Ave Crux

WHAT IS ROME ASKING SSPX TO DO....?

The 2017 article reproduced below was published previously on Rorate Caeli after verifying the authenticity of the text.

The article makes clear that the only impediment remaining to the full regularization of SSPX's Canonical Status (which is not schism, but juridical and doctrinal in nature) is the demand by those in Rome who insist that SSPX must sign a document which...

"....declare[s] in an explicit manner their acceptance of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and those of the post-conciliar period, by granting to said doctrinal affirmations the degree of adhesion which is due to them."

Read those conditions, my fellow Catholics and weep at such treachery.....

Yes, Rome is demanding that SSPX Priests "adhere" to the ambiguously heterodox teachings of Vatican II in their entirety and without qualification -- a Council which was allegedly a "pastoral" Council only -- and to also adhere to those so-called "teachings" in the vague category of the "post-conciliar period".

After witnessing the whirlwind of doctrinal confusion and "silent apostasy" (John Paull II) let loose upon the Church following Vatican II, let me ask you, faithful Catholics....

WOULD YOU SIGN THIS DECLARATION?

And yet, how many Neo-Con, armchair Catholics are clucking about SSPX being in "schism" because they won't sign this Declaration?

Let us be clear. This is the only impediment in the way of the canonical regularization of SSPX.

It's not disobedience, not schism....but heresy which SSPX refuses to conform to.

It's doctrinal, canonical blackmail to obtain "regularization".

The article follows:

Bishop Fellay's comments in this matter are at the bottom.

N.B. While this condition was placed by Modernists in Rome as a condition for "regularization", Pope Francis -- ever the "Pope of Surprises" -- has nonetheless granted SSPX Priests full freedom to licitly proceed with Ordinations of all their Priests, as well as Canonical Faculties for Confessions and Marriages.

Thus it can no longer be insisted that SSPX is "in schism". Interview on some of these facts can be seen here: POPE FRANCIS ADVANCES THE WORK OF SSPX
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For the record: Cardinal Müller's letter to Bishop Fellay on the necessary conditions for "full re-establishment of communion" with the SSPX

Last weekend, as rumors swirled of Cardinal Müller's imminent dismissal from his post as Prefect of the CDF, the French website Medias-Presse.Info published what it claimed to be an excerpt from an important letter sent by the Cardinal to Bishop Bernard Fellay regarding the conditions for an accord between the Vatican and the SSPX.

Today the Remnant published an English translation of this excerpt; we reproduce the entire Remnant article below, followed by a note on the 1988 Professio Fidei mentioned in it.

Rorate's own sources have confirmed the authenticity of this text.

Cardinal Müller's Letter to Bishop Fellay

From www.medias-presse.info comes the following excerpt of a letter from Cardinal Müller to Bishop Bernard Fellay. According to www.medias-presse.info, Cardinal Müller's letter was communicated to all SSPX members by the SSPX General House.

Excerpt from Cardinal Müller's letter:

“As you know, Pope Francis has many a time manifested his benevolence towards your Priestly Society, granting, in particular, to all priest members the faculty of confessing the faithful validly and by authorizing local Ordinaries to grant licences for the celebration of the marriages of the faithful who follow the pastoral activity in your Society. Furthermore, discussions are continuing concerning questions relative to the full re-establishment of the communion of your Society with the Catholic Church.

"In relation to this, with the approbation of the Sovereign Pontiff, I judged it necessary to submit to the Ordinary Session of our Congregation (which met on May 10 last) the text of the doctrinal Declaration which was transmitted to you during the meeting of June 13, 2016, as the necessary condition in view of the full re-establishment of communion. Here are the unanimous decisions of all the members of our Dicastery in this regard:

1) It is necessary to require the adhesion of the members of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X to the new formula of the Professio Fidei dating from 1988 (c.f. annexe). Consequently, it is not sufficient to ask them to express the Professio Fidei of 1962.

2) The new text of the doctrinal Declaration must contain a paragraph in which the signatories declare in an explicit manner their acceptance of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and those of the post-conciliar period, by granting to said doctrinal affirmations the degree of adhesion which is due to them.

3) The members of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X must recognize not only the validity, but also the legitimacy of the Rite of the Holy Mass and of the Sacraments, according to the liturgical books promulgated after the Second Vatican Council.”

www.medias-presse.info adds that Cardinal Müller concluded the letter saying that “during the Audience granted to the Cardinal Prefect on May 20 2017, the Sovereign Pontiff approved these decisions”.

The French website also adds that in his accompanying letter to SSPX priests, Father Christian Thouvenot, Secretary General of the SSPX, recalled the words of Bishop Fellay after the meeting of the major superiors in Anzère, Switzerland, on June 28 2016:

“The Society of Saint Pius X does not seek primarily a canonical recognition, to which it has a right because it is Catholic. The solution is not simply juridical. It pertains to a doctrinal position which it is imperative to manifest [...] Divine Providence will not abandon Its Church whose head is the Pope, Vicar of Jesus Christ.

