Tradicat

+ JMJ On hearing of the latest volley in the Rome / SSPX discussions, my wife, wonderful and smart woman that she is, concluded that all the Pope has to do is officially  make the following statement: The SSPX is Catholic, their sacraments are valid, anyone may attend and seek the Sacraments from them.  This, obviously, would create a big mess from a canonical perspective.  However, Pope Francis is not afraid of creating messes and since he approves of the NeoCat Way , then why not approve the SSPX who is actually recognizably Catholic? P^3

+ JMJ For those who are panicking, we have the following courtesy of SSPX.org  as well as 1P5's review of the whole interview here. As with Mrs. Hickson, when I listened to the interview, I heard the 'accept us as we are' and I realized that there is still a ways to go before Rome has ceased to ask a compromise of the SSPX. Although Mrs. Hickson believed this phrase to be a little nebulous, for the SSPX it is crystal clear.  Accept us without attempting to force us to compromise in anyway, shape or form, allowing us to continue to operate as we have been for the salvation of souls. This is a pretty good summary and it packs in a whole lot of what Rome is trying to foist upon the SSPX. Such as accepting V2 and the New Mass. Getting permission of the local bishop before responding to faithful crying the wilderness is another one.  If that were in place, the SSPX would be little better than the FSSP. So to answer the question that many non-SSPX are asking: ...

+ JMJ I saw the following report as I went to schola practice. Bishop Fellay confirmed in the program Terres de Mission of TVLibertes broadcast minutes ago: on the factual level, relations with the Vatican are already normal, and only the seal is missing on the agreement:  "This agreement is possible, according to the Superior-general, in his view, without waiting for the situation in the Church to become completely satisfactory." [ Source ] Source: Rorate-Caeli I suspect that a lot of people are concerned by this news item and thought that I would add my perspective and that of a learned friend. First, the perspective of my learned friend: Given that the SSPX has been given faculties to hear confessions, his opinion is that Bishop Fellay is completely correct. As the SSPX has been given faculties to hear confessions and a suspended cleric cannot hear confessions, the SSPX is no longer suspended. The status of the SSPX is simply: Undefined. Now my perspe...

+ JMJ Read more: 1P5 Rorate-Caeli Oh well ... we can surmise how this will play out ... based on past actions. P^3

+ JMJ Update: demattei has the same perspective as myself (see rorate ). We will know shortly how this will unfold.  Keep praying!!! So Pope Francis the Last has obtained his victory over Malta.  In truth we will now be able to see if Pope Francis has the inverted form of the modias touch: everything he touches will turn into lead. Rotate has a good article here so I won't delve any further onto the implications for the future of the order. I want to reflect on whether or not the grand master had to obey. The answer lies in whether or not the command (to resign) lies in the sphere of the authority of the Pope. If not then the Grand Master practiced perfect obedience.   Now if Pope Francis the Last told me to quit my job and join a monastery, I would politely but firmly refuse.  Because such an order is outside the sphere of his authority. As a religious the Grand Master took three vows, so I guess that makes the request within the sph...

+ JMJ It seems to me that the fact that Pope Francis and much of the hierarchy is justifying permitting adulterers to receive Communion, partially based on an assumption that many marriages have been invalid because people were too ignorant to have validly contracted a marriage, is the height of self-serving sophistry. They need to be called out on the fact that this ignorance is THEIR fault.  They are perpetuating a vicious cycle: 1) Bishops abandon their duty to teach, form consciences, and exhort. 2) They wait till the inevitable moral breakdown in society occurs. 3) They proclaim that proper "discernment" in "the flux of life" requires us to relax the "rigid rules", and look for gray instead of black and white; that it is uncharitable and unmerciful to do otherwise. 4) Relaxing the rigid rules results in further moral breakdown. 5) Rinse, repeat, until there is literally no restraint at all, and the whole world is one chaotic ...

+ JMJ Ok - so I have a few minutes to chronicle some of the latest. First, we have the article Stan Gets Stapled: Is Catholic Answers Becoming Protestant Answers?  from The Remnant.  While I like Tim Staples, he is an engaging speaker etc, however Christopher Ferrara nails it.

+ JMJ Modernists are meddlers. We've witnessed what happens if there is not a strong authority to keep them in check: Second Vatican Council Novus Ordo Missae Code of Canon law etc, etc, etc. If a modernist doesn't like how things are going in their situation, they appeal to a higher authority.  If the authority is sympathetic (or just pathetic) they will get their way. This is the way of things and also highlights why it is critical that the SSPX have a strong authority in its leader and unwavering support from the Pope. Otherwise we would see history repeat itself: FSSP 2000: Whiners want to say the New Mass Rome intervenes Whiners leave FFI 2013: Whiners complain about the decision to have the conventual mass changed to the Tridentine Mas Rome intervenes Whiners leave SOM 2016: Whiner complains that he was unjustly expelled Rome intervenes Whiner(s) leave <prediction> In their wake, the whiner leave orders that a...

