It is no secret that I am sympathetic to many of the issues that the SSPX hold dear and I was very desirous of their recognition last year and I was disappointed when the deal fell through.
It is also no secret that I am not a big fan of the Pope’s extemporaneous remarks. But for all that, the reality is the Pope has not actually done anything or changed anything. The Catholic Church from last year is the same Catholic Church this year, for good or for bad. Media swooning aside, nothing has changed, at least not yet.
So it is that the recent remarks of the Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X, Bp. Bernard Fellay, are unhinged, unhelpful, and unrealistic.
My advice, at the National Catholic Register is “Shut Up and Pray”
October 17, 2013 at 2:25 am
Your comment was hardly clear (you use a colon when you want to limit what you called "fake sacraments", not a comma) and your impugning of their motives, i.e., "luring" them into fake sacraments, was equally uncharitable, which was the point of how offensive it is to tell people of good faith to "shut up". But you now must concede that 5 of their sacraments are not, in fact, fake, a point which everyone not as schooled in SSPX matters and is reading this exchange now knows beyond any doubt.
You deserved every bit of the grief, especially given your asinine reference to me as "chief". Revoke your own card for a while pal.
October 17, 2013 at 3:06 am
Derp. My comment wasn't clear. Even though I said "Marrying" and "Absolving". Everyone who isn't clear on what sacraments I'm referring to, raise your hand. Looks like it's just you, pal. You fail, and you fail hard, at internet.
And yes, they do lure. Go and meet a *real actual* SPPX priest and ask him if he can validly absolve you, or if he can marry you. Tell us all what he says. If he says "Sorry, no." then I'll eat my shoe. But he won't. He'll try to lure you into an invalid sacrament.
So go ahead, sport, tell me again about "people of good faith"and how they cause Catholics to partake in invalid sacraments. You're so awesomely open-minded, your brain may just fall out.
Have an awesome day!
October 17, 2013 at 3:18 pm
The SSPX is doing the Lord's work. He is the Pope, however there is this thing called the Word of God which is the Bible, and the Traditions of the Faith. If you respect the Pope, you must respect the Bible and the Traditions.
October 17, 2013 at 3:42 pm
Harry, you really need to take a qualude. There are plenty of true experts, including a Jesuit no less, who contend that SSPX confessions are valid (as noted below). Your monomania about this subject is troubling.
"To answer this objection [that of Mr. Seldon], it is useful to consider opinions of knowledgeable persons not affiliated with the SSPX. Fr. Joseph J. Farraher was one such person. Fr. Farraher was a Jesuit, a canon lawyer, a moral theologian, a holder of a Doctorate in Sacred Theology (STD) from Gregorian University in Rome, and a former president of Alma College. In the October 1983 issue of the "Homiletic & Pastoral Review”, Fr. Joseph J. Farraher, SJ, wrote the following:
As for Archbishop Lefebvre's priests, see my answer in the Aug.- Sept.1982 issue of Homiletic and Pastoral Review where I stated that, although his priests are illicitly ordained, they are validly ordained and have the radical power to absolve sacramentally. And, although ordinarily priests require "faculties" or jurisdiction to absolve validly and the Archbishop's priests do not have valid faculties, nevertheless when they enter a confessional in what appears to be a Catholic church, the supreme authority of the Church in Canon Law supplies jurisdiction to them just so that the faithful who approach them in good faith for Confession will not suffer lack of valid absolution.
In the February 1985 issue of Homiletic and Pastoral Review, Fr. Farraher again spoke to the question of confessing to Society priests: “The Masses said, the absolution given, and the marriages witnessed by them are all most probably valid, the latter two categories at least by ‘common error’.”
October 17, 2013 at 11:49 pm
Meanwhile, the Roman diocese refuses a funeral mass to a Nazi war criminal, even a private mass, and here's the kicker – according to his priest he died repenting of his (many) sins. Where does he receive a Christian burial? From SSPX. You know I love you Patrick, but on this one…I'm just not in your court. The time for plain talk is before further damage is done, not after.
October 19, 2013 at 8:49 pm
"Shut up and pray" Really? If Nancy Pelosi said that you can be sure this blog would come down on her like a tonne of bricks, and rightly so.
October 22, 2013 at 10:31 pm
I don't have a horse in this race, but Harry and JB please both exercise a little christian charity and just be nice. I am the father of 10 kids(nine boys) I know how kids can fight and both of you need to be taken behind the woodshed and taught to treat others with charity, because right now my three year old looks mighty nice compared to you too. I know there are differences between the SSPX and Rome, maybe we should all just "Shut up and Pray" until we can say something nice about each other. Thanks
October 24, 2013 at 6:43 pm
"the pope [sic] has not actually done or changed anything"
New "Mass", new sacraments, "if people are gay, who am I to judge?"
Would recommend you look again at the substantial changes which have been brought about