Traditional Roman Catholic Thoughts

Traditional Roman Catholic Thoughts

Reintroducing Logic and Reason to the Age of Sentimentalism

SSPX

All of the posts under the "SSPX" category.

Filial Corrections and the Refusal of Clarity

After a much-needed hiatus, the lack of writing in my life has left me feeling guilty. It’s not that I don’t have anything to write about, rather, there is almost too much to write about and not enough time to even make a dent into it. Between my interests of highlighting what is occurring in the world of Church politics as well as combating the errors both minor and major that are promulgated by clergy within the Church, there is just too much to write about and not enough time.

That said, I don’t think I can sit by much longer. With the 100-year anniversary of Fatima looming ever closer, the Pope receiving a Filial correction which hasn’t occurred since the papacy of Pope John XXII, and the rise of heretical Jesuit priests (the Jesuits need to be suppressed), idly sitting by is no longer an option.

While I obviously can’t comment on all things, nor can I write every single article that needs to be written in the blink of an eye, I can at least make a small dent. In the grand scheme of things, I can write the amount that I am supposed to write, and that is all that I can do.

For those who are unaware, a document has been made public over the weekend, signed by 62 Catholics consisting of both theologians and clergy, offering a correction to Pope Francis’ document Amoris Laetitia. I’ve seen some Catholics dismiss this simply because one of the signatories is Bishop Fellay of the SSPX and using this document to further the fallacious arguments that the SSPX is in schism.

The SSPX is not in schism; they are in a canonical irregular status with valid sacraments of baptism, confession, and Mass. If they were truly in schism, none of their sacraments would be valid. They have only proclaimed Catholicism as it has always been preached. Meanwhile, you have uber-liberal and heretical priests like Fr. James Martin, S.J. who receives promotions within the hierarchy.

Going back to the discussion at hand, I don’t think that much will happen from Rome with regards to this correction. Pope Francis received this correction six weeks ago and had yet to respond to it, much like many of the other corrections which have crossed his desk. The only reason this document has been made public is due to Pope Francis’ refusal to respond to it in private, again, much like the other correction and Dubia he has already received.

The Pope will continue, much as he has during the entirety of his pontificate, lambasting those who adhere to Catholicism and promoting the heretics and schismatics who refuse to leave our Church. Pope Francis will eventually cause a schism within the Church, though he will be leading the wrong side. Many will continue to follow him because he will refuse to step down and by all outward appearances, the schismatics will appear to be the Catholics, and the Catholics will seem to be schismatics.

If the Pope promotes heresy, is formally condemned, and refuses to recant his heresy then he will cease to be the Pope and thus not worthy to be followed, even if by all outward appearances he is considered the Pope by many, which he will.

We haven’t seen heresy infect the Church this bad since Arianism, in which many within the Church followed that awful heresy. Thankfully, there were some who had the gall to stand against this heresy and continue to preach the faith, including St. Nicholas and St. Athanasius. Let us pray to these wonderful saints and ask them to assist us during this time. Remember to stay close to the sacraments and to always live according to the eternal Truth of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jeff September 26, 2017 1 Comment Permalink

Stop Talking About the SSPX’s Supposed ‘Schism’ and Focus on the Synod’s Proposed Schism

While I do not attend chapels of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), nor have I ever recommended anyone to visit one of their chapels, I admit that I have respect for this order of priests. They are unarguably some of the most Catholic priests out there. The SSPX is undoubtedly Catholic, but just in a state that is discussed by the Vatican as “canonically irregular”.

sspx symbol

To make matters even more confusing, Pope Francis has given the priests of the SSPX the authority to absolve the sins of any penitent who comes to them for confession during the Year of Mercy. Since words have meaning, I feel it is important that we properly define words. Schism, as defined in the Concise Catholic Dictionary of 1943 is:

“Formal separation from the unity of the Church, a separation from communion with the Church; separation from the head of the Church or from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Pontiff. The movement of any person or group of persons of the Church who refuse to recognize the central authority of the Church; a denial of the authority of the Pope of Rome.”

Using the above definition of Schism, the one in which the Church uses to determine if a group is actually in schism, I will analyze the SSPX sentence by sentence to show how they are actually not in schism.

Formal separation from the unity of the Church, a separation from communion with the Church; separation from the head of the Church or from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Pontiff.”

The SSPX has never had a formal separation from the Church. They have articulated their disagreement with the Second Vatican Council, specifically the articles of faith that have changed or diverted course from Catholic doctrine. While Archbishop Lefebvre was excommunicated along with the four bishops he consecrated without approval from the Vatican, these excommunications on the four bishops were removed under Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in 2009. This does not justify any formal separation from the unity of the Church or separation from communion with the Church. They are also not separated from the head of the Church (the Pope), and report to the Pope when he calls them, much like they had done under the papacies of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Pope St. John Paul II, and Pope Paul VI.

The movement of any person or group of persons of the Church who refuse to recognize the central authority of the Church; a denial of the authority of the Pope of Rome.

