Editorial
Letter from the District Superior
Dear Faithful:
We are very happy to offer you the first issue of the Communicantes following its merger with the Catholic Guardian. The Catholic Guardian which up to now has been published in our priory in Calgary, took over the readership in the West when we ceased publishing the Communicantes in English.
Consequently, the name "The Catholic Guardian" will no longer appear although the publisher will continue to be responsible for the printing and shipping of the magazine. We have kept the name Communicantes for our district magazine due to the seniority of this publication which was initiated at the time of the founding of the Society in Canada.
The combining of our two district magazines will not only allow us the benefit of a greater number of writers, but we will also be able to take advantage of the structure that is in place at Calgary for the printing, the mailing list and the shipping. This fusion will allow us, when looking to upgrade the quality of the magazine, to diminish those costs which exceed our budget.
That is why, I would like to thank my colleagues very much for their much appreciated cooperation that has allowed us to take this new step in the life of the Communicantes in the District.
Father De Vriendt will assume the responsibility of Editor and Father Belisle will assist him in this task. I particularly wish to congratulate Father Belisle and his team for the wonderful work that they have accomplished over these past years in publishing the Guardian, and I would like to extend heartfelt thanks to them for their having offered, from now on, their expertise and talents towards the publishing of the Communicantes.Two New Churches for the Society of Saint Pius X in Canada:
We have been particularly blessed by Divine Providence over these past months, and I am very happy to be able to announce to you the purchases in British Columbia and in Ontario of two new churches for the Society.
In British Columbia, it is our untiring Father Greuter who has just purchased a new church in Oliver, south of Vernon, in order to serve that splendid area of Beautiful B.C.
View of the new church in Oliver, British Columbia, recently purchased by Father Greuter
Father Greuter decided to place this church under the patronage of Saint Joseph and we rejoice, assured that the Protector of the Universal Church will protect and bless the expansion of this new ministry of the Tradition within our district.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to Father Greuter along with all our congratulations for his zeal and dedication in order to assure all on his own, his age notwithstanding, such a beautiful ministry of his in British Columbia.
In Ontario, our faithful in the western area of London united in making the purchase of a very picturesque and appealing little church in Wyoming.
New church of the ,Society purchased (thanks to our faithful) in Wyoming, Ontario, east of London and close to Sarnia. The white house in the back is part of the property.
This town was once the site of the first gas field . in North America. Graced with an inviting parish hall and four classrooms, and close to a lovely park for the youth, this church could be, not a lucrative gas well, but a welcoming potential of grace for the region and upon the souls who are already thinking of relocating to take advantage of the active ministry now offered there.
We have dedicated this church to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, because we trust that Our Lord will keep His promises regarding the blessings and graces that He wants to grant to those who have a greater devotion to Him and His Sacred Heart.
We thank very much indeed all our dear faithful of Wyoming who managed to provide the sixty thousand dollars that were needed to pay for the church, thus avoiding having to borrow any money from the bank.
We want, as well, to express our sincere gratitude to Father Fullerton, our colleague of the Priory of Armada in Michigan, who gave so generously to us all these beautiful statues with which to decorate our church, along with the organ and the pews.Visit of His Excellency Bishop Bernard Fellay
We had the privilege of welcoming Bishop Fellay to Quebec and to Ontario at the beginning of the year. His Excellency led a recollection at the Priory of Saint Plus X in Shawinigan for the priests of the district as well as for the community of the Holy Family School. Also, in each of the chapels that he was able to visit he presented a very interesting conference on the situation of the Church upon the eve of the millennium. Most instructive and most revealing, this conference which describes the disasters caused by the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the Church, will be a very useful means of apostolate to our faithful to aid them in convincing and opening the eyes of those who still believe in the so called Springtime of the Church! This conference gives, `a posteriors' an additional confirmation of the reason for, and the necessity of, the episcopal consecrations by Archbishop Lefebvre.
His Excellency Bishop Bernard Fellay is seen here with 8 priests, 1 deacon. 3 brothers and 3 oblate sisters in the retreat house in Shawinigan, on December 28, 1998, following a recollection preached by His Excellency to the priests and religious of the Canadian District.
May our faithful obtain this text and the tape of this conference and share them with their immediate associates and family members all around them!Missions of Lent
Our faithful in Toronto and St. Catharines had the privilege this year to enjoy the Mission of Lent preached by Father Greater. The subsequent commentaries were unanimous: "What a preacher!", we heard from everybody.
