Skip to main content

Bishop Williamson's connections

+
JMJ

Bishop Williamson has opined on Fr. Schmidberger's letter.

Three points became apparent as I read his 'reply' such as it may be.


  1. It is clear that in the face of principles H.E. has no appropriate and cogent response and resorts to opinions and FUD. For example the requirement of distinguishing the person of the Pope from the office he holds (in other words - the Pope can issue a lawful/legitimate command that meets the conditions for Catholic obedience).  Bishop Williamson does not answer this point instead offers a helping of FUD :"This is a relatively superficial view of the utterly radical attack launched against the Faith and Truth itself by Freemasonic churchmen during and after Vatican II". Nothing like the fear of Freemason lurking in the shadows of the Church to devour helpless little traditionalists.
  2.  Bishop Williamson's response misses the actual points of principle. Why?  Because Fr. Schmidberger's position is based on principles that Bishop Willimaons has abandoned.  Therefore he cannot contradict the principles of Fr. Schmidberger, without exposing his departure from these same principles.  In short, he is trapped in a cage of his own construction.
  3. One thing that I found interesting is that Bishop Williamson only commented on the letter when it became public (I think Fisheaters was the first spot ...).  It shows that Bishop Williamson's reach and influence within the SSPX has waned, as it has with the 'resistors'.
This is what comes of abandoning the principles followed by Archbishop Lefebvre - Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.

P^3





Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

Magisterium and Levels of Assent

+ JMJ Understanding the levels of assent to be given to the teachings of the Church is a critical success factor in walking the knife's edge during this crisis of the Church.  The levels of assent are generally associated with the theological grades of certainty, which are not surprisingly mirrored by the censures for contravening the teachings of the various levels.

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

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  

Open Letter to Cardinal Gantin - July 6, 1988

There has been some discussion (read lots) about the term 'Conciliar Church'. I have posted this letter written by the Superior General and District Superiors of the SSPX after the 1988 Consecrations. Of particular interest is that the 'Conciliar Church' being referred to as a system. My paraphrase would be that the SSPX regards the 'conciliar Church' as an error within the Church. Source Open Letter to Cardinal Gantin Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops