In a recent post I said (slightly revised here for
clarity):
Truly, since
Tradition is a vehicle of Divine Revelation it is not Traditionalists in the
FFI, FSSP, ICKSP, the Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney, the
Institute of the Good Shepherd or the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer et al, who
are a problem; nor is it the Diocesan priest who preaches the whole of Vatican
II and sometimes celebrates with the Usus Antiquior, nor
is it the laity of Una VoceFoederatio Internationalis. All of these
accept Vatican II and happily co-exist with those who favour the Novus Ordo. It is liberals, clerical and lay, who
focus only on the new and refuse the old who are problematic. Why? Bbecause
they are in danger of erecting a new Church by cutting us off from our
liturgical and doctrinal foundations.
I am becoming more and more concerned that Traditional
Catholics are under unjust attack by such liberals, and increasingly concerned that
Pope Francis is not coming to our aid. Indeed (and though we cannot state that the Pope has actively instigated such persecution) he appears to stimulate the persecution with his comments about neo-pelagians and gnosticism. All the
Traditional folk I personally know, and all the Orders/Fraternities that have
happily existed in complete union with Rome under the two previous Popes, must now feel under threat because of the
actions taken against the Franciscans of the Immaculate, and here’s why:
if I were to reject Vatican II and preached
against it; and if I were to become so adverse to the Missa Normativa that I refused to use it, then I would expect to be
placed under sanctions. I would not however, expect every priest of the Diocese who upholds Vatican II
and celebrates in the Usus Antiquior yet happily co-exists with the Missa Normativa to have the same sanctions placed on them: one does not punish a whole family
because of the crimes of the one or even the few. That is what has been done in the FFI: all
the priests of the FFI have had been refused permission to live by Summorum Pontificum in that they must
now apply to their superior to celebrate in the Usus Antiquior. I cannot help but think that if a whole Order/Fraternity
can be placed under sanctions because of the actions/words of a few, then Rome could
extend the sanctions to all Orders/Fraternities because of failures in one Order/Fraternity,
the principle of extending sanctions to
all because of the failures of the few having been established.
We must all pray hard that the situation with
the FFI and Rome is resolved swiftly and justly, for the sake of us all and for
‘reconciliation in the heart of the Church’ (Pope Benedict XVI).
Thank you, left footer.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this post.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment. I hope the post was useful.
DeleteThank you for acknowledging the awful truth of the situation, Father.
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting. The situation is a difficult one and the difficulties and distress for those of us looking in won't be resolved until all is in the open and much time has past, since a lot of people are likely to need their confidence in Rome restored.
DeleteThank you for this, Father. Needed to be said.
ReplyDeletestraight faithful clear, true. thanks for the breath of fresh air. We need Masses for the Defense of the Church. God Bless.
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting.
DeleteThe need for personal sacrifices and for offerings of Holy Mass is great, both for the integrity of the faith itself, and for all the faithful who are persecuted around the world. We live in very, very trying times.
God bless you and yours.
Yes, thank you for acknowledging the obvious, which too many Traditionalists still don´t want to see, Father.
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting, Martina.
ReplyDeleteSadly, folk seem unable to see any danger from inside or outside the Church -and the outside dangers are not to be forgotten.
God Bless you and yours.
Thank you Fr. Dickson for your balanced and nuanced commentary on these matters.
ReplyDeleteMay you and may Andrew McDowell have a blessed and holy Christmas - when it arrives!
Thank you for the comment.
DeleteMay you know all the blessings of the Lord this Christmas and throughout the years to come, both in your own family and in your apostolate.
Hogwash
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting.
DeleteI have to disagree and say there are (and have always been) liberal tendencies within the Church set on abandoning Tradition when it does not fir with their desires or understanding. The authentic Church of Christ cannot continue in the direction which they aim to set it, because to abandon Tradition is to abandon Divine Revelation and thus, the Faith. The future of the Church always lies in her past.
God bless you and yours.