Pope Francis' Next Steps

JMJ

Earlier this week there was a little storm about the questions that Pope Francis put to Cardinal Muller during his dismissal audience (one peter five: before the dismissal).

Here are the five questions:

Are you in favor of, or against, a female diaconate?
Are you in favor of, or against, the repeal of celibacy?
Are you in favor of, or against, female priests?
Are you willing to defend Amoris Laetitia?
Are you willing to retract your complaint concerning the dismissal of three of your own employees?

Now, I suspect that people will want to believe that Pope Francis wants deaconesses, married priests, priestesses, people to receive communion in an objective state of mortal sin.

This may very well be true - but we don't "know" that at this point in time.

What we do know is that the first four pontifical dubia resonate very well with the agenda of the world.

I like the SSPX's response to the mantra:

Confronted with these questions, those having a pythonical [prophetic] spirit (Acts 16:16) will make predictions. For our part, we will be content to wait for the facts and to look at their effects.

So just remember:

P^3

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The Catholic Church and the Rule of Law- Part II: Dr. John Lamont

+ JMJ This is the second article from Dr. Lamont from his lecture given in May 2014. P^3 Source Part A: Society of St. Hugh of Cluny Source Part B: Society of St. Hugh of Cluny 8 May2014 The Catholic Church and the Rule of Law- Part II By John Lamont To understand how the Jesuit conception of obedience departed from earlier conceptions, it is helpful to compare it with the teaching of St. Thomas on obedience. The fundamental difference between the two is that St. Thomas considers the proper object of obedience to be the precept of the superior (2a2ae q. 104 a. 2 co., ad 3). Obedience that seeks to forestall the expressed will of the superior does not bear on what the superior wants or thinks in general, but only on what the superior intends to command. St. Ignatius’s lowest degree of obedience, which he does not consider to be virtuous, is thus what St. Thomas considers to be the only form of obedience. St. Thomas holds that St. Ignatius’s alleged higher forms of o...

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

News Roundup: June 13, 2026

+ JMJ So the world continues to spin and break apart - metaphorically. One item that I think I forgot to mention was that the Catholic Family News ceased publication (link) . I met John Vennari at the seminary in Winona where after some discussion he gave me permission to repost articles. That CFN carried on for eight years after his passing is a testimony to the need for good reporting and articles. I still have over a dozen of his CDs and his ability to see the crisis for what it was and yet be grateful was an example worth following. Along this line of thinking, you'll notice a few links from articles posted on Unam Catholicam. This blog / website is run by an Philip Campbell and provides clear thinking on many topics. I respect his thoughts on the SSPX - even though I don't necessarily agree with many - I can respect his opinions on the matter. NB: This roundup contains some articles that are against Traditionalism and the SSPX. It is always good to have an idea of what...

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

How is the SSPX prepared to accept the Second Vatican Council??? - Reblogged and Updated.

+ JMJ The Archbishop remained steadfast. In the 1980s, in his correspondence with then-Cardinal Ratzinger, Archbishop Lefebvre stated his position that the criterion for interpreting Vatican II in light of Tradition comprises three elements: 1) He and the SSPX would accept anything in Vatican II that is clearly consistent with Tradition; 2) Any ambiguous texts of Vatican II must be interpreted strictly according to Tradition; according to the consistent teaching of the Church throughout the centuries. 3) Anything in the Council that cannot be interpreted according to Tradition should be revised. The Archbishop laid this out explicitly in his letters to Cardinal Ratzinger in 1982 and 1985. CF News: Rome-SSPX: Background to the Doctrinal Discussions CF News: The April 15 Deadline A few years ago Tony La Rosa (aka ecclesia militans a Toronto based 'resistor') had a difficult time accepting this approach to the council. He held that it must be completely tossed as...

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