A victory for the Mass of Saint Pius V
by Fr Paul Aulagnier, SSPX
I was - and am - in favour of reopening negotiations with Rome even before Rome expressed this desire after our pilgrimage in the jubilee year.
My reasons are simple.
It is now fourteen years since the consecrations took place. They saved Tradition, its expression, and its modus vivendi in the Church. Without them, the Church's treasure, for example, the Tridentine Mass would have disappeared from the Church...and we with it. Providence did not permit that...On the contrary, the mainstream movement of Tradition was strengthened, as was the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X together with its associated work in Europe, and both North and South America...
We must continue these efforts. We must continue this expansion. "He who does not go forward, goes backwards!". It is not enough to guard a treasure and keep it for ourselves. We have to make it shine forth, and be loved throughout the Church. That is, by the way, the meaning of the inscription on the tomb of Mgr Lefebvre: "Tradidi quod et accepi". ("I have passed on what I have received").
There we have a watchword, an example to imitate...We must hand on... So Rome is opening its doors? How astonishing! Of course, we must be prudent but not fearful or timid. The conditions proposed by Rome are unique...unprecendented...especially the exemption from episcopal jurisdiction, which is of the highest importance. They have just put forward the juridical structure- an Apostolic Administration. These were all things which Mgr Lefebvre was asking of Rome.