Refresher on Catholic Obedience

JMJ

I believe that the root of the crisis of the Catholic Church is disobedience to some form of authority.

The Protestants revolted against the Pope and the Church - denying Dogmas and casting aside much of the 'artefacts' of the Catholic Faith. All they have left are vestiges.

The modernists revolted against the Teaching Authority of the Catholic Church, undermining Divine Revelation and as a result denied core Dogmas of the Catholic Faith. This revolt emerged in full light at the Second Vatican Council and we've been suffering its effects every since!

The Popes, starting even under Pius XII gave way to innovations that, as a pebble starts an avalanche, ended in a revolt against the authority of Tradition in the Catholic Church. With the erosion of the authority of the Church, anarchy soon followed and the bastions against heresy were razed to the ground.

This is the phase in which we now strive to save our souls.

Re-establishing Catholic Obedience in the Church will be a big step towards emerging from this crisis.

First,what is obedience?

Obedience (Lat. obêdire, "to hearken to", hence "to obey") is the complying with a command or precept.
Stress is put upon the fact that one not only does what is actually enjoined, but does it with a mind to formally fall in with the will of the commander. It is in other words the homage rendered to authority which ranks it as a distinct virtue
As to whom we are to obey, there can be no doubt that first we are bound to offer an unreserved service to Almighty God in all His commands
On the other hand the obligation to obedience to superiors under God admits of limitations. We are not bound to obey a superior in a matter which does not fall within the limits of his preceptive power
Neither can a superior claim our obedience in contravention to the dispositions of higher authority.
We cannot heed the behests of any human power no matter how venerable or undisputed as against the ordinances of God.
All authority ... has its source in Him and cannot be validly used against Him. It is the recognition of the authority of God vicariously exercised through a human agent that confers upon the act of obedience its special merit.
Source: Catholic Encyclopedia

So what does obedience involve???

A superior vested with authority, who gives an order to a subject and the subject's decision to obey, disobey / disregard the order.

It is literally a chain of:

Authority → Superior → Order → Subject → Obey / Disobey / Disregard

The decision to obey / disobey or disregard an order depends on the nature of order and the sphere of authority of the superior. The order is either inside or outside the sphere of authority granted to the superior. Second, it either involves sin or not.

So looking at the chain of events we can come to a few conclusions:

Authority → Superior → Order → Subject → Obey / Disobey / Disregard

The matrix makes the decision making process clear and simple based on two questions:

Is the order in or outside the superiors sphere of authority? (yes / no)
Is the order sinful in either the immediate or proximate sense? (yes / no)

If an order is within the sphere or authority and does not involve sin (immediate or proximate), then the subject has an obligation to obey.

If the order is outside the sphere of authority and does not involve sin, then obedience is optional. St. Thomas labels to obey in such a situation as Perfect Obedience.

If the order would require the subject to commit sin (proximate or immediate) then they must disregard the order even if it was within the sphere of authority.

Note the difference between disregard vs disobey. I believe that you cannot disobey a sinful order because it isn't a licit order, so you simply disregard such an order.

So ... I've tried to make this as simple as possible. I have added links below to the other obedience series on Tradicat.

So remember to ...

P^3

Tradicat Obedience Series:
Series - Obedience
Series - True Obedience
Series - Breaking Down St. Thomas' Teaching on Obedience
SSPX.ca: True-obedience-the-mark-of-a-faithful-catholic

The Curious Case of Steve Skojec and the Dangers of Deep Diving into the Crisis Sub-Titled: The Failings of Others

+ JMJ It's been a while now since Steve Skojec sold 1P5 and abandoned the Catholic Faith. I've been a 'Trad' since 1982 and in those 40+ years I seen this death-spiral before with a similar end point. It seems that anyone who jumps into the fray unprepared for the enormous task of righting wrongs will, eventually, become discouraged by not the task but the people who surround them. I remember when Skojec complained of the treatment his family received from a traditional priest. This seems to have been the start of the end for him. So what can we learn from the likes of Steve Skojec, Michael Voris (maybe?), Louie Verrecchio, Gerry Matatix and other celebrity Catholics? Probably quite a lot about what not to do. First, don't burn out on the crisis? When you burn out, on work or anything else, little things assume a more greater importance than they are due. This is one of my 'canary in the coal mine' signals that I've been stretching myself too th...

Communique about Avrille Dominicans - SSPX.org

+ JMJ Having completed the review of the 'Avrille' perspective, this communique from the French District Superior is perfectly timed. I believe that the 'resistance' has lost rationality and further argumentation simply results in their holding on to their false ideal all the more firmly. Pray much ... First, for them to acquiesce to the grace of humility in order to obtain a clear perspective on the principles involved. Second, that we may remain faithful to the Church, and Her Dogmas, Doctrines and Principles. Lest we become that which against we strove ... P^3 Courtesy of SSPX.org

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

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A Reply to Martin Blackshaw’s FLAWED Remnant article titled: FLAWED: SSPX Advice on Abortion-tainted Vaccines

+ JMJ An article has appeared in the Remnant (link to article) and I am afraid that there are a number of flaws in it that need to be addressed. The author, Martin Blackshaw, believes that both the Church and the SSPX are misapplying the principle of Moral Theology called 'Cooperation In Evil'. Unfortunately, Mr. Blackshaw rests most of his arguments on citing authors that support his position, without considering the possibility that they are wrong. This highlights a key factor in this crisis: ignorance of the faith and its application . I don't am not singling out Mr. Blackshaw for this criticism, I have observed that it applies to laity and religious, superior and subject a like. No one seems immune in this enduring crisis, myself included. I further believe that this ignorance is why so many Catholics, both traditional and non, rely on their gut feeling or "Catholic conscience" for charting their way through this crisis of the faith. While...

Magisterium and Levels of Assent

+ JMJ Understanding the levels of assent to be given to the teachings of the Church is a critical success factor in walking the knife's edge during this crisis of the Church. The levels of assent are generally associated with the theological grades of certainty, which are not surprisingly mirrored by the censures for contravening the teachings of the various levels.

Tradicat

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