When is a rebuttal not a rebuttal?

JMJ

When is a rebuttal not a rebuttal?

When it doesn't directly address the point of contention.

In this case we have Bishop Williamson's defense of his actions in 2009.

(Quoting Fr. Wegner) It is brought to my attention that in Queen of Angels, Texas, parish of the SSPX, you said recently that when in November of 2008 I spoke to a Swedish TV interviewer about the "Holocaust", I was perfectly well aware of what harm my remarks would do to the SSPX, and I made the remarks anyway, as though I positively wanted to harm the SSPX.

Key elements:

When Bishop Williamson uttered his opinion in Germany he was definitely aware that he was breaking a civil law of that country.
He would have to be a fool to not foresee the effects that such actions would have on his own person as well as the apostolate of the SSPX in Europe. Especially since he was banned from entering Canada for a number of years for similar comments.
Assuming that Bishop Williamson reasonably could foresee the effects of his words and still made them anyway, the inference made by Fr. Wegner is not out of the bounds of rationality.

(Bishop Williamson continues) I will assume that this report of your words is substantially accurate, because it is a widely shared version of my intentions at that moment.

Here is the truth, with which you must do as you see fit, but you will have been told it.
When I called in question the Six Million and the Gas-chambers, for good or ill the thought of the SSPX was absolutely not in my mind. I had in mind one thing and one thing alone -- to tell what I understood to be the truth on a very important question of modern history and religion, because the "Holocaust" has been made into the most widely spread and influential substitute religion of modern times.
I expect no apology. I might be grateful if you ceased to tell counter-truths about my intention in uttering those famous words. Over to you.
With good wishes in Christ, +Richard Williamson."

So, Bishop Williamson claims that the "SSPX was absolutely not in my mind" ... well it should have been.

He should have had the SSPX forefront in his mind as he brashly proclaimed the 'truth' about a place he has never visited nor a time he has never experienced.

Truly, it is Bishop Williamson who has made a religion, his religion, out of the Holocaust (shoah).

Pray that he realizes his error before he makes his final journey.

P^3

Comments

A Reply to Martin Blackshaw’s FLAWED Remnant article titled: FLAWED: SSPX Advice on Abortion-tainted Vaccines

+ JMJ An article has appeared in the Remnant (link to article) and I am afraid that there are a number of flaws in it that need to be addressed. The author, Martin Blackshaw, believes that both the Church and the SSPX are misapplying the principle of Moral Theology called 'Cooperation In Evil'. Unfortunately, Mr. Blackshaw rests most of his arguments on citing authors that support his position, without considering the possibility that they are wrong. This highlights a key factor in this crisis: ignorance of the faith and its application . I don't am not singling out Mr. Blackshaw for this criticism, I have observed that it applies to laity and religious, superior and subject a like. No one seems immune in this enduring crisis, myself included. I further believe that this ignorance is why so many Catholics, both traditional and non, rely on their gut feeling or "Catholic conscience" for charting their way through this crisis of the faith. While...

Eponymous Flower: Father Schmidberger Foresees Canonical Recognition of the SSPX

+ JMJ h/t: Eponymous Flower Just in time for the new year, I came across this blurb on Eponymous Flower. While it doesn't say anything new, it does indicate that Fr. Schmidberger believes that eventually the SSPX will be regularized - something that I have held for many years. Pope Francis does not appear to care a great deal for doctrinal differences (understatement of 2015), so he may be willing to try the experiment of tradition and not attempt to force the SSPX to compromise. Further, he doesn't seem to care what anyone thinks. Strangely, his apparent modernism / liberalism may enable him to succeed where his predecessor failed. In accepting the SSPX as they are. If this be the case, God will have proved that once again He works in mysterious ways. As always: P^3

Hermeneutic of the Hermeneutic of Continuity - sspx.org

+ JMJ Since I'm looking at the 'four things', I thought this article would be good. Unfortunately, with the new SSPX.org website, I've been unable to locate the original article. This is a copy the I emailed to myself. This is an article that, I believe, was written in response to a conference given by Msgr. Pozzo. P^3

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...

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3

Tradicat

Search This Blog