Tradicat

 + JMJ As long as you are ok with what happens in other Catholic Churches, Traditional Catholics will be left 'alone'.  This is a paraphrase of words spoken by an Archbishop to Traditional Catholics (with a sprinkling of SSPX) who had requested the Traditional Latin Mass under Summorum Pontificum. This reflects that attitude of the Church towards anyone who takes issue with some of the ambiguities of Vatican II and the post-conciliar magisterium.  If you reject the papacy but are ok with V2, the New Mass, and what Rome has stated since 1965 - then you are welcome. Question some of the more abiguous statements and ask for Rome to realise that a circle is not a square - then you are in for a world of hurt. This is where the SSPX exists and has existed from almost its very first moments. Pointing out contradictions with previous magisterium is not acceptable - under any condition. Why? Because it will cause the whole V2 house of cards to fall. I guess only when the contradic...

 + JMJ Introduction First, a little background on the FSSP St. John Vianney Chapel in Mission Hill Kansas.  After the 1988 consecrations and the foundation of the FSSP there was a consistent trend of Dioceses allowing the SSPX to run chapels and churches near SSPX locations. As with any 'organizational change' there were those who didn't agree with the change and no longer sought the sacraments from the SSPX. I heard from friends that in that era there was a lot of anger and tension (on both sides) between the St. Mary's SSPX and Mission Hill FSSP.  Second, there have been caricatures of the SSPX position (some are evident below) in which personal opinions of SSPX priests and laity are taken as the official position or conflated with those of sedevacantists or 'resistance'. Recent Perspectives of the SSPX Position In the shadow of the consecrations a fever pitch accusations and opinions how surfaced - many of which include caricatures of the SSPX positions, of w...

 + JMJ I came to Tradition a few years after they had bought a chapel. My wife told me of the earlier years when Fr. Normandin would come to town and Mass would be held in a room at the convention centre.  He'd start by blessing the room and then proceed with Mass. This went on for a while before the one of the faithful found a small hall that would suit just fine. They pooled their money and bought the building.  Then came the work as the retiree's refinished the floor, setup the sactuary. Oh, did I mention that I heard that the hall had been used by a motorcycle gang? The floor needed a lot of work.  I remember seeing pictures of the founders working to make the hall into a fitting place for the Sacrifice of the Mass. That little chapel would be a refuge like many others serviced by Fr. Normandin.  From Thunderbay, Ontrario to Nanaimo, British Columbia - the SSPX chapels are all the results of Fr. Normandin's missionary work in those desperate times. Without h...

 + JMJ Update: Dr. Lamont, in a Rorate article (link) , pointed out that : It is notable that the profession does not reject any text of the Second Vatican Council, but only states that the influence of the Council promoted deviations from the faith. Catholics may hold that the influence of an ecumenical council was noxious in some respects. It is only the authoritative teachings of a council that demand their assent; they do not have to approve of all the historical results that it led to. One may, for example, reasonably hold that the definitions of papal infallibility and universal jurisdiction of the First Vatican Council led to an exaggerated and harmful conception of papal power, while accepting the definitions themselves. Further what the SSPX actually wrote (link) : I acknowledge in particular that modern errors represent a dreadful threat to the whole of the Catholic order, and that their penetration into the life of the Church, under the influence of the Second Vatican ...

 + JMJ We have 50+ years of history to plumb for an understanding of how we arrived as this point in the life of the Catholic Church and the conflict with the SSPX and Traditional Catholics in general. This article from 2023 provided some additional insight in a way I hadn't seen previously in the SSPX publications. P^3 Courtesy of SSPX.org   sspx.org - 03/23/2023

 + JMJ In light of the consecrations and confusion over the SSPX, I thought this would be a helpful reminder. Keep in mind what prompted this declaration (highlighted). P^3 Courtesy of SSPX.org 1974 Declaration of Archbishop Lefebvre The famous "1974 Declaration" of Archbishop Lefebvre was an affirmation of the Catholic Faith in response to the Modernist crisis afflicting the post-conciliar Church. On November 21, 1974 Archbishop Lefebvre, s candalized by the opinions expressed by the two Apostolic Visitors, drew up for his seminarians "in a spirit of indignation" this famous declaration as his stand against Modernism. Ten days before, two Apostolic Visitors from Rome arrived at the St. Pius X Seminary in Econe. During their brief stay, they spoke to the seminarians and professors, maintaining scandalous opinions such as, the ordination of married men will soon be a normal thing, truth changes with the times, and the traditional conception of the Resurrection of Our...

 + JMJ I am often surprised by the list of the week's most popular articles. Today was no different. Top 2 and a recent favorite: A Look Back: Archbishop Lefebvre’s Prophetic Address to The Remnant, 1976 The myth of the Hermeneutic of Continuity - Rorate Caeli Canonical Mission and State of Emergency - A Response to Mr. John Salza - Part B There is a constant change in the popular articles but one thing for certain is that Tradicat hits sync up with key events in the Catholic world. ... for those wondering ... no this blog is not monetized. P^3

 + JMJ Introduction !!! From my point of view and based on my understanding of the events !!! At this point it seems that Cardinal Fernandez et al are either malicious, incompetent or geniuses. I'm only partly kidding ... Aside from the surprisingly magnanimous action of Pope Francis providing the SSPX priest with faculties for confession and ability to witness marriages, there has been a long silence between Rome and the SSPX with little or no formal talks or discussions regarding the SSPX state of canonical limbo. While the FSSP et al were able to meet with Pope Leo XIV, while requests from the SSPX went unanswered ... that is until after the latest unanswered request they announced the date for the consecration of four new bishops. Only then did the Vatican apparatus lumber into motion. A meeting was held and the speed with which the Vatican issued its press release - within hours of the meeting's conclusion - felt to me like a pre-planned attempt at manipulation that fell s...

