Tradicat

 + JMJ While I have explicit permission from the Canadian, US and FSSPX.News sites, as a follow-up to Part 1, I am going to post here an article on the FSSPX.UK website to provide a bona-fide resource for other Traditional Catholics looking for the truth as opposed to just belief on this topic. FSSPX.UK: Matters arising – May We Pray with Non-Catholics? P^3 Matters arising : May we pray with non-Catholics? Rev. Nicholas Mary, C.SS.R. Fr. Nicholas Mary answers topical questions in the light of moral theology and canon law. Public prayer As always, before we can answer a question adequately, terms must be defined and distinctions made. The general principle is clear, as Cardinal Newman writes: From time immemorial, from the earliest ages, members of the Church have been forbidden  communicatio in sacris  [i.e. participation in religious rites] with those who were external to it. This prohibition is not intended as the expression of any judgment on this...

 + JMJ Can Catholics Pray with Protestants??? Part 1 Short answer is yes … but ... Introduction Like many Catholics, we have family members who have either lost the Faith or abandoned the Faith to join a protestant church. This brings up question of what can and can’t you do in your relations with them. The one that comes up is ‘praying’ with protestants, particularly at meals but perhaps other events. My goal today is the review the application of moral theology to this question and I have to admit that I used to believe that you can’t say grace with protestants, specifically my Sister, Brother-In-Law and nephews. Distinctions and the Truth are IMPORTANT! There is a difference between praying privately with protestants vs public prayer or worship. In the case of privately praying with protestants the litmus test is whether or not the prayers are heretical or if scandal is given. When acting as a Catholic, it is equally important that we act in accordance with the actua...

 + JMJ I think that the biggest challenge in assessing the Sedevacantist Thesis is perspective. A good bit of perspective is provided by Unam Sanctam Catholicam (USC) in an article published in October 2022. The basic thesis is that becuase of Cum Ex Apostolatus, a bull issued by Pope Paul IV in 1559, "a heretic cannot be elected as Pope." I have a lot of issues with the thesis. The first of which is 'how do you know that a person is a heretic in the formal sense?'  My general thought is that either the person in question tells you or the Church tells you.   Is the 'heresy' clearly against a De Fide Truth of the Catholic Church? This is really important.  Let's take 'Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus' - outside the Church there is no salvation. However, Popes have said that protestants can be saved. The solution to this conundrum is that both statements are true if one understands what the Church has taught in regard to both statements.  So - not all sta...

 + JMJ  Recently, I attended a meeting where we were asked to analyse a training scenario that required us to assess which of the characters acted honourably and to rank them. It was an interesting exercise and when discussing the actions of one character assaulting another, a colleague turned to me and said something to the effect that that character was the lowest ranking because "violence is never the answer". I thought that violence sometimes is necessary.  Thus went the argument, until later the same colleague made a statement that contradicted their earlier stance. So, I have been wondering what is violence and is it morally permitted? Research and Discussion First, I went looking through my references and found the following in Moral Theology, by John A. McHugh and Charles J. Callan : 52. Violence, or coercion, is the use of force by an external agent to compel one to do what one does not want to do . Its effects on voluntariness are: (a) it cannot affect the inte...

 + JMJ For reference attached is a table outlining the logical summaries of the authors cited in the  article on Honouring Thy Father and Mother that I posted last year (link) .  P^3   ID Source Year Excerpt Summary Logical Formula 1 Handbook of Moral Theology – Prummer 1955 There are two limits to be placed to the obedience due to parents even in lawful matters: I) one of duration, in so far as the duty ceases once the child after attaining his majority or emancipation begins to live away from the parental home; b) in the choice of a state of life, and therefore even minors are free to choose in this matter and parents commit sin by compelling their children to embrace any particular state of life. Obedience due to parents Ceases once the ...

+ JMJ Update can be found at the end of the post.     Introduction What are the extents and limits of the Commandment to Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother? As children get older and they become adults, there is bound to be a transition in the relationship between themselves and their parents.   While some may experience this earlier in the teenage years, from a moral point of view, the real onset where it matters is when they reach adulthood. Understanding the context and obligations in the two states (emancipated vs unemancipated) is probably going to be an important factor in how smoothly the transition occurs. I’m going to undertake this study using three four resources: Catechism of the Council of Trent (aka The Roman Catechism) – ~1562 Translation 1923 based on translations from 1902, 1907 and 1914 Handbook of Moral Theology (Fr. Dominc Prummer OP) – 1955 Moral Theology (Frs. McHugh and Callan) – 1958  Moral Theology (Fr. Heribert...

+ JMJ Introduction What are the extents and limits of the Commandment to Honour Thy Father and Thy Mother? As children get older and they become adults, there is bound to be a transition in the relationship between themselves and their parents.   While some may experience this earlier in the teenage years, from a moral point of view, the real onset where it matters is when they reach adulthood. Understanding the context and obligations in the two states (emancipated vs unemancipated) is probably going to be an important factor in how smoothly the transition occurs. I’m going to undertake this study using three resources: Catechism of the Council of Trent (aka The Roman Catechism) – ~1562 Translation 1923 based on translations from 1902, 1907 and 1914 Handbook of Moral Theology (Fr. Dominc Prummer OP) – 1955 Moral Theology (Frs. McHugh and Callan) – 1958 Discussion The first question to resolve is what does it mean to Honour someone? To...