Rumors circulating that the SSPX will consecrate bishops?

[Stone]

The False Resistance blog, Non Possumus, is citing an anonymous contact on April 20, 2023 that:

This week, Fr. Pagliarani has given this instruction to the priests of the SSPX: "Begin to prepare the faithful for eventual episcopal consecrations" (Non Possumus cannot reveal the source of this information, but it is certain).[computer translated from the Spanish]

I was a bit incredulous when I first read this. The SSPX would not make such a move without Rome's blessing, before whom they've cowered for years now. And given the recent Roman milieu of suppressing all things 'traditional' it would hardly make sense, unless one was bipolar or schizophrenic, to suppress the Latin Mass on the one hand but allow more traditional bishops on the other.

But this rumor may be gathering steam. Another Spanish blog is reporting, even more specifically, that a certain Fr. Pablo Enrique Suárez,

"an Argentine, ordained in 2001 by the Lefebvrist bishop Alfonso José de Galarreta, and who currently lives in Rome sheltered by Bergoglio (alias Francisco) and with "authorization" of the superior Pro. Davide Pagliarani, would be "consecrated bishop" in a short time.  [...] Those who had the chance to meet Suárez will recognize that he is about to achieve what he always wanted: a miter, even if for that he must sell his own mother."

Time will tell if this is just another rumor or if it has more substance. If Rome does allow the SSPX episcopal consecrations, it will surely not be anyone staunchly traditional but rather a bishop willing to placate and compromise with both Rome and tradition.

[Stone]

A brief article from The Remnant, speaking to rumors of the SSPX consecrating a bishop(s) and how untrustworthy the Roman milieu has been for several decades now in the context of how the broken promises of Conciliar Church regarding Cardinal Mindzenty. 

The Lefebvre/Mindszenty Connection
By: Fr. Joseph Wilson

Editor’s Note: I am pleased to present Father Wilson’s crucial historical observation about the context of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre’s reservations where trusting the Vatican in 1988 was concerned.  With rumors flying today that Francis is allegedly claiming the “SSPX is not in schism” and that he may even be planning to confirm a SSPX bishop or two, I can’t help but to ask the obvious question: Do those celebrating this rumor somehow imagine that the Vatican hadn’t offered Lefebvre the same deal in 1988? I lived through that drama. I remember it well. It wasn’t that Archbishop Lefebvre had not been offered a way out of his predicament; it was, rather, that he didn’t trust the Vatican, pure and simple!  He turned down their offer because he believed that hierarchs who had betrayed God (at Assisi, for example) could not be trusted to honor agreements with men (Just look how they'd betrayed Mindszenty!).  Today, 35 years later, when the situation has only gone from bad to apocalyptic under Francis, it seems to me we are left with two alternatives: Either Lefebvre was wrong in 1988 for not trusting the Vatican in the first place; or the SSPX would be foolhardy to trust the Vatican today. If this is more than a mere rumor, and Francis really is about to approve a new bishop for the SSPX – right after his fatwa against the Latin Mass – I would paraphrase the Trojan priest, Laocoön, in reference to that other Trojan Horse: Beware of Romans bearing gifts. -MJM


The Remnant has a fine article on Archbishop Lefebvre on its website, dealing in part with the contentions of those who think that he should not have proceeded with the consecration of the four bishops, that he should have trusted in the promises of the Vatican that he would be provided with an auxiliary, etc.

I always wonder when I hear that sort of thing why Cardinal Mindszenty has been so utterly forgotten. After years of refuge in the American Embassy in Hungary, he found himself an unwanted guest. He was in the way of Nixon’s outreach to the East as well, of course, as the baleful Ostpolitik of Paul VI’s Vatican.

Eventually he told the Pope that reluctantly he would leave the Embassy and leave Hungary (Cardinal Stepinac had privately sent him word that he must not let himself fall into the hands of the Communist authorities. Stepinac was under house arrest in his sister’s house, under very grim restrictive conditions which had ruined life for his family). But he made it clear to the Pope several times that for the good of the Church in Hungary he had to remain Archbishop of Esztergom and primate of Hungary.

Mindszenty left Hungary and first went to Rome. Paul VI welcomed him effusively, hung his own pectoral cross around Mindszenty’s neck, put a large Vatican apartment at his disposal, had him concelebrate at his right hand at the opening Mass of the Synod of Bishops and invited all present to welcome him.

Mindszenty and Pope Paul VI

Eventually Mindszenty decided upon residence in a seminary in Austria, as near to Hungary as he could get. Before leaving he concelebrated a final Mass with the Pope and the Hungarian priests and seminarians in Rome. Pail VI said to him privately, “You are and remain Archbishop of Esztergom and primate of Hungary. Continue working, and if you have difficulties always turn trustfully to us!”  A Hungarian prelate was asked by the Pope to reiterate this promise to him: “The Cardinal will always remain Archbishop of Esztergom and primate of Hungary.”

