Letter of the Nine Priests to Archbishop Lefebvre (1983)
Mar 8, 2021 13:10:28 GMT -5
doublecrochet6 likes this
Post by Pacelli on Mar 8, 2021 13:10:28 GMT -5
The following letter was sent by nine American SSPX priests to Archbishop Lefebvre alleging grave problems within the SSPX:
Letter of the Nine Priests to Archbishop Lefebvre (March 23, 1983)
PDF of the full letter is linked HERE
The letter is begun by an introduction followed by the following topics:
1. The Seminary
2. Doubtful Priests
3. Liturgical Changes
4. Dismissal of Priests
5. Magisterial Authority
6. Loyalty
7. Annulments
Resolutions
Conclusions
The letter was signed by:
Rev. Clarence Kelly, Superior, N.E. District
Rev. Donald J. Sanborn, Rector, St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary
Rev. Daniel L. Dolan
Rev. Anthony Cekada
Rev. William W. Jenkins
Rev. Eugene Berry
Rev. Martin P. Skierka
Rev. Joseph Collins
Rev. Thomas P. Zapp
One very interesting and well stated portion of the letter is part 5, which is posted in its entirety below. (emphasis added):
Letter of the Nine Priests to Archbishop Lefebvre (March 23, 1983)
PDF of the full letter is linked HERE
The letter is begun by an introduction followed by the following topics:
1. The Seminary
2. Doubtful Priests
3. Liturgical Changes
4. Dismissal of Priests
5. Magisterial Authority
6. Loyalty
7. Annulments
Resolutions
Conclusions
The letter was signed by:
Rev. Clarence Kelly, Superior, N.E. District
Rev. Donald J. Sanborn, Rector, St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary
Rev. Daniel L. Dolan
Rev. Anthony Cekada
Rev. William W. Jenkins
Rev. Eugene Berry
Rev. Martin P. Skierka
Rev. Joseph Collins
Rev. Thomas P. Zapp
One very interesting and well stated portion of the letter is part 5, which is posted in its entirety below. (emphasis added):
5. Magisterial Authority
The present situation in the Church has generated many unprecedented problems of a theological and practical nature — for example the question of the in se validity or invalidity of the New Mass, as opposed to the question of the attendance at the New Mass. On the one hand, the definitive resolution of speculative theological questions must await the restoration of normalcy in the Church. On the other hand, we must apply Catholic moral and dogmatic principles to practical problems.
The Society must not presume to settle such speculative questions in an authoritative and definitive fashion, since it has absolutely no authority to do so. Any attempt by the Society to teach and impose its conclusions on matters of speculative theology as the only positions suitable for a Catholic to embrace is dangerous and opens the door to great evils - for it assumes a magisterial authority which belongs not to it but to the Church alone.
Now while in theory the Society may deny any claim to such teaching authority, in practice it has acted as though it did have such an authority. For it has proposed solutions to speculative theological questions and has threatened with expulsion or has actually expelled priests and seminarians who disagree with its teaching.
For example on Nov. 8, 1982 a young priest received the following ultimatum on the resolution of a matter of speculative theology:
If you remain with our Society, you have to gradually clarify your inner viewpoint and have to return to the attitude of the Priestly Society, which seems to us to be the only right one, under the given circumstances, as a talk with theologians this past weekend has shown me again. Think about it seriously, because with this decision your temporal and so much more your eternal welfare is at stake to the highest degree. I will continue to pray for you for divine enlightenment and humble submission.
Is this a threat of excommunication by a pope to a subject embracing heresy? Does not the prediction and threat of tem- poral and eternal ruination for a refusal to assent internally indi- cate the highest teaching and ruling authority?
But alas this is not a pope speaking. These are the words in- stead of Father Franz Schmidberger, himself a young priest ordained in 1975 by Your Grace who will succeed you as head of the Society, and who presumes to teach and threaten with such authority. This is inadmissible!
To act in such a way puts the Society in the dangerous position of assuming for itself rights and authority which belong to the Magisterium alone. It creates the potential for schism and worse. It is unacceptable from a Catholic point of view. The Catholic thing to do would be for the Society to refrain from attempting to bind the consciences of its members on speculative theological questions which are, in fact, open to discussion, and which can only be settled definitively by legitimate authority when the traditions have been restored.
The present situation in the Church has generated many unprecedented problems of a theological and practical nature — for example the question of the in se validity or invalidity of the New Mass, as opposed to the question of the attendance at the New Mass. On the one hand, the definitive resolution of speculative theological questions must await the restoration of normalcy in the Church. On the other hand, we must apply Catholic moral and dogmatic principles to practical problems.
The Society must not presume to settle such speculative questions in an authoritative and definitive fashion, since it has absolutely no authority to do so. Any attempt by the Society to teach and impose its conclusions on matters of speculative theology as the only positions suitable for a Catholic to embrace is dangerous and opens the door to great evils - for it assumes a magisterial authority which belongs not to it but to the Church alone.
Now while in theory the Society may deny any claim to such teaching authority, in practice it has acted as though it did have such an authority. For it has proposed solutions to speculative theological questions and has threatened with expulsion or has actually expelled priests and seminarians who disagree with its teaching.
For example on Nov. 8, 1982 a young priest received the following ultimatum on the resolution of a matter of speculative theology:
If you remain with our Society, you have to gradually clarify your inner viewpoint and have to return to the attitude of the Priestly Society, which seems to us to be the only right one, under the given circumstances, as a talk with theologians this past weekend has shown me again. Think about it seriously, because with this decision your temporal and so much more your eternal welfare is at stake to the highest degree. I will continue to pray for you for divine enlightenment and humble submission.
Is this a threat of excommunication by a pope to a subject embracing heresy? Does not the prediction and threat of tem- poral and eternal ruination for a refusal to assent internally indi- cate the highest teaching and ruling authority?
But alas this is not a pope speaking. These are the words in- stead of Father Franz Schmidberger, himself a young priest ordained in 1975 by Your Grace who will succeed you as head of the Society, and who presumes to teach and threaten with such authority. This is inadmissible!
To act in such a way puts the Society in the dangerous position of assuming for itself rights and authority which belong to the Magisterium alone. It creates the potential for schism and worse. It is unacceptable from a Catholic point of view. The Catholic thing to do would be for the Society to refrain from attempting to bind the consciences of its members on speculative theological questions which are, in fact, open to discussion, and which can only be settled definitively by legitimate authority when the traditions have been restored.