An Example to Follow...
ARCHBISHOP LEFEBVRE and those who support him are frequently described as "rebels," not only in the official "Catholic" press, which is what one would expect, but also in the secular press. This is because correspondents from secular papers who want information on any event relating to Catholicism quite naturally contact an "official" Catholic spokesman. It is hard to correct falsehoods and misrepresentations which appear in the "Catholic" press as most "Catholic" editors refuse to print any letter in defense of the Society of St. Pius X or, indeed, any aspect of the traditional faith. But this is not always the case and we urge our readers to try and correct falsehoods wherever they appear. Where their letters are not printed they could send them to us, with a copy of the offending report, including the day, the name of the journal, and any other relevant information, and we may be able to feature it in The Angelus. In the case of secular journals, there is a far greater chance of having a letter published and when this happens not only does it serve the interests of truth, but often results in new support for the Society.
As an example of what can be done we are printing a report which appeared in The Lancashire Evening Post (England), concerning the acquisition of yet another chapel by the Society. It will be noted that the report categorized Archbishop Lefebvre as a rebel. This misleading impression was corrected in an excellent letter from Mr. G. Bernard Whalley. We congratulate him on his fine exposition of the traditionalist case.
As a tragi-comic footnote to the report, the Holy Child of Jesus Sisters have been so outraged by the fact that their chapel is not to be demolished, but is to be used for the celebration of the Mass for which it was built, that they have been paying out large sums of money on advertisements in the local and national press urging their former pupils not to contribute to the fund for its restoration. This is a very dramatic manifestation of the death-wish which possesses those at the head of so many religious orders. The obvious questions that these silly nuns should be asking themselves is: "What is the reason that we have found it necessary to close down a previously flourishing school? What is the reason that the supporters of Archbishop Lefebvre have been able to buy it, and will be able to attract a congregation for the Tridentine Mass each Sunday?" If, by chance, there are any former pupils of the Holy Child of Jesus Sisters among our readers who would like to contribute to the restoration fund they could send their donation to Mrs. V. Anderton-Webster, "Keeper's Cottage," Featherbed Lane, Holmer Green, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK.
The report on the Preston chapel is a useful reminder of the continuing and almost miraculous expansion of the Society of St. Pius X. When we recollect that the apostolate was undertaken almost inadvertently by a retired Archbishop, without a penny of his own, it is impossible not to see the hand of God in what has taken place. The expansion of the Society of St. Pius X may well prove to have been the most rapid of any religious order in the history of the Church, not excluding the Franciscans and Jesuits. The Society now possesses four seminaries, and more priories, chapels, schools, and convents than we could possibly list. As well as the chapel in Preston, England, another has just been acquired in Scotland, one in Ireland, one in Melbourne, Australia, and one in San Antonio, Texas. Let us pray that God will continue to bless the work of the Society, and that each day its expansion will make it possible for more Catholics to love and serve God in a manner faithful to Catholic Tradition.
The Winckley Square Convent Chapel
LANC EVENING POST, Tues, July 16, 1985
SHOCK FOR NUNS AS REBELS BUY CHAPELBy Peter DugdaleREBEL Roman Catholics have bought an old convent chapel for their forbidden Latin Mass to the embarrassment of the nuns who used to own it. The St. Pius X Society, which broke with Rome to continue worshipping in the traditional Tridentine rite, has paid more than 50,000 pounds for the former Winckley Square convent chapel for its first permanent church in the town. It aims to restore the 50-year-old Romansque building behind the old convent school and leave a town centre social club where it has been holding regular Masses since the split several years ago. The news brought a swift disclaimer from the convent authorities. The Sister Superior of the Holy Child Jesus Order on nearby East Cliff said: "We had nothing to do with the sale. Mr. John Devol bought the whole of the property from us. We have just heard second-hand." Mr. Devol's company, Gold Label Investments, has negotiated the deal through local agents, as part of the disposal of the entire school premises. The rest will become offices. Had he not sold it, the premises might have been demolished. They had been on the market four years without a taker. An appeal had been lodged against Preston council's refusal to demolish, but agent Mr. Nick Royle said that would now be withdrawn. Now another appeal has been launched for funds to pay for the restoration. The fund is headed by a former HCJ convent girl. Mrs. Veronica Anderton-Webster said she and another old girl from St. Leonards, Sussex, were inviting donations for the restoration of the chapel. The chapel altar and a statue of Our Lady were removed when the premises were sold originally. Mrs. Anderton-Webster, whose family came from the Fylde, said she was at the HCJ Convent School at Harrogate from 1914-22, and was secretary and later president of the old girls' association. The nuns were still there at East Cliff, and she did not want to embarrass them further. "They don't want people to think they were responsible," she said. "We have bought it from the property company." The cash for the purchase came from "a generous donation" from someone who had died. |
LANC EVENING POST, Mon, July 22, 1985
CRY FOR TRUTH IS NOT FROM REBELSPLEASE ALLOW ME to comment on your article about the former Winckley Square Convent Chapel (July 16). Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre is no rebel, nor are his followers. Rather is his voice that of one bishop crying out in the wilderness for tradition and truth to be restored to the Holy Roman Church in general and for the beauty, dignity, mysticism and sanctity of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in particular. Against Modernism—condemned by Popes Leo XIII, St. Pius X, Pius XI and Pius Xll—yes; rebellious—no! The Latin Mass has not been forbidden. Count Neri Capponi, Advocate of the Holy Roman Rota, and lecturer in Canon Law, stated unequivocally in an address to the annual general meeting of the Latin Mass Society in London on June 9, 1984, that the Tridentine Mass is legal and under the new Code of Canon Law Roman Catholics are able to fulfill their Sunday obligation by attending such a Mass, in either a private home or in one of the numerous Mass centres supported by priests of the Society of St. Pius X. Such a priest would not require permission from the local bishop as incardination was unnecessary. He went even further by saying: "In February 1983, 19 bishops were directed by the Pope to investigate the legality of the Tridentine Mass, and agreed unanimously that it had never been abolished and was therefore perfectly legal." Count Capponi then described that Pope John Paul II had requested that this rite of Mass was to be celebrated freely throughout the world but that Mgr. Virgilio Noe, a secretary in the Congregation for the Sacraments and Divine Worship had refused to sign the necessary documentation. May one ask, who is a rebel? The Society of St. Pius X has not broken away from Rome. In fact priests of the Society say regularly at their Masses prayers for the intentions of our Holy Father the Pope. When Pope Pius V codified for all time in 1570 the Tridentine Mass in his Bull "Quo Primum" he made it clear that the only way in which a successor of his could abolish it would be by "total abrogation." This Pope Paul VI significantly failed to do. The bishops of the English hierarchy are clearly in an embarrassing situation. They have sought for years to suppress the Mass for which St. Edmund Arrowsmith, St. John Southworth to mention but two of the many Lancashire martyrs, gave their lives. Since the legality of the Tridentine Mass was confirmed, although in reality it had never been in doubt, their silence has been deafening. When the Catholic Church of Our Lady of Victories opens its doors for the first time the Catholic laity of Preston will be able to judge for themselves the veracity of the old or new Rite of Mass. We who believe in the old have nothing to fear from their judgment; more important, nor from that of Almighty God.—G. Bernard Whalley, Old Lancaster Lane, Preston. |
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