Replies

You didn't stay and fight. You jumped ship. That didn't help at all.

Amen, Nika.

When I first started posting on FR was when I first heard of the SSPX and everything they espouse and uphold. I was very sympathetic to their stance until I got to read more and more posts which eventually came to remind me of Protestant objections amounting to "Non serviam est!" in both cases.

The further along I came on FR the more I realized that the SSPX mentality is a fortress mentality - an "us against them" way of living. It's terribly tragic that the radical traditional souls within the Church, particularly the males, do not see the the seeds of faith they could be planting within the regular parish setting or how, if they attended a Tridentine rite, those parishes would eventually be forced to expand - never mind the vocation spike they would have! Given that scenerio, the traditional element within the Church would be strengthened immeasureably and would overcome the progressive element much more quickly than is happening now. There is indeed strength in numbers.

The break away SSPX has fallen prey to disobedience. One couldn't imagine a happier scenerio for the devil.

You might have had the courtesy of posting to me as well, since your comment affirms nika's ignorant slander about my "jumping ship." But as you and he should realize by now, people who attend Mass at SSPX chapels are Catholics in good standing who appreciate a truly Catholic Mass in a truly Catholic environment, which is said by a Catholic priest who hasn't compromised his principles by surrendering the faith for the sake of novel teachings. They also appreciate having their kids have the catechism taught to them without fanciful modernist interpolations undermining Catholic doctrines and turning them into Protestants. They have not "jumped ship"--as even Vatican bureaucrats have been forced to admit recently.

If you doubt my word on this, consult Msgr. Perle's letter of September 18, 2003 before you make or affirm such outlandish charges. In it he says the following:
_____________________________________________________
In a previous letter to the same correspondent we had already indicated the canonical status of the Society of St. Pius X which we will summarize briefly here.

1.) The priests of the Society of St. Pius X are validly ordained, but they are suspended from exercising their priestly functions. To the extent that they adhere to the schism [sic] of the late Archbishop Lefebvre, they are also excommunicated [sic].

2.) Concretely this means that the Masses offered by these priests are valid, but illicit i.e., contrary to the law of the Church.

Points 1 and 3 in our letter of 27 September 2002 to this correspondent are accurately reported. His first question was "Can I fulfill my Sunday obligation by attending a Pius X Mass" and our response was:

1. "In the strict sense you may fulfill your Sunday obligation by attending a Mass celebrated by a priest of the Society of St. Pius X."

His second question was "Is it a sin for me to attend a Pius X Mass" and we responded stating:

2. "We have already told you that we cannot recommend your attendance at such a Mass and have explained the reason why. If your primary reason for attending were to manifest your desire to separate yourself from communion with the Roman Pontiff and those in communion with him, it would be a sin. If your intention is simply to participate in a Mass according to the 1962 Missal for the sake of devotion, this would not be a sin."

His third question was: "Is it a sin for me to contribute to the Sunday collection a Pius X Mass" to which we responded:

3. "It would seem that a modest contribution to the collection at Mass could be justified."

_______________________________________________________

Notwithstanding the falsity of any claim that SSPX adheres to a schism (it actively prays for the pope and has always accepted his papal authority), it is nevertheless a useful letter since it makes clear that attendance at SSPX Masses is permissible for Catholics for reasons of devotion.

I also take issue with your naive assumption that if more Catholics were to attend diocese-sponsored Tridentine Masses, "those parishes would eventually be forced to expand." Hardly. What such attendance would do is just the opposite--diminish the effectiveness of the only force that actively is opposing those who wish to destroy the ancient Mass. Up till now only the SSPX and some independent chapels scattered across the globe have exerted any opposition. It does not exist in those traditional parishes where priests have been effectively muzzled and imprisoned by their Novus Ordo bishops. These ordinaries for the most part have tolerated the existence of the Tridentine only as a means of keeping their faithful from attending SSPX chapels. Do away with the SSPX, and the other Tridentine Masses would soon disappear as well, and with them, the ancient Mass--and with it the Catholic faith uncontaminated by modernist novelties.

So dream on.