October 1980 Dear Friends and Benefactors, This nineteenth semi-annual letter
coincides with the tenth anniversary of the official approval given
to our Society by His Excellency Mgr. Charriere, Bishop of Fribourg,
on November 1st, 1970. How many events since that date have shown
that the Church has been veritably seized and occupied by Modernism.
Many books have described in a disturbing way the result of this
penetration into Roman ranks and into episcopal curias. In the face of this sad spectacle,
which gets worse every year, one could even say every month, we put
aside our expressions of indignation and sadness. Still, we could
deplore the persecution whose object is the most worthy and venerable
priests, such as our dear friend Canon Catta, treasurer of the
Visitandines of Nantes for forty years, and dean of the chapter. More
than eighty years of age, he was deprived shortly before his death of
his function as dean of the chapter. Mistreated by his confrères
at the rest home, he sought refuge for his meals with the
Visitandines, who ended by asking him to return to the rest home
where, broken-hearted, he succumbed to cardiac arrest, and all this
because he persevered in celebrating the Holy Mass of his ordination.
His burial was completely contrary to what he had requested. Thus,
traditionalists are pursued beyond death, for the crime of fidelity. On the tombs of these holy priests,
over the graves of so many of the faithful, prematurely dead because
of this grievous persecution, we should take our oath of fidelity, an
oath which is none other than the profession of faith and the
Anti-Modernist Oath of St. Pius X, the last canonized Pope. Supported
by twenty centuries of Faith and Tradition, we can and must persevere
without fear, in the conviction that Truth must triumph, because it
is divine. Our Lord said it: “I am the Truth.” Instead of complaining and being
discouraged, let us thank God Who everywhere blesses the efforts of
those who persevere in the Faith and in Tradition. It would be
impossible to note in detail the countless blessings which we have
witnessed, or which have been confided to us by those who have
received them. The many vocations which are joining the Society or
the many communities faithful to Tradition, each have their own
moving story. They are flowers blooming amid the brambles and thorns. Retreat masters of the Society could
write books about the conversions they have witnessed. Priests who
minister to summer camps tell us with deep emotion of the
extraordinary return to the Faith and to the practice of religion
recovered by contact with Tradition and above all with the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass. Foundations such as schools,
universities, seminaries all have a story which reveals the
intervention of Divine Providence. And all the works faithful to
Tradition bear witness in the same way. One small example: the bishop
of Kansas City (USA), put on the market a large, spacious church,
furnished with beautiful altar, organ and pews seating a thousand.
The Father in charge of the Southern District made efforts to acquire
it through a third party, but the bishop’s office got wind of
who the buyer was, and his link with Archbishop Lefebvre. The answer
was a categorical refusal to sell. A black Protestant bishop then
appeared on the scene. Not only was this purchaser very welcome, but,
in the name of ecumenism, the price was cut by half. Now, for reasons
unknown, this Protestant bishop hastened to re-sell the church to our
District Superior, who thus benefitted by the lower price. So the
Society from now on can accommodate many of the faithful for
beautiful ceremonies in a splendid church in the heart of Kansas
City. Let us keep our trust and our
courage, as St. Paul says: “If God is with us, who can be
against us?” This month let us pray to the Virgin Mary to
deliver Holy Church from her enemies within, as she did at the time
of St. Pius V from enemies without. Help us with your prayers and your
generosity to pursue the work of rejuvenating the Church with true
and holy priests. May God bless you. Rickenbach,
Letter
to Friends and Benefactors
+ Marcel Lefebvre
1 October 1980