“… Breaking through all resistance the new Pope steers his ship safely between the two columns and moors it to the two columns; first, to the one surmounted by the Host, and then to the other, topped by the statue of the Virgin. At this point, something unexpected happens. The enemy ships panic and disperse, colliding with and scuttling each other. … A great calm now covers the sea“ (Salesian society 1986)
Don Bosco’s dream of the Two Pillars
foretells of the next great victory of the Church. The relationship between
this prophetic dream and the messages of La Salette and Fatima centered on a
major event involving Our Lady that is followed by a period of peace.
As noted in “The Vatican and SSPX – An
Organizational Perspective” the disagreement between Rome and the SSPX is
theologically based. Beyond the theological and liturgical aspects of the
disagreement, the author asserted that conflicts within the Church and the SSPX
also had a cultural base. This cultural
base is part of the reason for the conflict when the Pope is seen as approach
the SSPX and vice versa.
SSPX Cultural Conflict
In the short-term the cultural conflict
within the SSPX will probably be resolved by a separation of the individuals strongly
influenced by the cultural dis-trust of the Pope and Vatican curia. In the
long-term, this cultural assumption will be resolved once the Pope demonstrates
himself as trustworthy to the SSPX members and laity. This would be achieved by
consistently modeling a culture aligned with the cultural norms of the SSPX in
particular and the traditionalists in general.
Vatican Cultural Issues
The underlying assumption is that the
culture evident within the SSPX is closely aligned with the organizational
culture of the Church prior to the events subsequent to the Second Vatican
Council.
With respect to Rome’s cultural
assumptions, it appears that there is some basis to the assertion that one
assumption is “related to the concepts of the nature of the Church and its
exclusive necessity … for salvation” (Tradical 2012).
During a recent interview (Kerr 2012)
Archbishop Muller responded to some of the questions posed by the SSPX theologians.
Specifically, he affirmed belief in Transubstantiation and the Perpetual Virginity
of the Blessed Virgin Mary quoting the traditional understanding of these
Dogmas. However, in reference to the
criticism of his eulogy (SSPX 2012) delivered for a Protestant bishop in which
he stated that protestants ‘are fully incorporated/integrated into the Church
of God, being the Body of Christ” (Gaudron 2012), he stated “… St. Augustine
underscored that the Church recognizes everybody who is validly baptized is
incorporated into Christ, even if they are not in full communion”.
This response the author did not find
satisfactory since he believes the applicable teaching in the context quoted is:
“actually only those are to be included as
members of the Church who have been baptized and profess the true faith … it
follows that those who are divided in faith or government cannot be living in
the unity of such a Body, nor can they be living the life of its one Divine
Spirit” (Pius XII, 1943).
Pope Pius XII provided further
clarification when he wrote “If we would define and describe this true Church
of Jesus Christ – which is the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Roman Church…”
(Pius XII 1943).
This teaching was disputed by theologians
at that time, prompting Pius XII to write in Humani Generis “Some say they are
not bound by the doctrine, explained in Our Encyclical Letter of a few years
ago, and based on the sources of revelation, which teaches that the Mystical
Body of Christ and the Roman Catholic Church are one and the same thing. Some
reduce to a meaningless formula the necessity of belonging to the true Church
in order to gain eternal salvation. “ (Pius XII 1950)
Finally, it should be noted that Paul VI
quoted Mystici Corporis verbatim (Paul VI 1964) reaffirming the teaching of
Pius XII.
This response on the part of Archbishop
Muller with respect to the nature of membership in the Church may imply a
hierarchy among some of the controversial points within the documents of the
Second Vatican Council. The four points noted by Dr. Lamont (Lamont 2012)
quoting Fr. Jean-Michel Gleize FSSPX are:
- Religious
Liberty: Dignitatis humanae 2 vs Gregory XVI – Mirari Vos, Pius IX –
Quanta Cura, Leo XIII – Immortale Dei, Pius XI – Quas primas
- The
Church: Lumen Gentium 8 vs Pius XII – Mystici Corporis, Pius XII – Humani
Generis
- Ecumenism:
Lumen Gentium 8 & Unitatis redintegration 3 vs Pius IX – Syllabus of
Errors 16, 17, Leo XIII – Satis Cognitum, Pius XI – Mortalium animos
- Collegiality:
Lumen Gentium 22 & Nota Praevia 3 vs First Vatican Council – Pastor
aeternus (regarding the uniqueness
of the subject of supreme power in the Church).
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the
Faith declared in Dominus Jesus (2000) that “the interpretation of those who
would derive from the formula ‘subsistit in’ the thesis that the one Church of
Christ could subsist also in non-Catholic churches and ecclesial communities is
therefore contrary to the authentic meaning of Lumen Gentium”.
However if someone were, in spite of this
condemnation, to hold the extreme liberal interpretation such as Boff (~2000)
that the word ‘subsist’ utilized in Lumen Gentium 8 implies that the Church of
Christ exists outside of the visible boundaries of the One Holy Catholic
Apostolic Roman Church in the protestant and Orthodox congregations a number of
possible conclusions present themselves.
The first is that since the Catholic Church
has a right to full liberty of action in the public sphere, this same liberty
should be extended to the non-Catholic religions, particularly the Protestants,
on the basis that they contain “elements of sanctification” as noted in Lumen
Gentium 8.
The second conclusion is the alteration in the
goal of ecumenism from being that of conversion, into assisting the
non-Catholic to come to a realization of their membership in the Church. In this light the words full-communion and
partial communion seem more appropriate than ‘actual member’ of the Mystical
Body of Christ.
Following this theme, in order to further
the new goal of ecumenism, the liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church was ‘reformed’
and much of the symbolic elements representing the Catholic Theology of the
Mass removed. In addition, much of the outward signs that were associated with
Catholicism were banished. In this manner it was intended to make Protestants
comfortable in the Church of which, in the liberal perspective, they were
already members.
A side effect of this reform is that with
the alteration of the cultural artifacts in the 1970’s, a cultural shift began.
It is unknown whether or not the alteration of the Catholic culture into one
that was more aligned with the Protestants was intentional.
What is known is that it has occurred.
Reasserting Catholic Culture – The Wedge
Attempts at reasserting Catholic Doctrine
by the Vatican and thereby culture have, in the author’s opinion, been of
little avail. As noted in the previous
paper (Tradical 2012), without the sustained unambiguous support of the
Sovereign Pontiff in a reassertion of Catholic Organizational Culture, all
other efforts are limited to the sub-culture level. To be completely effective,
such action must include the suppression of those artifacts, such as the Novus
Ordo Missae, that support a Protestantized culture, as well as the promotion of
those artifacts that support a Catholic culture. To do otherwise over the long-term will
instill cultural confusion within an already confused Church.
However, that is not to say that
traditionalist laity cannot assist in building up sub-cultures that will
literally blossom when the Pope begins to assert the new culture. In order to build
this sub-culture, fundamental cultural artifacts that have direct connections
to the now dormant Catholic cultural assumptions must be reasserted. Due to
this direct connection to the Catholic culture, these artifacts being alien to
the protestant culture will act as cultural wedges.
The question is: What artifacts to assert
and how? The author believes that Our Lord Jesus Christ and Our Lady the
Blessed Virgin Mary have pointed out which artifacts to assert. The answer lies
in the dream of Don Bosco, and the message of Fatima.
The thin edge of the wedge: devotions of reparation.
In both La Salette and Fatima Our Lady
begged for us to make reparation for the sins committed against Our Lord. The Church has two devotions of reparation linked
directly to Don Bosco’s pillar of the Eucharist; Namely the first Friday and
Saturday devotions. Because there is
obviously a great need for reparation due to the rise of secularism and the
various scandals within the Church, convincing non-traditional Catholics of the
value of these devotions should not be an insurmountable task.
Reasserting these devotions accomplishes a
number of goals:
- Displacing devotions that originate from
apparitions of dubious origin.
- Reintroducing
the concepts of sin and the necessity of reparation for the offense
against God.
- Reawakening
the basic practices of the spiritual life with the Eucharist as the focal
point.
- Fulfillment
of the requests of Our Lord and Lady.
The middle of the wedge: reception of Holy Communion kneeling and on the tongue, solely from the priest or deacon.
The kneeling aspect of this method should
also be extended to the posture assumed during Mass when the Blessed Sacrament
is exposed on the Altar. The author has noted that there is a conflict in some
dioceses where kneeling is discouraged for a number of reasons, in spite of the
new instructions. This immune response
to a reassertion of a Catholic cultural artifact is reason enough to support an
almost militant application of the posture.
There are a number of advantages to
pursuing this combination of cultural artifacts:
- Receiving
Holy Communion kneeling and on the tongue is a preference that the Pope
himself has encouraged. This adds a degree of weight to the arguments of
traditionalists that would not otherwise exist.
- This
posture is now supported in the new general instructions.
- Kneeling
to communicate reaffirms the belief in the Real Presence and Divinity of
Jesus Christ for both the communicant as well as the other faithful.
- If
communion is received solely from the Priest or deacon instead of the lay extra-ordinary
Eucharistic Ministers, it reaffirms the sacerdotal character of the
priesthood.
- Kneeling
at the consecration, affirms the belief in the Real Presence, confected by
the Priest and deepens the reverence for the sacred.
- Finally,
kneeling in the absence of kneelers will serve as an incentive for their
installation. This will establish another cultural artifact that
establishes a difference between the Catholic and most Protestant cultures.
The thick part of the wedge, the part that splits the wood: the Tridentine Mass.
While the value of the Tridentine Mass is
obvious to traditional Catholics, because of significant perceptual differences
due to the cultural morass of the last 40+ years, it is not evident to
non-traditional Catholics. The first two parts of the wedge were selected with
the goal of instilling a cultural sense of the Divine, Sacred and the honour
due to God. While this will aid in the realization of the inherent superiority
of the Tridentine Mass vs the Mass of Paul VI, it is only the beginning.
The Tridentine Mass is, culturally
speaking, bursting with artifacts from beginning to end. These artifacts are so effective at creating
and sustaining a strong Catholic culture that the author is convinced that this
is one of the reasons for its suppression. In effect the Tridentine Mass is
counter-cultural and has evoked a cultural immune response from the majority of
the hierarchy.
The author has heard an Archbishop warn that if the Mass
resulted in a divisive attitude based on the perceived superiority of the
Tridentine Mass, then action would be taken. Obiously, the Tridentine Mass is
something that the liberal elements of the hierarchy fear. Reinforcing this
cultural artifact is perhaps the hardest, but is the best and the final part of
the wedge that separates the Protestant from the Catholic culture.
Reintegrating the Tridentine Mass into the
culture of the Church as many advantages, here are three key ones:
- It
embodies and reinforces all the cultural assumptions surrounding the
dogmas of the redemption, Divinity of Christ, the sacerdotal priesthood,
propitiatory sacrifice, and the Real Presence.
- It is
encouraged as a treasure to be brought forth by Pope Benedict XVI. The
excuse that the Tridentine Mass has been abrogated was finally put to rest
in 2007.
- If the
local ordinary denies the laity a request for the Mass, they now have the
right of appeal to an ecclesiastical court. The author has witnessed the speed with
which just the appearance of this right effected a change in the policy of
the local ordinary.
How to bring this change about?
Effecting cultural change is not easy, and
at an organizational level takes years to accomplish.
However, this is in effect a teaching activity.
Before engaging in the work of cultural change, the Traditional Catholic
layperson should be :
- well
versed in these aspects of Catholic doctrine,
- have
presentations ready for the key topics,
- be
prepared to make presentations to groups of non-traditional Catholics
- be
prepared respond to questions, and, taking a page from the liberal
Catholics play book, be ready to dialogue – or more appropriately discuss
and debate the divisive issues surrounding traditional Catholicism without
loosing sight of the original cultural aspects that are being promoted.
In short, traditional Catholics need to
become catechists. We need to know our material in detail and with conviction.
We also need to be able to answer the challenges of non-traditional Catholics
with more than the regular ‘sound bites’.
This level of refutation is sufficient for a person who has the correct
cultural lenses, but more is needed in order to help someone else come to the
same Catholic cultural perspective.
Ultimately, the new evangelization requires
a renaissance of Catholic culture and identity. A strong identity, that will
counter the assaults with which the Church is currently being buffeted.
Welcome to the new evangelization.
References
Boff, Leonardo (~2000), Is Card.
Ratzinger’s Interpretation of the conciliar “subsistit” the end of the catholic
ecumenism?, Retrieved August 10, 2012, from http://www.muenster.de/~angergun/boff-subsistit-in.html.
Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith
(2000), Declaration Dominus Jesus, n. 6, August 2000, footnote 56. Retrieved
August 10, 2012, from http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000806_dominus-iesus_en.html
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
(2007), Responses to some questionis regarding certain aspects of the doctrine
of the Church. William Cardinal Levada, Prefect. Retrieve August 10, 2012, from
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_faith_doc_20070629_responsa-quaestiones_en.html
David Kerr (2012), Archbishop Muller
presents positive vision for Vatican’s doctrine office. EWTN News. Retrieved
August 9, 2012, from http://www.ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/Vatican.php?id=592
Gaudron, Fr. Matthias (2012). Bishop
Mueller: an SSPX analysis, Retrieved August 10, 2012, from http://www.sspx.org/miscellaneous/fr_gaudron_on_bishop_mueller_7-6-2012.htm
Lamont, John R. T. (2012). A Theologian’s
Questions, Retrieved April 13, 2012, from http://chiesa.expresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1350219?eng=y
Paul VI (1964) Ecclesiam Suam, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_06081964_ecclesiam_en.html
Pius XII (1943), Mystici Corporis, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_29061943_mystici-corporis-christi_en.html
Pius XII (1950), Humani Generis, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xii/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_12081950_humani-generis_en.html
The Salesian Society, Inc, (1986), Dreams,
Visions, and Prophecies of Don Bosco, Don Bosco Publications, New Rochelle, New
York 1986
SSPX (2012), Mulling over Archbishop
Mueller, Retrieved August 9, 2012, from http://www.sspx.org/miscellaneous/mulling_over_archbishop_mueller_7-9-2012.htm
Tradical (2012), The Rome SSPX Relations –
An Organizational Culture Perspects., Retrieved August 17, 2012, from http://angelqueen.org/2012/07/25/the-vatican-and-sspx-an-organizational-culture-perspective/
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