Heard in the SSPX Priories: A Consecration of New Bishops for the SSPX is coming, sooner rather than later

 We can't add much more right now, but talk is growing.

The SSPX leadership will obviously request Rome's approval, as Abp. Lefebvre himself requested in 1987/1988 (with unclear, then clear, results...), but what exactly will unfold is unclear at the moment.

We'll have more to add soon.

Francis received SSPX superior general Fr. Pagliarani

In recent days, according to Le Salon Beige, confirming other sources.

It makes sense. 

SSPX Superior-General: We offer all "the certitude that the Traditional Mass will never disappear from the face of the earth."

Letter from the Superior General of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, in light of the publication of the motu proprio “Traditionis custodes”

THIS MASS, OUR MASS, MUST REALLY BE FOR US LIKE THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE IN THE GOSPEL, FOR WHICH WE ARE READY TO RENOUNCE EVERYTHING, FOR WHICH WE ARE READY TO SELL EVERYTHING. 

Dear members and friends of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X,

The motu proprio Traditionis custodes and the letter that accompanied it have caused a profound upheaval in the so-called traditionalist movement. We can point out, quite logically, that the era of the hermeneutics of continuity, with its equivocations, illusions and impossible efforts, is radically over – swept aside with a wave of a sleeve. These clear-cut measures do not directly affect the Society of Saint Pius X. However, they must be an occasion for us to reflect deeply on the situation. To do so, it is necessary to step back and ask ourselves a question that is both old and new: Why is the Tridentine Mass still the apple of discord after fifty years?

Watch the SSPX ordinations live this Friday

This Friday, June 11, the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) will live stream their ordinations to the Priesthood and Diaconate. Three priests and six deacons will be ordained this year, and this is the first year they will livestream the ordinations from the Seminary.

We all know what's going on these days. These new priests and future priests may be direly needed in the near future.

CLICK HERE ON FRIDAY TO WATCH LIVE STREAM

You Suggest, video: 24 Men take the Cassock at SSPX's St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Virginia

From our friends in the new photography department of St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Dillwyn, Virginia:

Papally Approved? Unexpectedly, a New Bishop for the Society of Saint Pius X

Just a couple of weeks ago, Rorate posted an analysis of Pope Francis' moves regarding the Society of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX): The Vatican and the SSPX - Prospects for 2019.

In it, our guest contributor revealed that the Pope and the SSPX are fast reaching a full regularization, but "by installments".

Along with the abolition of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, signed on January 17, and that also signals a path of "regularization by installments" of the SSPX, another piece of news dated from that same day also made clear what is going on.

From French magazine Monde & Vie:

The Vatican and the Society of St. Pius X: Prospects for 2019 (Guest Post)

by Côme de Prévigny

The visit this past November of Father Davide Pagliarani, new Superior-General of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), to the Ecclesia Dei Commission in Rome has revived the everlasting matter of the relations between the Holy See and the society founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, raising speculations on the possibility of having this body officially recognized by the Vatican. Inquiring minds wonder if a tendency that wants regularization or not has assumed command of the SSPX. Here and there, a commentator strives to know if doctrinal agreements should be reached before considering a practical agreement, reaching back to a configuration that resembles the situation of 15 years ago. But where, concretely, should these discussions lead? Should they wait until Rome has finally condemned Vatican II, or rather are mere safeguards enough? This point remains to be clarified.

URGENT: Ecclesia Dei Commission for the Latin Mass to be extinguished?

Messa in Latino reports (and the information is also relayed by Vaticanist Marco Tosatti) that the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" (PCED), the Vatican body in charge of matters related to the Traditional Latin Mass and of negotiations with traditional groups (in particular the Society of Saint Pius X), is set to be abolished shortly, according to highly credible sources

Its functions would be completely amalgamated and absorbed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), to which it has been closely linked since the beginning, and in particular since July 2008, when the Prefect of CDF was made head "ex officio" of Ecclesia Dei.

Despite the close links, the limited structural autonomy of PCED had proven extremely beneficial to the integrity of the Traditional Latin Mass, especially since the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, of July 7, 2007, had given PCED important functions regarding the Traditional Roman Rite.

Is it a first step in the dismantlement of Summorum Pontificum?

Le Figaro on SSPX election: "Fellay toppled", "Side opposed to deal with Rome now in charge."

Yesterday, following the election of their new Superior-General, the General Chapter of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) elected his two Assistants: Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta and Father Christian Bouchacourt.

The religion correspondent of the main French daily, Le Figaro, Jean-Marie Guénois, explains the new situation:

Lefebvrists: Bishop Fellay is toppled, Father Davide Pagliarani becomes new Superior-General

by Jean-Marie Guénois

In the setting of a General Chapter that took place Wednesday in Ecône, Switzerland, a new Superior-General was elected to head the Society of Saint Pius X, toppling the current Superior, Bishop Fellay, that was nonetheless considered the favorite. With this new man in charge, Father Davide Pagliarani, it is the side opposed to a rapprochement with Rome that has now has the upper hand.

