Tradicat

+ JMJ I just checked my 'Tradical' email and noted an email from Louie Verrecchio.  Its title was enough that I became curious about what he was up to ... While I'm not certain if we need another 'Traditional Catholic' newspaper, I was interested in the contributor listing: With an impressive line-up of trustworthy contributors like Fr. Vidko Podržaj, Cornelia Ferreira, Dr. Peter Chojnowski, Randy Engel and others, The Catholic Inquisitor is committed to defending Catholic tradition – every issue, every month – without compromise. Can you guess which one I found of interest?  Dr. Peter Chojnowski Because he is trying to 'prove' his conspiracy theory concerning Sister Lucy - namely that, like the 1980s theory that Pope Paul VI was 'swapped out' with a double, that Sister Lucy was replaced by a 'double'. To demonstrate this he is trotting out a number of expert opinions that confirm his theory. I find it laughable that he...

+ JMJ Mr. McCall makes the essential point: The Ecclesia Dei commission was setup for those who acquiesced to the mantra . It would appear that, if they abolish the commission, that it has outlived its usefullness. P^3 Courtesy of Catholic Family News and Rorate-Caeli URGENT: Ecclesia Dei Commission for the Latin Mass to be extinguished? Messa in Latino reports (and the information is also relayed by Vaticanist Marco Tosatti ) that the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" (PCED), the Vatican body in charge of matters related to the Traditional Latin Mass and of negotiations with traditional groups (in particular the Society of Saint Pius X), is set to be abolished shortly, according to highly credible sources Its functions would be completely amalgamated and absorbed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), to which it has been closely linked since the beginning, and in particular since July 2008, when the Prefect of CDF w...

+ JMJ While I personally doubt that Pope Francis will set aside the mantra , it is interesting how Come de Prévigny outlines the legitimacy provided to the SSPX. All this as Rome destroys other traditional orders. We do live in interesting times. P^3 Source: Rorate-Caeli The Vatican and the Society of St. Pius X: Prospects for 2019 (Guest Post) by Côme de Prévigny The visit this past November of Father Davide Pagliarani, new Superior-General of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), to the Ecclesia Dei Commission in Rome has revived the everlasting matter of the relations between the Holy See and the society founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, raising speculations on the possibility of having this body officially recognized by the Vatican. Inquiring minds wonder if a tendency that wants regularization or not has assumed command of the SSPX. Here and there, a commentator strives to know if doctrinal agreements should be reached before consid...

+ JMJ I noticed that Dr. Lamont has posted a follow-up article on the infallibility of canonizations. Given this new article, I thought it would be a good idea to widen the perspective with a better version of the email that I posted a few weeks ago . Now I know that I am not a license theologian, as is Dr. Lamont ,and I am quite confident that he would dismiss my thoughts with a "he has no standing on this topic". Which would be partly correct and partly incorrect. Even someone with no standing can point out the issues that I believe Dr. Lamont fails to adequately address or only does so in an off handed manner.  So, for the record, I have attached a modified version of my article . I would like to draw your attention to one assertion that Dr. Lamont makes: Many supporters of the infallibility of canonizations have argued that it is impossible for a canonisation to be in error, because the public veneration of someone in the liturgy who is in fact no...

+ JMJ December 24 Yesterday we talked about how the Greeks took over Judea, and how the Machabees fought the Greek Seleucids. Judah Machabeus and his brothers belonged to the Hasmonean family. The Hasmoneans continued to rule Judea and for some time, Judea was independent. The territory of Judea expanded northward to include 2 non-Jewish regions; Sumeria and Idumaea. During this time, the Jews were mainly concerned with keeping their independence, and the purity of the Jewish religion.  The Pharisees and the Saducees came into existence, as well as the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was a council of 71 Jewish leaders who made important decisions. Meanwhile, the Roman Empire had grown very powerful. So far, Judea was on friendly terms with Rome, but things were about to change. The leader of Judea died and his 2 s...

+ JMJ December 23 We have seen how the Persians, under Cyrus the Great took over the Chaldean Empire. King Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Judea,their homeland, and rebuild the Temple at Jerusalem. The Persians went on to conquer most of the known world. They took over Egypt, putting an end to the dynasty of the great Pharaohs. India also became a Persian province. The Persians tried to take over Greece as well, but they were defeated at the battle of Marathon. (This victory was remembered by the Greeks with the Marathon races.) The Persians ruled for many years, but eventually their empire came to an end. A young man named Alexander the Great led armies out of Greece and in a few short years, he took over the civilized world. In 331 B.C. the Greeks took over Judea and Judea became a Greek province. Many Jews moved to A...

