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

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

The Curious Case of Steve Skojec and the Dangers of Deep Diving into the Crisis Sub-Titled: The Failings of Others

+ JMJ It's been a while now since Steve Skojec sold 1P5 and abandoned the Catholic Faith. I've been a 'Trad' since 1982 and in those 40+ years I seen this death-spiral before with a similar end point. It seems that anyone who jumps into the fray unprepared for the enormous task of righting wrongs will, eventually, become discouraged by not the task but the people who surround them. I remember when Skojec complained of the treatment his family received from a traditional priest. This seems to have been the start of the end for him. So what can we learn from the likes of Steve Skojec, Michael Voris (maybe?), Louie Verrecchio, Gerry Matatix and other celebrity Catholics? Probably quite a lot about what not to do. First, don't burn out on the crisis? When you burn out, on work or anything else, little things assume a more greater importance than they are due. This is one of my 'canary in the coal mine' signals that I've been stretching myself too th...

Church Militant TV and the SSPX - Again

+ JMJ The old narrative used to be that the SSPX was 'schismatic' and 'excommunicated'. Now the excommunication has been lifted for a number of years and the only ones who think it still has effect are the 'resistors'. That leaves the other opponents of the SSPX with the label 'schismatic'. Make it clear, the conservative Catholics have issues with the SSPX probably because they violate some of their assumptions about the Faith and this crisis of the Church. Church Militant TV is one of these the exists along the Catholic thought spectrum. They like the Traditional Mass but must ensure that they don't get tarred with the same 'schismatic' brush that the liberals use against the SSPX. So what do they do, they use the same brush against the SSPX. The funny thing is that even when the Church does speak, they don't want to listen and persist in calling the SSPX 'schismatic'. Here's a transcript of the latest s...

The Position of the SSPX on Canonizations by the Saint Factory

+ JMJ I have sometimes been criticized for including 'St' as a title for Pope John Paul II et al. I've given my reasons here in a discussion with Alex Long. The question is one of prudence in discussions with ntCatholics and in some cases with tCatholics. In discussions with: ntCatholics, I will use the title in order to continue the discussion and help them arrive at a realistic understanding of the crisis of the Church. tCatholics, I will use the title in order to broaden their perspective on the doctrine of dogmatic facts. This broader perspective is, in my opinion, essential maintaining a realistic understanding of the crisis of the Church. So from a doctrinal position, I have written the article Dogmatic Fact of Fancy and includes a reference on canonizations. Now, I know the position of the SSPX is that the canonizations are doubtful (see references below) and I also know of at least one non-SSPX theologian who agrees with the level of doubt du...

Tradicat

Search This Blog