December 1988 Print

 

 

For over a month now, Bishop Richard Williamson has been on an apostolic journey which has taken him, literally, around the world. Such a journey, through His Excellency's kindness, has provided the unique opportunity for an interview with Father Frank Peek, a priest of the Society of St. Pius X, who is stationed in Johannesburg. We are deeply grateful to Bishop Williamson for finding the time to give our readers an insight into a land which is talked about so frequently in the secular media, and a land which we know so little about. We sincerely hope that Bishop Williamson will have made other interviews or articles for us in other fascinating parts of the world!

Bishop Williamson: Father Peek, what country are you from?

Father Peek: I am a New Zealander, of Dutch parents, but I was born in New Zealand, like the five boys in the Peek family.

Bishop Williamson: When did you enter the seminary?

Father Peek: On October 3, 1978.

Bishop Williamson: Why did you pick the Society of St. Pius X Seminary?

Father Peek: from an early age I felt that I had the vocation, but I was positively put off religion for a number of years by the priests who were teaching me at St. Augustine's College in my hometown of Wanganui, in New Zealand. They were Marist Fathers who were leading such an unpriestly life. They positively discouraged me from the Society of St. Pius X, rather from the Catholic priesthood, in general. It was during those years, 1975-76, that I read the condemnations of Archbishop Lefebvre in the Catholic newspapers. When I saw that there was a Catholic bishop somewhere in the world who was training his priests the way that they always used to be trained—well, for me, there was no hesitation; there was no question whatsoever. If ever I was to become a priest it was definitely going to be with Archbishop Lefebvre.

Bishop Williamson: In what year were you ordained?

Father Peek: I was ordained in 1984, after the six years spent in the seminary in Switzerland and with one year in Albano.

Bishop Williamson: Where did your ministry begin?

Father Peek: My word! I have been everywhere! I was originally posted for my first year to Australia, to help Father Gerard Hogan in the priory in Sydney, but from there I was a traveling missionary to Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Papua, New Guinea and New Caledonia.

Bishop Williamson: How many years were you based in Australia?

Father Peek: I was based there for two years; that is to say, I had my first year with Father Hogan in Sydney, and then I was transferred to the first priory of the Society in Melbourne, and then I was transferred after those two years out here in Southern Africa.

 Bishop Williamson: So, in what year did you come to Southern Africa?

Father Peek: I came here on October 30, 1986. I have been here now for just over two years.

Bishop Williamson: Is there a difference between what we call Southern Africa and South Africa? And where is your ministry?

Father Peek: Yes, we do the work of the Society in Southern Africa. In other words, our apostolate extends beyond the borders of the Republic of South Africa. All of the priests, the three priests of the Society in Southern Africa, are based in the autonomous house here in Johannesburg, but our apostolate takes us to Zimbabwe where we have a permanent priory, and we have almost finished building our church there. Father Delsorte and I have also been to Kenya and to Swaziland, and one of our priests goes regularly also to South West Africa. So our apostolate extends well beyond the borders of the Republic of South Africa.

Bishop Williamson: Do you like being in South Africa?

Father Peek: Very much so. I volunteered to come here, so I am delighted that my Superior General asked me to come here.

Bishop Williamson: Why do you like being here?

Father Peek: I honestly believe that this is one of the very best countries in the world, if not the best.

Bishop Williamson: Why?

Father Peek: Because generally South Africa is still a Christian country, still has strong moral convictions, at least relatively. The standard of education is still very good, and South Africa is particularly strong in its anti-Communist stance.

Bishop Williamson: Why does one find all these things in South Africa? Why have these things survived in South Africa, whereas they have been liberalized and dissolved elsewhere?

Father Peek: It's due in large part to the Christian element among the Afrikaners, the Dutch Reformed Church. Although they have not found the true religion, they have nonetheless maintained the belief that they do have, and they are of a high quality.

Bishop Williamson: Do you find many similarities between the Republic of South Africa and New Zealand—they were both parts of the British Empire once.

