REX!
Interview with Fr. Martin Fuchs (2014)
March 30th, 2014
Motto: “Trust
in the Superiors is now...shaken, it is destroyed”. (Fr. Fuchs,
Resignation Letter)
Fr. Martin
Fuchs is a former member of the Priestly Society of St. Pius X (SSPX). He left the
Society on December 30th 2013. He explained his move in his
Resignation Letter (English version here). Fr. Fuchs was an SSPX priest of the Austrian district. Given that the
Czech Republic, technically-speaking, belongs to the same district and is a
neighbouring country, we are very interested in his case. More importantly, the
step taken by Fr. Fuchs is a breakthrough in Central Europe. Fr. Fuchs now
lives in Aigen, close to a Czech-Austrian border. One essential reason to request
an interview with Fr. Fuchs was to bring some freshing information from this
corner of the world, and make it available to all like-minded people in the
global Resistance as well as to those who still remain hesitant, or far worse,
ignorant as to what is happening. We think that Fr. Fuchs, once a highly
respected priest within the Austrian SSPX district, has much to teach us.
(Note: The
whole interview was conducted in English, which is not Fr. Fuchs´s mother
tongue.)
REX!: Father,
would you please tell us how your departure was received by your District
superior? Was it full of bitterness, as in the case of some other priests, or
was it somewhat more civilised?
P. Martin
Fuchs: I told the new superior about
my personal opinions about the relations of the Society with Rome when he came
to the Austrian district last summer. So it was not completely new to him.
REX!: In
your Resignation Letter you wrote: “Trust in the Superiors is now...shaken, it is destroyed.” Can you briefly say why this is so?
PMF: I had noticed during the last 14 years how the superiors deviated from the
path of our Founder, Archbishop Lefebvre. At first, I couldn’t believe it. I
excused them and sought to give their ambiguous declarations a good
interpretation, but I realised that these speeches became more and more frequent,
and that their decision to seek a canonical solution was fixed, without regard
to solving the dogmatic differences.
If we look back, we realise that there were at least three main lies:
Lie No.1: They asked for the liberation of the “old” Mass. The Tridentine Mass was
never forbidden, it was always free. Therefore, there was no need for
liberation.
Lie No.2: They asked for lifting of the “excommunications”. Our Founder had always
regarded these so-called excommunications as
null and void. Yet that which is null and void surely does not require to
be lifted. In asking for the lifting of the excommunications, they admitted
that the excommunications imposed in 1988 were absolutely justifiable. In this
case, this would mean that Archbishop Lefebvre and Bishop de Castro Mayer had
undertaken an unjust action.
Lie No 3: They went into discussions with Rome, because the two conditions that they
had asked for were granted, although they had not been granted. The “old” Mass
is not free, nor can it be offered at any time.
I asked myself: Can the blessings of God be upon these lies?
REX!: You cited
several major reasons for your departure in your Resignation Letter, too. Would
you summarize them in a few words or highlight any particular point?
PMF: Archbishop Lefebvre showed us how
to negotiate with Rome. He spoke clearly about what he thought of the New Mass,
what he thought of the “excommunications,” what he thought of future dialogue
with Rome, and what he thought of a practical arrangement. All his answers were
precisely stated, and were important for the protection of the Society of Saint
Pius X. However, the superiors did not
follow his approach, and they did not
want to follow it. Read the sermon of Father Jean of Morgon on January 26th
of this year, and you will see how Mgrs. Fellay, de Galarreta and Tissier de
Mallerais have changed their point of view. If you take the Declaration of
these Three Bishops – Point 11 – you must admit that a practical agreement is an
option. If this agreement is made, the Pope will appoint a Visitor, who will demand
the acceptance of the Second Vatican Council, and will also grant bishops
according to his judgement in the future. It would be only a question of time before
the Society of Saint Pius X disappeared.
REX!: If I
remember well, you were also responsible for an SSPX chapel in Budapest,
Hungary? What about the faithful there? Do they support you, or have they at
least understood your step? What do they think of bishop Fellay’s policy?
PMF: Yes, I was responsible for the SSPX chapel in Budapest. As far as I could
see, they had observed exactly the relations between the SSPX and Rome. The
superiors did not inform the faithful about the situation, so the faithful obtained
information via the internet. They found the letter of the three bishops, and
the answer of the General house, and they were very disappointed with the
latter’s content.
Most of them have understood my step very well. They have completely lost
confidence in the superiors of the Society.
REX!: I
believe that you are now staying in Aigen, Austria. How has your life changed
since you left the SSPX? I believe that there is a small chapel in Aigen which
you serve.
PMF: In the past, I often listened to the sermons, and read the books, of Archbishop
Lefebvre. I don’t wish to follow the new ways.
I only wish to follow our Founder, because of his uncompromising Catholic
teaching.
Here in Aigen, I wish to be a priest for everyone who asks for my priestly
services.
REX!: Let us
return to the matter of your departure. What was the final straw for you in
your decision to leave SSPX, and can you explain how hard it was for you to take
that final step? (In your Resignation Letter you wrote: “With a very heavy heart, I communicated to
the Superior General my resignation...”)
It is, of course, much easier for the faithful to say good-bye and leave
their chapel; we can only assume how hard it is for a priest. How much did your
present faithful help you in your decision?
PMF: I am 52 years old, so it was not at all easy to leave the Society. I had
to search out a new priestly existence. Otherwise, I would have been obliged to
give up priesthood, and this I had no intention of doing. I entered the Society
to restore the Catholic faith. I became a priest in the Society, because I knew
that only Archbishop Lefebvre was forming truly Catholic priests.
