The SSPX leadership has been meeting to elect officers and make decisions about their future direction.
Recently, they elected as their Superior an Italian priest, Fr. David Pagliarani. If stories be true, he has some game. There is an anecdote about him. It seems that, as the story goes, when he was a small boy, some clerics, including bishops, stopped at the inn which his family ran. He heard them joking about and denying transubstantiation. This boy then confronted them, saying, ”Jesus is truly present and I believe it. God is going to punish you for saying this!!” This was Fr. Pagliarani.
The SSPX determined that they wanted this priest to be their Superior General. And to indicate an new/old direction, they elected as his Aaron and Hur, SSPX Bp. Alfonso de Galarreta and Fr Christian Bouchacourt. Hence, some concluded that the SSPX would now take a harder line.
However, an SSPX communique tersely says that two more assistants have been added, Bp. Bernard Fellay, who has led them for years, and Fr. Franz Schmidberger, who was their first Superior from 1988.
So, additional depth – along with continuity – has been added to the leadership bench of the SSPX.
We shall see what we shall see!
UPDATE:
It was pointed out to me that there is a significant difference between English and the French Press Releases.
The English has an additional piece of information.
As the Society has grown over the years, the Chapter saw it fit to add two councillors who will serve as advisors to the new Superior General.
That point about their growth is significant.
This may suggest that there isn’t such a strong shift in direction. Perhaps they needed additional central advisers because they are so much larger now than they were in 1988 when it was originally set up. Their expansion requires more personnel, and they have provided for continuity.
Also, keep in mind that it was Archbp. Lefevbre’s intention that a priest, not a bishop, lead the Priestly Fraternity. Again, a priest is their Superior.
UPDATE: 21 July
The final address of the Chapter was released. HERE
| A l’issue de son Chapitre général, la Fraternité Sacerdotale Saint-Pie X rappelle l’importance et l’actualité de la déclaration de son fondateur Mgr Marcel Lefebvre du 21 novembre 1974, – plus de 50 ans « d’autodémolition de l’Eglise » permettent d’en apprécier toute la justesse. Aussi la Fraternité la fait-elle sienne dans son intégralité. « Nous adhérons de tout cœur, de toute notre âme à la Rome catholique, gardienne de la foi catholique et des traditions nécessaires au maintien de cette foi, à la Rome éternelle, maîtresse de sagesse et de vérité. (…) Aucune autorité même la plus élevée dans la hiérarchie ne peut nous contraindre à abandonner ou à diminuer notre foi catholique clairement exprimée et professée par le magistère de l’Eglise depuis vingt siècles. (…) C’est pourquoi nous nous en tenons fermement à tout ce qui a été cru et pratiqué dans la foi et les mœurs, le culte, l’enseignement du catéchisme, la formation du prêtre, l’institution de l’Eglise par l’Eglise de toujours et codifié dans les livres parus avant l’influence moderniste du Concile, en attendant que la vraie lumière de la tradition dissipe les ténèbres qui obscurcissent le ciel de la Rome éternelle ». | 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.”
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| La Fraternité Sacerdotale Saint-Pie X entend poursuivre son but principal qui est le sacerdoce tel que Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ l’a voulu, et à l’orienter toujours vers ce qui est essentiellement sa raison d’être : le saint Sacrifice de la Messe. Elle est animée des mêmes sentiments que saint Pie X, son saint patron :
« Nous affirmons en toute vérité que Nous ne voulons être et que, avec le secours divin, Nous ne serons rien d’autre, au milieu des sociétés humaines, que le ministre de Dieu qui nous a revêtu de son autorité. Ses intérêts sont Nos intérêts ; leur consacrer Nos forces et Notre vie, telle est Notre résolution inébranlable. C’est pourquoi si l’on nous demande une devise traduisant le fond même de Notre âme, Nous ne donnerons jamais que celle-ci : Restaurer toutes choses dans le Christ. » (E supremi apostolatus, 4 octobre 1903) |
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.)
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| Forte de la même foi et de la même espérance que ce saint pape, la Fraternité Sacerdotale Saint-Pie X, par sa prédication et par ses œuvres, revendique pour Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ la plénitude de son domaine sur tous les hommes et sur toutes les nations, de sorte que ses droits et son autorité soient reconnus par tous avec vénération. C’est pourquoi elle continue d’œuvrer pour le triomphe du Christ-Roi et invite toutes les âmes de bonne volonté à se joindre à elle dans cette entreprise surnaturelle exaltante. | 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. |
| Cœur douloureux et immaculé de Marie, priez pour nous qui avons recours à vous. | Sorrowful and immaculate heart of Mary, pray for us who have recourse to thee. |
| Ecône, le 21 juillet 2018 | Ecône July 21, 2018
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