Here we see Father Grueter with Father Carl Sulzen and Father Dominique De Vriendt in the basement of our church in Toronto, after a 3 day Lenten mission preached by Father Greeter. The three following days, our untiring Father Greeter repeated the same mission to our faithful in St. Catherine.
Father Greater is not only buying churches, he is building, by his word and example, the Church in the souls to whom he is sent.
A heartfelt thank you to our dear Father Greater to whom we want to offer our best wishes for a very Happy Birthday on this coming 29" of June, and to whom we wish many happy returns and a long life amongst us all.Visit of the Fathers Albert and Thomas, from the Dominican Convent of Avrille' in France:
The priests of the district, our religious brothers and our oblate sisters were given the grace this year, to attend their retreat as preached by the Dominican Fathers from Avrille. They came especially from France to preach the retreat during the week after Faster, then, after having preached the Sunday of Quasimodo in Saint Joseph's Church in Montreal, they flew to Phoenix in the States to preach another retreat for our American colleagues.
The Fathers made a very strong impression on all the members of the community, not only through the quality of their preaching but above all by the example of their charity emanating from their austere and prayerful way of life. We thank them with all our hearts for witnessing to us and for the gifts that they are giving to the world by means of their lives of total self sacrifice for the love of God and for the salvation of souls.
What a consolation for priests and for the faithful who don't have the good fortune to live in a cloister, to know that souls who, having fallen in love with the absolute, continue, secluded in their convent, to sacrifice themselves and to pray continually for their brethren. Annual District Collection for Vocations:
I am happy to be able to share with you the news that the collection that was taken up by the district on the Sunday of the Good Shepherd on behalf of our seminarians brought in the sum of $8,764.77. I would like to heartily thank all of those faithful who participated so generously in this collection that had as its goal the assistance of our Canadian vocations.
You are aware that, according to the wishes of Archbishop Lefebvre, all of the members of the Society of St. Pius X recite their daily rosary for the intentions of their benefactors. As well, I can assure you that you will be especially remembered in the prayers of our seminarians who are so grateful for all that you do for them.
Along with this financial assistance, let us add prayers for vocations. I strongly invite you, Father Albert and Father Thomas, from the Dominican Convent My Dear Faithful, to add at the close of your daily at Avrille in France, came to Shawinigan to preach a five day rosary, this prayer that Bishop Fellay requested us to say within our communities: O Lord, grant us priests (2 times). O Lord, grant us holy priests (2 times). O Lord, grant us many holy priests (2 times). O Lord, grant us many holy religious vocations (2 times). Saint Pius X, pray for us.St. Joseph Bursary Collection of $1 dollar Every Sunday:
We have organized another special collection for St. Joseph Bursary, with the intention of assisting those parents who desire to send their children to good Catholic schools. This collection has not met with the same success as did our collection for our seminarians, with only $5776.75. Last year, we were able to distribute $12.000.00 to families who, thanks to these bursaries, were able to send their children to those schools run either by the Society of St. Pius X or by the Dominican Order in Post Falls. It will be more difficult to respond to this demand in the fall of this year when school resumes unless a concerted effort is quickly made to fill this void. I don't doubt for an instant but that St. Joseph will inspire your generosity and that he will recompense your dear families by the graces that he will bestow upon you. (Your donations in care of the St. Joseph Bursary may be forwarded to St. Michael's Priory, Attention: St. Joseph Bursary, 45 Guthrie Ave., Toronto, Ontario, M8Y3L2).
For those faithful who are unable to give a specific amount, I make the recommendation to you that you participate faithfully in the drive Give One Dollar Every Sunday! You will notice (in the hands of one of the children, sometimes one of the parents), a donation box for this purpose is offered to you as you are leaving the chapel each Sunday at the end of the Mass.
This collection, although it represents practically no cost to each individual donor, will allow us, on the condition that all of our faithful participate without fail regularly, each Sunday, to respond favorably to all of those demands which are made on our resources. Just do a simple calculation to demonstrate the importance we attach to this simple collection:
If 400 people donate only $1.00 on a regular basis every Sunday, we will have $20,800.00 in the fund after one year!
Were our colleagues in every district chapel to designate one person to handle this collection for their own chapel and to simply make sure that the donation box is visible to parishioners as they walk by reminding them to make their regular Sunday contribution of only $1.00, we could make a united effort and give so much needed assistance to our parents. Campaign: Freedom from Mortgage Debt for our District Mother House, St. Michael's Priory:
I am happy to be able to give some interim results of the Campaign $165,000.00 that was announced in the last Communicantes for the reimbursement of the debt on St. Michael's Priory in Toronto.
