CMTV, Save Us from Celebrity Catholics and Is the SSPX Way the Right Action to Take In the Crisis of the Church? Part 1

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JMJ

 

I am pretty confident that "I was only following orders." will not be a valid excuse when standing before our final judgement.

 

So ... as usual CMTV has put on blinders with regard to the actual SSPX response to this crisis of the Church:

Whether you like it or not, Pope Francis is the pope: The problem with the statement is that it's one that faithful Catholics and schismatics can both read and agree fits within their position. Conservatives will rightly point out ambiguous statements coming from Rome that can be read in both orthodox and heretical lights, depending on the reader, but they must also demand clarity from statements like the one from Bp. Schneider. What do the terms "resist" and "refuse to obey" mean? Church Militant and others would agree with the statement in one sense, while the SSPX and others can easily read the remark as "do whatever you want as long as it fits in with your private understanding of 'tradition.'"https://www.churchmilitant.com/news/article/sedevacantisms-dead-end-road

For clarity, the SSPX neither has a problems with the fact and doctrinal implications that Pope Francis is the Pope, nor does it think a Catholic can "do whatever you want as long as it fits in with your private understanding of 'tradition'.

CMTV goes on to write:

Stated simply: Pope Francis is the pope and must be obeyed and followed by all Catholics who would hope to take part in the beatific vision. No, the pope doesn't have to be obeyed if he tells you to worship an idol or that a woman could be a priest. If "resist" and "disobey" ever did truly apply, this would be a prime example. As Vatican I clearly teaches:

Wherefore we teach and declare that, by divine ordinance, the Roman Church possesses a pre-eminence of ordinary power over every other Church, and that this jurisdictional power of the Roman pontiff is both episcopal and immediate. Both clergy and faithful, of whatever rite and dignity, both singly and collectively, are bound to submit to this power by the duty of hierarchical subordination and true obedience, and this not only in matters concerning faith and morals, but also in those which regard the discipline and government of the Church throughout the world.

I'm happy that CMTV pulled this quote, but unfortunately, they stopped at this point. It sounds a little like proof texting as they went on to write:

The proper response of all Catholics is to pray for the pope. Don't "pray for his conversion," as some Catholic personalities would tell you, implying Francis isn't a real Catholic. The Church's leadership needs our praying, fasting and penances now more than ever. The gates of Hell will not prevail against the Church, but they certainly may prevail against individuals who allow themselves to lose heart in these troubling times.

It is true that the Catholic Church is indefectible, even now is the Ark of Salavation and will remain so to the end of the World.  Tied to this Dogma is that there will be successors of St. Peter to the end of the world.

Well, Pope is definitely promoting errors when he allows the 'divorced' and 'remarried' Catholics to go make sacrilegious Communion.  I could go on and perhaps the Synod on Synodality will provide more explicit examples.  In these the clergy should not be obedient as it is promoting the sin of sacrilege.

I am pretty confident that "I was only following orders." will not be a valid excuse when standing before our final judgement.

So inspite of CMTV's thoughts, I will periodically pray for the conversion of Pope Francis, not because he isn't Catholic, but because his thoughts on many matters strays from Catholic Teaching and in these he is in need of conversion.

I did note that CMTV passed quickly over something when they quoted the First Vatican Council - that there are limits to the Pope's authority.  They said that the Pope doesn't have to be obeyed when he "tells you to worship an idol or that a woman could be a priest."  Well thank you for clarifying the Pacha Mama issue.  

It doesn't stop there. The reality, is that a person in authority must be disobeyed when they order you to commit what would be objectively a sin and perhaps even subjectively if the person truly believed (with a well formed conscience) that what was ordered was s a sin.  

This is called True Obedience and the limits of the obedience are:

1. Faith and Morals: Actual teachings not just utterances on an airplane. This generally means that he has to intend to bind the entire Church not just an individual
   
2. Discipline and Government of the Church: Church Laws, such as abstaining from eating meat on Friday, Canon Law etc.

So, the Pope can't order you to take vows of celibacy, sell you property etc.  He can't even order you to not use an air conditioner.  

At this point, I suspect that the Modern Celebrity Catholics would be freaking out and turning off their car's air conditioner.

So, how has the SSPX been disobedient to the Pope's since their appeal was prevented from being heard by the Secretary of State???

1. Saying the Tridentine Mass (i.e. Latin Mass), saying that it was never abrogated and outlawed.  Their decision and that of other priests persecuted for saying the Mass was vindicated by Pope Benedict XVI.
2. Ignoring the Suspensions etc, in the face of what can only be described as demonic confusion in the Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council and the pleas of the Faithful for the Sacraments and the continual teaching of the Catholic Church. The Salvation of Souls is the supreme law of the Catholic Church.  Perhaps CMTV thought that the crisis only emerged when they starting criticizing bishops and ignored that the problem has started at the top. 
3. Ordaining priest to provide the Sacraments.  (See above)
4. Consecrating Bishops to provide those Sacraments reserved to the Episcopacy. 

Let's Cut the Crap Gordian Knot.

We 'know', thanks to Pope Francis (contradicting Pope Benedict XVI), that the Tridentine Mass is in opposition to what was taught by the Second Vatican Council.  That would create a problem since the Tridentine Mass simply embodies what was taught for hundreds of years prior to the Second Vatican Council.  The implication that the Catholic Church deviated in some serious manner in its Liturgy is shocking.

The problem isn't the Tridentine Mass or the Pre-Conciliar Teaching.  The problem is the 'spirit' of the Second Vatican Council.  A spirit the moves the pope and cleagy of the Catholic Church, to punish and persecute those who simply want to believe what the Catholic Church has always believed and taught. A people who want to worship in a manner that embodies that teaching.

It seems to be that the actual teaching of the Second Vatican Council, which we all know is not the problem, the problem is the 'spirit of the Council'.

If the spirit of the Council encourages false worship, sacrilegious communions; maybe, just maybe the 'spirit' of the Second Vatican Council wasn't the Holy Ghost. Perhaps it was the same spirit to which Pope St. Paul VI was referring when he said the smoke of Satan had entered the Church.

P^3