Father Peek: Any similarities that may have existed until the 1940s have now very largely disappeared. New Zealand is a very sad country. It could and should be a magnificent country but, unfortunately, it is very socialist in practice. The people have no back-bone; they have very few convictions, and they generally lead a very easy, happy-go-lucky way of life, based on rugby, racing and beer (which is, more or less, a New Zealand slogan!), whereas in South Africa, the people generally are well disciplined, hard-working and have firm convictions.

Bishop Williamson: Father, do you like beer?

Father Peek: Yes, indeed I do! It's a gift of God to be used in moderation.

Bishop Williamson: Are there many Catholics in South Africa?

Father Peek: There are only about twenty percent of the population who are Catholics and, unfortunately, we are not able to reach many of them. Our apostolate is restricted mainly to the white English-speaking South Africans whereas the majority of the Catholics are among the Blacks but, for the time being, we lack the manpower to go out and reach them all.

Bishop Williamson: Have these Catholics in South Africa been subjected to the same progressive and liberal influences as Catholics everywhere else?

Father Peek: Most definitely. One thing that is very noticeable in this crisis in the Church, and here I speak also in relation to all those other countries which I visited when based in Australia... I have seen the same changes taking place in the same way in every single country, although there has been a time difference to a certain extent. For example, in Zimbabwe, there were good Jesuits until very, very recently. It's only in the last two or three years that things there have been going terribly liberal, at least in appearances. Back home in Australia and New Zealand the liberalization took place immediately, from the 1960s. Here in South Africa they are more advanced in their liberal trends than in Zimbabwe, and unfortunately we would have to say that the South African clergy, especially among the bishops, could perhaps be rated amongst the worst in the world. It is the South African bishops who are at the forefront of the lack of fight against Communism here in South Africa.

Bishop Williamson: Is there an outstanding villain among these South African bishops?

Father Peek: There most definitely is. I think it is internationally known that Bishop Denis Hurley of Durban is in the forefront of this liberalization. He is known to have had continual contacts with the A.N.C. (the African National Congress), which is in the front line of the anti-government, pro-communist movement, the movement towards African Socialism in general.

Bishop Williamson: How many Mass centers does the Society of St. Pius X have in South Africa? In South Africa, South West Africa and Zimbabwe in particular?

Father Peek: In South West Africa we have four centers. Now, unfortunately, they only have Mass once every two months. One of our German-speaking priests goes there and generally spends about a week and travels to the four centers in South West Africa. Here in South Africa we have strong centers in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth; also Mass centers exist in Pretoria, Witbank and Bredell, just around Johannesburg. Of course, we are very blessed to have Father Leslie doing magnificent work in Durban and his apostolate is going very well in Durban and Pietermaritzburg. He also now has a new center in Newcastle and helps us out in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. In Zimbabwe we have a very strong group of faithful based in Harare. There are other faithful scattered in Bulawayo and Karoi, but many of them have left the country. Many have come down to South Africa, or have gone to Australia or even to Canada.

Bishop Williamson: Is Father Leslie a member of the Society, or is he a priest working alongside the Society?

Father Peek: He is a priest who is working alongside the Society, in very close contact with the Society. He fully supports publicly the position of Archbishop Lefebvre and he is a tremendous help to us, a tremendous inspiration, and we are so grateful to have a few grayer hairs to rely on.

Bishop Williamson: Are there any other priests who are close to us in South Africa?

Father Peek: None whatsoever other than an African priest who is doing excellent work also in Natal, a Father Marcus. He is still in his parish, resisting his bishop and he is doing excellent work. But other than the Society priests and those two others, we are completely alone. It is a very lonely battle.

Bishop Williamson: Are the number of traditional Catholics increasing in these centers you mentioned?

Father Peek: They are. We haven't had any defections concerning the consecrations and, especially in Durban, the numbers are definitely increasing. A tremendous thing that we seen in the parishes, particularly here in Johannesburg, is what we call the "internal increase." We are getting converts, so to speak, to the traditional way of life, but especially we see so many young families with babies—there is a very encouraging internal growth.

Bishop Williamson: Is the faith growing stronger qualitatively in these centers? That is to say, are the people who come regularly to the Tridentine Mass, even if it is once every two months, are they being fortified and strengthened in their faith, and are they clearer in their mind and more resolute in their fidelity?