Meet the New Superior-General of the Society of Saint Pius X: Davide Pagliarani

The New Superior-General of the Society of Saint Pius X, elected today by its General Chapter, is Father Davide Pagliarani, an Italian, former District Superior for Italy and up to now Rector of the SSPX Seminary in South America (Argentina).

To get a feel of what Fr. Pagliarani thinks (or what he thought in the quite different previous Pontificate), please read the long text by him RORATE translated in 2011:

Pagliarani: 'If we do not arrive at some canonical regularization...'

A lot has changed in Rome since then: Pagliarani is not in continuity with his predecessor in the position.

For the Record: Diocese of Buffalo bars SSPX couple from being Godparents

There's not much else to say here that the Society doesn't spell out clearly in their sad, disturbing report, pasted below. Hope Sister Regina -- interim chancellor of the Diocese???!!! -- will hear from Rome soon:

A married couple who attend the SSPX chapel in NY were denied the ability by the local Diocese to be Baptismal Godparents for a relative's baby.

An unfortunate and unsettling incident concerning the Society of Saint Pius X has unfolded over the past several weeks in Buffalo, New York. When officials of the Diocese of Buffalo learned that a married couple attending the local SSPX mission had been asked to participate as Godparents in their niece’s scheduled baptism on Sunday, April 15, 2018, they sprung into action.

Mr. and Mrs. X of Batavia, parishioners of the Society’s Our Lady of the Rosary Chapel in Buffalo, were informed by the diocese that they could not act as Godparents at the baptism. Instead, they were told they could assist only as “witnesses” (according to Canon 874 §2). The decision was made by Sister Regina Murphy, SSMN, interim chancellor of the Diocese and confirmed by Buffalo’s auxiliary, Bishop Edward Grosz.

SSPX priest and laymen denied access to Knock Shrine

This sad news from the God does not die! blog: 

The Society of Saint Pius X annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady at Knock in Co. Mayo was disrupted yesterday, Saturday 16th September, when Shrine officials refused entry to priests and laity.

Members of Knock Shrine Security approached the SSPX priests, informing them that they were not permitted to celebrate Mass or carry out any devotions as a group. They confirmed that these were the orders which they had been instructed to convey.

For the first time in over ten years, therefore, the Society was forced to celebrate Mass outside of the Shrine grounds (heretofore, for a number of years, SSPX priests had been granted permission to celebrate Mass in various chapels on the grounds of the Shrine). And, for the first time in the entire history of the SSPX’s presence in Ireland, the pilgrimage group was not even permitted to recite the Rosary or pray the Stations of the Cross within the Shrine precincts!

For the record: Cardinal Müller's letter to Bishop Fellay on the necessary conditions for "full re-establishment of communion" with the SSPX

Last weekend, as rumors swirled of Cardinal Müller's imminent dismissal from his post as Prefect of the CDF, the French website Medias-Presse.Info published what it claimed to be an excerpt from an important letter sent by the Cardinal to Bishop Bernard Fellay regarding the conditions for an accord between the Vatican and the SSPX. Today the Remnant published an English translation of this excerpt; we reproduce the entire Remnant article below, followed by a note on the 1988 Professio Fidei mentioned in it.  

Rorate's own sources have confirmed the authenticity of this text. 

For the record: Rome has given SSPX right to ordain priests without permission of local ordinary

It started with absolution and moved recently to marriage. Now Pope Francis has given the three bishops of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) the right to ordain priests without the permission of the local ordinary.

Starting at the 15:25 mark in the video below, His Excellency Bishop Bernard Fellay, states: "Last year, I received a letter from Rome, telling me you can freely ordain your priests without the permission of the local ordinary. So if I can freely ordain that means the ordination is recognized by the Church not just as valid but in order. ... So this is one more step in this acceptance that we are, let me call it, 'normal Catholics.'"

VERY IMPORTANT: Pope speaks on relations with the Society of Saint Pius X

It was on his airplane interview during the flight back from Portugal to Rome:

"I would toss out any form of triumphalism. None. Some days ago, the Feria Quarta of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, their meeting - the call it the Feria Quarta, because it’s the fourth Wednesday - studied a document and the document still hasn’t reached me, the study of the document. This is the first. Secondly, the current relations are fraternal. Last year, I gave a license for confession to all of them, also a form of jurisdiction for marriages, but even before the problems, the cases they had, for example, had to be resolved by the Doctrine of the Faith. The Doctrine of the Faith carries them forward. For example, abuses. The cases of abuse, they brought them to us, also to the Penitentiary. Also the reduction to the lay state of a priest, they bring to us. The relations are fraternal. With Msgr. Fellay I have a good rapport. I’ve spoken many times… I don’t like to hurry things. Walk. Walk. Walk. And then we’ll see. For me, it’s not an issue of winners and losers, it’s an issue of brothers who must walk together, looking for a formula to make steps forward."

