Concerning an SSPX Dossier on Sedevacantism - Novus Ordo Watch

1983 Code of C<strong>an</strong>on Law which clearly affirms the new Church, <strong>an</strong>d after his sc<strong>an</strong>dalous
declarations concerning Luther, now affirm that Pope John Paul II is not Catholic? We say no
more, but we say no less. We had waited for the measure to become full, <strong>an</strong>d it is so
henceforth. 4
We know that subsequent to 1979, when he stated his determination not to enter into the question
of the status of the Vatic<strong>an</strong> II Popes, the Archbishop ch<strong>an</strong>ged his mind <strong>an</strong>d publicly suggested that
he might indeed adopt the view that John Paul II was not Pope, as the text of the 1986 conference
given above reveals.
In the Fideliter interview, Bishop Tissier summarised succinctly the mature st<strong>an</strong>ce of the Archbishop.
Fideliter: Yet Archbishop Lefebvre was very reserved about the situation of Popes Paul VI
<strong>an</strong>d John Paul II.
Bishop Tissier de Mallerais: That is correct. He said more th<strong>an</strong> once about these Popes-about
Paul VI from 1976, <strong>an</strong>d about John Paul II, after the prayer meeting of religions at Assisi in
1986 - that he did not exclude the possibility that these Popes were not Popes, that one day
the Church will have to examine their situation, that a future Pope <strong>an</strong>d his cardinals might
have to pronounce the finding that these men had not been Popes. But for himself, he
preferred to consider them as Popes. This supposes that he did not feel that he possessed
sufficient knowledge of the pertinent facts nor the necessary power for making such a
judgment. This is of critical import<strong>an</strong>ce to bear in mind.
For inst<strong>an</strong>ce, the abrupt logic of a Fr. Guérard des Lauriers led to the former conclusion:
"The Pope promulgated a heresy [with religious liberty], hence he is a heretic, hence he is
not formally Pope." But the wisdom of Archbishop Lefebvre made him feel, to the contrary,
that the premises of this reasoning were as shaky as the authority that formulated it, be it
that of a theologi<strong>an</strong> or even a bishop.
Fideliter: How then did Archbishop Lefebvre resolve the dilemma?
Bishop Tissier de Mallerais: The Archbishop left the theological question open. Our
venerable confrere, the late Alois Kocher used to say: "Let's leave this question to the
theologi<strong>an</strong>s of the 21 st century! " Our founder took the problem from a higher perspective
<strong>an</strong>d resolved it in the most down-to-earth m<strong>an</strong>ner possible. It is the mark of the
supernatural intuition that he possessed, <strong>an</strong>d of the action in him of the gift of wisdom, gift
of the Holy Ghost.
4 Fideliter, n. 123, pp. 25-29. May-June 1998.
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