This was in 1971. By the turn of 1973 Mindszenty was holding a Letter from the Pope declaring the see of Esztergom vacant. And soon afterwards Mindszenty was obliged to issue a public correction of press stories that he had voluntarily resigned. All of this story can be found in the Memoirs of Cardinal Mindszenty (Macmillan, 1974, page 237ff).  The last line of the book: “This is the path I traveled to the end, and this is how I arrived at complete and total exile.”

Obviously, Archbishop Lefebvre was aware of this story. I have no doubt that he was very aware of other stories about the workings of the Vatican. It has always seemed to me necessary to understand this context if one is to understand Lefebvre’s decision not to trust the promises of the Vatican. Today, of course, any sensible person can see that his judgment is vindicated.

[Stone]

The rumors persist - from gloria.tv May 31, 2023: 

Did Francis Permit Bishops' Ordinations For Pius X?

A rumour circulating since March substantiates: Francis is permitting the consecration of several bishops for the Society of Pius X.

Jeff Cassman and Jim De Piante, two laymen close to the Society, wrote on social media (May 31) referring to a credible source that "the Society of Saint Pius X will be consecrating bishops in June 2023 with the permission of Pope Francis."

Among the likely candidates is the Society's superior, Fr Davide Pagliarani.

[Stone]

From the SSPX website (a rather condescending response):

Bishops for the SSPX to be Consecrated on June 30, 2023?

sspx.org | June 05, 2023


Fr. Jean-Michel Gleize, professor of Apologetics, Ecclesiology, and Theology at the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) Seminary in Écône, Switzerland, published this commentary about unfounded rumors and their possible motives on La Porte Latine this past weekend.


Moral Analysis of a Tall Tale

1. Maybe you read it on social media: “On June 30, in Ecône, Bishop Vitus Huonder, assisted by Bishop de Galarreta and Bishop Fellay, will confer episcopal consecration on three priests, members of the Society of Saint Pius X, among them Father Davide Pagliarani, Superior General of said Society. Bishop Huonder reportedly received from Pope Francis the apostolic mandate to carry out this consecration.”


Tall Tale

2. This is a bobard, a tall tale. Or, if you prefer, fake news. Although the word “fake,” which primarily signifies falsehood, does not translate exactly the whole meaning of “bobard,” which has the main connotation of rapidity: it spreads like wildfire.

3. These tall tales start who knows where but unfailingly circulate—especially on the web. And they spread from there at such a dizzying speed that in no time they have invaded a city, a province or a canton, an entire country. Traditional Catholicism is not immune to it. Sometimes you get the impression that tall tales circulate there faster and farther than elsewhere.

4. Who started these rumors? How did they cover such enormous distances at a record speed? It would take someone very shrewd to find out. One thing is certain: once unleashed, they come to the knowledge of the crowds as though they were broadcast by a mysterious radio.

5. Every age has its tall tales. There has always been, and until the end of the world there will always be, in every individual man or woman, a gullible ninny who will welcome them and be impressed by them; but in troubled times they find a more favorable climate in which to multiply.

6.  In 1944, some extraordinary tall tales circulated in France among the masses who had suffered so much during the years of the Nazi Occupation. Driven by the first gusts of defeat, which would soon turn into complete collapse, the enemy hit the road and headed back East. It quickened its march, with the Allied armies, the resistance fighters, and the powerful Anglo-Saxon air force on its heels. Now, from time to time, a news report spread unexpectedly, sowing fear in the regions where people had scarcely started to breathe easily again. “The Germans are coming back!” In a major city, which had been liberated scarcely forty-eight hours earlier, they were burying several victims of the recent battles. The whole populace followed the coffins that were being brought to the cemetery. At the head of the procession, the flags of the local associations advanced, decorated with black mourning ribbons; the schoolchildren carried sprays of flowers. Suddenly, a rumor started to circulate among the crowd; people repeated it to each other in a low voice; the rumor swelled, multiplied, and burst into a cry shouted by thousands of voices: “The Germans are coming back; they were seen less than a kilometer away.” It was panic, a free-for-all, a rush. Faint-hearted folk who had pulled themselves together once the danger had disappeared and were posing as heroes, fled as fast as their legs could carry them, seeking a cave in which to hide. People collided, knocked each other over, trampled one another. Nothing remained on the street but the hearses with their drivers and a few cooler-headed persons. Yet there was not the slightest truth in that rumor, which was as sensational as it was improbable. The Germans, preoccupied with securing their retreat, had never thought of going back on the offensive.


