John Henry Westen Challenges Cardinal Sarah on the SSPX Consecrations.

I was seriously disappointed by Cardinal Sarah's article criticizing the SSPX plan to consecrate bishops in July. The cardinal has been a beautiful voice of truth. His book, The Power of Silence, was a wonderful companion to me on one of my five-day, silent, Ignatian retreats. My great respect for Cardinal Sarah magnified my grief over his article. I simply had to shake my head as I read it, because so many points conflict with the reality of Rome's actions. You can read the complete letter, translated from the French, here. I will quote some excerpts that troubled me.

In the first and second paragraph we read this:

Christ is not only our sole Savior; He is our sole salvation. His Name is the only one by which we can be saved.

But where can we find Jesus Christ, the one Redeemer? Saint Augustine answers us with clarity: “Where the Church is, there is Christ.” We know that there is no salvation outside the Church. That is why our concern for the salvation of souls is expressed in our constant solicitude to lead them to the one source: Christ, who gives Himself in and through the Church.

This truth which faithful Catholics embrace has been severely undermined by all the popes since Vatican II except John Paul I who didn't live long enough to have an impact. Francis was especially culpable and now Leo is walking in his footsteps. The Assisi meetings, the Abu Dhabi Declaration, the Synodal way -- all have cast doubt on the doctrine that outside the Church there is no salvation. The interfaith meetings place all religions on a level playing field. Pope Francis made this incredible statement at a meeting on interfaith dialogue in Singapore during his Apostolic Journey to Asia and Oceania:

All religions are paths to God. I will use an analogy, they are like different languages that express the divine. But God is for everyone, and therefore, we are all God’s children. … There is only one God, and religions are like languages, paths to reach God. Some Sikh, some Muslim, some Hindu, some Christian.

Some of these religions do NOT worship the "one God." Is Buddha God? Are the hundreds of Hindu gods and goddesses the "only one God?" Is Kali the guide on the "path to God?" This statement is patently false. 

Even Pope Benedict created scandalous confusion with the 2011 Assisi meeting when he announced that its purpose was, “to solemnly renew the commitment of believers of every religion to live their own religious faith as a service to the cause of peace.” [Benedict XVI, Angelus, St. Peter’s Square, January 1, 2011]  About 300 attended the meeting; ten spoke. Several offered prayers to pagan gods. To whom did atheist psychoanalyst, Julia Kristeva, pray one wonders? [source] And the interreligious scandals continue. Does this, Cardinal Sarah, give witness to "Jesus Christ, the one Redeemer?" Is this the "unity" desired by Jesus Christ?

I confess I shook my head sadly as I read much of the cardinal's article. The emphasis on obedience and unity seemed especially ironic in view of the many Vatican pronouncements that are so disobedient to God's law and are, in fact, causing division and disunity. Amoris Laetitia gave rise to the interpretation that couples living in adulterous unions can receive the sacraments, a clear violation of God's law and one that undermines doctrine on marriage and sexuality. While the Society gets the hobnailed boot, there is nary a murmur about the schismatic behavior of the German Church. It's a sad reality that the Vatican these days often treats doctrine like clay that can change shape depending on the culture and be reinterpreted to allow the exact opposite from its meaning in the past. Does that create unity?

The entire tone of Cardinal Sarah's article is that the SSPX are unfaithful, rejecting the pope, and "leaving the barque of Peter," none of which is true. He closes the article comparing the obedience of Padre Pio who suffered serious injustice to the situation of the Society. But they aren't the same situations. Padre Pio was an individual priest who was denied the mission of hearing confessions or saying public Masses. Yes, he humbly obeyed his superiors. His humility was admirable. But his activities could be carried on by the other priests without injuring the flock. That is not the same as the SSPX situation.

The Society needs bishops in order to ordain the priests who hear confessions and offer the Traditional Mass and sacraments. They have never given jurisdiction to the bishops to set up a parallel church which would, indeed, be a schismatic act. They pray for the pope at every Mass.

The society ordains bishops only for the sake of having priests to serve the flock and save souls. Yes, the FSSP and the Ecclesia Dei communities do that for now, but they and other traditional orders have been expelled from dioceses leaving the faithful orphaned. Catholics in Charlotte, Knoxville, and other places who have lost their traditional parishes are in mourning. Where is the love of the shepherds for them? Many of these communities are begging the SSPX to help them. Unfortunately, the Society can only respond to a fraction.

If you haven't read the letter Fr. Davide Pagliarani sent to Cardinal Fernandez about the situation I urge you to do so. It is not the Society that is breaking the unity of the Church. Rome is doing a good job of that on their own. While the pope welcomes everyone on the planet including material heretics and pagans, the only ones who don't receive the "all are welcome" treatment are those who embrace Sacred Tradition. The hypocrisy is staggering and, yes, it is divisive and breaks unity. 

John Henry Westen makes a good case in his open letter to Cardinal Sarah above. We are now in the situation Our Lady warned when bishops will be against bishops. Catholics need to do the best they can like Catholics during the Arian heresy when so many bishops embraced error and expelled the faithful from the church buildings. (Sound familiar?) Catholics went out into the meadows and desert to worship like Catholics did during COVID when all the churches were closed and the SSPX offered outside Masses and confessions, almost the only ones who did.

St. Gregory Nazianzen wrote during the Arian heresy what could have been written about our bishops today:

Surely the pastors have done foolishly; for excepting a very few, who either on account of their insignificance were passed over, or who by reason of their virtue resisted, and who were to be left as a seed and root for the springing up again and revival of Israel [the Church] by the influence of the Spirit, all temporized, only differing from each other in this, that some succumbed earlier, and others later; some were foremost champions and leaders in the impiety, and others joined the second rank of the battle, being overcome by fear, or by interests, or by flattery, or, what was the most excusable, by their own ignorance.

Let us pray for the pope and the hierarchy that their desire to crush the Traditional Latin Mass is tempered by a renewed love for the flock and a true desire for unity. The SSPX is prudent not to trust Cardinal Fernandez and the "dialogue" that the Vatican refused for almost ten years until the Society announced the impending consecration of bishops. Where was Rome's desire for unity then? Why did Pope Leo respond to Fr. Paglariani's request for a meeting with silence? 

Jesus said, "By their fruits you shall know them." The Society has grown exponentially since it was founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. [Look at the statistics: 733 priests, five seminaries, 77 countries served, etc.] The aging bishops cannot continue to support the growing number of chapels all over the world without assistance. Is there a situation of grave necessity as described in canon law. Canon lawyers argue on both sides. But the reality is that the traditional laity, even if they represent a fraction of Catholics, are showing their sensus fidei and will continue to embrace Sacred Tradition where they can find it. There is no going back. The Society is asking for permission to consecrate bishops. The ball is in Rome's court. 

Fr. Pagliarani ended his letter suggesting serious prayer during this time between the Vatican meeting and the planned consecrations. That is certainly prudent advice. And if you'd like to see what another bishop says about the SSPX consecrations listen to this video from Bishop Strickland. Here is a bit of what Bishop Strickland said:

[The SSPX] are not asking for novelty. They are not asking for power. They are asking for bishops – because without bishops there are no priests, and without priests there are no sacraments, and without sacraments the Church does not survive in any meaningful way.

They asked. They waited. They received no answer that addressed the reality.

And I will say this plainly: when heresy is tolerated but tradition is strangled, something has gone terribly wrong. When those who break with doctrine are welcomed, and those who cling to doctrine are treated as suspect, authority has turned against its own purpose.

Let us pray that those with authority listen.