Traditional Mass Comes to Saguenay
On Sunday, February 15th, the immemorial Latin Mass returned to Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, roughly a two-hour drive north of Québec City. Since the local bishop, André Rivest, refused to accommodate Fr. Pierre Roy of the SSPX, this Mass was offered in a hotel. Roughly thirty were in attendance, including a family of nine well-known to Bishop Rivest.
The Bishop explained that he has banished the Tridentine Rite from his diocese since there is not a large enough local following of traditionalists; he even forbids the canonically regular Fraternity of St. Peter (an offshoot of the SSPX) to say the “Extraordinary Form” while under his jurisdiction. The Bishop even forbade members of the FFSP from attending Fr. Roy’s Mass. We see here the problematic situation in which the FSSP often finds itself!
Fr. Roy responded that all the Catholic faithful have a right to partake of authentic Catholic sacraments, especially the Mass. He cites the unprecedented crisis in the Church as ample justification for his disregard of Bishop Rivest’s authority. Fr. Roy explained:
We do not need to request official permission in order to say the Mass or to undertake any of our other apostolic activities. This is the way we [the SSPX] act throughout Canada. In general, we simply go where there is a demand. We consider it illegitimate to outlaw the traditional Mass, and thus, in response to the needs of the faithful, we do our work."
He also noted that, for the Church to resolve this crisis and regain her strength, a return to tradition is essential.
