continued...

In this second part of my talk, forgive me for not speaking much about the Americas. I will speak instead of Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Let’s start with the East.

We had wanted to establish his "base camp" in Minsk, but a new law has been passed there prohibiting any religious group of less than 20 years existence in the country to engage in any public religious activity. In the former Soviet republics, the outlawing of "public religious activities" effectively means you cannot profess the Faith, have a procession, speak in public for your faith. Requests to do so require at least three "religious associations," which, to exist officially, require at least 15 persons in any single "association." The Society of St. Pius X has been able to establish two associations in Minsk but the government has formally blocked us from establishing a third. To open a third "association" would legally allow us to "go public." In the meantime, our "religious services" are reserved only to "members" or those who desire "membership" in this association. So, the government is hampering us at this level.

However, the Society is blocked at another level, too. For us to establish a priory in Minsk, we require more than one priest —at least two priests are necessary. Well, the government is refusing to grant a second visa. This refusal, however, is not directed against us in particular, but more against the Polish.... Now, I will have to explain how….

Throughout the centuries there has been constant warfare in this region. Politically speaking, there is a lot of "bad blood." Bad memories run deep with Poland on one side and Lithuania —the Baltic states —on the other. The Ukraine, Belarus, even Russians, don’t like one another! For them, "Polish" means "Catholic." When the Byelorussians hear "Catholic," they see "Polish"! They see the "invader," and they don’t want him. The psychological link is very, very strong. So, if we come and say, "I’m Catholic," they say, "You are Polish. We don’t want you; go home!"

The new laws against associations are being legislated to protect the Orthodox against the Protestant sects. They are not directed against us directly, but, of course, we suffer from this situation. However, I want to tell you two things which are very interesting. When the State did give us permissions for our two "associations," it asked the local bishop, "What is this group? Who are these people?" In his reply, of course, the local Catholic bishop hammered us, saying we were bad and so on. But the government also checked with the Orthodox, and the Orthodox said, "Well, these are the genuine Catholics!" Recently, the Secretary of the Nuncio in Belarus and a Catholic parish priest invited the Minister of Religions for a meal intending to attack us by encouraging the enforcement of the new "associations" law to kick us out. The Minister came to our defense and replied, "Well, they are older than 20 years."

As we were not able to establish our priory directly in Minsk for the conquest of Russia [laughter —Ed.], we put it in LITHUANIA. We took the priest who was already going to Belarus and Russia and another from in Poland who was responsible for Lithuania and we started something in Lithuania to serve the eastern regions. [Please see the diary notes, "In the Land of Crosses: A Year in Lithuania," of Fr. Eric Jacqmin, on pp.15-29 in the March issue of The Angelus]

In Lithuania this year (2002), we were severely attacked by the Bishops’ Conference according to the common pattern that the Society is "excommunicated," that we are all "schismatics," and so on. The good Lord has a sense of humor there. This was all free publicity for us! Recently, one of our priests met with the Vicar General, who said, "The bishops fear only one thing: that if you establish here all their faithful will go to you and they will lose them."

Interestingly enough, we are now in contact with a small community of sisters who were founded by the now-deceased Cardinal Vincentas Sladkevicius. This cardinal had founded this little congregation telling them: "When the Society of St. Pius X comes here, you will go with them. They will restore the Catholic Church in Lithuania."

We have about 30 people who assist at Mass in our Lithuania chapel, amongst them is the man who is responsible for the "Hill of Crosses" there. This is the famous hill upon which thousands of crosses and crucifixes have been planted by the faithful. The communists have many times tried to wipe out this hill by removing the crosses, but Catholics have just put up new ones to replace them. The man who is in charge of the organization caring for this Hill comes to our Mass with his family. Also, the president of the clandestine opposition political party against the Communists assists at our Mass. Such people certainly have an influence. We have been here only since September (2002), but already several priests have expressed their will to join us. There are many difficulties, among them an extremely difficult language. The priests we send here will have to learn this horribly difficult language, so we will see how this develops.

