Skip to main content

Bishop Fellay and the Deutsche Welle Interview

+
JMJ

Updated with 'logic' correction!

I understand that Bishop Fellay gave an interview with a belligerent attack reporter.

While it is questionable as to the prudence of giving the interview, here is was TCW wrote about it:

 It would seem that Pope Francis is not the only one capable of giving a disastrous interview. The leader of the Society of St. Pius X comes off terribly in an interview with Tim Sebastian of Deutsche Welle.
I wonder why this interview has not been covered by the Catholic media? After all, the Pope's various controversial interviews have been.
An example:  a great many hear about the papal comments from the back of a plane, but few have heard about Fellay's interview. This interview really brings into question Bishop Fellay's competence and leadership. A bishop should be able to handle, tough - even harsh, provocative and yes - dishonest and confrontational questions from a secular journalist.
It may be time - after 22 years! - for the SSPX to consider changes to her leadership and not wait until 2018. It may also be time for us to take off the rose coloured glasses and to look at the Pope and Bishop Fellay through the same lens. If the pope makes mistakes in the back of an airplane, it is fair to point them out; but it is also equally fair to point out the mistakes of the SSPX Superior. (Source: Toronto Catholic Witness: Bishop Fellay - Is it time for sspx to change its leadership?)



I have encountered this type of reasoning before.  A Jesuit countered the exposure of the doctrinal errors of Kasper et al with the statement of Bishop Williamson's interview.

The response is the same in both cases:
  •  Bishop Fellay (and even Williamson in the infamous 2009 interview) were not giving ambiguous / erroneous answers about the Faith. In the case of Bishop Fellay, I understand he calmly explained Church doctrine.
  • The Pope was giving ambiguous / erroneous answers ...
So if I were to use the 'same lens' to look at the Pope and Bishop Fellay I would see that in hindsight it:
  • was imprudent on the part of Bishop Fellay to give an interview to an attack dog and that I am pleased he attempted to explain Church doctrine even though it may have been casting pearls before swine.
  • was endangering souls on the part of Pope Francis to give erroneous / ambiguous expositions  of Church doctrine.
The call for a change of leadership is ridiculous - if this were the case then and applied equally - then the Pope would have been changed multiple time for kissing the Koran etc.

P^3

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Rome,the SSPX and this time of Crisis - Updated

+ JMJ Obviously there's lots of events right now. First we have the April 1st - I almost thought it was April Fools - meeting between Pope Francis and Bishop Fellay.  Nothing really news worthy as this is a natural progression as Rome appears to be considering fulfilling Archbishop Lefebvre's wish to 'accept us as we are'. Second we have the April 8th publication of what will be a verbose exhortation of the Synod of the Family. I'm willing to bet that the Pope will give with one hand (unilateral regularization of SSPX) and take with the other (ambiguous document that opens the flood gates of sin further). Much to pray for. 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...

Validity of new rite of episcopal consecrations - Courtesy of SSPX.org

+ JMJ In the blogosphere there are number of responses to this crisis in the Catholic Church that lead to conclusions that run counter to Catholic Doctrine and Dogmas - if taken to their logical conclusion. The validity of the New Rite of Episcopal consecrations is one such hotspot within more extreme sections of the 'traditionalist' culture. Validity of new rite of episcopal consecrations Courtesy of SSPX.org Why the new rite of episcopal consecration is valid Introduction This comprehensive study was compiled to settle a debate that has been circulating in traditional Catholic circles. Some writers have examined the new rite of episcopal consecration and concluded that it must be invalid. Since this would cause manifest problems if it were true and due to the heightened awareness of such a theory, we present a study of this question concluding that it is valid. Following the Council, in 1968 a new rite for the ordination of bishops was promulg...

De Fide Teachings of the Catholic Church (Updated)

+ JMJ  Update: I was reviewing Ott's work directly and noted that some of the Teachings are De Fide while others are different levels of authority (such as Sent Certa etc).  So please refer to Ott for the actual classification). Posts Listing the Dogmas of the Catholic Church Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (de fide) - Expanded Listing: Answer for Reader (Oct 2022) Updated List of Teachings of the Catholic Church (Oct 2021) *** Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (Oct 2015) De Fide teaching of the Catholic Church (Apr 2013)           *** Latest version