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| Arch. Lefebvre lying in state |
Bishop Richard Williamson, consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1988, and subsequently expelled by the SSPX earlier this year, has preached a retreat between 17 and 21 December 2012
for the newly founded Society of St. Pius X of the Strict Observance (SSPX-SO). This event has signalled the de facto split between the SSPX under Bishop Bernard Fellay and a growing group
of former SSPX priests.
Bishop Williamson is now touring several independent
(read sedevacantist) traditional groups, including the SSPX-SO, two religious communities
in Brazil, and other independent churches and chapels around the
world. The SSPX-SO has already received applications from men who wish to enter its
seminary. The SSPX-SO has in fact announced the
formation of a seminary for September 2013 in
Boston, Kentucky, under the patronage of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.
The
SSPX-SO comprises a growing number of former SSPX priests in the United States, South
Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Mexico and South America. Apparently, priests from Europe and Australia are also toying with the idea of leaving the SSPX and joining the SSPX-SO.
Such a scenario may lead to further divisions in the Roman Catholic Church, something unwarranted considering that negotiations are ongoing between the Holy See and the SSPX to heal the current situation. It could also be a blessing in disguise because certain ideas - like sedevacantism - have no place in the Catholic Church and cause unnecessary harm to traditional Catholics worldwide.
Dear Tridentina Malta,
ReplyDeleteThe Society of St. Pius X of the Strict Observance was founded on August 10, 2012, by Frs. Joseph Pfeiffer, Ronald Ringrose, Richard Voigt, David Hewko, and Francois Chazal, former SSPX priests or SSPX associates, who don't want reconciliation with the Holy See. They denounced the SSPX's Superior Bishop Fellay as being a traitor to the memory and mission of the SSPX founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
Seems that Bishop Williamson, the SSPX's former senior bishop, consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre, will soon, perhaps within a matter of weeks, be consecrating 3 traditional independent Catholic bishops. This will complicate matters as it will lead to a similar hotch-potch such as the Thucites have been.