Bp. Williamson: Two New SSPX Bishops to be consecrated on April 28 — with “Papal” Mandate

Says rumor is “pretty darn certain”…

Bp. Williamson: Two New SSPX Bishops to be consecrated on April 28 — with Mandate from Francis

In a video-recorded sermon given on Quinquagesima Sunday, Mar. 3, 2019, the former SSPX bishop Richard Williamson announced that the Society of St. Pius X will consecrate two new bishops on the First Sunday after Easter, Apr. 28. He identifies one of the new bishops-to-be as Fr. Christian Bouchacourt and notes that the main consecrator will be “Bp.” Vitus Huonder of Chur, Switzerland, who is expected to have his resignation approved by “Pope” Francis by Apr. 21, when he turns 77.

Bp. Williamson’s sermon can be listened to in full below. The relevant part begins at the 7:08 min mark:

His Excellency states that “it’s hearsay for the moment but it’s pretty darn certain” that the Novus Ordo bishop Huonder will consecrate “two bishops for the Society” once he moves into an SSPX educational facility for his retirement in Wangs, Switzerland, as had already been reported in January. Bp. Williamson is known for his whacko theology — exemplified here — but he is not known for making announcements about upcoming events that lack credibility.

In fact, today Francis received Huonder in private audience, as reported by the Austrian Novus Ordo news portal kath.net (translation here). Although neither party has so far disclosed the contents of the conversation, if there is an episcopal consecration scheduled for late April, this is certainly something that would have come up.

Per the liturgical directives, Huonder, whose own bishops’ ordination was invalid (see why here), would be assisted by two co-consecrating bishops, which would be chosen from among the SSPX’s remaining bishops — Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, and Alfonso de Galarreta. Thus the consecration would definitely be valid, since all consecrators truly confer the sacrament, as Pope Pius XII made clear in his 1944 Apostolic Constitution Episcopalis Consecrationis.

Although not stated by Williamson, the clear implication is that Francis would give his “papal” mandate for the consecration — the official authorization — apart from which the bishops involved would incur automatic excommunication. This is what happened on June 30, 1988, when Abp. Marcel Lefebvre and Bp. Antonio de Castro-Mayer consecrated Williamson, de Galarreta, Tissier de Mallerais, and Fellay as bishops. The very next day, the Vatican issued a declaration of excommunication, thus formalizing the Lefebvrite schism. The excommunications were rescinded for the remaining living bishops on Jan. 21, 2009, by order of “Pope” Benedict XVI.

As to the person of Fr. Bouchacourt, last year he was elected to be the second assistant to the Superior General, Fr. Davide Pagliarani, alongside Bp. de Galarreta. In 2017, as district superior of France, he acted quickly to quell an uprising among seven high-ranking SSPX priests who were opposed to reconciliation with the Modernist Vatican, which seemed to be imminent at the time.

People may wonder why Francis would allow the SSPX to consecrate new bishops. He just committed a huge public act of apostasy in Abu Dhabi, one for which the SSPX criticized him. Why would he do such a thing? He speaks out against the Traditional Latin Mass on occasion and keeps persecuting orders in his church with traditional leanings, such as the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate. So how does this go together?

The answer is: Francis plays both sides because it works in his favor. The more he does for the SSPX, the more indebted they will be to him, and the more loath they will be to oppose him in any meaningful way. He wants to control the oppositition he has, and this is an effective way to do it. Let them have their little traditional niche in the Modernist madhouse, and they will keep quiet — they will not pose any serious threat while Francis keeps advancing the apostasy to ever great levels. The past few years have demonstrated as much: At a time when even many Novus Ordos are screaming at the top of their lungs about Francis, the SSPX has made comparatively little noise.

The fact is: The Society of St. Pius X is practically irrelevant at this point — with or without two new bishops.

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License: fair use