To date, $40,000.00 in total donations has been received, and $28,000.00 was forwarded in the form of a private loan. This makes a total amount of $68,000.00 that we are already able to pay to the bank to reduce the mortgage on the priory. These preliminary results of our campaign R.M.D.M.H. are excellent and I can only express my sincere recognition of the spirit of charity that was demonstrated by all those who participated in this campaign.
To draw a comparison between this campaign to reimburse the mortgage, and the collection for the St. Joseph Bursary, as I was saying to you, were all of the faithful to participate, each in a small way, we could pay down the mortgage in full today, we could be totally free of our debt to the bank. I do hope that those who are adding their contributions towards this campaign now will not hesitate knowing that just like the labourers in our Lord's vineyard: those who add their efforts even only in the final hour will be rewarded to the same extent as those who have labored all day! With all my heart, I extend a big and sincere thank you to everybody for all that you do to assist us.The Perpetual Rosary Crusade in Canada:
Permit me in closing, to speak to you about the Perpetual Rosary Crusade as our final item of news from the Society of St. Plus X in Canada. This Rosary Crusade has seen a remarkable growth in numbers of participants since its inception last September. I particularly would like to thank all of my colleagues within the Society of St. Pius X in Canada for their encouragement of this Crusade within their chapels and for the growth that it has enjoyed. I fervently thank all our faithful who added their names in such large numbers in every province to assure that yet another hour will be spent by one of the faithful at Our Lady's feet in watchfulness and prayer.
We must especially congratulate the faithful of Quebec who have already taken each available hour of the Perpetual Rosary (24 hours per day) throughout the entire week confided to them, the 4th week of each month. I am sure that the other provinces will not be long in claiming each and every hour of the days of their designated week.
This enthusiastic response on the part of those faithful to Tradition, to the call made on behalf of the Rosary Crusade, is very encouraging indeed. Abundant graces are thus aspired to on the part of our families and our ministry. Now and then colleagues and parishioners have made me aware of favours received in the form of: conversions, families being reunited, work obtained for the fathers of families, health being restored, new members of the faithful attending our chapels.
What graces and what blessings have been received in our district since the Consecration to the United Hearts of Jesus and of Mary.
"My Dear Friends", as Father Barrielle used to say, "do believe in prayer!"
The Very Blessed Virgin Mary made known to St. Catherine Laboure that the rays emanating from her hands which did not reach the earth represented those graces available to man but for which men failed to ask her. Therefore, My Dear Faithful Ones, do not allow such heavenly treasures to be lost to you.
Entreat Mary to bestow upon you these graces and sign your names in the remaining spaces on the Rosary Crusade list at your chapel. I remind you now of the four intentions of our Crusade:
1. For the reign of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the triumph of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary.
2. For the ministry of the Society of St. Plus X in Canada.
3. For the sanctification of the members of the Society of St. Plus X and for the realization of numerous vocations to the priesthood and religious vocations within the district of Canada.
4. For the sanctification and the salvation of the members of our families.
The first of these intentions embraces all of the great needs of the Church and of the Society throughout the world and Canada (the return of the hierarchy to Tradition, the consecration of Russia and for peace in the world). The three remaining intentions directly involve our ministry and our families within the district of Canada. You will find the inscription sheet for the Rosary Crusade on the last page of your issue of the Communicantes. You may, if you wish, bring to the attention of the secretary of this crusade the graces that you have received in saying the rosary. Also, do make known to us your personal intentions to be included in the intentions offered up at the Mass that is celebrated each month for the intentions of the Rosary Crusade in Canada.
"In these last times in which we live, the Blessed Virgin has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the Holy Rosary. She has given this efficacy to such an extent that there is no problem no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary." (Sister Lucy) "By the Rosary one may obtain all. It is a long chain linking heaven to earth, one of the ends is in our hands, the other is in the hands of the Blessed Virgin. For as long as the Rosary is recited, God will riot abandon the world, for this prayer has such a powerful effect on His heart."
(Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face of Jesus).
Father Jacques Emily
Bishop Fellay's Letter Number 56
April 2, 1999 Good Friday
Dear Friends and Benefactors,
A few weeks ago a young priest who had only known the New Mass, celebrated for the first time the Tridentine Mass in one of our priories. After his thanksgiving, a colleague asked him for his first impressions. "This Mass is sacred, mysterious, full of grace. The other Mass is empty."
