Reading Papal Tea Leaves! (Updated - Correcting my type-o's etc)

JMJ

There's been a lot of speculation since Pope Leo XIV was elected as Vicar of Christ, the visible head of the Catholic Church.

Everyone seems to be impatiently trying to see which way Leo wants to take the Church and making a lot of assumptions about the meaning of various actions, assignments made since he was elected.

While I don't know when the process of these decisions started and Pope Leo's involvement, what I do know is that trying to ascribe intentions is like trying to read tea-leaves and just as effective.

What I do know is that the SSPX is going to Rome this summer and like the pilgrimage in 2000, we are at a potential inflection point in the life of the Church. In 2000, Rome saw the SSPX and tradition wasn't stale and dying but full of life. Twenty-five years later, I think we may be approaching a repeat of 2000.

Here's my best-case scenario:

SSPX has a successful pilgrimage,
Roman authorities such as Cardinals or maybe even Pope Leo XIV have a brief introductory meeting,
Discussions restart quietly,
The Canonical Structure and 2012 Agreement are revisited,
A no-compromise structure and agreement are developed,
SSPX comes in from the canonical grey area,
... then I think the real fun will begin - perhaps a real schism.

This may sound like fantasy, but like a time capsule, the 2012 agreement and structure still represent the way-station of the relationship between Rome and the SSPX. So, restarting the work doesn't mean Rome and the SSPX have to go back to 2000. They only need to cover what's happened during the pontificate of Pope Francis ... and a lot has happened.

In particular, we have Traditionis Custodes the revoked Summorum Pontificum and Universae Ecclesiae (SP/UE).

So things to watch for:

Public contacts between Rome and the SSPX (I've been told that there is no contact at this time).
Amendments or repeal of Traditionis Custodes,
Promulgation of a new SP/UE.

Those actions (or contrary ones) will be solid information on what Pope Leo actually intends to do.

Something to pray for in the coming months.

P^3

August 19 - 21, 2025

The last Jubilee when the SSPX went to Rome was the Jubilee of the Year 2000. This pilgrimage to Rome marked a significant event for the Society of Saint Pius X, as it occurred after a period of limited dialogue between the SSPX and the Holy See. The SSPX also participated in the Jubilee of 1975 with its founder, Archbishop Lefebvre. (Google)

https://sspx.org/en/news/worldwide-jubilee-year-pilgrimage-rome-august-2025-49148

https://sspx.org/en/news/vatican-communique-about-sspxs-reply-doctrinal-4555

Comments

A Look Back: A short history of the SSPX

+ JMJ I started a timeline a while back but never finished it. Fortunately, here's one that brings us up to 1994!!! P^3 http://archives.sspx.org/SSPX_FAQs/a_short_history_of_the_sspx-part-1.htm A short history of the SSPX A presentation given by Fr. Ramon Angles in Kansas City, MO, on the 25th Anniversary of the founding of the SSPX and reprinted from the January 1996 issue of The Angelus . Part 1 The history of the Society of St. Pius X begins, of course, in the mind of God. But do not believe that its temporal origin is to be found solely at the time of the post-conciliar crisis. The Society of St. Pius X was made possible ...

Hermeneutic of the Hermeneutic of Continuity - sspx.org

+ JMJ Since I'm looking at the 'four things', I thought this article would be good. Unfortunately, with the new SSPX.org website, I've been unable to locate the original article. This is a copy the I emailed to myself. This is an article that, I believe, was written in response to a conference given by Msgr. Pozzo. P^3

SSPX and the Resistance - A Comparison Of Ecclesiology

Shining the light of Church Teaching on the doctrinal positions of the SSPX and the Resistance. Principles are guides used to aid in decision making. It stands to reason that bad principles will lead to bad decisions. The recent interactions between Rome and the SSPX has challenged a number of closely held cultural assumptions of people in both sides of the disagreement. This has resulted in cultural skirmishes in both Rome and the SSPX. Since it is the smaller of the two, the skirmishes have been more evident within the SSPX. The cultural fault-line that Bishop Fellay crossed appears to be linked to two points of Catholic Doctrine: Ecclesiology and Obedience. The cultural difference of view points is strong enough that it has resulted in the expulsion of a number of members. It should also be noted that some other priests expelled since the beginning of the latest interactions (starting in 2000) held the same view points and have joined with the l...

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3

Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (de fide) - Expanded Listing: Answer for Reader

+ JMJ A reader asked the following question in the 2015 version of the article on the Dogmas of the Catholic Faith (link) : 117: "In the state of fallen nature it is morally impossible for man without Supernatural Revelation, to know easily, with absolute certainty and without admixture of error, all religious and moral truths of the natural order." Where can you find this in the documents of the Church? ( Link to comment ) Here's the reference from Ott: The citation that Ott provided was Denzinger 1786 and the source document is Dogmatic Consitution Concerning the Faith from the First Vatican Council (Papal Encyclicals - link) : Chapter 2 On Revelation, Article 3: It is indeed thanks to this divine revelation , that those matters concerning God, which are not of themselves beyond the scope of human reason, can, even in the present state of the human race, be known by everyone, without difficulty, with firm certitude and with no intermingling of error. Here's ...

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