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

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+ JMJ Introduction First, a little background on the FSSP St. John Vianney Chapel in Mission Hill Kansas. After the 1988 consecrations and the foundation of the FSSP there was a consistent trend of Dioceses allowing the SSPX to run chapels and churches near SSPX locations. As with any 'organizational change' there were those who didn't agree with the change and no longer sought the sacraments from the SSPX. I heard from friends that in that era there was a lot of anger and tension (on both sides) between the St. Mary's SSPX and Mission Hill FSSP. Second, there have been caricatures of the SSPX position (some are evident below) in which personal opinions of SSPX priests and laity are taken as the official position or conflated with those of sedevacantists or 'resistance'. Recent Perspectives of the SSPX Position In the shadow of the consecrations a fever pitch accusations and opinions how surfaced - many of which include caricatures of the SSPX positions, of w...

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+ JMJ As long as you are ok with what happens in other Catholic Churches, Traditional Catholics will be left 'alone'. This is a paraphrase of words spoken by an Archbishop to Traditional Catholics (with a sprinkling of SSPX) who had requested the Traditional Latin Mass under Summorum Pontificum. This reflects that attitude of the Church towards anyone who takes issue with some of the ambiguities of Vatican II and the post-conciliar magisterium. If you reject the papacy but are ok with V2, the New Mass, and what Rome has stated since 1965 - then you are welcome. Question some of the more abiguous statements and ask for Rome to realise that a circle is not a square - then you are in for a world of hurt. This is where the SSPX exists and has existed from almost its very first moments. Pointing out contradictions with previous magisterium is not acceptable - under any condition. Why? Because it will cause the whole V2 house of cards to fall. I guess only when the contradic...

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+ JMJ I came to Tradition a few years after they had bought a chapel. My wife told me of the earlier years when Fr. Normandin would come to town and Mass would be held in a room at the convention centre. He'd start by blessing the room and then proceed with Mass. This went on for a while before the one of the faithful found a small hall that would suit just fine. They pooled their money and bought the building. Then came the work as the retiree's refinished the floor, setup the sactuary. Oh, did I mention that I heard that the hall had been used by a motorcycle gang? The floor needed a lot of work. I remember seeing pictures of the founders working to make the hall into a fitting place for the Sacrifice of the Mass. That little chapel would be a refuge like many others serviced by Fr. Normandin. From Thunderbay, Ontrario to Nanaimo, British Columbia - the SSPX chapels are all the results of Fr. Normandin's missionary work in those desperate times. Without h...

How many more must die for the throne? or How to combat FUD!

+ JMJ How many more must die for the throne? (Movie Quote: Prince Caspian) The Spread of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt I've seen a lot of FUD spreading across the intergnat on various stats etc. So let's put this in context ... especially the perspective of those people in positions of authority who need to make decisions to protect the lives of their citizens. Yep, this is going to be that type of post. Like it or not the leaders of our governments have their authority from God. So, as Catholics should know, you need to have a very good reason to deliberately disobey the orders of their superiors. This is basic St. Thomas Aquinas ... so don't blame me for discussing things from a Catholic perspective. The leaders of our countries have taken action to protect the vulnerable of our countries. As much as the young and not-so-young may whine and complain - I have to ask how many more of our elderly have to die? What the armchair virologists and ec...

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