In Moscow, RUSSIA, we know that the bishop [Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz] asked the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Sodano, "I have a big problem here —the Society of St. Pius X. What should I do?" The cardinal replied, "Don’t say a word. If you say something, they will go to the newspapers and the situation will be much worse afterwards." But the bishop ignored the advice and attacked us with the usual general statements: "They’re excommunicated…. You’re prohibited from going there," etc….The timing was uncanny. Just a week after the Archbishop condemned us, Russia responded to Rome’s decision to establish dioceses in that country by adopting a new policy of enacting laws against the Catholic Church. We know of a bishop who is blocked from going to his diocese and at least five priests who are disallowed from returning to their parish ministry. The Russian legislators are anti-Catholic and pro-Orthodox. According to our sources, Archbishop Kondrusiewicz began to fear his statements against us would sound pro-government and give offense to the simple faithful who just want to go to the Catholic Mass and are angered by the government’s prohibitions, so he corrected his statement and said, "Of course everybody can go to that Mass…." Now, I’m expected in several places in Russia! I’ve not yet had the time to go there. I don’t know whether I will get the visa….

In the CZECH REPUBLIC we now have a house which may become a priory in the future. The Society celebrates Mass in Prague every Sunday and in Brno, 150 miles east of the capitol, a group has started.

Among all the eastern European countries, Communism has done its greatest damage to the Catholic Church in the Czech Republic, especially in the region of Prague where Catholicism has been reduced to something like one or two percent. It is almost a total demolition. The State has not interfered with us. So, who is opposed to the Society? —On the evening before our priest was to celebrate the Society’s first Mass in Prague, some very specific objects were stolen from the car —hosts, candlesticks, the candles. The chalice was left, but you can’t celebrate Mass without hosts. We happened to find out later that the theft was masterminded by the Dominicans of Prague! To prohibit such a "sacrilege" —the Latin Mass in Prague! Why, the Mass of the Society in Prague: it will be a disaster for the country! Curious, isn’t it, that they have nothing else to do?!

In the western regions of the UKRAINE [south of Belarus and north of Romania —Ed.], there are some Catholics of the Latin Rite because this area belonged to the Austro-Hungarian empire and then to Poland, but our contacts here are with the Eastern Rite Catholics. We have established there an underground seminary. It is "underground," because there is persecution of the Catholics. In fact, we have established a priestly congregation —Priestly Society of St. Josaphat —and right now they are under fire. A persecution has been launched against them, so pray for them. There are ten priests and others who would like to join, but it is especially difficult to do so in a time of persecution. I try to support these poor priests as much as possible. Once a month, we send a priest for the underground seminary to give lectures in Ukrainian, Russian, Polish —we try any kind of language to try and transmit Catholic doctrine as best as we can. They know what it means to be living in secret, to be under persecution, and they are enduring this hard time. Please pray for them. It is not easy when you have the KGB breathing down your neck, prohibiting the faithful from being with the priest, etc. We try to help them; it is not easy.

We celebrate Mass in HONG KONG every month. It is still easy to go there. Unlike going to Red China, you can still get into Hong Kong without problems. For us the big, big problem is to get in touch with the underground Catholics. There you have something which is really puzzling. The "Patriotic Church" —the prop of the Communists and the one which is outside the Church —has kept the Tridentine Mass. But the underground Catholic Church has taken the new Mass in order to show its attachment to Rome! It’s crazy! What can we do under such circumstances? We come there with the Tridentine Mass, so we give the impression of being with the Communist Patriotics! It’s upside down. There are priests of the Patriotic Church who are secretly in favor of the old Mass, but things are very touchy. There is persecution and the risk of being imprisoned, so, more prayers are needed for Red China. With over 1 billion inhabitants (!), our priests are not going all over China, but this is a new center of activity for our priests, as if they don’t have enough to do! Where there are faithful asking for help, we try to do what we can.

We have two priests in INDIA. Our main priory is in the south in Palayankottai. From there we celebrate Masses at the southern tip of India, that is, near Nagercoil, then 450 miles to the north in Madras, to Madurai [25 miles north of Nagercoil —Ed.], and to Tiruchchirappalli [another 75 miles north from Madurai —Ed.]. They say "Trichy:" it’s much easier! We go to Bombay and to Goa. In Goa we have everything ready for a priory. Once again, what is lacking are the priests. In Goa, a local priest has joined us and celebrates the Latin Mass, so it is making things a little bit easier. We have a certain number of priests who say the Tridentine Mass in southern India. It is about the same as you have here in the US, though even a bit more dangerous. If these priests in southern India say the Tridentine Mass, they can be kicked out by the local bishops, as here.

This year we received the condemnation of the cardinal of Bombay because we "stole" five seminarians from him. One of them had been in the seminary for seven years, and in that time he never heard the word "hell." He was never taught that there was a hell. One day he was in the presence of the cardinal and his entourage. The rector of the seminary was publicly attacking him, saying, "Look how disobedient he is. He refused to go into the Hindu temple!" The seminarian defended his refusal, "Well, that is the house of the devil and I don’t want to go there." The rector said to the cardinal, "You see? —I told you he is possessed." The seminarian, an ordained deacon, turned to the rector and said, "Father, for years you told us there was no devil. How can you say I am possessed?!" The cardinal just put his head into his hands.

We have the testimonies of these seminarians of what they learned in that seminary. It is no longer Catholic —contextual theology, situation ethics, relativism in everything, denial of the knowability of truth…. So, they’ve joined us and four of them are now in our seminary in Goulburn, Australia. We have been obliged to establish a house in India to prepare vocations so we have a kind of hostel for future vocations to the priesthood and brotherhood. We are about to do the same for future sisters. If I recall correctly there are about 30 possible female vocations.

In SRI LANKA we used to have a priory but we chose to close it and to reconsolidate our priests in Singapore. This is a better use of our resources. We had a very hard time in the Sri Lankan apostolate. Sri Lanka is considered "the paradise of the devil," isn’t that nice?! ...Yes, it’s Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Don’t think the Buddhists are "nice guys!" Just recently —I forgot where it happened —the Dali Lama performed a ceremony to free the devils in [onto, or to posses —Ed]  a certain town! Yes, the Dali Lama, the very kind and peace-loving Dali Lama! Watch out for Buddhism! We still have faithful in Sri Lanka and we travel there from Singapore once or twice a month.

SINGAPORE in Indonesia, at the tip of the Malaysian Peninsula in the South China Sea, is the district seat for our District of Asia. The main center of activity in the district is in the PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. We have a priory in Manila, precisely in Quezon City, and another house with the novitiate for the Society brothers in Iloilo, farther south near the island of Cebu. From Quezon City, our priests go all around among the 7,000 islands there! Besides the Philippine apostolate, the priests go to Hong Kong, twice a month to SOUTH KOREA, and once a month to Tokyo and Kyoto in JAPAN. This year (2002) a Japanese priest who has converted to the Tridentine Mass assisted at ordinations in Ecône. There are now three or four priests who are definitely in favor of the old Mass in Japan. The ground of Japan is very hard. Why that is a long story. Nevertheless, Tradition is sinking roots there.

Rotuma Island is less than ten miles long and three miles wide and about 2000 people live there. A plane flies in once a week. There has been a traditional Catholic group here for years which doesn’t go to the new Mass at the only Catholic church on the island….It is a tremendous thing to see Catholic faithful even on these little islands. Catholic Tradition is really universal. You find it everywhere! 

Our detractors in Rome and elsewhere explain the traditional movement by saying it is decrepit, that we are rooted in Latin because we are born and bred in the Old World, European civilization…. This is why we long for the Latin Mass. This is totally wrong! This Latin Tridentine Mass is universal. It’s fitting for any kind of civilization! Because it comes from God, the faithful from any civilization respond to it, and they are longing for it, not only in the European countries, but really in the whole world. This hit home with me with an experience I had this past September in Kenya, Africa.

AFRICA

This year we discovered a group of 1500 Kenyan faithful who are in trouble with the hierarchy because they have refused Communion in the hand —they refuse Communion standing —and they are in big trouble. God knows why we have come into contact with them just now. Of course, we have to bring to them knowledge and appreciation of the Latin Mass. But, immediately, you see it is not just to receive Communion kneeling and on the tongue that they desire: it’s everything! When they see the Tridentine Mass for the first time they say, "That’s it! That’s what I want!"

Related to this group we have found something very interesting. I think it’s the first time we’ve seen such a thing. Religious sister after religious sister approaches us and says, "Listen, I was a sister in such-and-such a congregation, but I was no longer able to tolerate the novelties and so I was either kicked out, or had to leave, or…but I still live as a sister in the world. I am faithful to my vows. I am just praying and waiting for the time when I will find a congregation where I can live according to my vows." Suddenly, we have become aware of 16 sisters, of different congregations, loosely connected with each other, who are turning to the Society and asking, "May you please provide us with this religious life?" One example is that of a religious sister, 33 years old, who left her convent after eight years. She witnesses for the first time the Latin Mass celebrated by us —a Mass she has never heard of nor ever seen in her life! —and she says, "That’s it!" I have experienced this many times, and more so lately. Many times people who are so-to-say "traditional" in their heart —who are not at ease with the modern ways —do not know of the old ways. They know there was "something" in other times, but that’s all. But when they see the Latin Mass and hear our priests —Bang! They know this is it! Then we try to see what we can do for them.

While I was a week in KENYA on this trip, I saw and spoke with some young priests. Their testimonies are very interesting.

I went to see the cathedral in Nakuru, northwest from Nairobi. (This is the sanctuary of the thousands and thousands of pink flamingoes, by the way.) I went to see the cathedral and happened to meet a young priest, only ordained for two years. This priest asked, "Could I see you? May I speak with you in secret?" So, I arranged for a meeting. He kept his appointment the next day and told me, "When I go and visit the faithful, the older ones among them ask, ‘Why did you change the Church? We want the Church as it was before. Why don’t you say the Mass as it was said before?’ " Then this young priest confided to me, "I would like to but I don’t know how! I don’t know the Church as it was before! I don’t know this Mass as it was said before. I’ve never seen it, and when I ask the older priests about it I am scolded! When I saw you with the cassock I said to myself, ‘I’ve got to go to him and ask him.’ May I visit you on my next vacation and learn to say the Tridentine Mass? I want to say it."... The young priest continued, "If you come here and set up a chapel you will empty the cathedral."

There was another priest from the same neighborhood who witnessed the Latin Mass that day, too. Many intelligent questions followed. I was very surprised at the thoughtful questions. I noticed that the priest, however, didn’t offer to say anything. Afterwards, the priest told me, "I am going to put something in my diary tonight: ‘My first Tridentine Mass.’"  He hadn’t dared to say so even in front of the faithful! He’s a parish priest. He’s longing for the old Mass…to celebrate it, to have the documentation, and so on. I was only in Nakuru one day and already had received the visits of two promising young priests. I’m sure this is reflective of most everywhere in the Third World.

Its clear that if we became established in Kenya (population, 31 million), Uganda (25 million), Tanzania (37 million), Cameroon (16 million), and Nigeria (130 million), we would have thousands of faithful coming to our Masses. Our mission of 3500 in Libreville, Gabon —a small country with hardly one million people —is nothing when compared to these vast and populous countries! We know that in Nigeria, the most populous in all of Africa, we would have thousands of people, but we don’t have the priests to send. So, we make our little visits there, supply what we can, that’s all.

The same for MADAGASCAR [the large island east of Africa’s Mozambique with 16 million people —Ed.]. We have groups there. They receive the Latin Mass once a year, that’s all. They’ve had a severe war there. That is a problem all over Africa. Everywhere, there are big fights. It’s high drama! You have to ask yourself why these wars are being fought? Millions are being slaughtered and we never hear about it in our newspapers. Here and there they may say a little something, but they never give you the whole picture. It’s truly unbelievable.

In ZIMBABWE we have had a priory for six years. Right now people are dying there of famine. Why is there a famine? –Because the government has kicked out all the white farmers. The local people take their places but they don’t take care of the farm, and the farm doesn’t produce if you don’t take care of it. They live on fertile land, but they die of starvation! When food arrives in areas opposing the ruling government, the government forces come and take everything away in order to make the opposition starve. Our priests are still living there! I have given them instructions not to die there, or if they die, they die as martyrs for the Catholic Faith, not for being against the Marxist president! Up to now, our priory still has an apostolate, but it is painful to watch a prosperous country brought down by a tyrant [President Robert Mugabe]. All these international communities are just letting it happen. Nobody really cares! It’s calculated that at least one-third of Zimbabwe’s population is going to die of starvation.

