Thanks. I used to keep a list on SARS and 3rd world emerging viral pathogens, so I know it’s a bit of work. If you decide to do it, I’d appreciate being on the list, and thanks — this is fascinating.
The developments in Vatican relations with both the SSPX and the Eastern Orthodox may best be understood neither through a "Hermeneutic of Continuity" nor a "Hermeneutic of Rupture," but through a Hermeneutic of Fatima:
If you were the pope, in the twilight of your career, a true son of VII, yet you could see the severe problems that have wracked the Church since VII, what would you do? If you had a deep seated fear that the Church would continue its moral decline if nothing is done, what would you do? If you truly believed the actions of the Vatican regarding Fatima were, at the time, honest and forthright, but now you had a real doubt that all was not as it seemed then, what would you do?
You would look at the most important aspects of the Message of Fatima that may not have been addressed, and you would systematically work to undo the damage.
1) Restore the TLM.
2) Propose a reconsideration and reinterpretation of VII.
3) Figure out a way to bring Russia back into the fold.
How?
1) Summorum Pontificum
2) Lift the SSPX excommunications, and task them with addressing the problems of VII. Put them directly in contact with the CDF. Let the tail (the SSPX) wag the dog (CDF.) Then let the CDF wag the Church.
3) Make real moves towards reuniting Eastern Orthodoxy, and use the Grace of that unity to fight the errors of post-Christian western decay.
This may be the interpretive key to truly understanding the "Marshall Plan" of Pope Benedict XVI.