The faithful of the chapel in Aigen support me in whatsoever way that they
can. As the chapel in Aigen belongs to a private family, the change was very
easy.
REX!: Can
you give us more detailed information regarding the situation of Tradition in
Austria at the moment, in respect of both the priests and the faithful?
PMF: The situation of Tradition in Austria is certainly different from other
countries. The distances [between Catholics] are very large. The number of
faithful is not especially high, and their age is high, though it varies from
region to region.
I have the impression that many faithful did not understand that the truly important
question is not the Holy Mass, but rather the Second Vatican Council, and the novel
definitions of religious liberty and the new ecumenism. It is upon these
documents the other changes are based: the New Mass, the New Sacraments, the Ecumenical
Bible, the new Code of Canon Law, the New Catechism etc.
REX!: Would
you, Father, agree with my feeling that the atmosphere in today´s SSPX is
poisoned with fear, mistrust, spying and denunciation? My own experience is
that when I used to pass some vital information to a priest from your former
district in the not so distant past, he always used a personal, rather than
official SSPX, email address. And one more example from your former district: A
few weeks ago I wrote an email to another priest. He had replied, but when I sought
to answer for a second time, my reply was repeatedly refused as a spam.
However, when I used another email address of mine, and did not use certain
“key words”, there was no problem at all. Thus, I am convinced that all the
official SSPX correspondence in the Austrian district is permanently monitored
just like in France, Switzerland, Benelux or Germany.
PMF: Unfortunately, I must say there is an atmosphere of mistrust. If you do
not agree with the new course you are being supervised. Look at the process of
Father Pinaud. The superiors created an email address in his name, and sent emails
to his friends.
The superiors know clearly and consciously that they have abandoned the
mission of Archbishop Lefebvre. They will not tolerate any criticism of their
new course, so they oblige the priests to be obedient and loyal. I remember distinctly
that this was how the new Rome treated the Society after the Second Vatican
Council. When I visited my parish priest in 1987, to explain him my position,
he said: “You and Archbishop Lefebvre are disobedient. You must obey the Pope!”
If Archbishop Lefebvre had listened to this, he would never have founded the
Society of Saint Pius X.
The superiors have forbidden the sale of Father Pivert’s revealing book, Our Relations with Rome, which explains
and highlights the views of Archbishop Lefebvre precisely.
The information given to Society priests during the past 12 years has been
insufficient and out of date. They gave as their reason for this that relations
with Rome had to be kept secret. Our Founder, to the contrary, always spoke publicly
and unambiguously. A matter as important as the Faith cannot ever be dealt with
in secret.
REX!: How
would you respond to those who accuse the Resistance of dividing an already small
flock?
PMF: We are here on earth to go to heaven. That is why we must preserve the
Truth and live according to that Truth. The faithful, who supported the Society
of Saint Pius X, always did so because of Faith and Truth. Now, however, both these
things are in great danger if this betrayal continues much longer.
REX!: Father,
imagine an SSPX priest who is in serious doubt about what to do – whether to
stay or to go. What would you tell him? What should he consider?
PMF: So long as the superiors do not speak clearly and truthfully, and so long
as they do not steer clear distance of modernist Rome, I can give him no other
answer than: leave the Society!
I ask the faithful of the Resistance to support departing priests, and to establish
places where they can say Holy Mass.
I have the impression that many priests have not truly studied the
situation, or that they are too taken with their duties, whilst others of them
might not want to see the reality because of the consequences.
REX!: A
great part of the priests in SSPX are probably convinced that bishop Fellay´s
line is disastrous, yet they, together with bishop Tissier, think it is
necessary to wait until the next General Chapter. Do you think that this
strategy can change anything, given that we know that the majority of the
Chapter members have been appointed by bishop Fellay?
PMF: If you reflect upon the change of the three bishops, you cannot stay any
longer. Their intention is to make an arrangement with Rome. You will come to
the same conclusion if you read the statements and answers of the district
superiors – of this, there is no doubt!
REX!: Father,
what is your opinion of the six preliminary conditions agreed to at the last
General Chapter?
PMF: They are wholly insufficient to protect the Society
as it was founded by Archbishop Lefebvre. The third condition sine qua non is ridiculous: at least one bishop – Only one bishop?
And what a bishop? According to the ideas of Rome? This would be the end of the
Society!
And the first desirable condition: an own ecclesiastical
court of first instance – this condition
goes in the same direction: The second instance may cancel the judgments
of the first instance at any time.
REX!: What
do you think of the idea that bishop Williamson should assure the continuation
of Operation Survival by consecrating
one or more bishops? Do you support this idea?
PMF: Yes, I do. I have encouraged him to consecrate bishops as soon as possible.
He doesn’t want to tread any path other than that of Archbishop Lefebvre.
REX!: Is
there anything special you would like to tell our readers by way of conclusion?
PMF: We should follow our Founder! We
should form a new society, or a structure where priests and faithful work
together based upon a clear declaration of Doctrine and Aims. There should be
found a house, a kind of centre, where the apostolate is organised, co-ordinated
and guaranteed. There should also be a foundation for the needs (health
insurance etc.) of the departing priests in order to assure their priestly livelihood.
Thank you, Father, for your time, and thank you also for what you do! We
are happy that there is a brave priest like you in our area. May God bless you!
Interviewer: D. Grof
