A Look Back: Traditionalists, Conservatives and Sedevacantists - Which are the true Catholics? - Bishop Williamson of the 90's

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JMJ

I refer to this pamphlet so often (mostly in discussions with resistors), I thought it deserved its own posting.  I have reproduced the text so that it will be easily cut and pasted.

Traditionalists, Conservatives, Sedevacantists - Which are the true Catholics?

Catholics Amidst Confusion

• Those opinions or judgements are true which correspond not to inner wishes but to the outer reality.  The chart within lays out the five main positions taken by Catholics on the major problems within the Church tody. Which position corresponds to reality?  That will be the Catholic position.
• The will of Our Lord for the reality of His Church is that on the one hand it must endure unchanging to the end of the world, on the other hand it must, to save souls, be firmly inserted in the flow of history in all times and places. While the error of liberalism to the left of the chart is characterized by its mania for change sweeping away all Catholic essentials, conversely  the trap of sedevacantism on the right is characterized by its so clinging to externals as to cut the Church out of the movement of the world.
• Only Catholic Tradition corresponds correctly to the double reality of stability inserted in change. Even the moderate error (conservatism) is hopelessly destabilized by compromise with liberal principles, while the moderate version of sedevacantism still wishes to hide its head in Tridentine sand. But one may say that the age of the Council of Trent (not its dogmas) came to an end with Vatican II.
• So the Traditional position is the Catholic position, as its fruitfulness proves (without Tradition there would be little or no conservatism or sedevacantism!). And this position would remain true, even if the Society of St. Pius X were not there to uphold it.  Reality governs people, not people reality.

Notes

• On a variety of questions in the Catholic Church today opinions clash. However, the chart opposite shows that the chaos can be brought to order.
• In the five vertical columns from far left (liberals) to far right (extreme sede-vacantists), a laid out the five main positions taken by Catholic on seven important questions in the Church today, from the New Mass (above) to Archbishop Lefebvre (below). Any given Catholic may hold opinions from more than one column, but generally the opinions down any one column hang together.
• Similarly, if one reads across the chart, opinions on any one of the severn questions range from extreme left all in favour of change (liberals) to extreme right repudiating any change (extreme sede-vacantists), with all imaginable shades of opinion in between. But the rang of opinions is orderly.
• This horizontal and vertical order underlying an apparent disarray of opinions reflects one reality confronting a disarray of Catholics. It is normal for opinions to scatter around a central object, like shots around a bulls-eye.
• However, it is not being in the centre that makes the Traditional position true because there is no true comparison between liberalism, a world-engulfing error generating millions of disbelievers, and sedevacantis, an emotional reaction trapping handfuls of exasperated believers.
• That what makes the Traditional position true? See over.

						Exaggerated Reaction to Error SEDEVACANTISTS e.g. Fragmented Society of St. Pius V
			Error Liberals The Conciliar Church, Aka The Newchurch, Novos Ordo	Compromise Conservatives eg. Society of St. Peter Indult, Una Voce, etc	Truth “Traditionalist” e.g. Society of St. Pius X And many kindres spirits	Moderate	Extreme
	1	The New Mass	The New Mass in English is a great improvement ove rthe old (Tridentine) Mass in Latin	The New Mass is not as good as the Old Mass, but priests can say it, or at least laity can attend it.	The New Mass can be valid, can be valid, but it is so harmful to the Faith that priests should never say it, nor should laity ever attend it.	The New Mass is so bad that one may doubt whether it can ever be validly celebrated.	The New Mass is so bad that beyond question it can never be a valid Mass.
	2	Church and World	This is because the modern world is always moving forwards, so the Church must constantly move with the times.	The modern world is not always truly moving forwards. If only we and the Church could go back to the 1950's!	The modern world as such is built on anti-Catholic principles which had already far undermined the Church of teh 1950's.	The modern world is not always truly moving forwards. If only we and the Church could go back to the 1950's.	The modern world is not always truly moving forwards. If only we could go back to the Church of the 1900's or 1850's!
	3	Renewal	Thus by the 1960's, the Church needed a complete renewal. The old Church belongs in the dust-bin of history.	Excessive renewal has caused a crisis in the Church, but one must always stay within its official structures.	The crisis of “renewal” has become so grave in teh Church that to stay Catholic one may have to be “excommunicated”.	The official Church and its leaders have gone so far in their false “renewal” that they may be ignored by Catholics.	Today's seeming Catholic Church is in no way still Catholic. True Catholics must somehow elect their own Pope.
	4	The 2nd Vatican Council	Vatican II ushered in this renewal, it was a second Pentecost, inspired throughout by the Holy Ghost.	Vatican II documents contain no error. All problems come from their misinterpretation after the Council.	Vatican II was a legitimately convened Council, but its deliberately ambiguous documents opened doors wide to error.	The documents of Vatican II are openly heretical. There is nothing worth salvaging from that Council.	Vatican II was illegimate from the very beginning. It was not a Catholic Council in any way at all.
	5	Pope John-Paul II	Pope John-Paul II used to promote this renewal, but now he is a hide-bound conservative, holding it back.	Pope John-Paul II is a traditionalist who is appointing conservative bishops and restoring the Church.	Despite conservative appearances, Pope John-Paul II is in fact by his liberalism destroying the Church. But he is still Pope.	Pope John-Paul II is so far from being Catholic that one may seriously doubt whether he is Pope at all.	Pope John-Paul II is such a heretic that there is no way he can be Pope. The See of Peter is vacant.
	6	Obedience	Obedience to Church superiors imposing the renewal is an absolute, the one thing necessary to be a Catholic.	Superiors imposing the liberal renewal are not good, but Catholic obedience requires that one stay with Rome.	Liberal Church superiors must be respected as superiors, but as liberals, when they destroy the Faith, they must not be obeyed.	Present Church superiors have virtually forefeited their right to be respected even as superiors by Catholics.	Present Church superiors have so betrayed the Faith that they can in no way be considered the real churchmen.
	7	Archbishop Lefebvre	As for Archbishop Lefebvre, he was a living relic from the past. He remained fixed in an antiquated mentality.	Archbishop Lefebvre could have done so much good if only he had stayed in the Church by being obedient.	Archbishop Lefebvre was a heroic defender of the Faith, the most truly Catholic bishop since Vatican II.	Archbishop Lefebvre was a little soft on modernism, for instance when he signed most documents of Vatican II.	Archbishop Lefebvre was Catholic Tradition's worst enemy, because his false resistance paralysed the real resistance to Vatican II.