"That is why an incontestable sign of this restoration will reside in the signified will of the Sovereign Pontiff to grant the means for re-establishing the order of the Priesthood, the Faith and Tradition – a sign which will be, furthermore, the guarantor of the necessary unity of the family of Tradition”. Bishop Fellay

***

The Professio Fidei of 1988 refers to the Professio fidei et Iusiurandum fidelitatis in suscipiendo officio nomine Ecclesiae exercendo (Formula to be used for the profession of faith and for the oath of fidelity to assume an office to be exercised in the name of the Church) dated July 1, 1988 (coincidentally the day after the 1988 episcopal consecrations in Ecône) and published in the Acta Apostolica Sedis in 1989.

The Profession of Faith is as follows:

I, N., with firm faith believe and profess each and everything that is contained in the Symbol of faith, namely:

I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the forgiveness of sins and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

With firm faith, I also believe everything contained in the word of God, whether written or handed down in Tradition, which the Church, either by a solemn judgment or by the ordinary and universal Magisterium, sets forth to be believed as divinely revealed.

I also firmly accept and hold each and everything definitively proposed by the Church regarding teaching on faith and morals.

Moreover, I adhere with religious submission of will and intellect to the teachings which either the Roman Pontiff or the College of Bishops enunciate when they exercise their authentic Magisterium, even if they do not intend to proclaim these teachings by a definitive act.

Rorate Caeli Source: For the record: Cardinal Müller's letter to Bishop Fellay on the necessary conditions for "full re-establishment of communion" with the SSPX

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philosopher

May 15

Vat II defined no new doctrines, so what new doctrines are the SSPX required to believe above and beyond the Creed, Sacred Scripture and Tradition, and Universal Magisterium's teaching on faith and morals? Why are they equivocating the pastoral as doctrinal. These are two distinct categories.

Ave Crux

May 15

@philosopher -- Yes, and that is the whole point. It's a great injustice. Just like one would expect from Modernists.

Ave Crux

May 15

@tbswv With reference to your comment about the "new" Mass, I am presently listening to an excellent talk given by Father Ripperger, FSSP which explains how the New Mass was a complete rupture with the normal development of every single Catholic Rite (i.e. including the Eastern Rites) in the Church -- each of which traces its origins back to the Apostles.

He explains that the New Mass was compiled by a "Committee" after Vatican II; that the Offertory has absolutely no continuity with the Traditional Mass and...sadly....that the words of the new "Offertory" are taken from the Jewish Talmud, which Father Ripperger explains is an "anti-Christian text" and have absolutely no root in liturgical tradition.

Aaron-Jozef

May 14

Om weer terug te keren naar een Duivelse Tweede Vaticaanse Rooms Katholieke Concilie kerk, mooi niet natuurlijk.

Ave Crux links to this post

May 14

SHJ-IHM

4 May 14

This sounds like what the liberals demanded of Archbishop Lefebvre from the beginning of the conflict - that he accept ALL of the teachings of the non-dogmatic council and ALL of the subsequent post-conciliar teachings.(Is that all??!!) All the liberals want is to publicly declare that there is no resistance to their innovations!

michael newman

2 May 15

Excellent point. It’s not a dogmatic council, that means you can take it or leave it and remain fully Catholic. I’d much rather leave it. Having read every single document, even I can recognise glaring contradictions. Why force VII down the throat of SSPX? Why is it a condition to be given a canonical position? They can run parishes surely? Much better than my local Salasian parish which had its …More

tbswv

4 May 15

I recommend leaving all of it. No question in my mind their intent was to create a new "religion". It's decrees and announcements are not consistent with the tradition of the Church, and they transformed the liturgy into a protestant fellowship service. I want no part of it. Young people see right through it and are discovering the beauty of the TLM.

Ave Crux

May 15

@michael newman "local Salasian parish which had its synodal path meetings published recently and highest agenda item was recognising homosexuals living together as being married." Really....??!! Horrors! They clearly manipulated that and will send it to Rome as an objective...! What are we in for next?

Dante Alighieri

4 May 14

Some very good and informative postings adding to the debate here.

