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Dear Friends and Benefactors,

The Church’s situation increasingly resembles a sea that is agitated in all directions.  We see waves and more waves, which seem to be about to capsize the bark of Peter and drag it into the endless abyss.  Since the Second Vatican Council, it seems that a wave has been trying to carry off everything into the deep, leaving only a heap of ruins, a spiritual desert, that the popes themselves have called an apostasy.  We do not want to describe this harsh reality again;  we have already so often done, and all of you can see that it is so.  Still, to us it seems useful to comment somewhat on the events of the past months;  I want to speak about the surprisingly violent and particularly well-orchestrated blows that have been dealt to the Church and the Supreme Pontiff.  Why such violent attacks?

To return to our metaphor, it seems that for some time now, more or less since the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, a new wave has appeared which is much more modest than the first, yet persistent enough that it is noticeable nevertheless.  Contrary to all expectations, this wave seems to be going in the opposite direction compared to the first.  The indications are sufficiently varied and numerous, that we can state that this new movement of reform or renewal is quite real.  We can see this especially with the younger generations, who are plainly frustrated by the spiritual ineffectiveness of the Vatican II reforms.  Considering the very harsh and bitter reproaches leveled by the progressives against Benedict XVI, it is certain that they see in the very person of the present pope one of the most vigorous causes of this incipient renewal.  In fact, even if we find the pope’s initiatives rather timid, they run deep and are contrary to the agenda of the revolutionary, left-leaning world, both inside and outside of the Church, and this is true at several levels. Read more

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Dear Brethren

As you are all aware, the ordinations at Goulburn were celebrated by Bishop Tissier de Mallerais on 19th December last year when Father Todd Stephens entered the ranks of the sacred priesthood. Father has been appointed to Rockdale where he has replaced his namesake, Father Jordie Stephens who has gone to Tynong.  Father Vachon has moved to Park Ridge.  All of these priests are now settled in to their new posts. Father Jordie Stephens remains the chaplain of the Third Order.  We were afraid that with the ordination of Father Stephens there would be no more Australian seminarians at Goulburn. However, the honour of our country has been saved and two ex-pupils of St.  Thomas Aquinas College, Tynong entered at the beginning of this academic year. They are cousins, Marcel and Joseph Ockerse.  Bishop Tissier was unable to visit many places during his visit but we expect that Bishop de Galarreta will be coming to Australia during the course of this year, probably in August, and will confer confirmation at various churches. The visits of both Father Niklaus Pfluger, the First Assistant of the Society and Father Nely, the Second Assistant were both successful. The former preached a retreat to the Ordinands and then passed some time in Fiji, while the latter preached a retreat to the priests of the District at Goulburn and made a brief visit to Rockdale.

Extensive building works are taking place at both of our schools at Tynong and Park Ridge.  Work is progressing on the façade of the church at Tynong which should transform its appearance from that of a farm shed to a Roman Basilica!

At the time of writing the Rosary Crusade announced by Bishop Fellay a year ago is drawing to its close. In Rome the talks between the Society and the Vatican are continuing. The question of the new liturgy has been discussed and the topic for this month is Religious Liberty. The details of these discussions have not been revealed at this stage.

Already Lent is almost over and Holy Week is fast approaching. We should all seek to attend the ceremonies of this Great Week and follow Our Lord on the way of the Cross. It is the Cross which is the sign of contradiction to this present world of materialistic pleasure seeking. As the enemies of the Cross become each day more virulent and subject the Church, Christ’s Mystical Body, to a new crucifixion, it behoves us as members of Christ’s Mystical Body to unite ourselves with Him on the Cross by dying to our sins so that we can rise with Him glorious and immortal at the end of our days.

I wish you every grace and blessing this Easter,

Yours sincerely in Christ,

Father Edward Black
District Superior

My Dear Brethren

Very soon Bishop Tissier de Malerais will be visiting Australia in order to confer the Sacred Priesthood on Mr Todd Stephens, an Australian and Mr Remi Picot, a Frenchman and I ask you to pray for these young men that God may abundantly bless their future apostolate.

I am delighted to announce that Todd Stephens, who parents are very prominent members of our congregation at Tynong and caretakers of St. Thomas Aquinas College, will be remaining here in Australia and will take up his first priestly duties here at Rockdale.  Father Jordie Stephens will then move to Tynong.  He will replace Father Richard Vachon who has spent five years at St. Thomas Aquinas College and will now move to Brisbane where he will be resident at Park Ridge with Fathers MacDonald and Arthur with responsibility for our congregations in North Queensland.

By the time you receive this letter Father Niklaus Pfluger, the First Assistant of the Society, will be in Australia and assist at the Speech Night for the end of the school year at Tynong and then preach the Retreat to the Ordinands.  Afterwards he will accompany me to Fiji where we will spend Christmas together at the Society’s house in Suva.  Unfortunately, our congregation in Fiji remains without a resident priest and is served by our priests from Hampton every two months.  When there is no Mass on Sundays they nevertheless gather at the Chapel and recite the Mass prayers.  Let us hope and pray that after waiting many years there may soon be an improvement in their situation. Read more

My dear Brethren,

The visit of Bishop Fellay which took place a few weeks ago was, as always, a great success.  It was a great pleasure to have our Superior General amongst us.  At each of the places he visited he gave a conference which was most informative in regard to the recent events since the lifting of the “excommunications” some months ago and the current situation with regard to the Vatican.

The highlight of the visit was the tenth anniversary of St. Philomena’s School at Park Ridge on Saturday 8th August.  This was a delightful occasion with Pontifical High Mass celebrated in the school grounds followed by a concert performed by the school children and an excellent lunch.  Various celebrities were present including the Mayor of Logan and a former Speaker of the Queensland Parliament.  This was also an occasion to unveil plans for the complete replacement of the present school buildings by others of a more substantial and permanent character which are to be executed in a Spanish colonial style which will be highly attractive in the woodland setting of the property.  Read more

Bishop Bernard Fellay has appointed the following representatives of the Society of St. Pius X for the theological discussions with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, Rector of the Seminary Nuestra Señora Corredentora at La Reja (Argentina); Rev. Fr. Benoit de Jorna, Rector of the International Seminary of Saint Pius X in Econe (Switzerland); Rev. Fr. Jean-Michel Gleize, professor of ecclesiology at the Seminary of Econe, and Rev. Fr. Patrick de La Rocque, prior of the Priory Saint Louis in Nantes (France).

Bishop de Galarreta was already president of the commission  — within the Society — to which the preparation of the upcoming discussions had been entrusted in April 2009.

The work will begin in the second half of the month of October. It will demand the discretion necessary to ensure serene talks about the doctrinal issues which raise difficulties.

Menzingen, October 15, 2009

My dear Brethren,

As most of you already know, we will have the privilege and pleasure of a visit to Australia of our Superior-General, Bishop Bernard Fellay, next month.  Unfortunately, time will not allow him to visit all of our centres but he will manage to visit the three largest in addition to the Seminary.  The programme of his visit has been arranged as follows:

Please come in large numbers to these various functions and welcome our Superior General to our country.  I imagine that in his public conferences he will have many interesting things to relate about all of the important events which have taken place between the Society and Rome over the last few months.

Here in Australia various things have happened since my last letter in March which will be of interest to you. Read more