Tradicat

 + 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...