![]() Pius X may find it strange to hear Bishop Fellay speak this way about Pope Francis, and vice versa. Those who know anything about the Society of St. “After that he said to one of our priests, ‘You know, they have treated them badly’.” By they, of course, Pope Francis meant the Vatican bureaucracy them is the Society. It reminded me of our interview last year, when Bishop Fellay told me the Holy Father had read the 700-page biography of Lefebvre-twice. ![]() Everyone knows about the Council, but that’s only half the story.” Go to the poor.’ Well, we do! Archbishop Lefebvre was a missionary priest in Africa. ![]() “You know, I think that’s why Pope Francis likes us,” Fellay postulates. But I am just reporting my own individual experience based on having spent some time at each.I make a crack about the Vatican’s concordat with China, which he politely ignores. Others have probably had the reverse experience of myself and have found their SSPX chapel to be friendly and inviting and the SSPV chapel to have degenerated into open warfare. This is just a broad-brush generalization, which no doubt will vary greatly from place to place. I have experienced several rounds of parish in-fighting with battle lines drawn and groups leaving the parish. And everyone who is not definitely part of "us" must by logical necessity be part of "them." Socializing is viewed as dangerous, especially for young people. They have tended to have an "us against the world" mentality. My experience at a few different SSPX chapels has been a bit different. The young people socialize more, and there is a friendly social camaraderie after Mass. But once that's out of the way on the first visit, then they are very not standoffish. They are strict about dress code and headcoverings. My personal experience, and this might be based strictly on the specific chapels which I have attended, is that I have found the SSPV chapel to be much more friendly and welcoming. Pray on it! God bless you in your decision. The parish where you are most confident in the leadership and in which you feel most sure that you will achieve sanctity is probably where you should be. So that was probably no help at all! I suppose I would say you would have to try each chapel for your own self, and come to a decision for yourself of which "Church crisis" position and atmosphere is best for you and your family, and which follows your conscience best. They are not perfect, but they do good work. Most of my most edifying experiences have been connected to the SSPX. ![]() That being said, some of the best people I know go to the SSPX, and some of the holiest priests are of that order. It makes sense considering the difficult stance that the SSPX holds, but it can be really draining on me. My experience with them is that they can often become very politically charged, which can be stressful. I think it depends too on who you choose to socialize with. However, because I am not a sede, my experience is pretty limited (SSPV I have only corresponded with, CMRI I have been to a few times and met several of the priests and sisters).īased on my experience with SSPX chapels, I think they vary a lot. I have found both the SSPV and the CMRI to be pretty welcoming, personally, even though I am not a sedevacantist. I have a number of the conferences on CD given by their Mother General and they are holy, reverent, funny, and all-around wonderful resources for me. I was in correspondence for a bit with the sisters, and I can tell you that from what I know and have heard from them they seem really wonderful. I have never been to an SSPV chapel, however at one time I was seriously considering visiting their convent.
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