During September 6 remarks after Society members completed their roughly 15-mile walking pilgrimage from Bevagna to the St. Francis Basilica in Assisi before reciting the Creed, Fr. d’Avino noted that Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Protestants, and others do not profess the true faith and yet have been invited to an October 27 event celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Assisi meeting in which representatives from these false religions, led by Pope John Paul II, prayed for peace.
The priest stressed that the same hierarchy that allowed this interreligious event prevented them from entering the basilica and forced them to profess the Creed outside.
“(A)ll of these (false religions) — and their representatives — deny our Lord Jesus Christ; they deny His Church as the sole ark of salvation; and all of them — or their representatives — will be permitted on October 27 to pray publicly in this city of Assisi to commemorate, as you know, the 40th anniversary of the interreligious meeting that took place in 1986, presided over by none other than John Paul II, and which was in turn commemorated 25 years later, in 2011, by Benedict XVI — and which is being repeated — a disastrous event — once again this year,” the district superior said.
“The members and representatives of all these false cults will pray publicly in the churches of the city of Assisi. And as you well know, the reason we find ourselves in this courtyard is that the authorities of this basilica behind me and the Bishop of Assisi have decreed that the Society of St. Pius X is not permitted to pray publicly to the true God. We are, however, permitted to pray in the Basilica, in small groups and in private,” he added.
The priest continued:
This is the principle, as you know, of religious freedom. The truth in one’s own heart is acceptable, but the truth professed publicly is not. Since we, however, reject the principle of religious freedom, none of this concerns us, so we will not enter in small groups; we will not enter privately to pray; we will remain out here on the churchyard, and with a smile we will accept the injustice that the Lord permits even for our edification, and we will naturally also pray for those who raise their hands against the one Mediator, against the one Savior, effectively denying Jesus’ right to reign even in society and, of course, in the Church itself.
Since the Society’s July consecration of four new bishops without a papal mandate and its subsequent “excommunication” by the Vatican, the order has been banned from holding official events at several churches across multiple countries.
In August, Bishop Jean-Marc Micas of Tarbes and Lourdes notably banned the SSPX from celebrating Masses, sacraments, and public prayers within the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. The bishop has also openly welcomed Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists. Last year, a joint Muslim-Catholic pilgrimage to Lourdes was organized by an ecumenical group called “Together with Mary.”
Earlier this month, the pro-LGBT Bishop Wilhelm Krautwaschl of Graz-Seckau likewise barred the SSPX from the Basilica of Mariazell for its annual public Rosary this fall despite a much more accommodating history with homosexual and Muslim groups.