds? What if the solution to this crisis of the Church belonged to the Lord and not to the muscles of the FSSPX?
If the only thing that really mattered at the end of this eclipse of the Church was that priests and faithful all over the earth remained faithful to the true faith and refused any compromise with modernist Rome before God struck her: “After that I saw another angel coming down from heaven, who had great power; and the earth was illuminated with his glory. And he cried with a loud voice, saying, “She fell, she fell, Babylon the great one! It has become a dwelling-place of demons, a dwelling-place of every unclean spirit, a den of every filthy and obnoxious bird, because all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of his fornication, and the kings of the earth have defiled themselves with it, and the merchants of the earth have been enriched by the excess of its luxury.” And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Get out of the midst of her, O my people, that you may not be partakers of her sins, nor have any part in her calamities; for her sins have gathered up to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.” Apoc. 18



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