New Article Examines Archbishop Lefebvre's Integrity
Fr. Paul Robinson, a professor at the Society of Saint Pius X’s Holy Cross Seminary, has written a new article on Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and his relationship with the Roman authorities.
Contrary to the contentions of certain naysayers, Fr. Robinson demonstrates that the Archbishop was remarkably consistent in both his attitude toward the Church and his dealings with other bishops, including the Pope:
Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre was well-known, throughout his life, to be a man of great integrity. He was unwavering in his principles, honest in all of his dealings, and charitable to a fault. Among the foundational ideas that guided him were the Catholic notions of authority and obedience, which directed the heroic prudence of the Archbishop in the many difficult decisions he had to make in his relations with Rome."
Certain figures, however, seem to deny that the Archbishop was a man of principled integrity in his ideas about the Church and in his relations with Roman authorities. Some accuse him of having held contradictory principles, while others accuse him of having changed his principles after the episcopal consecrations."
This article will attempt to defend his good name by considering the Archbishop’s position and showing that he never changed it. We will first consider the Archbishop’s notion of authority and how this notion influenced his attitude towards the Roman authorities. Then, secondly, we will show that the consecrations did not cause the Archbishop to change either his principles or his application of them."
