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CMTV - SSPX SUPERIOR ISN’T PRIMARILY SEEKING REUNION WITH CATHOLIC CHURCH

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JMJ

Church Militant has published an article about the SSPX declaration - you can find it here.

I guess I should not have taken the bait, but here's my reply - which they undoubtedly will not post.

So I've posted it here for the record.

Interestingly, they've shut down the comments on the article. I guess the response was too overwhelming for their moderators.


P^3


Hi Eli, There are a number of inaccuracies in your article that need to be rectified. With respect to the claim that the SSPX believes that " truth and grace have failed universally in the Church from the Pope on down. The SSPX claims Vatican II is full of doctrinal errors, and these errors are being universally perpetuated from all the popes and the Magisterium since then till now. This leads them to proclaim a "state of necessity" that frees them from the dictates of canon law and the unity it prescribes." This is a complete exaggeration of what the SSPX believes concerning the present state of the Church. Truth and Grace have not failed universally in the Church. This would contravene the doctrine of indefectibility of the Church. The SSPX does not claim "Vatican II is full of doctrinal errors". It claims that there are three classes of documents - those that are fully aligned with pre-conciliar magisterium, those that are ambiguous and finally that in four points there are contradictions of pre-conciliar magisterium. It accepts the first two classes with the traditional understanding of the Church. The final ones, they ask for corrections / clarifications. These are the core doctrinal issues being discussed. One example of a result of the teaching on ecumenism is the current thought that the people who profess the jewish religion are excluded from the missionary activity of the Church. Another would be the statement that the Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church - as opposed to the teaching of Pope Pius XII that the Church of Christ is the Catholic Church. What they do claim is "In the great and painful confusion that currently reigns in the Church, the proclamation of Catholic doctrine requires the denunciation of errors that have made their way into it and are unfortunately encouraged by a large number of pastors, including the Pope himself." Is this statement objectively true or not. That is what is important. The next step is how to act in accordance with Church Doctrine in the face of this reality. Cordially, Tradical

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