Richard Williamson
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![Bishop Richard Williamson, SSPX, in the streets of Rome, in the Jubilee Year 2000.[citation needed]](../../../../images/local/6/6c/Mgr._Williamson.jpg)
Richard Nelson Williamson, SSPX (born 8 March 1940) is a bishop of the Society of St. Pius X. He was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church because of his unauthorized consecration by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, deemed by the Holy See to be "illicit" and "a schismatic act".[1]
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[edit] Early life and ministry
Williamson was born in England, the second of three boys to Anglican parents. He attended Winchester College. After taking a degree in literature at the University of Cambridge.[citation needed], he taught at a college in Ghana.[citation needed] During this time he was greatly influenced by Malcolm Muggeridge and many believe this started his process of conversion to Catholicism. During his time in Africa, Williamson met with an elderly Albert Schweitzer in Gabon.[citation needed]
In 1971 Williamson was received into the Roman Catholic Church by Father John Flanagan, an Irish missionary priest working in England. After some time as a novice at the London Oratory, Williamson entered the Society of International Seminary of St. Pius X at Ecône in Switzerland. In 1976 he was ordained a priest by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
Williamson's first appointment was as a professor at the German seminary of the Society in Weissbad, and after two years he was named at the St. Pius X International Seminary in Ecône, Switzerland. In 1983 he was transferred to St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Within a short time he was appointed rector of the seminary which moved to Winona, Minnesota in 1988.
[edit] Consecration and excommunication
- See Ecône Consecrations for further information.
In June 1988 Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre announced his intention to consecrate Williamson and three other priests as bishops. Lefebvre did not have a pontifical mandate for these consecrations (i.e. permission from the pope), normally required by Canon 1382 of the Code of Canon Law. On June 17, 1988 Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops sent Williamson a formal canonical warning that he would automatically incur the penalty of excommunication if he were ordained by Lefebvre without papal permission.
On June 30, 1988 Williamson and the three other priests were consecrated bishop by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. On July 1, 1988 Cardinal Gantin issued a declaration stating that Lefebvre, Williamson, and the three other newly-ordained bishops "have incurred ipso facto excommunication latae sententiae reserved to the Apostolic See".
On July 2, 1988, Pope John Paul II issued the apostolic letter Ecclesia Dei in which he reaffirmed the excommunication, and described the consecration as an act of "disobedience to the Roman pontiff in a very grave matter and of supreme importance for the unity of the church", and that "such disobedience - which implies in practice the rejection of the Roman primacy - constitutes a schismatic act."[2] Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos, head of the commission responsible for implementing Ecclesia Dei, has said this resulted in a "situation of separation, even if it was not a formal schism."[3]
Williamson and his supporters deny the validity of the excommunication, saying that the consecrations were necessary due to a moral and theological crisis in the Catholic Church.[4][5][6]
[edit] Life after 1988
After his episcopal consecration Williamson remained rector of St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary. He performed various episcopal functions, including confirmations and ordinations. In 1991, he assisted in the consecration of Licínio Rangel as bishop for the Priestly Society of St. John Mary Vianney after the death of its founder, Bishop Antônio de Castro Mayer.
In 2003 Williamson was appointed rector of the Seminary of Our Lady Co-Redemptrix in La Reja, Argentina.
In 2006, Williamson ordained two priests and seven deacons in Warsaw, Poland for the Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat, a group that has been excommunicated from the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, in direct violation of canon 1015 §2, although the Holy See has declared Williamson excommunicated, and additionally in violation of canons 1021 and 1331 §2 of the Code of Canon Law, and the corresponding canons of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.[7]
[edit] Episcopal succession
| Episcopal Lineage | |
| Consecrated by: | Marcel Lefebvre |
| Date of consecration: | June 30, 1988 |
| Consecrator of | |
|---|---|
| Bishop | Date of consecration |
| Licinio Rangel | July 28, 1991 |
[edit] Bibliography
- The Rural Solution: Modern Catholic Voices on Going Forward to the Land (2003, with P. Chojnowski, W. Marx, W. Nutting, C. McCann)
- Letters from the Rector - Volume 1: The Ridgefield Letters (2007)
- Letters from the Rector - Volume 2: The Winona Letters (set for 2008 publication)
[edit] References
- ^ Apostolic Letter 'Ecclesia Dei'
- ^ Apostolic Letter 'Ecclesia Dei' (2 July 1988). Vatican.va. Accessed 2008-01-01.
- ^ Interview for 30 Days (2005). 30giorni. Accessed 2008-01-01.
- ^ SSPX FAQ Question 11 (June 29, 1987). SSPX.org. Accessed 2008-01-01.
- ^ The 1988 Consecrations: A Theological Study (July & September 1999). Si Si No No via SSPX.org. Accessed 2008-01-01.
- ^ The 1988 Consecrations: A Canonical Study (November 1999). Si Si No No via SSPX.org. Accessed 2008-01-01.
- ^ The Holy See has likewise declared SSPX priests to be "suspended from exercising their priestly functions" (Letter of Monsignor Camille Perl, Secretary of the Ecclesia Dei Commission).