When the Tall Tale Teller Goes on the Attack

7. Other tall tales have followed that one. They have dealt with the most varied subjects: questions of food supply, public health, social conflicts, and, in Traditional Catholicism, canonical recognition or various agreements with conciliar Rome. And the rest of it.

8. One fine day, everyone repeats to his neighbor: “Look out! Soon we will see the Third World War, the end of the world, and the three days of darkness announced by the prophecies. There will shortages of pasta and rice; stock up on provisions.” The crowds rush to the stores, thus compromising the regular distribution of foodstuffs; there would be no shortage at all if the population did not go on the attack. On another day, we heard them say: “There is an epidemic of poliomyelitis in the region; many cases have been observed.” And the moms go crazy; their children will be on vacation soon, but they do not dare to take them to the mountains, even though the fresh air would do them a lot of good. This rumor is completely unfounded, however: polio spreads in times of drought, and the water level in the rivers is high this year. Other times they announce everywhere, without the slightest evidence, an imminent cut-off of electricity worldwide or a digital strike.

9. These tall tales have one distinctive effect: they create a collective psychosis.

10. Tell a reasonable man a bit of fanciful news and he will shrug his shoulders. Report to that same man a tall tale that he has heard a hundred times, and he will be impressed by it. The contagious madness of the crowd surrounding him (especially of the invisible crowd that surrounds us on the web or onscreen) takes hold of him and he loses control of his intellect. He does not seek to verify the authenticity of the rumor that is circulating; like someone who has seen Medusa, he lets himself be stupefied, petrified. And above all, he in turn repeats the rumor and spreads it.

11. The preceding description is enough to demonstrate the harmfulness of a tall tale. It proves to be perilous in every age, in times of difficulty and in a time of prosperity, during the lean years and the fat years [see Genesis 41]. It falsifies the mentality of those who hear it; it deprives them of their natural guide, reason, whereas clear thinking is as necessary as daylight. This is where the danger lies, whatever false news they may be trying to sell to you.

12. Pessimistic tall tales fill minds with confusion and worry, which leads to disorderly conduct. Optimistic tall tales lull us with a false sense of security and prevent us from taking indispensable precautions.

13. The moral of the story: don’t believe tall tales.


A Parrot Is Not a Wise Man

14. It is understandable that a very emotional person might be discouraged or enthusiastic about them; an impressionable individual gives in to imagination and feeling. But you are a normal human being, who recognizes the primacy of the intellect. Now this faculty has indisputable laws: it demands that you admit nothing as the truth unless it has been proved to you as such. Even the act of faith, in order to be made reasonably, requires the credibility of the person to whose testimony our intellect adheres or submits. Indeed, we see that the Blessed Virgin, at the time of the Annunciation, begins by mistrusting what, on the lips of someone other than the Archangel Gabriel, could have proved to be a tall tale: “Behold, you will conceive a child and he shall be called Son of the Most High.” Be severely critical, therefore, with regard to the rumors that circulate. In the first place try to discover their source. You will not find a precise one; your inquiries will end at anonymous or unknown persons (if not at pseudonyms) whose statements cannot be checked. They will be reduced to vague results: “They said... They saw... They reported....” “They” are not necessarily right. Examine the tall tale from the perspective of its plausibility. Is it fanciful to the highest degree? Then drop it; it deserves nothing but scorn. You may object that the truth is not always plausible; most often, though, it is. Therefore, before you speak up, wait for the confirmation or the denial of the latest great news. Wisdom knows no other course of action.

15. Above all: do not spread tall tales.

16. Some persons brandish tall tales like trophies; no sooner have they heard a few than they hurry to report them, making a tour of the town—or of Whatsapp—by hitting Forward or Copy and Paste. They gather it like manna from heaven, just the thing to keep up their conversation, which without it would lack sustenance. A meritorious man does not need a ploy like that to give weight to his words. Taking pleasure in spreading tall tales is an indisputable sign of intellectual poverty—unless it is a matter of anguished paranoia, for which only members of the Faculty of Medicine could provide treatment. It is also a dangerous habit, since it runs the risk of troubling weak, credulous minds.

17. Of course, dear readers of La Porte Latine, no one would dream of forbidding you to repeat the tall tales that you may hear by chance. We know very well that you will do so with eloquent irony and that you will brilliantly demonstrate how ridiculous they are.

18. But do not imitate the tall tale teller. He speaks like a parrot on his perch.

- Father Jean-Michel Gleize, SSPX


The Reverend Father Jean-Michel Gleize is a professor of apologetics, ecclesiology, and dogma at Saint Pius X Seminary in Écône. He is the main contributor to [i]Le Courrier de Rome. He participated in the doctrinal discussions between Rome and the SSPX from 2009 to 2011.[/i]