The Pope, the Mass and Peace

By Father Philippe Laguérie

Taken from the French Magazine “Pacte”, No. 52, February 2001

Our discussions with Rome cease to be private and confidential and creep into the open media. So much the better ! We have nothing to hide, and we always loved transparency. The process was stalled a few weeks ago, so in order for our readers to understand, let us proceed with order.

I – Reminder

It was Rome who took the initiative, and only she. Any other interpretation is false from a historical point of view and biaised. On the occasion of our Pilgrimage of Tradition to Rome (August 7^th to August 9^th 2000), Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos invited our four Bishops for dinner in Rome. Appointed by the Pope to find a solution to the situation of Econe (the Society of Saint Pius X), he met later again with Bishop Fellay (December 29^th 2000) and took him meet the Pope (December 30^th 2000). The Cardinal has been granted full powers by the Pope and made orally the most alluring propositions: lifting of the “excommunication”, jurisdiction for our Bishops, granting to the Society of a status of pontifical right, granting of personal jurisdiction over the faithful...

Cleverly our Superiors, accepting the proposition of Father Riffan (Campos – Brazil) informed Cardinal Castrillon – Hoyos, that before any serious discussion we must see the fulfilment of two conditions: the lifting of the “excommunicantion” and the public aknowledgement of the right of any Catholic priest in the world to celebrate the Traditional Mass. The first condition is quite obvious and constitutes a part of the negotiation itself. The second condition is plainly ingenious. Indeed it is not the problem of Econe, which never had a problem and does not have one now, that matters. But what is at stake is to give back to the Catholic church the treasure of its venerable liturgy the deprivation of which has played havoc, as in the past 30 years and continues to do now. As Bishop Fellay wrote down these conditions (February 21^st), the Cardinal kept short of putting anything in writing. He informed us that the first proposition does not make for any difficulty, as for the other one ... it must wait better times.

Very wisely then, Bishop Fellay decided to wait till the second condition matures. At this point, the negotiations were going well. We asked Rome that she simply sign the document (dated 1986) put out by a commission of nine cardinals convoked by the Pope for that purpose. Two questions had been asked:

   a) Is the traditionnal mass prohibited ?

   b) Should it be made free for the whole church?

It is known that out of 9 cardinals, 8 did answer NO to the first question and YES to the second, enumerating 6 conditions that were perfectly acceptable for the official reintroduction of the mass of all times. Cardinal Stickler (who revealed to us the story in 1997!) tells us that the Pope was ready to sign. Alas, he didn’t do it, as he was under an enormous pressure from the episcopal conferences, and especially the French one, no doubt. [1]

Then follows a blurred period of time (February 15^th to March 1^st) in which concrete propositions take a back seat in favor of doctrinal documents (the most important book put out by the Society and criticizing the background theology of the Pascal Mystery in the New mass).

II – Later developments

On February 25^th, the Pope designated four new cardinals to beef up the Ecclesia Dei Commission for a broader basis of discussions with ... the SSPX. Crack! This grave scene-shifting tells a lot. It is no longer the Pope by himself with his right hand man – acting by virtue of his charge as Prefect of the Congregation of the Clergy – who will conduct the negotiations with Econe, but the infamous Commission Ecclesia Dei, born from the “excommunication” of Archbishop Lefebvre, and which recently poisoned the Society of Saint Peter with a bone of contention that will probably bring it to the tomb! The Ecclesia Dei Commission is now beeing beefed-up; the key person is cardinal Bille, Primate of Gaul and President of the French episcopal Conference. The French bishops had their say, warning Rome, as they did in 1987, that nothing can work without them... and that with them, nothing will happen...! The other new members of the Ecclesia Dei Commission are just there to be the sauce. But what a sauce! Cardinal Ratzinger himself, with two others, Cardinal Medina (Liturgy) and Herrantz (Canon Law).

The Pope himself was probably well meaning at first. The account of his life which he soon will have to give to his maker; the uncontrolable situation of the Church which the presence of the Traditionalists would ease, this and maybe other reasons compelled him to initiate this dialogue sincerely ‑ we think.

But the one who wants the end must also want the means. Now the denial of the Mass of all times and the capitulation in front of the French Bishops reveals a government of the Church overwhelmed from all sides, and whose sole cleverness consists in trying to compose and to conciliate forces which are out of control. This is the nice result of the power of the Church having been eroded for the last 30 years: made to defend the Faith it was utilized instead to promote Ecumenism. One is always punished the way by which one has sinned!

Not surprising then that, on March 2^nd, Bishop Fellay informed us that he interrupted the negotiations which started well but were conducted badly towards the end. They will resume when Rome will have signed that the Traditional Mass is free for any priest to say. Isn’t this the minimum that can be hoped for and demanded? One will know for sure then if the Pope really wanted peace. "

[1] Father Paul Aulagnier gives interesting information in his article published in the French “Bulletin du Prieure Saint-Jean-Eudes”, March 2001, no. 63: “It was Cardinal Stickler who revealed it to us, in 1996, in an interview in the U.S.A to the Latin Mass Society, an interview which was republished these last months by the C.I.E.L. Eric de Saventhem, then President of Una Voce, confirmed it in 1998 by the publication of his correspondance with Mgr Re, now a Cardinal, in the same book published by La Nef (a French magazine of Ecclesia Dei and Indult Mass tendency): “Enquete sur la messe traditionnelle – Inquiry on the traditionnal mass” (p.380-391).