Another young priest, attending the Tridentine Mass for the first time, cried out, "We have been deceived for 30 years."
Thirty years of the "Novus Ordo Missae", thirty years of emptiness! An emptiness which has emptied out Catholicism, emptying out the churches and often people's faith. Without any doubt, a major cause of the appalling crisis the Church is going through must be the loss of the spirit of faith and the spirit of sacrifice, each mainly brought about by the Novas Ordo Missae.
The innovators wanted a new Mass corresponding to the spirit of the Council, an adaptation to the spirit of the world, a lever to push forward ecumenism. Undeniably, the most effective means of inserting the spirit of the Council into the life of the Church has been the New Mass. One may say that the introduction of the New Mass has achieved its purpose, to the great misfortune of our holy Mother Church. We cannot agree with those who would blame the disaster only on the abuses.
Archbishop Lefebvre wrote in 1980, "To the authorities in Rome we have always stated that we considered the Novas Ordo Missae to be dangerous for the faith of priests and people, and so it would be unthinkable for us to gather seminarians together and form them around the altar of this New Mass. Experience is proving us right. The sense of the faith amongst the people, wherever it is not yet corrupted, approves wholeheartedly of what we are doing, even amongst Catholics no longer practicing the faith. I would go so far as to say that anyone who still has a little common sense encourages and congratulates us. What is a society or a family without any past, or tradition? In which case, what can the Church be, that is nothing other than Tradition?"
Twenty years after Archbishop Lefebvre wrote these words, the state of the Church confirms his analysis a thousand times over. It would be an oversimplification to reduce the Church's crisis merely to a question of the Mass. However, the Mass is a central pivot of that crisis, being the carrier of a new spirit which breaks with the spirit of the Church.
The spirit of the Church is a spirit of adoring the one true God to whom is due all honour and glory; it is a spirit of sacrifice, of partaking in the sacrifice of the High Priest and Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ; it is a supernatural spirit of faith and love which makes us see, as God Himself sees, the realities of the world and God, sin and salvation, as they truly are.
In the same text quoted above, the Archbishop also said: " We should not be surprised if, in the storm devastating the Church, the frail Society of St. Pius X should also be undergoing violent attacks. On the one side it gets attacked for being too much opposed to the Council and to Rome, too attached to Tradition in dogma and the liturgy, too set against the conciliar reforms and ecumenism, etc. .... On the other side it gets attacked for keeping on the contrary too close to Rome, which has turned into the seat of the Antichrist, a dependency of Hell, and for opposing too weakly the conciliar reforms."
"To all these attacks we reply with deeds rather than words. For we have a horror of sterile polemics. Our position has always been clear and it has not changed since the Society was founded: we continue to do what the Church has always done and always taught, especially when it comes to the formation of priests." "Church history teaches us how to act in these difficult circumstances, and it teaches us above all to bear in mind that `Man frets while God leads.' What are we in the hands of God? Nothing! But with nothing He can do anything. An unshakable faith in Jesus Christ is what sustains and inspires us, and nothing else. He holds events in the hollow of His hand and His truth will not perish, even if the enemy has worked his way into the heart of the Vatican."
"The Society is meant by God as all its history goes to prove, and all the good that it has done, all the evil that it has prevented, show where it came from and how it is needed."
"Let nobody ask me to change position, be it the authorities in Rome or the partisans of schism. This position did not come from me, it draws its strength from the Church's Truth and Wisdom, from her dogmatic and historical Tradition, from the conduct of the Saints and especially the last two Saints who were Popes, Plus V and Pius X."
". . . Let us remain united in our convictions, let us not be deflected by false arguments of disobedience or abstract logic, rather let us keep the solid and simple faith of the just and faithful soul, following the example of Mary and Joseph and all their imitators" (Editorial of the Society's in-house magazine, February 16, 1980).
Such is still our position today, 19 years later, and with the help of God we mean not to change it. May the abundance of graces connected to the mysteries and ceremonies of Holy Week have strengthened you in the faith and nourished your souls in the love of Our Lord who "did not hesitate to be delivered into the hands of His enemies, and to undergo the torment of the Cross" (Good Friday prayer).
Always deeply touched by your generosity, from the goodness of God we beg for you an overflowing blessing.