+ JMJ December 22 In the year 539 B.C. King Cyrus the Great and his Persian armies took over Babylon. The Jews had been captive in Babylon for 58 years since the Chaldeans forced them to go there in 597 B.C.  The Jews had a prophecy; “I am the Lord, that make all things…that raise up the word of My servant, and perform the counsel of My messengers, who say to Jerusalem: Thou shalt be inhabited: and to the cities of Juda: You shall be built, and I will raise up the wastes thereof…Who say to Cyrus: Thou art My shepherd, and thou shalt perform all My pleasure. Who say to Jerusalem: Thou shalt be built: and to the temple: thy foundations shall be laid.” (Isaias 44:24-28) Thus read the prophecy which was written by the prophet Isaias, more than 70 years before the Jews were taken captive to Babylon, and more than 110 years before Cyrus was born! ...

+ JMJ Bishop Fellay gives some perspectives on the last 24 years. I think it is safe to say that the Church as a whole owes him a debt of gratitude for adhering to the principles of the Catholic Church and Archbishop Lefebvre. After all the principles of one and the same. P^3

+ JMJ December 21 Yesterday, we read how the Jews were taken into captivity by the Chaldeans and forced to live in Babylon. King Darius of Babylon liked Daniel very much and wanted to put him in charge of his kingdom. Others were jealous of Daniel and they looked for a way to get rid of him. Using flattery, they got the king to make a law forbidding anyone to pray except to the king for 30 days. Anyone caught disobeying the king’s law would be thrown to the lions. When Daniel went to pray to God, the jealous men brought Daniel before the king. Then the king knew he had been tricked into killing his friend, but he prayed that Daniel’s God would deliver him. The next morning, King Darius hurried to the den and Daniel answered him that an angel of the Lord had shut up the mouths of the lions. The king was “exceeding glad” and c...

+ JMJ December 20  In our study of Old Testament history, we’ve seen how after the reign of Solomon, the Hebrew people divided into 2 kingdoms. 10 tribes broke away and formed the Kingdom of Israel in the north. Their king, Jeroboam, did not want his people to go to Jerusalem to worship God, so he set up the golden calf idols at Bethel and Dan. The kingdom of Israel was eventually taken over by the Assyrians and the people were forced to leave their homes. They were dispersed all over the world, becoming the “Lost Tribes of Israel”. The other kingdom was the Kingdom of Judah. The Kingdom of Judah was made up of 2 tribes; Judah and Benjamin. The Assyrians tried to take over Judah as well, but as we read yesterday, Judith killed the Assyrian general, Holophernes and for some time they were left in peace. The Assyrian...

+ JMJ I had heard of Count Capponi over the years and was happy to hear a voice crying in the wilderness. I suspect that his conscience was clearer than many. This part of the article caught my attention: Capponi defended the right of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre to continue his work without the label “schismatic,” which term Capponi rejected, saying: “You cannot apply the standards of the new code of canon law and the mentality of the old code. According to the new code, Lefebvre could do what he did with a Catholic intention, and he did what he did in ‘sincerity’ and invoked the ‘state of emergency’ argument, which the new code permits. You might not like the new code, but it’s what governs the Church.” I know a few people who tried to stir up a fuss when the SSPX cited the New Code in one of the documents with Rome.  Yet, the truth is what it is --- the New Code was promulgated by a reigning Pope and flawed as it is ... there are some benefits to its liberality. ...

+ JMJ December 19 So the Assyrians conquered the kingdom of Israel and the 10 tribes became known as the “Lost Tribes of Israel”. For many years the Assyrians were the strongest nation in the world. Their capital city was Ninive. The Assyrians spent their time fighting wars and destroying other countries. In 650 B.C. , about 70 years after Israel was overrun, the Assyrian king told his general, Holofernes to take over the kingdoms of the west, and destroy all other gods so that he might be the god of the world. Holophernes led an army of 120 000 soldiers, and 12 000 archers and horsemen as well as flocks of sheep and countless camels and provisions so that they covered the earth like locusts. (Jud 2:11) The Assyrians wreaked havoc and destruction. They killed men, women and children or sold them into slavery. They lev...

+ JMJ December 18 Yesterday we talked about how the Assyrians took over the kingdom of Israel. Israel, you remember, was made up of the 10 tribes of Israel in the north, who broke away during the reign of King Solomon's son, Roboam. Because the Temple of Jerusalem was in the kingdom of Judea in the south, however, the other tribes would not go there to worship as God commanded. Instead they set up false gods at the places of Bethel and Dan. Over the years, God sent prophets to bring His people back, but in the end, the Assyrians took over Israel. Not all Israelites worshiped false gods, though. At the same time that the Assyrians were taking over Israel (722 B.C.), there lived a man named Tobias. He was of the Hebrew tribe and city of Nephtali. Tobias did not worship the golden calves at Bethel and Dan. He ...