The Misperceptions of Cardinal Mueller

JMJ

Cardinal Mueller gave an interview recently and gave his opinion on the "situation of the SSPX".

His Eminence puts forward a number of assertions that frankly confused me. So I've marked the assertions and will give my thoughts for each.

JB: The situation of the SSPX remains a pastoral and theological challenge. What, in your judgment, is the most fruitful way for the Church to approach dialogue with the Lefebvrian movement while preserving unity and doctrinal integrity?
CGLM: There have been — and continue to be — endless dialogues with this group, but they simply circle around.

There is no way around recognising the Second Vatican Council as the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church, in accordance with the Catholic hermeneutic and epistemology already fully articulated by Irenaeus of Lyon.[7]
The foolish talk of a “sede vacante” of the Chair of Peter [1],
calls for a revision of the Council [2],
and the claim that the Lefebvrists are the last bastion of true Catholicity must finally come to an end. [3]
Even if they are right to place their finger on the wounds inflicted on the Body of Christ by self-appointed reformers in the style of Modernism, there is never a justification for distancing oneself from the Catholic Church [4]
— even though the Church is a mixture of saints and sinners, as St Augustine emphasised against the strict and self-righteous Donatist sect. Against Petilianus, the highly educated leader of the Donatists, he declared: “It was not we who separated ourselves from you — you separated yourselves from us. You withdrew from communion with the universal Church” (Contra litteras Petiliani II, 38). [5]

Now is the kairos [Right or Critical Moment link] for all Catholics to reunite in the truth of Christ, who in the person of St Peter and his successor — Pope Leo XIV — has established an enduring principle and foundation of unity in faith and sacramental communion (Vatican II, Lumen gentium 18). [6]
Source: Interview: Cardinal Müller on Europe, Islam, the SSPX and the German Synodal Path

Tradicat Reflections

The SSPX is not sedevacantist, so the "sede vacante" statement is incongruent with the actual position of the SSPX.
"Calls for revision of the Council", makes me wonder if there has ever been a council teaching that has been clarified afterwards. The key thing that is different from 1974 is that the SSPX is no longer alone in its criticism of elements of the pastoral teachings of the Second Vatican Council.
I don't know of the SSPX officially stating that it is the "last bastion of true Catholicity". I do know and have met lay people who, particularly decades ago, have made these assertions. As mentioned, as far as I know this is not and has never been the position of the SSPX.
Aside from the disobedience of 1988, it was more of a question of (like today) the Hierarchy wanting the death of everything pre-conciliar.
So ... here's the thing. Like in #4, it wasn't that the SSPX / Traditional Catholics wanted to leave the Church. They wanted to simply hold on to what they had been taught for the decades previous to the Second Vatican Council. It wasn't that we wanted to leave, its that 'they' wanted to push us out.
I agree that we are at, yet another, Kairos moment in this crisis of the Catholic Church and that the Vicar of Christ is Pope Leo XIV. Of course, we've been through this before. The Vicar of Christ is the principle and foundation of the Unity (Faith and Government) of the Catholic Church.
I missed this point. ... As far as I know, the SSPX recognizes that Second Vatican Council as the 21st Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church. That is not the point, it was called by a Pope, attended by the Cardinals and Bishops. What is for discussion is the theological note of the council and its 'teachings'. What elements are simply pastoral and therefore eminently changeable, what elements are infallible. Much of this has been discussed and answered already. So I am again befuddled by Card. Mueller's statements.

So ... Cardinal Mueller makes some unusual statements that don't apply to the SSPX and for a Cardinal are some what surprising in that they don't reflect my understanding / knowledge of the position and history of the SSPX.

Well we know that the SSPX needs more Auxiliary Bishops (I vote for 7) and that the continual rejection of Traditional Catholics as well as Pre-Conciliar Teachings is not a tenable situation.

So we just have to keep praying and working for the Church.

P^3

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...

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