+Bernard Fellay
Bishop Williamsons Letter April 1999
We are happy to publish here Bishop Williamson's letter to friends and benefactors of the Society's Seminary in Winona USA. Bishop Williamson deals here in a profound and clear manner with some objections against the 1988 episcopal consecrations by Archbishop Lefebvre, and especially with the question of Jurisdiction.
To this day there must be many good Catholic souls longing to follow Archbishop Lefebvre or his Society of St. Pius X, but who hesitate to do so because they feel he went against Catholic principles, especially when he made four bishops in Econe, Switzerland, on June 30, 1988. Let such souls read a theological study of the consecrations that appeared three months ago in the Italian biweekly, "Si Si No No", and many may hesitate no longer. The article's first part proves that those episcopal consecrations were even a duty for the Archbishop, the second part proves that the Pope's explicit prohibition made no difference to that duty!
Not that the Archbishop himself did not know what he was doing. He explained himself clearly and often. Nor that Catholic souls following him then and since have not known what they were doing, because all along they have recognized the true Catholic bishop. "I am the good shepherd", says Our Lord, "and I know mine and mine know me" an X, 14).
The problem is rather that since in the circumstances of the 1970's and 1980's the Archbishop had to break a number of the Church's normal rules in order to maintain the Society of St. Pius X and in particular to consecrate four bishops, then it always looks as though he had the Catholic rule-book against him. And this is what made - and makes - so many Catholics hesitate. At last, the article of "Hirpinus" in "Si Si No No" has gone deep into those rule-books and shown, in a way I think nobody has shown before, that the Archbishop's action was fully in conformity with the truest principles of Catholic theology and Canon Law.
It stands to reason. After all, how could the Archbishop's work have borne so much good fruit if it was out of line with Catholic principles? That makes no sense. Yet to this day enemies of his Society, even conservatives whose survival is one of his fruits, cast in the Society's teeth the Catholic rule-book: "Where the Pope is, there the Church is", "Catholics must obey the Pope", "Obedience is a virtue", etc., etc. . . Let us with Hirpinus take a good look at the Catholic rules, however briefly.
The first major principle that comes into play is that while ordinary cases are dealt with by ordinary laws, cases out of the ordinary, or emergency cases, need to be dealt with by principles behind and above the ordinary laws. That is common sense. For instance, in front of the hospital there is normally no parking, but if I am rushing my wife to the emergency room, then I can park wherever there is a space.
Now if, as the Vatican claims, there is no emergency in the Catholic Church today, then of course there can be no appeal to higher principles. However, as Hirpinus points out, Popes Paul VI and John Paul II have themselves by moments admitted that there is a very serious problem in the post-Vatican II Church. Paul VI's references to the Church's "self-destruction" (Dec. 7, '68) and to the "smoke of Satan in the temple of God" (John 30, '72) are famous. Similarly in a speech quoted in the "Osservatore Romano" of Feb. 7, '81, John Paul II referred to the "upset, confusion, perplexity, even delusion" of a "great part" of Christians. So Hirpinus' article is not for those who deny there is a post-conciliar emergency, rather it is for those who recognize the emergency, but fail to see how the episcopal consecrations were justified by that emergency.
The whole first part of the article examines, then, what are the duties and powers of a bishop in an emergency. Grave spiritual need is that of any soul whose Catholic faith or morals are threatened. Extreme spiritual need is that of any soul virtually unable to save itself, without help. Grave general or public spiritual need is where many souls are being threatened in their faith or morals, for instance where heresy is being spread in public. Today numberless Catholics are being threatened in their faith and morals by the public spread of neo-modernism, which is the reinvigorated "synthesis of all heresies." So today the Catholic Church is filled with grave, general or public spiritual need.
Now wherever there is grave public spiritual need, the Catholic theologians teach that the situation is equivalent to that of extreme individual spiritual need, because for instance in a grave general need, many individuals will be in extreme need. So what a bishop or priest may or must do in an individual's extreme need, he may or must do in grave general need, like today's.
Now all legitimate pastors are bound in JUSTICE to help souls in a state of need, but if these pastors fail for whatever reason, then in CHARITY anyone else is bound to help who can, notably other bishops or priests. These latter will have no normal Church jurisdiction over souls coming under other pastors, but, by their ordination as bishops or priests, charity includes for them a duty of state to help as they can.
