Tradicat

 + JMJ What Is Tradition? The basic premise, from my perspective, is that what was taught before cannot be contradicted by the 'present' magisterium, only deepened and expanded upon. I recall the Roman theologians called the SSPX protestants while the SSPX called them modernists.  I believe this was all surrounding the concept of Traditon. SSPX's Understanding of Tradition One accusation made against the SSPX is that they don't have a correct understanding of 'Tradition'.  This is how the SSPX understands Tradition: I finally profess that Tradition is not a dead memory, but the living transmission of the doctrine received from the Apostles. It remains living, in distinction to Revelation, which is closed. It is so both in the activity of the Magisterium of the Teaching Church and in the profession of Faith of the Church Taught, of which the sentire cum Ecclesia is the result of the teaching of the Magisterium. Tradition may be called ‘living’, not in the sense t...

 + JMJ Well Gary Campbell, former SSPX Priest and now laicised has posted a new article on WherePeterIs. https://wherepeteris.com/thoughts-of-a-former-sspx-priest-on-the-july-1-consecrations/ These words stuck out: Heck, they have built a five-star hotel, wine bar, and Walmart on the opposite bank of the Rubicon! They are not in danger of entering a state of schism, for they are  already  in a state of schism. I believe he doth protest too much. All the actual facts indicate that the SSPX was not in a state of schism before July 1st and an examination of the decree of excommunication highlights the either ineptitude of those in charge or a desire to leave the barn door open. The chasm between an act of disobedience and act of schism remains just what is has always been - an inconvenient barrier that person(s) in Rome seek to bridge but appear incapable of succeeding. The SSPX re-stated that they recognize the Pope as the Vicar of Christ and feel obliged by conscience...

 + JMJ Ok, when I first saw this article I picked out a number of flaws that made me a little giddy.  This caused me to consider pulling together some times for a more detailed review. So ... here's my critical review of "The SSPX Leadership Against Scripture and Tradition. For reference, Weigel is commenting on a shorter "Declaration of Catholic Faith Addressed to Pope Leo XIV" (link)  and not the extensive one that followed "Profession of Catholic Faith of the Society of Saint Pius X to Enlighten Souls in the Face of Modern Errors" (link). It would be interesting to see his response to the latter, but this one will suffice. Source: National Catholic Register: The SSPX Leadership Against Scripture and Tradition COMMENTARY: Even if the Society of St. Pius X hits the brakes at the last moment and doesn’t commit formally schismatic acts, the grave problem posed by the SSPX will continue. The Holy See has declared that, if the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) proc...

 + JMJ In the ramp up to the consecrations the noise floor in the intergnat grew to a constant din.  This was one of the few the peeped its signal over the noise. https://crisismagazine.com/opinion/finding-common-ground-between-rome-and-the-sspx The key issue is contained in this paragraph: In the lead-up to the planned July 1, 2026, episcopal consecrations,  the SSPX rejected Rome’s offer  of doctrinal dialogue on the grounds that “we both know in advance that we cannot agree doctrinally, particularly regarding the fundamental orientations adopted since the Second Vatican Council.” Fr. Pagliarani also said that his previous attempt at dialogue in 2019 was shut down by Rome because of an assumed irreconcilability. It seems that, from the Society’s perspective, and perhaps from Rome’s too, their positions are incompatible. If memory serves, Rome killed any opportunity for an open discussion by stating that Vatican II was not up for debate. So it was a still-birth and ...

 + JMJ To say the least, my own family's discovery of Tradition was tumultuous. For some reason one of my older brothers was started on a path to search into what came before 1965.  This led him to intense conversations with our parish priest.  Ok, they were arguments and resulted in a veiled reference to him in a sermon. Our parish priest was a canon lawyer, had studied in Rome. Sprinkled throughout the Church were 'relics' of the Tridentine Mass. In the Sacristy you'd see the six altar candles.  The original tabernacle was on a side altar (of which he'd kept two). Statues were everywhere, not completely out of sight, but out of mind. He kept the thurible. No girl altar servers were present in the sanctuary, nor were their lay Eucharistic ministers.  The sermons were Catholic. When I was there for a funeral, Father preached on the Rosary.  It made a deep impression on me and I still remember it as the best sermon on the Rosary that I had ever heard. Lookin...

+ JMJ Introduction Given the recent consecration of Bishops by the SSPX, I think there is benefit in looking at the basis for claiming that consecrating a bishop without pontifical mandate constitutes not just an act of disobedience but also a refusal of submission to the Pope and therefore an act of schism. The gap or rather chasm between: Consecration sans mandatum as in 1988 listed under the section "Usurpation of Ecclesiastical Functions and Delicts in Their Exercise" and in 2026 under Offenses against the Sacraments (2026) Canons 1013,  1382/ad1988 | 1387/ad2026 )  An apostate from the faith, a heretic or a schismatic incurs a latae sententiae excommunication (Offenses Against the Faith and the Unity of the Church (Canon 1364) I'm going to examine this gap and try to understand the principles the underpin how a person becomes a schismatic and cuts communion with the Church ... maybe along the way I'll also develop a deeper understanding of how a person becomes a ...