Vu de haut No. 27: The Society of Saint Pius X, A Missionary Faith
Born of the Church, at the service of the Church and founded by a man of the Church, the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) lives by its missionary spirit as shown by the various communications published in this issue of Vu de haut, the review by the St. Pius X University Institute.
The doctrinal dimension represents a considerable part of its ministry because of the very nature of faith, the foundation of eternal salvation. How could the Society not seek to extend, radiate, propagate this faith essential to the work of Redemption?
The importance of its doctrinal combat cannot, however, overshadow other dimensions of the Society, in particular its spirituality entirely centered on the Mass and the priesthood or its devotion to Pope St. Pius X. The 50th anniversary of the SSPX, founded on November 1, 1970 by Archbishop Lefebvre, is an opportunity to discuss six major aspects.
On the “doctrinal ministry of the Society of Saint Pius X,” Fr. Benoît de Jorna, District Superior of France, affirms on pg. 9: “It is the formation of the mind that counts. It's not just about knowing. To be learned, to accumulate knowledge is one thing; there are people who have a considerable memory; to live by what one knows is another thing. The important thing is the transmission of a doctrine, of a life.”
“For this reason, our ministry is a doctrinal ministry. This seems like an oxymoron: through his ministry, the priest gives his faithful the means to live in as a Christian, guides them in a spiritual way, one could say morally. However, this direction, this injunction to the faithful to live as a Christian is a doctrinal ministry, because it is based on extremely important principles of doctrine.”
“Moreover – and this is a crucial point – these principles are both theological and philosophical. To dispense a respectable doctrinal teaching, one must have a good theology – theology is the teaching of the Church, Catholic, supernatural; and to be good, theology must be firmly based on a philosophy.”
“Respectable, we say: has not our doctrinal teaching actually been recognized as such? We have been called to Rome to discuss doctrine with eminent persons who have seen, undeniably, the firmness of our doctrinal teaching, because we rightly defend our positions with arguments. To have an argument, a solid doctrinal ministry, you first need a good theology.”
In summary :
-Introduction – Fr. François-Marie Chautard, Rector of the St. Pius X Institute
-The doctrinal ministry of the Society of St. Pius X – Fr. Benoît de Jorna, District Superior of France
- Fifty years of relations between the Society of St. Pius X and the Vatican (1970-2020) – Fr.Nicolas Portail, professor of history at the St. Pius X Institute
-The Society, a work of the Church – Fr. François-Marie Chautard
-The spirit of Archbishop Lefebvre and the spirit of the Society of St. Pius X – Fr. Guy Castelain, Prior of Moulin du Pin
-The patronage of St. Pius X – Fr. Philippe Toulza, director of Clovis editions
- The secular roots of faith - Denis Duverger, associate professor of Classics
- Conclusion – Fr. François-Marie Chautard
The Society of Saint Pius X, a missionary faith, Vu de haut, No. 27, 124 pages, 10 € (+ 4.50 € postage). Available from the secretariat of the Institut Universitaire St.-Pie X, 21 rue du Cherche-Midi, 75006 Paris - Fax: 01 42 84 31 94 - Email: [email protected]
(Sources : IUSPX/DICI n°416 – FSSPX.Actualités)
