Carolina Bellocq
From the outside, nothing seems to set this Roman building apart. But its plaque makes it clear: this is where the members of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X, known as Lefebvrians, gather.
After the episcopal ordinations on July 1st, conducted without papal mandate, the Holy See has confirmed the excommunication of those who formally participate in the Society.
Their first schismatic Mass in Rome was celebrated on Sunday, July 5th. What do the faithful think of these events?
ANDRÈ
“In fact, there has been no real separation. The Society of Saint Pius X is a Catholic institution. It is a work of the Catholic Church. This tension is the result of the current crisis in the Church, a crisis of magisterial authority that began in earnest with the Second Vatican Council.
Andrè is one of those who attended the Mass. The chapel is small and was packed. The faithful arrived early in order to pray and go to confession. He is Brazilian and came to see the Pope, whom he says he loves and serves, but is on this point, however, mistaken.
ANDRÈ
“We are not sedevacantists, we love and serve the Pope and the Church. This is not a matter of disobedience, much less a schism. I would rather die than separate myself from the Pope and the Church of Rome. What we are doing is working to preserve the Tradition in service of the Church.
As an ordinary member of the faithful, my duty is to protect and bear witness to the faith, resist these innovations, profess the fullness of the Catholic faith, and seek the means for the salvation of my soul in accordance with my state in life.”
The priest and other faithful who attended this Mass declined to comment further, as they felt that what their superior, Father David Pagliarani, had stated in a letter published on Friday was sufficient.
In this document, the Society's leader expressed that they did not intend to:
“offer the Church a museum of antiquities, but rather the Tradition in its entirety, fruitful, incarnated and alive in the souls of the faithful.”
In this same text, Fr. Pagliarani stated that they do not accept:
“These new sanctions- objectively unjust and invalid- must not be met with a spirit of bitterness or rebellion.”
They added that this has only strengthened their love for the Church and its needs.
According to this Brazilian's perspective, nothing has changed in the relationship between the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X and the Catholic Church.
ANDRÈ
“The excommunication was invalid, absolutely null and void, without any legal standing. And we are at peace. I am at peace, nothing has changed not in reality, or for me. I came here to see the pope, I came to Rome to see the pope out of love for him and faithfulness to the papacy.”
In fact, at the Society's chapel in Rome, there were several people who had participated in the controversial ordinations in Econe and who continued their pilgrimage on to the See of Saint Peter.
