C ELEISON COMMENTS CXXXVI (20 February, 2010) : NEXT TEMPTATION ?
From both sides, in particular from Bishop Fellay speaking in public, it appears that the current doctrinal discussions between Rome and the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) are running into a brick wall. As Americans say, it did not take a rocket scientist to figure out that if the SSPX would not give up Catholic doctrine while todays Rome would not give up Conciliar doctrine, then there could hardly be a meeting of doctrinal minds. Where do we go from here ?
To see first how we arrived where we are, let us back up a little. In 1988 Archbishop crowned his Operation Survival by providing the arch of the SSPX with its keystone of four bishops, consecrated independently of the neo-modernists in Rome. Souls holding to Catholic Tradition were thereby better protected than they ever had been from the dangers to their Faith let loose by Vatican II. If the Newchurch of the New World Order wished to finish off the last Catholic resistance remaining, then it had to lure these souls out of their doctrinal fortress down into the neo-modernist bog.
And so coming up for the millennium, the Romans appealed to the SSPX to come to an agreement : Youre nice, were nice. Lets just all get together ! The SSPX was wary, and replied that doctrine had to come first. Of course, of course, said the Romans, that goes without saying, but in the meantime we can always come to a practical agreement. Lets just talk about it ! The SSPX was still wary, and replied that the Romans would first need to show they were serious about Tradition by liberating the Tridentine rite of Mass for all priests, and by declaring null the non-existent excommunications of 1988. Rome responded by liberating that Mass as an extraordinary form and by remitting the excommunications, treated as existent. So the SSPX agreed to purely doctrinal discussions, which began last year.
Now they are reportedly stalling. Where do we go from here ? A great temptation could sweep over the Traditional movement ! Let me be forgiven a little irony if I cast it in the form of sweet talk coming from an imaginary Roman villain — purely imaginary, it should go without saying, but read him aloud:–
You are nice. We are nice. We are all nice. Do understand, neither we nor the media nor the world are your real enemy. Mankind has only one enemy: right-wing extremists. Our joint struggle is against them. And the doctrinal discussions, you ask ? Well there are a few minor difficulties, and we may need to leave doctrine to one side for the moment, but dont worry, DONT WORRY, only for the moment ! Meanwhile we will get you back into the Church, where you belong, where you have soooooo much to offer. We will love you, the media will love you, the whole world will love you ! Dont say you dont want to be loved ! The Holy Father loves you, oh, how he loves you, but be careful, his special love may not be there for you too much longer Dont you want to be back in the bosom of Mother Church?
Gird your loins, my friends, or rather, gird your brains ! The sentimental onslaught could be fierce ! It is the siren voice of a world of mush, built up over centuries
Kyrie eleison.