Father Peek: I would say, most definitely. One of the signs of that is precisely the increase in young families. People are definitely returning to prayer and to the Catholic ideals of morality and family life.

Bishop Williamson: What was the effect of the consecrations at the end of June on the faithful in the Society's centers in Southern Africa?

Father Peek: There have been no defections. Generally, the issues have become much clearer and people have been strengthened in their convictions. The Sunday when I returned to South Africa after the consecrations which I assisted at in Europe, a newcomer to one of our centers knocked on the sacristy door and said: "Father, now I know what the true situation is. Now I will never return to the Novus Ordo because the fence has been taken away." The issues are clearer, the convictions are more solid.

Bishop Williamson: What do you mean "by the fence"?

Father Peek: There used to be, more or less, three groups within the Catholic Church: the Traditionalists, the Liberals and, in between the two, the Conservatives. The Conservatives tried to maintain one foot in both camps, but we find that those who were somewhat wishy-washy have chosen to side with the bishops. Particularly in Cape Town, the bishop is being cunning in manipulating the Indult Mass to his advantage and those conservative Catholics have made up their minds to go with the Indult Mass. However, those who stand firmly by the position of Archbishop Lefebvre are definitely strengthened in their convictions.

Bishop Williamson: Do many Blacks come to the Society of St. Pius X Mass centers? I think you have already answered that, but why do they not?

Father Peek: Most of them are subject to the influence of their local priests but there is also a definite language barrier as well in South Africa. The Blacks generally speak Afrikaans and, for the time being, we don't have that ability ourselves. In Zimbabwe, though, a good twenty percent of our congregations are Goanese. They are not whites and they are very good people, very staunch and very regular.

Bishop Williamson: Goanese, originating from Goa in India?

Father Peek: That's right and that, in turn, means originally from Portugal.

Bishop Williamson: What do you mean by "Afrikaans"?

Father Peek: Afrikaans is the language spoken by the Afrikaaners, that is to say, the white non-English speaking Southern Africans, but also by the Blacks and many of the Indians... they also speak Afrikaans.

Bishop Williamson: What do you, as a Catholic priest ministering in South Africa—the Republic, in particular—feel about apartheid?

Father Peek: The first thing that has to be said about apartheid is that it is a South African question and unless people have been living here personally for several years—not just a short visit, but for several years—then it is impossible to grasp the complexity of the question. South Africa is a very multi-racial society; the issues are complex; they are difficult; and it is only a local knowledge that can give an insight, a guideline as to the whole question. Let's go back to the origins. We need to know first what does apartheid mean? Apartheid literally means "separate development," that is, developing the people according to their possibilities. There is nothing un-Catholic in that.

Bishop Williamson: Do the Western newspapers give a true picture of the situation in South Africa?

Father Peek: Not at all. I can speak with a certain authority, coming from New Zealand which is one of the most anti-South African countries in the world. I grew up in an anti-South African climate. They don't know the situation and they really have no right to speak of the situation. I really think the whole Western propaganda against apartheid is not so much a question of apartheid as a question of Communism. It is the pro-Communist or pro-Socialist media throughout the West that is using apartheid as an excuse to crush, to demolish, South Africa because of South Africa's staunch anti-Communist stance.

Bishop Williamson: Slightly off the question of South Africa in particular, because you open up the question of Communism in general. Do you here in South Africa sense anything even behind the Communists? Or even behind the push for Communism?

Father Peek: Oh, most definitely. Communism is methodically destroying the countries in Africa, one by one. This process has been going on now for a good thirty years. One by one we have seen the colonial systems destroyed and replaced by what they call an African Socialist State. The aim of the revolution is not simply to destroy, the aim of the revolution is to build up—to build up the new world movement, to build up the new age... so Communism itself is merely the destructive arm in a much broader revolution.

Bishop Williamson: Do you have many Afrikaaners in your congregations here in South Africa?

Father Peek: Unfortunately we don't. I wish that we did have because they are men of conviction. If only we could convert them to the true religion South Africa could still be saved.

Bishop Williamson: Do you find then, given that most of your congregation are English-speaking and of English origin, or non-Afrikaner origin in any case, do you find these Catholics brainwashed by the Western liberal media, including the South African liberal newspapers?

