SSPX Defines Itself with Archbishop Lefebvre's 1974 Declaration
Dr. Chojnowski: The General Chapter of the SSPX has issued its concluding statement, which clearly is meant to identify the next twelve years of the life of the SSPX with one of the most thrilling anti-Modernist moments of the SSPX, the Declaration in November 1974 in which Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre reacted to the Modernism which he experienced coming from the mouths of the ecclesial visitors who came to the Econe seminary. In the final text the superiors of the SSPX rally the faithful to the fight for Christ the King and His Dominion over All Men and identifies its mission as preserving the priesthood which has as its focus the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. None of this savors of a meat of an unbranded wether! Pray for the best! Let us see how the "authority," "even the highest in the hierarchy," responds to this. Obviously there will be no "deal" for the next 12 years. Told you.
The final statement of the General Chapter is below. Below that I have included the entirety of the Archbishop's 1974 Declaration.
General Chapter final address
JULY 21, 2018
BY FSSPX.NEWS
At the close of its General Chapter, the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X calls to mind the importance and timeliness of the declaration made by its founder, Marcel Lefebvre, on November 21, 1974. More than fifty years of the Church’s “self-destruction” allow one fully to appreciate the soundness of that declaration, which the Society embraces in its entirety:
“We hold fast, with all our heart and with all our soul, to Catholic Rome, Guardian of the Catholic Faith and of the traditions necessary to preserve this faith, to Eternal Rome, Mistress of wisdom and truth. (…)
No authority, not even the highest in the hierarchy, can force us to abandon or diminish our Catholic Faith, so clearly expressed and professed by the Church’s Magisterium for twenty centuries. (…)
That is why we hold fast to all that has been believed and practiced in the faith, morals, liturgy, teaching of the catechism, formation of the priest and institution of the Church, by the Church of all time; to all these things as codified in those books published before the Modernist influence of the Council. This we shall do until such time that the true light of Tradition dissipates the darkness obscuring the sky of Eternal Rome.”
The Priestly Society of Saint Pius X intends to pursue its principal purpose, which is the priesthood as Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted it, and always to keep the priesthood focused on its very reason for existing: the holy sacrifice of the Mass. The Society is enlivened by the same sentiments as Saint Pius X, its patron saint:
"To eliminate all vain delusions for such, We say to them with emphasis that We do not wish to be, and with the Divine assistance never shall be aught before human society but the Minister of God, of whose authority We are the depositary. The interests of God shall be Our interest, and for these We are resolved to spend all Our strength and Our very life. Hence, should anyone ask Us for a symbol as the expression of Our will, We will give this and no other: "To renew all things in Christ.'" (E supremi apostolatus, October 4, 1903.)
With the same faith and the same hope as this holy pope, the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, through its preaching and apostolate, proclaims Our Lord Jesus Christ’s dominion over all men and all nations, such that his rights and authority be acknowledged and venerated by all. For this reason the Society continues to work for the triumph of Christ the King and invites all souls of good will to join in this stirring supernatural endeavor.
Sorrowful and immaculate heart of Mary, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
Ecône
July 21, 2018
Declaration of November 21, 1974
We hold fast, with all our heart and with all our soul, to Catholic
Rome, Guardian of the Catholic Faith and of the traditions necessary to
preserve this faith, to Eternal Rome, Mistress of wisdom and truth.
We refuse, on the other hand, and have always refused to follow the Rome
of neo-Modernist and neo-Protestant tendencies which were clearly
evident in the Second Vatican Council and, after the Council, in all the
reforms which issued from it.
All these reforms, indeed, have contributed and are still contributing
to the destruction of the Church, to the ruin of the priesthood, to the
abolition of the Sacrifice of the Mass and of the sacraments, to the
disappearance of religious life, to a naturalist and Teilhardian
teaching in universities, seminaries and catechectics; a teaching
derived from Liberalism and Protestantism, many times condemned by the
solemn Magisterium of the Church.
No authority, not even the highest in the hierarchy, can force us to
abandon or diminish our Catholic Faith, so clearly expressed and
professed by the Church’s Magisterium for nineteen centuries.
“But though we,” says St. Paul, “or an angel from heaven preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema” (Gal. 1:8).
Is it not this that the Holy Father is repeating to us today? And if we
can discern a certain contradiction in his words and deeds, as well as
in those of the dicasteries, well we choose what was always taught and
we turn a deaf ear to the novelties destroying the Church.
It is impossible to modify profoundly the lex orandi without modifying the lex credendi. To the Novus Ordo Missae correspond
a new catechism, a new priesthood, new seminaries, a charismatic
Pentecostal Church—all things opposed to orthodoxy and the perennial
teaching of the Church.
This Reformation, born of Liberalism and Modernism, is poisoned through
and through; it derives from heresy and ends in heresy, even if all its
acts are not formally heretical. It is therefore impossible for any
conscientious and faithful Catholic to espouse this Reformation or to
submit to it in any way whatsoever.
The only attitude of faithfulness to the Church and Catholic doctrine,
in view of our salvation, is a categorical refusal to accept this
Reformation.
That is why, without any spirit of rebellion, bitterness or resentment,
we pursue our work of forming priests, with the timeless Magisterium as
our guide. We are persuaded that we can render no greater service to the
Holy Catholic Church, to the Sovereign Pontiff and to posterity.
That is why we hold fast to all that has been believed and practiced in
the faith, morals, liturgy, teaching of the catechism, formation of the
priest and institution of the Church, by the Church of all time; to all
these things as codified in those books which saw day before the
Modernist influence of the Council. This we shall do until such time
that the true light of Tradition dissipates the darkness obscuring the
sky of Eternal Rome.
By doing this, with the grace of God and the help of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, and that of St. Joseph and St. Pius X, we are assured of remaining
faithful to the Roman Catholic Church and to all the successors of
Peter, and of being the fideles dispensatores mysteriorum Domini Nostri Jesu Christi in Spiritu Sancto. Amen.
November 21, 1974
Econe, Switzerland
Econe, Switzerland
