SSPX and Fr. McLucas

JMJ

So Church Militant is at it again - trolling the trads with an article that prove that the SSPX is "sheltering predators".

So let's look a the fundamental claim made by CM via their free-lancer:

Indulgence [shown by Rome] now being shown towards the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) by Church authorities can allow priests suspended from ministry on account of sexual immorality to function under the cover of quasi-legitimacy should they choose to associate themselves with the renegade organization. ... This is not just a theoretical possibility. It is already happening in the case of Fr. James McLucas.

So the first question is ... what is the crime of Fr. McLucas? Ultimately, he was accused of sexual and physical abuse. Now there are two things to consider here (beyond the Fr. Perrone vs Fr. McLucas parallels):

This single accusation was settled out of court. Meaning while we know the accusations, we don't know if it is true.
The lady involved was over the age of consent. To be specific in her 20's.

So ... even if true, the accusation that Fr. McLucas is a predator is way off the mark and Fr. McLucas is, at worst, a priest who fell into a 'natual' sin, and that is unproved.

Again, this is simply a case of Baresel trolling the trads.

So the next question ... is the SSPX sheltering him? In other words, does he live with them for a long period of time. Is he a member of the SSPX? Along these lines Baresel makes the accusation that:

Suspended from his priestly functions by the archdiocese of New York, McLucas turned to the SSPX, with which he was working by October 2016. ... SSPX priest Nicholas Stamos informed me by phone on July 18 that McLucas is still participating in the organization's work.

It would have been nice if Baresel had dug a little deeper to see the depth of the relationship between Fr. McLucas and the SSPX. Saying that Fr. McLucas works with the SSPX is far different than occasionally helping.

Fundamentally, Fr. McLucas isn't a member of the SSPX, he only visits periodically. Baresel's piece is simply sloppy click bait that implies much and proves nothing.

So what are they trying to do?

Simply two-way guilt by association:

SSPX is guilty for associating with Fr. McLucas,
Fr. McLucas is guilty for associating with the SSPX.

For a change, I have included links to CM's articles as an example of trolling, half-truths and inuendoes.

I have also included a link to Connecticut Catholic Corner for a sanity check from a non-SSPXer who asks all the right questions!

P^3

Links

Church Militant: Original Article - Is the SSPX shetering a sexual predator?

SSPX: Press release concerning Church Militant Article

Church Militant: Original Article Author response

Church Militant: Response to SSPX press release

Connecticut Catholic Corner Response

Comments

The myth of the Hermeneutic of Continuity - Rorate Caeli

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Of the Church and the Pope - Fr. Calmel O.P.

+ JMJ Once again, looking back to see if the 'Traditional Catholics' in the early days of this crisis of the Church had a sufficient view to realize the roots of the crisis. The root: The Pope Hence when the Pope is 'righted' the Church will be 'righted'. P^3 Courtesy of SSPXasia Fr. Roger Calmel, O.P. This essay by Fr. Roger Calmel, O.P. (1914-75) helps us in these difficult times to preserve our love of the Church. More than 30 years after its first publication, this article retains all its relevance, so much so that it even seems to have been written for our time, in which the crisis in the Church deepens at an unprecedented pace. This essay will help the reader to think clearly, keep the Faith, and maintain serenity in the troubled times we are navigating. “My country has hurt m e,”wrote a young poet in 1944 during the purge 1 when the head of state [Charles De Gaulle] implacably pursued the sinister job that had been in the wo...

A Look Back: Archbishop Lefebvre’s Prophetic Address to The Remnant, 1976

+ JMJ Looking back is important to understand why we are where we are in this crisis. Courtesy of RemnantNewsPaper P^3 FOR THE FIRST TIME ONLINE: Archbishop Lefebvre’s Prophetic Address to The Remnant, 1976 Written by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre Introduction by Michael J. Matt More than forty years ago—during the disastrous reign of Pope Paul VI, the latest candidate for a Vatican-issued Halo Award, by the way—my father, Walter L. Matt, organized the first large scale public reception in the U.S. for the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. It was held at the Radisson South Hotel, Minneapolis, on Tuesday, May 12, 1976, and its stated purpose was to assist the Archbishop in gaining a stronger foothold for the Society of St. Pius X in the States during the unprecedented crisis Blessed Pope Paul had helped unleash on the Church. On that occasion Archbishop Lefebvre delivered ...

Benefit of the Doubt

+ JMJ Introduction !!! From my point of view and based on my understanding of the events !!! At this point it seems that Cardinal Fernandez et al are either malicious, incompetent or geniuses. I'm only partly kidding ... Aside from the surprisingly magnanimous action of Pope Francis providing the SSPX priest with faculties for confession and ability to witness marriages, there has been a long silence between Rome and the SSPX with little or no formal talks or discussions regarding the SSPX state of canonical limbo. While the FSSP et al were able to meet with Pope Leo XIV, while requests from the SSPX went unanswered ... that is until after the latest unanswered request they announced the date for the consecration of four new bishops. Only then did the Vatican apparatus lumber into motion. A meeting was held and the speed with which the Vatican issued its press release - within hours of the meeting's conclusion - felt to me like a pre-planned attempt at manipulation that fell s...

Rome,the SSPX and this time of Crisis - Updated

+ JMJ Obviously there's lots of events right now. First we have the April 1st - I almost thought it was April Fools - meeting between Pope Francis and Bishop Fellay. Nothing really news worthy as this is a natural progression as Rome appears to be considering fulfilling Archbishop Lefebvre's wish to 'accept us as we are'. Second we have the April 8th publication of what will be a verbose exhortation of the Synod of the Family. I'm willing to bet that the Pope will give with one hand (unilateral regularization of SSPX) and take with the other (ambiguous document that opens the flood gates of sin further). Much to pray for. P^3

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