Father Peek: It would not be correct to say that the members of our congregation are brain-washed. I think that, generally, those who come to us realize what the situation is; they know what is going on and their ideas and assessment of the situation is generally correct. Nonetheless, it is unquestionable that the white South Africans are far more open to liberalism than the Afrikaners.

Bishop Williamson: You mean the non-Afrikaans are more open to liberalism than the Afrikaans?

Father Peek: That's right, definitely. It is unquestionable that this is ultimately a consequence of Protestantism. It's ultimately a consequence of the principle of private judgment, private interpretation. This is found in the liberal white media in South Africa; it is found in the city of Cape Town which is the white capital, so to speak, of South Africa. In some respects, Cape Town is definitely the most liberal of the cities in South Africa.

Bishop Williamson: Father, you just said that the English-speaking South Africans were inferior to the Afrikaners because they are Protestants, but the Afrikaner is a Protestant. Is it because the Afrikaners sort of stopped in seventeenth-century Protestantism, whereas the English speakers belong to post-Protestantism, that is, fully dissolute liberalism?

Father Peek: Most definitely. The Afrikaners, with their relatively staunch Calvinist attitude haven't been carried away by the sway of liberalism as much as those descending more from English Protestantism than from Calvinist Protestantism.

Bishop Williamson: Is this strict tendency to Protestantism and morality of the Afrikaners today menaced?

Father Peek: Definitely. We see this particularly on the question of divorce. On the question of, for example, pornography the Afrikaner government is still relatively good. It is a criminal offense, for example, to have pornography in one's home. In principle, it can't even be obtained in South Africa. In that respect, the government is still good, but they are weakening because divorce is increasing in South Africa and this dates back, probably, to the introduction of television. It's only very recently that television has been introduced into South Africa but certainly the standard of morality in general is weakening since then, even among the Afrikaners.

Bishop Williamson: Do South African politics impinge much on your ministry?

Father Peek: Not at all. The Society of St. Pius X is very well known by the government in Pretoria and very well liked by the government in Pretoria. The government is very well aware of our staunch anti-Communism, of our staunch anti-liberal theology. The government realizes that there is a gulf between ourselves and the modern bishops, especially Bishop Hurley, and the government is actually very good to us. They have given us our temporary work permits without any problems whatsoever; they have even bent the rules to enable us to become marriage officers and commissioners of oath before the normal time.

Bishop Williamson: Just supposing the revolution, the modern Communist revolution, won in the Republic of South Africa. Would your ministry here change much?

Father Peek: Very radically. It would become like our ministry in Zimbabwe, which is very difficult. In Zimbabwe, it is impossible for us to maintain a permanent presence. We may only go there on a rotation basis, each one of the three priests from Johannesburg goes up for one month at a time; we only enter Zimbabwe as tourists. The only way we can have a permanent priest there is to have a Zimbabwean, with a Zimbabwean passport, returning home as a resident of his own country. Exactly the same thing would happen here in South Africa if the Communists finally achieve their objective. So, for the time being, things are going very well for us politically in South Africa. But it may be just a question of time.

Bishop Williamson: How then do you see the future of the Society of St. Pius X in the Republic of South Africa?

Father Peek: We are here; we are well founded; we are solidly founded; we are increasing but we especially must increase vocations. We must have South African vocations—people with South African passports who have completed their military service who will be able to return and work in their own country.

Bishop Williamson: How do you see the future of the Catholic Faith in the Republic of South Africa?

Father Peek: It's up to each individual to save his soul; it is most definitely possible to save one's soul in South Africa—probably far more easy than in countries such as America or Western Europe. Should Communism succeed, it's going to shock the liberal Catholics because then they themselves will realize just how deluded they have been by their bishops. Should Communism take over freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of writing—freedom will be very much curtailed. Catholicism, in general, will suffer tremendously.

Bishop Williamson: Father, is there anything else you would like to say to readers of The Angelus?

Father Peek: To pray for South Africa in their own interests, because South Africa is one of the few remaining bastions of anti-Communism in the world. So long as the Communist revolution is held up here, that means that the revolution world-wide is going to be held up. If South Africa can resist Communism it is going to benefit America, it's going to benefit England, it's going to benefit the Western world.