As stated above, the SSPX does recognize the authority of the Pope. Pope Francis is recognized by the Society as a validly elected Pope. If Pope Francis was to ask the SSPX to meet him for an audience, they would submit to his request and meet with him. They also recognize the authority of the Church, and are faithful to the Magisterium. They have qualms with parts of the Second Vatican Council, but seeing as there are contradictory statements rooted in Modernist rhetoric, than it is perfectly acceptable to disagree. Bishop Athanasius Schneider has called for a Syllabus of Errors for the Second Vatican Council. He has also spent time with the Society and released a statement saying that “there are no weighty reasons in order to deny the clergy and faithful of the SSPX the official canonical recognition”. Thus, it is clear that the SSPX is not in formal or “objective” schism.

earthquake schism

A particular Catholic media outlet is spending this entire week to discuss the supposed “schism” that the SSPX is in. Seeing as we just outlined what a schism actually is and demonstrate that the SSPX is not in schism, it seems like this is a complete waste of time, both for this Catholic media outlet, as well as their subscribers. With the Synod of the Family only two and a half weeks away, one is left wondering why the spotlight isn’t being pointed at the heretical Cardinals and bishops who are being invited personally by Pope Francis. Perhaps because this particular media outlet has taken the approach that they will not critique the Pope, or any of his actions. Since the Synod of the Family is Pope Francis’ baby, any heretics at the Synod will be ignored.

Seeing as this media outlet won’t point out who will be in attendance, I suggest you read Voice of the Family’s write up. Included are:

  • Lorenzo Cardinal Baldisseri, the General Secretary of the Synod, who ordered the interception of copies of “Remaining in the Truth of Christ” sent to all Synod attendees.
  • Reinhard Cardinal Marx, Archbishop of Munich and Freising (Germany), who declared the German Catholic Church will separate from the Catholic Church (schism) if the Synod does not allow the divorced, remarried, and active homosexuals admittance to Holy Communion.
  • Vincent Cardinal Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster (England), who celebrated the “Soho Mass”, a Mass that “celebrated” homosexuality.
  • Walter Cardinal Kasper, President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, who has been handpicked personally be Pope Francis as having serene theology when Cardinal Kasper declared that the Church should change her teachings.

These are the prominent players at the Synod of the Family. These are the men who are proposing actual schism from the Catholic Church in two and a half weeks. These men and the Synod of the Family needs to kept under a close watch for the next month. Every move these prelates make should be held to the highest scrutiny during this unprecedented time in the history of the Church. The SSPX is not the enemy of the Church that we should be spending our energy on during this critical time, but the above men, the men mentioned in the linked Voice of the Family article, and Pope Francis, who invited most of these men personally.

Don’t waste your time with this SSPX nonsense. Focus on the Synod of the Family. All efforts to discredit the SSPX during this time are coming directly from Satan. The SSPX is not our enemy in this time of crisis, but rather, our ally.

Jeff September 17, 2015 18 Comments Permalink

Clarification on the SSPX Story

A reader was kind enough to comment on some more information he found out after doing some digging around the blogosphere in regards to the National Catholic Register pulling Pat Archbold’s story.

Over at Catholic Minority Report (Pat’s blog), he posted the following:

Let me be very clear. The last thing I want to be is the cause of any damage to the National Catholic Register. I have been honored to write for them these past years and to be involved in the incredible growth of their web presence. They do good and necessary work on behalf of Christ.

Read the rest there.

As well on Father Z’s blog in which he talked about the article, someone commented that they asked the editor at the National Catholic Register and had this conversation:

“I asked the Register why the article was taken down. The Managing Editor said, ‘The bottom line is that there was one last theological review in order because the post covers a sensitive topic. There was a mis-communication about this and the post went up without that review. Once it went live the situation took on a life of its own. Pat’s call to extend grace for reconciliation is laudable and we certainly have no disagreement with it. As it is, the related challenges that ensued resulted in the perception that we disagreed with Pat’s expressed desire for the healing of the schism, which is not at all the case.’ I then asked, ‘Is it possible that the article will be posted after a satisfactory theological review or has it already went through the theological review and was found lacking? In either event, I believe some sort of public clarification is in order, in my humble opinion.’ He stated, ‘Patrick posted the article on Creative Minority report. So we won’t be posting that particular one. But you can be sure we will have similar pieces from him and others down the road.’”

The whole thing seems odd to me. What is the “theological review” that the Managing Editor is talking about? I didn’t see anything theologically wrong in regards to the suggestion of Pope Francis extending an olive branch to the SSPX. After all, the SSPX isn’t that far off from being brought back into communion with the Church as opposed to the Pentecostals.

All in all, it appears that things are ok in regards to Pat and the NCRegister. I’m sure some will stop reading the NCRegister, but, I’m not going to be too upset over it if Pat is fine with it.

Jeff March 2, 2014 Leave A Comment Permalink

Another Questioner Silenced

It’s very interesting times we live in. A few weeks ago, I wrote about the attitudes which have occurred post-Vatican 2. Traditionalists are okay casualties, yet non-traditionalists are not.

Apparently, it is okay to give a free-pass to the Evangelicals and the Pentecostals, but apparently anyone who holds strong to Tradition is treated as the enemy. Publicly pro-abortion or pro-homosexual activity? Promotion. Publicly traditional? Demotion, silencing, shunning, etc. Just another day for the Church of Nice as Michael Voris has wisely put it.

How many priests, bishops and cardinals actively stand in direct disobedience to the Church on many issues of morals and no one bats an eye at them? Meanwhile, whenever a priest, bishop or cardinal talks about the TLM or bringing back more of our Catholic identity, and they are practically excommunicated from the Church? Think FFI or even the SSPX.

Apparently, Patrick Archbold, a blogger for the National Catholic Register, wrote a fantastic article in which he said Pope Francis is the perfect Pope to help reconcile the FFI and the SSPX into the grace of the Catholic Church. After all, Pope Francis made a video for the Pentecostals! Why not extend this invitation?

Well, apparently within minutes of him posting it on their website, they (the NCR) took it down.

Read the article over at Creative Minority Report, which happens to be Patrick Archbold’s own blog.

Jeff February 26, 2014 3 Comments Permalink

get_footer() ?>