SSPX Resistance
| Abbreviation | SSPX-SO (unofficial) SSPX-MC USML (France) |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2012 |
| Type | Unofficial Traditionalist movement whose members are not in full communion with the Catholic Church or the Society of St. Pius X. |
| Headquarters | London, England |
|
Key people
|
Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, Bishop Richard Williamson, Bishop Jean-Michel Faure, Bishop Miguel Ferreira da Costa |
The SSPX Resistance is a loosely organized group of Traditionalist Catholics that grew out of the concern that the dialogue between the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) and the Holy See was leading the SSPX to accept the Second Vatican Council as a condition of the Society's recognition by Rome. The SSPX Resistance has continued to celebrate the Tridentine Mass and the traditional form of the sacraments throughout the world, though independent of both the institutional Catholic Church and the SSPX. They see themselves as holding true to the founding principles of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, opposing any drift towards liberalism and modernism perceived within the SSPX.
In May 2012, a private letter signed by Bishops Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, and Alfonso de Galarreta, three of four bishops illicitly consecrated by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, leaked online. The letter was written to Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior General of the SSPX and the fourth bishop Marcel Lefebve consecrated. It expressed the three bishops' concerns with the developments of the Society's rapprochement with the Holy See. Up to this point, suspicion concerning the Society's discussion with Rome grew as the dialogue advanced. The leaked letter only exacerbated the suspicion and mistrust among pockets of the faithful and the clergy of the SSPX.
Though the dialogue with Rome ultimately failed in achieving reconciliation and recognition of the Society, the danger of further schism within the SSPX grew more serious. Bishop Williamson was the most prominent dissenter, challenging the authority and governance of the Society publicly on multiple occasions. For example, in August 2012 Williamson administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to about 100 lay people at the Benedictine Monastery of the Holy Cross in Nova Friburgo, Brazil, during an unauthorized visit to the State of Rio de Janeiro. The society's South American district superior, Father Christian Bouchacourt, protested his actions on the SSPX website saying that it was "a serious act against the virtue of obedience." In early October the leadership of the SSPX gave Williamson a deadline to declare his submission, instead of which he published an "open letter" asking for the resignation of the Superior General. In October 2012 the Society expelled Williamson in a "painful decision" citing the failures "to show respect and obedience deserved by his legitimate superiors". Immediately after his expulsion, he publicly called for the establishment of a loose network of what he called "Catholic Resistance" to any proposal by the Society to drop its opposition to Rome. Williamson served as the de facto bishop for various groups of the faithful and clergy sympathetic to Williamson and opposed to recent developments within the Society.
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Wikipedia