Tradicat

While I  have emphasized culture as a model for understanding the changes in the Church, there is an older Catholic expression that conveys a similar if not identical meaning: Lex Orandi - Lex Credendi Courtesy of Dr. John Shaw, LMS Chairman Ratzinger on the EF-OF Divide: Orientation Turning to the Lord: Fr John Hunwicke celebrating Mass at the SCT Summer School 

Even my Novus Ordo friends are having some difficulty with Pope Francis' approach to the pontificate. One actually wondered out loud if he was the Anti-Christ. In confusing times like this understanding Church teaching is even more important. Here are some key principles to consider prior to continuing on to Mr. Verrecchio's piece. It is an established dogmatic fact that Pope Francis was elected properly and is the Vicar of Christ. No one can judge the Vicar of Christ - therefore no one has the authority to state that he has entered into heresy of the first degree . Pope Francis has not commited an explicit act of heresy (one that does not require a person to draw their own conclusions regarding the act) Nor has he (or any other Pope since the Council) changed the de fide teachings of the Church. The Mystical Body of Christ remains as the means of Salvation - even now. Understand the Faith with the understanding of the Church P^3 Prayer Penance Patience ...

I remember a Diocesan Priest exclaiming that he didn't understand the resistance of the Bishops to the Tridentine Mass.  His words, if I remember correctly, were: "I don't know why they're afraid of it!" Looking at the siege of the FFI, I know why ...

I disagree with the conclusion that the target is Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. In my opinion, the target is all those who embody a culture that is orthogonal to that which currently dominates (or at least seems to do so) within the Church of Christ.  Pope Emeritus Benedict, may not have fully embodied the Traditionalist Culture, but he definitely gave it more credibility and standing within the Church. The vindication of the traditionalists belief that the Tridentine Mass was never abrogated comes to mind. That is something, in a culture change, that cannot be allowed to happen even for a brief period of time because culture is very hard to change and any relaxation of the pressure to change allows an older stronger culture to reassert itself. Of course the culture of the Catholic Church is both very old and very strong. Those who chastise the FFI and the other traditionalists (SSPX, FSSP, ICK et al) are right to be afraid. P^3 Prayer Penance Patience

Tantamergo has reblogged an article / translation by Eponymous Flower about life in the FFI at this point in time. Original Article The remnant also has been keeping pace with the events with the FFI. The constraints being placed on the FFI, as noted by a number of people, seem unjust in the light of the issues with a variety of other organizations that are heterodox (ie heretical).

Rorate Caeli (thankfully) is still tracking the FFI intervention.  At this point I have provided a complete copy of their post. First, Rorate Caeli has the best coverage that I have ever found of events that have a bearing on the Catholic world with a particular emphasis on the Traditional front. Second, the chastisement of the FFI in the manner in which it is taking place shows, in my opinion, that the FFI crossed a 'red-line' concerning the Second Vatican Council and the Novus Ordo Missae.  The irrationality of the methods used against them indicate that (from an organizational culture point of view) they have tripped upon a cultural landmine. Incidentally, the same one that the SSPX has been tripping on for the last few decades. Third, what is it that causes such a reaction?

During my talk on EENS last weekend, which was supposed to be a non-SSPX discussion, the discussion turned to ... you guessed it - the SSPX. At one point there were a lot of questions about the Novus Ordo. Such as: Why wouldn't I attend? Would I receive communion on the tongue? etc etc etc. One asked what if there was no SSPX available - would I go to the SP Mass? Answer: In this case yes. What if there was no SP Mass, would I go to the Novus Ordo? Answer: No, I would go to the Ukranian Mass even though there are issues there as well since they have dropped the filioque from the Creed for 'ecumenical' reasons. I explained that while the dropping of the filioque does not mean that they no longer adhere to the Dogma, it is problematic since people may believe that they don't etc.  - The Jesuit in the  crowd did appear pensive after this answer.

Tantamergo has made some excellent references(see below) to Msgr Gamber's book "The Reform of the Roman Liturgy" that fall within the 'Catholic Cultural Wedge' theme that I have been developing. In organizational culture terms, the Mass is an Artifact that expresses underlying beliefs and assumptions that are held by the Church.  As noted before, the alteration of the Mass cannot but effect an alteration (varying in persons) of belief and assumptions. Lex Orandi - Lex Credidi was decades ahead of the Organizational Psychologists. The Tridentine and Novus Ordo Masses are so different that they represent and reinforce different 'assumptions' .  Anyone who professes a doctrinally based preference for the Tridentine liturgy, implicitly states that the Novus Ordo Missae is doctrinally flawed. This, as the FFI have discovered, is a cultural landmine. I believe that only when that cultural landmine is defused, will the SSPX find a Church that will truly w...

Catholic Principles and their use as a touchstone or foundation for surviving this crisis of the Church has been on my mind for a while. I noticed this on the SSPX.org website and concluded that it would be an excellent way to start the series. Courtesy of SSPX.org These quotes and texts are used in conjunction with the  SSPX FAQs  section 1. The Catholic Church is divine Moreover, in order that we may perform satisfactorily the duty of embracing the true faith and of continuously persevering in it, God, through His only-begotten Son, has instituted the Church and provided it with clear signs of His institution, so that it can be recognized by all as the guardian and teacher of the revealed word. (Vatican I,  Dz  1793).

I try to be good about not just reblogging posts willy-nilly. However, here is one that just has to be read. Key Points: Cardinal O'Malley is one of the 'group of eight' advising the Pope. They were selected because they have the 'same mind' as the Pope.   Here the Cardinal is at once mimicking two Popes: Pope John Paul II(1) and Pope Francis This is troubling on a number of levels. Participation in an explicitly non-Catholic rite, not just a 'blessing' or welcoming ceremony. This man is supposed to be of the 'same mind' as the Pope. P^3 Prayer Penance Patience (1) Jimmy Atkins claims that the ashes spread on the forehead of Pope John Paul II was nothing more than a greeting ceremony (Aarti) by a Catholic woman.

In another forum, I was asked to provide a reference for the assertion that: For Supernatural Faith, the minimum requirement is the belief in God and that He rewards the good and punishes the bad. ( part 4 ) Attached is the reference: Reference Ott – Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma – as well as the letter to Archbishop Cushing by the CDF. pg 241 Theological faith, that is, a supernatural faith in Revelation, is necessary, and this is an effect of grace (D 1789); nemini unquam sine ilIa contigit iustificatio (D 1793). As far as the content of this faith is concerned, according to Hebr. 11, 6, at least the existence of God and retribution in the other world must be firmly held, necessitate medii (by the necessity of means) with explicit faith. In regard to the Trinity and the Incarnation, implicit faith suffices.  From this definition it is concluded that: A Jew A Muslim A Pagan Could theoretically achieve (with God's Grace) Supernatural Faith.

Commission to submit study on Medjugorje (Vatican Radio) The Director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, confirmed on Saturday that the international commission investigating the events in Medjugorje held its last meeting on 17 January. The commission, created by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is presided by Cardinal Camillo Ruini. The commission has reportedly completed its work and will submit the outcomes of its study to the Congregation. Source: Vatican Radio I noted this as being a 'false apparition' in the labels, because I find it impossible to believe that the Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary does command performances. It will be very trying to the spriti if the conclusion put forth by the Church Docens is anything other than an unambiguous condemnation. P^3

I noticed this in a posting on suscipedomine.com and realized that it caused significant emotions after the first reading.  Specifically, anger. Declaration about some recent facts Having learned of the online petition organized by the website of the Association "Corrispondenza Romana" in order to gather signatures to be presented to the Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life against the Decree of 11 July 2013 (Prot. 52741/2012), after having already expressed its position several times and after having released the official communication of its Father Founder, the Religious Institute of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate REAFFIRMS its obedience to the dispositions of the Holy Father, DECLARES that it will have NOTHING TO DO with the initiative of the aforesaid website or any like initiative, past or future, REJECTS any attempt to use a matter internal to the Institute to attack the Pope and the Catholic Hierarc...

Recently, I gave a presentation to a Catholic Men's group made of a 'regular' Catholic Men, plus one priest (SJ) on the dogma of the Necessity of the Church for Salvation. Previous articles on this topic can be found  at these links part 1 ,  part 2 ,  part 3 ). There was general surprise when I pointed out that the Second Vatican Council reiterated the necessity of the Church for Salvation with the same caveat of Invincible Ignorance as noted by Pope Pius IX (see slides below - also note I mislabeled the source - it was LG16 not LG17) . At one point, the comment was made that it is possible to quote these teachings however a person wants when taken out of context.  The complete text of LG 16 concerning the salvation of Jews and Muslims was quoted as an example.

As noted in my earlier article ,  Rorate-Caeli has been doing an excellent job tracking the developments within the reorganization of the Franciscans Friars of the Immaculate (FFI). From the Pope's recent admonition to obey the cooperate with the commissioner (Fr. Volpi) To highlighting Father Manelli's report to the FFI that diagnoses the malaise within the Church, leading to some conclusions that are remarkably similar to those of Archbishop Lefebvre and the SSPX. To Antonio Socci's  and Sandro Magister's latest analyses on the manner in which the FFI are being dealt with by the Vatican. Finally, we have this related piece concerning the cessation of TLM in the church under the care of the FFI in Rome.

As noted earlier, the word 'schism' is being bandied about again in conjunction with the acronym SSPX. I've posted other commentaries on this topic here , here , and  here . The SSPX has now issued a reply, which I have reproduced below. Courtesy of DICI

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I came across this old article in one of my searches and thought, since there is talk of schism in the air ... concerning the SSPX and not the German Bishops Conference ... it would good to post it here. Addendum: More on Schism by Tantamergo. Courtesy of the Remnant How Much Disobedience Constitutes  Schism ? Fr. Brian W. Harrison, O.S. GUEST COLUMNIST, Puerto Rico

There is a fair amount of commentary on Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. The SSPX, Remnant (reproduced below), and the Latin Mass Socity (LMS) have all been posting a number of thoughtful analyses of the document. Attached below is Mr. Ferrara's thoughts. P^3 Courtesy of The Remnant Quo Vadis, Francisce? Written by   Christopher A. Ferrara W hat is one to think of the Pope’s Apostolic Exhortation  Evangelii Gaudium  ( EG )? In a document of 50,000 words spanning 223 typeset pages—straining the hortatory genre beyond all reasonable limits—one would naturally expect to find a good deal of orthodox Catholicism; and that is there. Francis is, after all, the Pope, even if he doesn’t like to call himself that and refuses to add the traditional pontifical “P.P.” to his signature on this or any other document. Then again, in a document of this length one would also expect to find a good deal of what has made this Pope so beloved by t...