+ JMJ We are living in historic times.  While it is not rare for the Church to lurch from crisis to crisis (it is after-all at war with an implacable enemy), it is rare for the Pope to need correction. I found it interesting that at the mention of a french Archbishop resisting the Pope, Archbishop Lefebvre comes to mind. Perhaps an indication of his stature in this crisis. P^3

+ JMJ Cardinal Mueller continues to be a hot topic and I think it is worth while examining some of the background. Keep in mind that it would have been more surprising if Cardinal Mueller supported Catholic Truth than the opposite. Why so? Because of his questionable theological opinions that he only clarified at the behest of Pope Benedict XVI when pressed by the SSPX ... and his continuing requirement that the SSPX accept V2 and the N.O.M. without reservations. P^3

+ JMJ It is clear that the Catholic Church will not emerge from the crisis because we simply want and pray for it to happen. We need to start with ourselves. My wife is reading a book on Catholic Spirituality written by Dom Hubert Van Zeller in 1957. She compared this gem to her understanding of the spirituality of Archbishop Lefebvre. While tempted to compare the behaviour of Pope Francis and others to the principles that I have quoted below - we need to honestly compare our own perspective and extract the beam out of our own eye first. P^3

+ JMJ Well Cardinal Mueller is the toast of the blogosphere right now. OnePeterFive has this article trying to make some sense in this about-face by the head of the CDF. In addition the SSPX has put forth the following article. Years ago, when Mueller first became the head of the CDF, someone wondered if it was a case of the fox guarding the hen house or a poacher makes the best game warden. Perhaps it is a little a clearer now ... Courtesy of SSPX.org

+ JMJ Well I always knew that Cardinal Mueller had strange ideas with regards to speculative theology. Now, we know he has issues with reality Catholic News Agency  and OnePeterFive .  The OnePeterFive article is a worthy antidote to the garbage being flouted as 'answers' to the Dubia.

+ JMJ Deacon Nick Donnelly has posted a commentary on Bishop Schneider's statement concerning the SSPX here . Here's the key point: We can confidently subject ourselves to the Pope and bishops when they clearly and unambiguously subject themselves to the Word of God, "teaching only what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully." When these conditions are evident we have a holy obligation to submit with "ready Christian obedience": "The laity should, as all Christians, promptly accept in Christian obedience decisions of their spiritual shepherds, since they are representatives of Christ as well as teachers and rulers in the Church. Let them follow the example of Christ, who by His obedience even unto death, opened to all men the blessed way of the liberty of the children of God. Nor should they omit to pray for those placed over them, for they keep watch as having to render an account ...

+ JMJ Over the last 30 years, I've heard varying opinions about "active participation" at the Traditional Mass. Some advocate the congregation answering with the Altar Boy (which threw me off completely the first time I encountered it) in the Dialogue Mass, even when they ... frankly can't answer together. Personal pet peeve - if the congregation is going to participate in this manner then they should answer TOGETHER . When one person jumps in micro-seconds after the priest has said "Dominus Vobiscum", then 95% of the congregation response 2 second afterwards and then the remain 5% start 3 or 4 seconds afterwards ... it is not edifying. It is a cacophony. Now to put this in perspective - here's a good article from the SSPX on the subject. P^3 Courtesy of SSPX.org

+ JMJ While I admire Bishop Schneider on a number of levels - I do not share his perspective on the canonical regularization.  If it were merely about trust in the person of the Pope - then they would be abandoning the principles I discussed in  this article and the obedience series .   Assuming that the SSPX understands obedience as I have described If Rome still wants the SSPX to 'accept the Council and New Mass' they won't accept.  Given the latest interview by Card. Mueller indicates that, nothing is wrong with the documents of V2, then this won't change anytime soon.  He wants the SSPX to accept the mantra and Archbishop Pozzo says they don't have to. The message to Rome is simple: Accept us as we are and we are ready. This is a message that appears to have fallen on deaf ears. P^3

+ JMJ So in the previous post I sketched one way to mark the health of the Church. Now how does the Church get out of this pit? Obviously, it relies upon a good Pope. The question is what would a good Pope need to do in order to dig us out of this pit. Here's my top three: Issue corrections of the errors and heresies that have come out of the shadows since the Second Vatican Council ( a long list indeed). Censure those that refuse to adhere to the Faith. Provide the SSPX with a no-compromise regularization as Archbishop Lefebvre desired. This is critical because it will put into practice that which will save the Faith of the Church.   Formation of priests  Sacraments that are devoid of compromises of the post-Second Vatican Council era, Doctrine devoid of the compromises of the Second Vatican Council and the era that followed. This Pope could be Pope Francis.  I know this does not appear to be humanly possible but God has worked miracles before...

+ JMJ Although Pope Francis was elected over the space of a few days, his election has been planned for a very long time. The Free-Masons understood (read: Alta-Vendetta), that combat between the Church of Christ and the World / Flesh / Devil is measured on a scale of centuries. No this is not a conspiracy theory post, it is about a frank (abeit brief) review of the roots of the crisis, how they erupted during the Second Vatican Council and how the Church will recover.