|
|
54 ANSWERS
from Bishop Fellay |
 |
|
 |
Expansion of the SSPX in the USA: Part 6
42. Your Excellency, we have the joy of seeing you often in the United
States. You like to travel here. Could you comment? |
|
|
My comment:
I love all the souls that the Good Lord has entrusted to us, and
there are quite a few in the United States. That’s all!
43. Have you been able to meet
Cardinal Burke yet?
I have tried
several times to see him, but I have not seen him yet.
|
 |
Cardinal
Raymond Burke |
|
|
 |
| USA bishops at March for Life |
|
44. A large number of bishops in the United States showed their support
for the March for Life; one of them even intervened forcefully
against a [Catholic] hospital that was in favor of abortion. Is
there any hope that they will realize that the crisis involves the
Faith also? |
|
|
I think
that, unfortunately, with modern clergymen you have to distinguish
between faith and morals. Thus you will be able to find more
bishops who are still responsive to moral problems than bishops
who are concerned in questions of faith. However we can tell
ourselves that if someone very courageously defends Catholic
morality, he must have the faith and his faith will be reinforced
by it…. That is what I hope, while recognizing that there are some
exceptions.
|
|
45. The
American bishops want to revise together the directives given
by John Paul II for the universities. What, in your opinion,
are the urgent measures that should be taken to turn today’s
universities into authentic Catholic universities?
The
first and most urgent measure is to return to Scholasticism.
They have to get rid of those modern philosophies and return
to the sound philosophy, the objective, realist philosophy.
Saint Thomas must become the norm again, as at the beginning
of the twentieth century. |
 |
University
of Notre Dame;
scene of a recent scandal
against the Faith |
|
|
|
Back then
the 24 Thomistic theses were obligatory. We have to return to
them—that is absolutely necessary. And after this philosophical
renewal, it will be possible to continue along the same line with
theology.
St. Thomas must
become the norm again, as at the beginning of the 20th century. The
24 Thomistic theses
were obligatory, were presented as obligatory. We have to go back
to them—that is absolutely necessary. And after that, it will be
possible and necessary to continue along the same line with
theology. |
 |
| Bishop Robert Vasa |
|
46. Bishop
Robert Vasa of Baker Diocese (Oregon) recently recalled that
the statements of a bishops’ conference could not be binding
on a bishop in his diocese. Is this re-litigating [calling
into question again] the line of thinking started by the
Council?
On this
question of
collegiality, it is not just a bishop who
has spoken up. The Pope himself, in addressing the Brazilian
Bishops’ Conference, had some very strong words that put the
role of Episcopal Conference in its place, and insisted on the
personal authority of the bishops and on their direct
relations with the Holy Father. |
|
|
47. [Of all SSPX institutions,] the
Seminary in Winona has the largest number of seminarians.
How do you explain that?
I think that it is quite simply due to the generosity of
this country, which is readily inspired by a good cause.
48. What can be
done to increase the number of priestly and religious vocations?
Pray, pray, pray! Make sacrifices, too. |
|
|
|
49. What are
the strong points of the world of Tradition in the United States?
I think that there is this generosity that I just
mentioned, and also the schools. It is true that there is an
impressive number of priests and that we would still need more,
but I would say above all that the schools are indispensable. We
must also encourage aid to Traditional families. We have to start
a movement for families, to support and form them. They are the
primary cell of society. The family is fundamental in the natural
order and in the supernatural order. |
 |
Bishop
Fellay visiting a
school of
the SSPX in the USA |
|
50. In your
opinion, Your Excellency, what is the importance of the schools?
They are of capital importance. They are the future. The
young people will be Catholic if they have a good formation, but
for that we need Catholic schools.
51. When
parents are generous and therefore have large families, they are
sometimes forced to home school. What do you recommend to those
who have access to good schools? |
|
|
Those who have access to good
schools should not hesitate one moment: let them put their
children in those schools! Home schooling will never replace a
good school. If there is no good school, that obviously that is a
different matter.
52. Do you
expect, Your Excellency, to call for another
Rosary crusade? What do you recommend to the lay
faithful today?
Yes! The situation of the world, the situation of the
Church—as anyone can see—continues to be very somber, even though
there are some glimmers of hope, and these distressing elements
oblige us more than ever to redouble the intensity of our prayers,
while turning to the Blessed Virgin. For the lay faithful today,
the indispensable thing is prayer: especially family prayer which
is frequently renewed, together with the essential thing that
forms the Christian soul, that is, the spirit of sacrifice.
BY WAY OF
CONCLUSION
53. Your
Excellency, next year you will celebrate 30 years in the
priesthood, 18 of them as the head of the Society of St. Pius X.
What were the major events during all those years?
That is quite a novel! …Of course, I have first to mention
the consecrations! Other major events are the joy of having been
an assistant to Archbishop Lefebvre, the joy of having been an
assistant to Fr. Schmidberger, of having learned a lot at their
sides, also the joy of being able to work with the other bishops
of the Society, as well as with all our priests, in that great
burst of zeal for the Faith, for the preservation of the Catholic
Church. |
|
54. Any wish
for the years to come?
That the Church will get back on track! This is a metaphor,
but it is truly our wish. And for that to happen, the triumph of
the Immaculate Heart of the Most Blessed Virgin has to come about.
We need it so much! |
 |
|
|
Thank you, Your Excellency, for granting this interview.
|
|
The interview was
conducted at St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Winona, MN on February
2, 2011, the Feast of the Presentation of the Child Jesus and the
Purification of the Blessed Virgin.
Our thanks to the
Information Service of the General House and to the French and
American editorial teams which translated and copyedited the
answers of Bishop Bernard Fellay. |
|
<
1 |
2 |
3
|
4 |
5 |
6 |
|
en Español > |
|
|
|
|
