Prayers for the Holy Father and the hierarchs of the SPPX. May their talks bear fruit.
Can somebody boil this down for us non-catholics?
This does not strike me as the action of one who wishes to discuss matters in good faith. As an engineer, it reminds me of customers who throw up an unending stream of new requirements in an attempt to get something for nothing.
No they're not. They relate to specific phrases in a limited number of Vatican II documents, which as the Pope has repeatedly emphasized, are to be understood in the light of Catholic tradition.
“Our principle objections to the Council, such as religious liberty, ecumenism and collegiality are well known. But other objections could be posed, such as the influence of modern philosophy, the liturgical novelties, the spirit of the world and its influence on the modern thought that holds sway in the church.”
I don't have a real good feeling about this.
Fellay is comparing apples and oranges. It's one thing to ask for clarification of the meaning of specific official Church documents such as those that came out of Vatican II and to discuss their meaning in the light of Catholic tradition. However, it's quite another to start an unfocused, open ended "Free Republic Religion Forum" type argument about all the abuses which are being practiced in violation of Catholic tradition. In the first place, the Pope knows better than anyone the "influence of modern philosophy, the liturgical novelties, the spirit of the world and its influence on the modern thought that holds sway in the church" and is trying to counter it. He'd likely be in agreement. Furthermore, if history teaches us anything, this will always be an issue in the Church, to some extent.
This seems to me to be the first gambit in a goalpost moving exercise. Reading between the lines, what he's saying is this; "we won't be back until some of the mess is cleaned up." Naturally, how much of the mess needs to be cleaned up will not be well defined and will be left to the SSPX to decide. They'll wait a long time. The Church's history is essentially a series of crises.
Fellay is essentially paraphrasing what we've heard many times on FR over the years by individuals who attend SSPX chapels; "I left because I was sick of all the hanky panky". This leads to the obvious question "well do you want to help us clean it up?". The answer is usually "no, I won't be back until it's straightened out."
Cardinal George was right. They've isolated themselves.
“The solution to the crisis is a return to the past,”
The leaders of the SSPX are foolish.