Who's In Charge? Part 1 of 5 - Introduction

JMJ

Who’s in Charge?

During this crisis of the Catholic Church, I know people who have been scandalized to the point where they ask “Who’s in charge of the Church, but it sure isn’t Pope so-and-so.”

The goal of this article is to provide an solid answer by looking at Church Dogma and Doctine.

N.B. I wrote the majority of this article before – and it turns out even during – Pope Francis’ last agony. So while Pope Francis no longer holds the office of the Vicar of Christ and the See of Peter is truly vacant, the interregnum will be of short duration – inspite of the Sede-Vacantists who claim that the Interregnum has lasted decades or even over a hundred years.

Introduction

So, who's In Charge?

Ultimately God is in Charge and the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity is the Head of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church has a Visible Head on Earth and that person is the Pope. Pope Francis's papacy has been a seminal moment for the Catholic Church and the SSPX. When Pope Benedict almost regularized the SSPX, he experienced the full wrath of the world by picking up the block of plutonium (i.e. Bishop Williamson – RIP), yet he still resisted excommunicating the SSPX, lifted the excommunications and issued Summorum Pontificum.

Francis was a Pope who did what he wanted - irregardless of what others say and the SSPX still has world wide jurisdiction for confession, and the ability for Bishops to give SSPX priests jurisdication for weddings.

So, on the one side he has done more for the SSPX than any other pontiff.

On the other he has enabled the persecution of the Traditional Catholics

Suffice to say, Pope Francis was a complex person, like all other humans. Just because he didn’t operate as we would like doesn't change that. Just like it doesn't change that he was the Vicar of Christ, an unworthy one in my opinion, but who is truly worthy of that office.

This leads us to today's question that many find an unthinkable possibility - that Pope Francis was the Pope.

My approach to this question has been based on the simple premise that if a Sedevacante theory contravenes a Church Dogma or Doctrine - then it has to be rejected. No matter how much we emotionally want this to not be ... it is ... we just have to deal with the reality.

Why?

Dogma's are infallible and if a theory or thesis contradicts this level of teaching, to accept it is to commit the sin of heresy that many ascribe to Pope Francis. So our first goal should be to seek alignment between the Dogma's and that uncomfortable reality .

The same goes for the established Doctrines.

This forces us to seek to understand the teachings of the Church as the Church understands them and not as we pridefully, selfishly and emotionally want to do otherwise. To want to force God to our will is nothing less than the pride of the modernists.

Just as all Catholics are Christians, not all Christians are Catholics. In a same way All Dogmas are Doctrine, but not all Doctrines are Dogmas. So the first question is to understand the grades of uncertainty, followed by the relevant Dogmas and Doctines (ie. Teaching of the Catholic Church).

As usual, my primary reference for this will be Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, by Dr. Ludwig Ott (Imprimatur 7 October 1954). While there are, I believe, a couple more recent editions, I am relying on the imprimatur that there are no substantive errors.

Comments

The myth of the Hermeneutic of Continuity - Rorate Caeli

+ JMJ Interestingly the complete acceptance of the Second Vatican Council (without reservations) is required of the SSPX. Just when people are starting to wonder how it came to this! Courtesy of Rorate Caeli P^3

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 ...

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...

Canonical Mission and State of Emergency - A Response to Mr. John Salza - Part B

+ JMJ I was trying to think of a way to map out the time course I discussed in Part A of this article. Early this morning it came to me that this is more about obedience and duty than canon law. As is my wont, I mapped out my thoughts (see image) to draw linkages between the core concepts. My conclusion is that, at least subjectively, Archbishop Lefebvre had sufficient information to make good decisions concerning whether or not he was obliged to obey. I know that the Jesuits, some Sedevacantists and the priests that left over the years will not agree with my thoughts. So be it. The core pieces of information include: Attacks against the SSPX were launched because they kept the Tridentine Mass and the pre-conciliar understanding of the Truths of the Faith. The authorities in the Church were willing to go against the laws of the Church. The same authorities encouraged the various dangers to the Faith embedded in popular interpretations of ambiguo...

Validity of new rite of episcopal consecrations - Courtesy of SSPX.org

+ JMJ In the blogosphere there are number of responses to this crisis in the Catholic Church that lead to conclusions that run counter to Catholic Doctrine and Dogmas - if taken to their logical conclusion. The validity of the New Rite of Episcopal consecrations is one such hotspot within more extreme sections of the 'traditionalist' culture. Validity of new rite of episcopal consecrations Courtesy of SSPX.org Why the new rite of episcopal consecration is valid Introduction This comprehensive study was compiled to settle a debate that has been circulating in traditional Catholic circles. Some writers have examined the new rite of episcopal consecration and concluded that it must be invalid. Since this would cause manifest problems if it were true and due to the heightened awareness of such a theory, we present a study of this question concluding that it is valid. Following the Council, in 1968 a new rite for the ordination of bishops was promulg...

Tradicat

Search This Blog