Franciscans Friars of the Immaculate - The Heart of the Matter for Fr. Greiger

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JMJ

This should be the final examination of the cultural assumptions and principles guiding or channeling Fr. Greigers actions.

In this post, Fr. Greiger wrote:

I am not a traditionalist. I have no sympathy for the SSPX. I love the old Mass, but don’t want it imposed on me and especially on those who don’t want so imposed. I don’t think like de Mattei or Gherardini. I find the things said on Rorate Caeli, The Catholic Family New and The Remnant offensive. And I am sorry, I won’t role over—not today, not tomorrow, not ever. And I don’t feel the slightest bit guilty for going to the Holy See. And why should I? Even the Holy Father himself believes our cause is just.

 This little missive reveals a lot.



The first and most important is that he doesn't "want it imposed on [him] and especially on those who don’t want so imposed".

My read is that he is attempting to deflect his first admission with the second by setting himself as a defender of the weak.

Again we reach the point of contention. The imposition of the Tridentine Mass for the conventual masses of the FFI.  It is my understanding that this was a decision taken by the FFI at their chapter and is in accordance with article 3 of Summorum Pontificum.

Art. 3.  If communities of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, whether of pontifical or diocesan right, wish to celebrate the conventual or community Mass in their own oratories according to the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal, they are permitted to do so.  If an individual community or an entire Institute or Society wishes to have such celebrations frequently, habitually or permanently, the matter is to be decided by the Major Superiors according to the norm of law and their particular laws and statutes. (source)

So if the 'Major Superiors' decided that the FFI would make use of the Tridentine Mass and Fr. Greiger appears to balk at this what are his options:

Submit to the decision of his superiors (aka obey) or refuse to submit (aka disobey).

Setting aside his references to his interpretation of the rules, it still comes down to the obedience question.

His motivations for disobedience are based on his personal (and I believe somewhat liberal) preferences.

Funny how when the shoe is on the other foot (ie the imposition of the Novus Ordo Missae in the 70's) the liberals will cry 'non servitum' and appeal to a higher authority.

The second point where he is offended by the "things said on Rorate Caeli, The Catholic Family New and The Remnant".  Well that's nice, however the people at Rorate Caeli et al have been long offended by what's been put forth as the 'Catholic Culture' for the last 50 years.

Anyway sticking with personal preferences isn't going to help us get to the underlying issues.

However the last words in this quote do provide some insight.

 And I am sorry, I won’t role over—not today, not tomorrow, not ever. And I don’t feel the slightest bit guilty for going to the Holy See. And why should I? Even the Holy Father himself believes our cause is just.

In reverse order he is issuing an appeal to authority - that the Holy Father believes their 'cause' is just.

Really, I wonder how much of this is just his imprinting his desires upon the Holy Father.

Furthermore, what will he do if the next Holy Father does NOT believe that their cause is just?

Well, Fr. Greiger has given us the answer:

I am sorry, I won’t role over—not today, not tomorrow, not ever.

So when a Pontiff reasserts the cultural assumptions that were dominant before the council, what will happen (assuming that Fr. Greiger sticks to his words):

He will leave the Church of Christ.

Now we come to the point of this cultural examination.

There are two groups that are in a conflict within the Church: The Trads and Anti-Trads.

The problem is that they have diametrically opposing cultures and will not be able to reconcile.

Both don't want to leave the Church.

One wants the Church to re-establish its cultural assumptions. Assumptions that cannot be discarded as they are founded upon Dogmas of the Church.

The other wants to perpetuate their own set of cultural assumptions. A set of assumptions that has given us the ambiguous aspects of the documents of the Second Vatican Council, the Novus Ordo Missae, Extraordinary (but very common) Eucharistic Ministers, Communion in the hand etc. (etc = the list goes on).

The Church of Christ is Indefectible, and the cultural assumptions that have been largely suppressed since the Second Vatican Council will reassert themselves when a Pope is elected who will perform actions (not just words) that counteract the poison of:

• Ecumenism
• Religious Liberty
• Collegiality

At that point, Fr. Greiger and those who hold the similar cultural bias an theological theories will have a choice to make:

Roll-over and submit to authority

-or-

Leave the Church like all the other good heretics and schismatics before them and start their own human Church.

A Church that, I surmise, will look a lot like the majority of the Catholic Churches of today (excepting of course the SSPX, FSSP, ICK, IBP, etc).

End Game: We are heading for formal heresy in the first degree and schism.  

P^3

Prayer

Penance

Patience