Now as the duty of charity binds under pain of mortal sin to help an individual neighbour in extreme need (especially spiritual), so it binds gravely to help a people in grave need (see above), even requiring if need be the sacrifice of life, reputation or property (Archbishop Lefebvre certainly sacrificed his reputation!).
If then today's neo-modernist errors and heresies are being put forward, or silently approved, or at least left unopposed, by the legitimate pastors themselves, Pope and bishops and priests, it follows that today's state of general need is without hope of relief from the legitimate pastors, in which case any other pastors are, by their ordination which empowers them to give spiritual relief, gravely bound in charity to help such needy souls as best they can (Just as, if a husband refuses to look after his family, the wife under him must supply as best she can, so if a Pope refuses to look after the Church, a bishop under him must supply as best he can).
And what gives such emergency pastors the right (or jurisdiction) to supply for the legitimate pastors? The grave need of many Catholics. The Church teaches that according as needy souls resort to emergency pastors, so these pastors receive from the Church emergency, or "supplied", jurisdiction. For as in a (genuine!) physical emergency all property belongs to all men, so in a spiritual emergency all episcopal and priestly powers are at the disposal of all souls. Divine and natural law then override normal Church law restricting jurisdiction, otherwise too many souls would be eternally lost. Jurisdiction is for souls, not souls for jurisdiction.
Now this principle of emergency rights, or "supplied jurisdiction", applies also to the case of a bishop consecrating bishops without the Pope's approval, because of grave public need. Certainly Christ instituted Peter as head of His Church, with the fullest possession of Church power to govern souls, towards eternal life. But that power, while wielded by Peter, is owned by Christ. It is to benefit souls, not its possessor. It is to save souls, not damn them. As for the machinery of Peter's control of the consecration of bishops, Christ left it flexible, so that Peter could, down the ages, tighten or loosen that machinery according as different historical circumstances would require for the good of the Church. Medieval popes tightened it, as did Pius XII because of a problem in China, but the Church has approved of Eusebius of Samosate consecrating bishops without the Pope's permission in the 4th century. Therefore if a Pope by his fallibility were to tighten that control to the grave harm of souls, the Church would supply jurisdiction for a bishop to take that consecration into his own hands, as did Archbishop Lefebvre. For the manner of episcopal consecrations is a matter not of divine law, but of human Church law, allowing for the exceptions possible in all human Church law.
Objection: but Eusebius of Samosate consecrated bishops without, but not against the Pope's express will. How could Archbishop Lefebvre go against the known and expressed "No" of the Pope? This question takes up the second part of Hirpinus' article. The answer flows from the principles laid out in the first part: however much the Pope said "No", he could not exonerate the Archbishop from his higher duty in charity to help souls in grave and general need.
Firstly, as to the subject, charity looks to the need, not to the cause of the need. When a road accident happens, helping the injured comes first, questions come later. Charity binds whoever can succour souls in grave need to do so, even if, especially if, legitimate Superiors are causing that need.
Secondly, as to the Superior, if he refuses to help souls in grave need, he has no power to bind others from doing so, any more than a husband refusing to provide for his children has power to bind his wife from doing so. The Pope is no exception to this rule, because while his authority is unlimited from below, it is limited from above by divine law, natural and positive, which binds gravely in charity whoever can to succour souls in need. Archbishop Lefebvre was uniquely able, by being a bishop refusing neo-modernism, to succour souls wishing to remain Catholic.
Thirdly, as to the situation, it is natural to necessity to know no law, or, to place the subject in the impossibility of obeying the lower law, because the subject could only do so by disobeying a higher law.
The Pope as Superior is no exception because even he comes under divine law. And if it is he who creates the necessity, as does John Paul II by favouring neo-modernism, then it is the Superior himself who is making it impossible for his subject to obey him!
Notice however that whosoever disobeys in an emergency is disputing neither the authority nor its lawful exercise, but merely its unlawful exercise. He is not judging the lower law to be bad but merely inapplicable in the given emergency. Thus Archbishop Lefebvre contested the Pope's right to control episcopal consecrations not in general, but only in the particular emergency of the grave need of souls for the Society of St. Pius X to survive his own imminent death. The Church's supreme law is the salvation of souls, to which the law of papal primacy must, if necessary, give way. The Catholic's supreme virtue is charity, not obedience.
Therefore as soon as the Archbishop had prudently established that divine law was entering into play, he was not only entitled but even bound to disregard the Pope's express prohibition. For when divine law came into play, the Archbishop had to consider not the Superior's will which may be what it may be, but his power, whi...
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