Ave Crux

4 May 14

We lived and breathed it, so it always seems like this should be common knowledge. Well, apparently it's not. So it's time to dig it up for the Neo-Cons.

michael newman

6 May 14

@Dante Alighieri there really is no debate, just ignorance. The SSPX are not in schism never have been. They accept the Pope (like many others me included, with a great deal of anguish about his behaviour and causing confusion)

Dante Alighieri

May 14

@Ave Crux @michael newman That also is something I thought for a long time before reading gloria.tv. I thought the "SSPX is in schism" debate was resolved. I also accept Pope Francis as at least nominal pope, but with grave doubts due to the magnitude of his apparent errors, and most of all, his definite intent, his anger toward the devout Catholics, priests and nuns. I still don't get it, but knowing that sometimes after death errors are finally called out. It takes a long time in the Catholic Church. Wycliffe "officially" became a heretic 31 years after his death when he was "declared" to be so, but his heresies were committed while he was alive. Frankie may be a heretic now, but we may not know officially that he is a heretic until after his death, or maybe only that he held serious anti-Catholic errors, and the same goes for being an anti-pope, if Benedict's resignation was (intentionally) improper, so that after being forced to resign the next (invalid anti-)pope would have everything declared null and void. I do not know at all, but I actually hope that Ann Barnhardt is right on this. We may not know that someone was an anti-pope until after he is dead. Or, on the other hand, Frankie may just be the most horrible Pope of modern times. But, being the Romantic that I am, I would like to think that God can make it so it is like one of those movies, where it is all just a dream that never happened, like the Wizard of Oz.

Ave Crux

5 May 14

@Dante Alighieri "But, being the Romantic that I am, I would like to think that God can make it so it is like one of those movies, where it is all just a dream that never happened, like the Wizard of Oz."

and

...both

Yes, it does feel like a nightmare sometimes, and many things Pope Francis is doing would enrage me; but after speaking to a highly conservative, very traditional Catholic …More

and

...both

Yes, it does feel like a nightmare sometimes, and many things Pope Francis is doing would enrage me; but after speaking to a highly conservative, very traditional Catholic Apologist, I came to understand that we can do absolutely nothing but trust God to resolve it in His time.

We "shelter" in place, adhere to the Papacy, but not the person. We dissent from error and destruction. All else we receive with tranquility.

God is still in control in the midst of the tornado that threatens to carry Dorothy off; and -- in the mean time -- all lawful, just, and non-heretical acts and decrees of the Holy See can be assumed as legitimate papal acts.

God doesn't expect us to be able to see what's behind the curtain at Oz until He pulls it back.

Oz was a great analogy! Thanks!

Chat Chartreux

2 May 14

@Ave Crux The Mother (the Church) is sick, so the children are fending for themselves until she's well again.

Ave Crux

2 May 14

@Chat Chartreux The scripture that echoes in my soul over and over again in these times is Ezekiel 34, where God condemns the fattened, wicked shepherds who care only for themselves, and leave the sheep to be wounded, starved and devoured by wolves, giving them stones instead of bread to eat.

God declares that He Himself will shepherd the abandoned sheep and bring them back from the wilderness, providing for all their needs.....

It is what He will always do for those who love Him. Archbishop Lefebvre was a faithful shepherd, and that is why God was able to use him as an instrument in our times of "apostasy" (John Paull II)

But woe to the guilty shepherds....their judgment will be great indeed.
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[1] And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: [2] Son of man, prophesy concerning the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to the shepherds: Thus saith the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, that fed themselves: should not the flocks be fed by the shepherds? [3] You ate the milk, and you clothed yourselves with the wool, and you killed that which was fat: but my flock you did not feed.

[4] The weak you have not strengthened, and that which was sick you have not healed, that which was broken you have not bound up, and that which was driven away you have not brought again, neither have you sought that which was lost: but you ruled over them with rigour, and with a high hand. [5] And my sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd: and they became the prey of all the beasts of the field, and were scattered.

[6] My sheep have wandered in every mountain, and in every high hill: and my flocks were scattered upon the face of the earth, and there was none that sought them, there was none, I say, that sought them. [7] Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:

[8] As I live, saith the Lord God, forasmuch as my flocks have been made a spoil, and my sheep are become a prey to all the beasts of the field, because there was no shepherd: for my shepherds did not seek after my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flocks:

[9] Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: [10] Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I myself come upon the shepherds, I will require my flock at their hand, and I will cause them to cease from feeding the flock any more, neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more: and I will deliver my flock from their mouth, and it shall no more be meat for them.

[11] For thus saith the Lord God: Behold I myself will seek my sheep, and will visit them. [12] As the shepherd visiteth his flock in the day when he shall be in the midst of his sheep that were scattered, so will I visit my sheep, and will deliver them out of all the places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

[13] And I will bring them out from the peoples, and will gather them out of the countries, and will bring them to their own land: and I will feed them in the mountains of Israel, by the rivers, and in all the habitations of the land. [14] I will feed them in the most fruitful pastures, and their pastures shall be in the high mountains of Israel: there shall they rest on the green grass, and be fed in fat pastures upon the mountains of Israel. [15] I will feed my sheep: and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God.

[16] I will seek that which was lost: and that which was driven away, I will bring again: and I will bind up that which was broken, and I will strengthen that which was weak, and that which was fat and strong I will preserve: and I will feed them in judgment.

Chat Chartreux

3 May 14

@Ave Crux Speaks of our times perfectly. Wow. Thank you.