I am not sure whether reconciliation of the SSPX, is on or off for this weekend, I pray ernestly it is on but there seems to be so much horse trading going on in the background, it is difficult to tell.
In fact it is necessary only to reconcile Bishop Fellay and lift the canonical censures imposed on the clergy in communion with him, apart from where they go to Mass (or school) it doesn't affect the laity, who not being members of the Priestly Society are always lay Catholics in good standing.
It is worth remembering the Catholic Church is at its core a Communion of Bishops in Communion with the Bishop of Rome. In the past when Eastern Rite Church's were reconciled, it was purely a matter the Pope reconciling individual Bishops. The SSPX is slightly more complex because they are extra-territorial. The problem will come in few cases with straightening the ruffled feathers of those bishops in whose territory they present.
After reconciliation of course comes the battle within the Society over property and so forth but only if some fail to come with Bishop Fellay. Presumably everything was set up with a view towards reconciliation, and Trusts exist to ensure property belongs to the Society rather than groups within it, otherwise it will be field day for lawyers.
I am intrigued though about what will happen to those who are not reconciled, if it happens, are some clergy going to be homeless and churchless on Monday?
11 comments:
Here in France, most SSPX chapels belong to associations (with the exception of St Nicolas in Paris belonging to the city and occupied without any title). So the chapel will go with the board of the association. Methink we'll see pro-Fellay priests kicked out of chapels where the board is pro-Williamson and vice-versa.
+ PAX et BONUM
I do not know how anyone who considers himself Catholic could dissent from the following: "The Pope is not an absolute monarch, whose thought and will are law. On the contrary, the pope's ministry is a guarantee of obedience to Christ and his Word. The Pope must not proclaim his own ideas, but bind himself constantly and bind the Church to obedience to the Word of God, in face of attempts to adapt and water down, as well as in the face of all opportunism. ...In his important decisions, the Pope is conscious of being linked to the great community of faith of all times, to binding interpretations developed through the Church's journey of pilgrimage. Thus, his power is not above all, but at the service of the Word of God, and on him weighs the responsibility to ensure that this word continues to be present in its grandeur and resonating in its purity, so that it will not be shattered with the constant changes of fashion."
These words were uttered, in the literal sense of the phrase, ex cathedra. By whom/
If I recall correctly all SSPX property is vested either directly in the Superior General or bodies under his control. This has been the case since the 80s when the SSPV split off and tried to take property with them resulting in rather protracted litigation.
FJH,
Yes, the most important words about the Papacy since Vatican 1, how liberating it was to here them!
His Excellency Bishop Williamson will not take any property with him other than his vestments.
We have offered him residence and will protect him as Cristeros protect all Bishops and Priests.
Quickly, he will have a Seminary built as his residence, and the formation of Priests will continue.
Here is a sermon that explains what many SSPX Priests opinion, even those that were strictly obedient to Bishop Fellay until recently:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXwBxgjxMmA
Adultery for a Priest is communion and cohabitation of Truth and error in the mind.
No legitimate 'babies' can be born of this; the growth of the Faith is dead.
The babies that are born of that union are bastards.
Truth and Error results in no potency to have legitimate 'babies' (Faithful Catholics).
Bastards without Faith, they will be heretics.
They are called Catholics, but their Faith is dead, and they do not want to know what real Catholicism is.
They want their processions, prayers, devotions, and social events while receiving sacraments, but they do not have the Faith.
A bastard is the result of the adultery when you have a 'baby' from this Priestly adultery.
For this reason so many Catholics no longer obey Holy Mother Church.
*
Yes, wonderful words father but what is behind them? They could be interpreted as implying that recent popes (Paul VI, Blessed JP II) have strayed from this position. This, after all, is what SSPX have been saying for decades. I pray for reconciliation but it's clear that behind the scenes this is a messy business and that SSPX is heading for some degree of fragmentation. And, yes, Bishop Fellay has the property.
How easily the Pope's words are forgotten, misunderstood, or not even absorbed. Yet in every thing he says there is at least one nugget of profound wisdom.
What is so impressive about him is that he compromises where necessary but on the essentials he resists the siren calls of those who claim ownership of the truth and keeps his course straight.
I think this is what Bishop Fellay grasps and I pray both he and the Pope will succeed in bringing the bulk of the SSPX back into full communion.
It was Cardinal Heenan who remarked wryly that in the aftermath of Vatican II everyone had become infallible, except the pope.
Well, in the UK the property is owned by a Charitable Trust. You can see the trustees here - http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/ContactAndTrustees.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=274695&SubsidiaryNumber=0
Fr Morgan seems to be very anti reunion.
It is no surprise to me to read the comment from Pablo the Mexican. I always knew that the adherents of +Williamson would never come over. How sad!
I know that this separation has not yet happened but if the reconciliation with +Fellay comes about, then it will.
I am always minded of the saying "Half a loaf is better than no bread".
Most would regard +Williamson as "rather eccentric" and so he is, despite his obvious talents. I have heard him preach and what he said then, was totally in accord with authentic Catholicism. However, I have not heard him proclaim his clearly eccentric, views so that is no recomendation.
He has many talents, but submission to authority is clearly not one of them.
Father,
It is honestly extremely hard for my wife and I to physically get to Diocesan confessions.
May we got SSPX priests for confession, as we have access to them?
God blesss.
SSPX Confession?
No, not until they are reconciled properly, until such time their priests are "suspended from ministry", except in extremis. But also because Absolution comes from the Bishop as successor of the Apostles, without his permission no priest can absolve in his diocese validly without his authority.
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