The un-demonization of the SSPX II: Bishop Rey makes his move

Last week we reported on the decision of Bishop Alain Planet of the French diocese of Carcassonne to give full privileges to priests of the SSPX to celebrate marriages within that diocese. This week we received similar news from the diocese of Fréjus-Toulon. There is nothing surprising about this as the diocese is shepherded by Bishop Dominique Rey who has shown himself to be a strong supporter of tradition. His Excellency welcomes men into his seminary who prefer to offer the traditional rite of Mass and he regularly ordains those men according to that rite.

Below is His Excellency’s decree:

Step by step: Vatican issues Marriage Pastoral Guidelines for SSPX (UPDATED)

UPDATE: SSPX statement, and "deep gratitude" 
------------------------------------

From Vatican Radio:

In a letter approved by Pope Francis, Cardinal Gerhard Müller says, “The Holy Father . . . has decided to authorize Local Ordinaries the possibility to grant faculties for the celebration of marriages of faithful who follow the pastoral activity of the Society.” The Pope's decision adopts a proposal by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, both of which are headed by Cardinal Müller.

The new provisions are part of a number of ongoing meetings and initiatives aimed at bringing the Society into full communion; Cardinal Müller’s letter mentions specifically the recent decision of Pope Francis to grant all priests of the Society the faculty to validly administer the Sacrament of Penance to the faithful in order “to ensure the validity and liceity of the Sacrament and allay any concerns on the part of the faithful.”

The grant of faculties for the celebration of marriage is subject to several provisions: “Insofar as possible, the Local Ordinary [that is, normally the local Diocesan Bishop] is to grant the delegation to assist at the marriage to a priest of the Diocese (or in any event, to a fully regular priest), such that the priest may receive the consent of the parties during the marriage rite, followed, in keeping with the liturgy of the Vetus ordo, by the celebration of Mass, which may be celebrated by a priest of the Society.” That is, a priest in good standing is to preside at the celebration of the marriage itself, which in the extraordinary form takes place before the nuptial Mass. The Mass itself may then be celebrated by a priest of the SSPX.

The letter also foresees that circumstances may exist where those provisions are not possible, or where no Diocesan priest is able to receive the consent of the parties. In such cases, the Pope allows the Ordinary to grant faculties to the priest who will celebrate the nuptial Mass.

Cardinal Müller closes his letter expressing his conviction that “in this way any uneasiness of conscience on the part of the faithful who adhere to the Society of St. Pius X as well as any uncertainty regarding the validity of the sacrament of marriage may be alleviated, and at the same time that the process towards full institutional regularization may be facilitated”; and that, to that end, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei “relies” on the cooperation of the prelates of the Episcopal Conferences concerned in this matter.

Below, please find the full text of Cardinal Gerhard Müller’s letter:

Your Eminence,

Your Excellency,

As you are aware, for some time various meetings and other initiatives have been ongoing in order to bring the Society of St. Pius X into full communion. Recently, the Holy Father decided, for example, to grant all priests of said Society the faculty to validly administer the Sacrament of Penance to the faithful (Letter Misericordia et misera, n.12), such as to ensure the validity and liceity of the Sacrament and allay any concerns on the part of the faithful.

Third Time's the Charm - Tosatti: "SSPX and Vatican just one step from final agreement" - The future Roman headquarters

1988: Society of Saint Pius X leader Abp. Lefebvre signs, the following day he changes his mind when John Paul II and Card. Ratzinger are not clear on the matter of bishops.

2012: Just as SSPX Superior-general is called to Rome to what he thinks is the final signing, Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI, has one of the greatest about-faces of his Pontificate and, pressured by some Cardinals, asks for another doctrinal statement. The deal falls.

2017: All signs point to an imminent agreement between the ultra-liberal Pontiff from Argentina, Francis, and the ultra-conservative Traditionalist Society.

This Monday evening in Rome, religious correspondent Marco Tosatti (with Sandro Magister, the best reader of the current Pontificate) confirms that just one set of signatures separates the Society from full integration within the Church.

Not only that, he confirms news that Rorate had: Unlike the fake news spread out last month about the Church of Saint Mary on the Esquiline Hill (that belongs to the Vicariate of the City of Time and is not for sale), the building being negotiated for the Roman headquarters of the Society is this:

"Francis received in audience this morning...

... - H. E. Abp. Guido Pozzo, Titular Archbishop of Bagnoregio, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission 'Ecclesia Dei';..." (Bollettino)

NEW: Bishop Athanasius Schneider video interviewSSPX regularization, priests refusing Communion in the hand, heretic Martin Luther and Amoris Laetitia discussed

Today, along with our Spanish-language partners "Adelante la Fe," we release a video interview with His Excellency Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana. The interview, conducted by Mauricio Ponce, goes into many of the hot-button issues facing the Church today. This coincided with the Summorum Pontificum conference hosted by the FSSP in Guadalajara. The FSSP will post more of his conferences, Masses and interviews soon at www.fsspmexico.mx 

Please see the video below. And, as always, we ask everyone to post this on their blogs and social media sites: