Skip to main content

A Little Cultural Perspective on Traditionalism and the 'Four Points' - Part 3

+
JMJ

While he has been silent for a while, I'd like to highlight an assertion made by Fr. Greiger:

Unfortunately, it is not only the progressives who have adopted this individualistic spirit.   Even in the name of Tradition, some today speak of a pre- and post-conciliar Church, thus creating a rupture between the past and the present.   In this way, they submit everything the magisterium has to say to a test that ultimately sets the Church against itself. (source)

In this assertion Father is laying the responsibility for the 'rupture' at the feet of Traditionalists. I think it is safe to assume that he is including the SSPX in that classification.


I've already discussed and exposed how the SSPX understands the phrase 'conciliar Church', so we can lay that accusation to rest.

As noted in part 2, as well as in Dr. Lamont's review, the SSPX bases its position on an understanding of the pre-conciliar magisterium that is not its own creation, but derived faithfully from the theological understanding at the time of the magisterial pronouncements.

The SSPX is caught in a position of being forced to choose between the clear pre-conciliar magisterium and the predominantly cloudy magisterium that has issued since the Council.

Further more as noted here, the SSPX realises that the solution to this crisis will only come from Rome.  The SSPX is not setting itself up as the Magisterium of the Traditionalists.  It is simply trying to hold fast and not compromise with the storm of heresy that is ravaging the Church.

While many seem to think that they 'know' what the SSPX thinks and its motivations, the surest way is to go the source, the SSPX. Collected below is a number of articles on the relevant topics.

SSPX: Two Interpretations of Vatican 2 - Myth or Reality?
SSPX: Religious Liberty Contradicts Tradition
SSPX: Archbishop Lefebvre and Religious Liberty
SSPX: State of Necessity Part 1
SSPX: State of Necessity Part 2
SSPX: March 2001 - District Superior's Letter Fr. Violette
SSPX: Is the New Mass Legit?

While some may still be in denial of the fact that the problem starts at the top (ie The Pope) and that it is systemic throughout the Church, thereby rejecting the SSPX's response to the crisis - they overlook one key point.

The root of the SSPX's canonical irregularity comes from their adherence to the formation of priests that ran counter to the objectives of the French bishops of the era.

Have those objectives really changed?

P^3

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Comparision of the Tridentine, Cranmer and Novus Ordo Masses

+ JMJ I downloaded the comparison that was linked in the previous article on the mass (here) . ... a very good reference! P^3 From: Whispers of Restoration (available at this link) . CHARTING LITURGICAL CHANGE Comparing the 1962 Ordinary of the Roman Mass to changes made during the Anglican Schism; Compared in turn to changes adopted in the creation of Pope Paul VI’s Mass in 1969 The chart on the reverse is a concise comparison of certain ritual differences between three historical rites for the celebration of the Catholic Mass Vetus Ordo: “Old Order,” the Roman Rite of Mass as contained in the 1962 Missal, often referred to as the “Traditional Latin Mass.”The Ordinary of this Mass is that of Pope St. Pius V (1570) following the Council of Trent (1545-63), hence the occasional moniker “Tridentine Mass.” However, Trent only consolidated and codified the Roman Rite already in use at that time; its essential form dates to Pope St. Gregory the Great (+604), in whose time the R...

SSPX and the Resistance - A Comparison Of Ecclesiology

Shining the light of Church Teaching on the doctrinal positions of the SSPX and the Resistance. Principles are guides used to aid in decision making.  It stands to reason that bad principles will lead to bad decisions. The recent interactions between Rome and the SSPX has challenged a number of closely held cultural assumptions of people in both sides of the disagreement. This has resulted in cultural skirmishes in both Rome and the SSPX. Since it is the smaller of the two, the skirmishes have been more evident within the SSPX.  The cultural fault-line that Bishop Fellay crossed appears to be linked to two points of Catholic Doctrine: Ecclesiology and Obedience.  The cultural difference of view points is strong enough that it has resulted in the expulsion of a number of members.  It should also be noted that some other priests expelled since the beginning of the latest interactions (starting in 2000) held the same view points and have joined with the l...

If Pope Francis is bad - what about Pope St. John Paul II et al?

+ JMJ So here we are on the apparent cusp of yet another post conciliar Papal canonization. This time we have Pope's John-Paul I and Paul VI canonizations to 'look forward' to. This follows, obviously, on the heels of Pope St. John Paul II's canonization? So the first question that I usually encounter is: How is it possible, keeping in mind the doctrine on infallibility of canonizations (note doctrine not dogma), that Pope St. John Paul II is a Saint? First, what does it mean???  According to the doctrine of dogmatic facts - it is the universal opinion of Theologians that canonizations are infallible.  It means that they enjoy the beatific vision.  ... that's it.  That is the doctrine and it is at the level of universal opinion of theologians.  It is called a 'dogmatic fact'. That they made mistakes is obvious.  That the miracles seem to not be very miraculous is also a bit of an issue. Here's something to consider: The rush that surrou...

Spiritual Journey Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre - Extracts

+ JMJ I have posted these two chapters to provide context for the quote of: It is, therefore, a strict duty for every priest wanting to remain Catholic to separate himself from this Conciliar Church for as long as it does not rediscover the Tradition of the Church and of the Catholic Faith. P^3 Courtesy of SSPX.ca Chapter II The Perfections of God We ought to remember during this entire contemplation of God that we must apply all that is said of God to Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is God. We cannot separate Jesus Christ from God. We cannot separate the Christian religion from Jesus Christ, Who is God, and we must affirm and believe that only the Catholic religion is the Christian religion. These affirmations have, as a result, inescapable conclusions that no ecclesiastic authority can contest: outside of Jesus Christ and the Catholic religion, that is, outsi...

Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (de fide) - Expanded Listing: Answer for Reader

 + JMJ  A reader asked the following question in the 2015 version of the article on the Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (link) : 117: "In the state of fallen nature it is morally impossible for man without Supernatural Revelation, to know easily, with absolute certainty and without admixture of error, all religious and moral truths of the natural order." Where can you find this in the documents of the Church? ( Link to comment )  Here's the reference from Ott: The citation that Ott provided was Denzinger 1786 and the source document is Dogmatic Consitution Concerning the Faith from the First Vatican Council (Papal Encyclicals - link) : Chapter 2 On Revelation, Article 3: It is indeed thanks to this divine revelation , that those matters concerning God, which are not of themselves beyond the scope of human reason, can, even in the present state of the human race, be known by everyone, without difficulty, with firm certitude and with no intermingling of error. Here's ...