 + JMJ Years (ok decades) ago I received the book The Practice of The Presence of God by Brother Lawrence ( wiki ) as a gift. When I finally did read the book (it is not long), it did affect my spiritual life and with the recent turmoil over the SSPX consecrations, I concluded that I should look into it once more by recounting events and decisions in my life that are linked to the book. The Conversation First, is the interiour conversation with God. Prayer is part of this, but it becomes something less structured and habitual in the Presence of God.  In fact, when visiting a neighbour and he mentioned something about his past, I 'heard' a repeated - almost shouting - voice telling me to ask the question that popped into my mind. Once I thought, "Ok I will", the pleading stopped. In a gap in the discussion I asked the question and, instead of being offended it led to a deep conversation about their past. So listening is part of the practice, one which I need to work on...

 + JMJ On July 14 the SSPX published a timeline describing communications with Rome leading up to the Episcopal consecrations. This timeline includes contacts that were new to me.  One thing that is of interest are recent claims made by ++Pozzo that the SSPX broke off relations in 2018 (link)  which is the reason for the timeline. P^3 Courtesy of SSPX.org Despite widespread reporting in Catholic and secular sources concerning the July 1, 2026, episcopal consecrations, many news outlets, bloggers, and “social media personalities” continue to distort the timeline leading up to this momentous event. The claim that the Society of Saint Pius X never attempted to engage Rome prior to the consecrations is patently false. Further, little attention has been paid to the reality that Rome continues to demand full-throated acceptance of the Second Vatican Council as the conditio sine qua non for not just canonical regularization, but membership in the Catholic Church. November 22, 20...

 + JMJ A letter from the SSPX Superiour General was read from the pulpit this morning and the french version can be found here: La Port Latine  and the english version here: FSSPX.News . For the record (because of link rot) I have reproduced both versions below. P^3 French Bien chers fidèles, Quelques jours après la cérémonie du 1er juillet, je tiens à vous adresser ces quelques mots. Je souhaite tout d’abord vous remercier. Depuis plusieurs années, je priais la très sainte Vierge afin qu’elle prépare les cœurs à cet événement historique. J’avoue avoir été profondément touché de voir comment, tous, vous avez accompagné les sacres épiscopaux par votre prière et votre gratitude envers la divine Providence. Le 1er juillet, de nombreux fidèles du monde entier étaient présents à Écône, et ils vous représentaient tous. Ce fut une immense joie de les voir si nombreux et si fervents. Comme vous le savez certainement, un orage s’est produit pendant la cérémonie : « Devant l’éclat de s...

 + JMJ There is a feeling that before the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church had a solid understanding of its place in the world, its mission and its identity. Then we had the Second Vatican Council and in the turmoil that followed practically everything was subject to explosive decompression.  Muchw as thrown out the window opened by Pope John XXIII, followed by the Smoke of Satan entering the vacuum left behind as per Pope Paul VI. Now it seems that there is only one thing that cannot be tolerated in the Catholic Church, anything that reminds Catholics of the Catholic Church as it existed pre-council.  As some have labelled it, the pre-conciliar Church. Even Pope Benedict XVI experienced this rabid reaction ( see Rorate-Caeli for full text ).  At times one gets the impression that our society needs to have at least one group to which no tolerance may be shown; which one can easily attack and hate. And should someone dare to approach them – in this case the...

 + JMJ Lots happening this month ... so instead of just the list of articles that popped above the noise, I have includes some commentary on two of the articles, the regular news list and a chatGPT summary on the validity of Orthodox Sacraments. P^3 Commentary on Articles of Note As to be expected, there has been a veritable media storm preceding and following the SSPX consecration of four bishops. Everyone seems to have an opinion, some factual, some not so much. Two that caught my attention were the: Chancellor for canonical affairs in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis (link)   Susan Mulheron: “What they were doing was not just refusing the liturgical adaptations that had been made, but they were refusing the whole teaching authority of that council,”  Tradicat: As usual there are distinctions that are not being made.  The first the teaching authority of the Second Vatican Council was defined at the end of the council (link)   (Fisheater link2) ...

 + JMJ A little late getting this one out. P^3 Sources https://onepeterfive.com/review-of-bishop-athanasius-schneiders-core-question-regarding-sspx/ https://dianemontagna.substack.com/p/exclusive-bishop-schneider-sets-out Introduction EXCLUSIVE: Bishop Schneider Sets Out “Core Question” in SSPX Episcopal Consecration Debate “At its core, the conflict revolves around the question of truth.” DIANE MONTAGNA JUN 04, 2026 (Photo credit: Voice of the Family) ROME, 4 June 2026 — With the Society of St. Pius X set to proceed with episcopal consecrations on July 1, Bishop Athanasius Schneider has published a new statement arguing that the controversy extends beyond questions of ecclesiastical discipline and reflects doctrinal and liturgical disputes that have persisted in the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council. Titled The Core Question Regarding the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X and published in full below, the document is structured around five principal arguments and asks...