Farther south, sharing part of a border with Zimbabwe, SOUTH AFRICA itself is doing better. We have two priories there —Johannesburg and Durban —and several chapels. It is going fairly well; we cannot complain. South Africa is known for having the highest crime rate in the world. There have been several murders in the vicinity of the priories. When you visit, the danger is not immediately evident. It is genuinely life-threatening, but, once again, heroes survive. In the first years, our apostolate was almost exclusively among the whites who were traditional, but now it has changed drastically since the whites have been forced out or have moved out voluntarily. Now we go even into Soweto Township, for example [i.e., the poorest, most volatile and violent suburb of Johannesburg —Ed.]. Dangerous, but it is working! The people respect the man of God, the priest. They think, "We better behave with him around."

To the northwest of South Africa, up the west coast from the southern tip of Africa, is NAMBIA. We serve several missions there. Like most of Africa, this poor country is dying of AIDS. It is a terrible disease, especially in Kenya. [In the November (2002) Letter to Friends and Benefactors of the Mission St. Pius X of the Society’s mission in Libreville, GABON, it is reported that nearly everyone dying between ages 25-45 have died from AIDS, about 50% of total number of funerals celebrated there. —Ed.] We try to do what we can to alleviate this affliction, but our first job is to save the souls.

This year (2002), the Society of St. Pius X was publicly condemned by the cardinal of Bangkok, THAILAND. Yes, we are under fire everywhere, but it is good publicity. Bishop Manat, whom you know, is in that country, coming, coming, little by little.

The Fathers of the Society are visiting VIETNAM, another dangerous country. They risk either being expelled or imprisoned. For the time being they have escaped both, but it is dangerous. There are faithful there. It is moving to see with what courage —or temerity(!) —they go there. They even went into the capitol city of Vientiane, in Laos [sandwiched between Thailand on the west and Vietnam on the east —Ed.]. It is totally landlocked and strictly red Communist there!

The Society is quite active. If we had 100 more priests in the Society, there would be plenty of apostolate for all of them. If tomorrow the good Lord gave me 50 priests, I could give them a roof and an apostolate the next day! —No problem. This is just a small journey through our missions in that part of the world, but you don’t have to go too far to see the crying need for Catholic priests.

Wherever the Society is in the world, we have a shortage of priests. We simply don’t have enough. By itself, the apostolates are growing faster than the number of priests we have to minister to them. Thank God if you have a priest. Thank God if you have a place where you have Mass. It is not given to everybody these days. Pray for your priests and pray for vocations, that we may receive more and more. Pray that Catholic priests worldwide will be able to celebrate the Latin Mass freely. It is a key point in the crisis. It is not the only thing it is true —the doctrinal fight is very important —but we find the source of grace in the holy Mass. It is clear, it is obvious, that the Tridentine Mass is like a volcano —an eruption —of grace which flows everywhere, giving strength to the faithful and nourishing the Catholic Faith, something the new Mass does not do.

Recently I spoke to a Benedictine in Italy. He has just learned to celebrate the Tridentine Mass but he is still where he can’t say it every day. He told me, "You cannot imagine the emptiness I feel when I have to say this new Mass." This was his testimony to me just a few weeks ago. When I hear such things, I console the priest, "Yes, yes, but the time is not very far away when the emptiness will be filled." Let us pray for such priests to mount their courage. This specific priest, for instance, would like to found a new traditional branch for the Benedictines, for the Olivetans. Let’s see! ...

It is everywhere evident that the whole world is thirsting for the grace of God. Let us pray that the gates of grace may once again be opened. It’s a part of the fight in which we are, and the fight is worth it. To death, if necessary. Let us pray for this final perseverance.

We are confident the Church will overcome the evil of the day. We have these promises of the Lord to which we must adhere. There is absolutely no doubt about it. How long it will take? —That is in God’s hands. It is not our part to guess; our part is just to persevere, to be faithful, to carry the cross for the time we have to carry it. Of course, amongst our duties of state we will do all that we can to improve the situation, but we know very well the solution is not in our hands, but His. If He wants to convert the pope and Rome, He can do it with a snap of a finger. Well, why doesn’t He do it? —That’s His wisdom, His mercy, His love. We don’t understand it but we know it is like that. He wants His children to prove their faithfulness and grow in those virtues in which they would never grow if this time of trial had not existed. That’s God’s mystery, and secret, and goodness. All that, even if we don’t understand it! We must trust God, and keep this hope. He is not going to abandon us, to drop us. He wants us to call Him "Father," and He wants to be, and is, Father to us.

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