Where did i miss them you tell me O full of knowledge!“Now to the points:”
I think you miss them completely.
Revisionists say some were used for delousing whereas others were air raid shelters.
Never said the Pope explicitly admitted the mistake, you’re putting words in my mouth. Nonetheless, if the SSPX has not changed its position one iota in 20 years, and have not “apologized” or otherwise shown contrition, then to say they have received “absolution” via the excommunication-lifting is nonsensical. Given your two options above, it appears in my opinion, therefore, that it could be a de facto admission of a mistake on the part of Rome.
The implication is that only the SSPX has the true Catholic faith and the true Sacraments?
…that you know of. How many times I have seen those attend SSPX chapels point to the fact that this was said to be an internal matter. The Church has made it clear that this process was not to be a public one. As far as it being a mistake, saying that lifting the excommunications is a mistake would bear just as much credence. Both comments make assumptions not based in facts. This is not an admission of a mistake, as much as some wish it were. It is not a support of the SSPX. It is simply a lifting a excommunications. That is a great thing in and of itself. Why the constant need to go beyond what the Church has done and said?
Well his views about the holocaust are well known.And I’m not that full of knowledge that I can’t learn from these boards.
- How can Bishop Williamson deny the existence of gas chambers? There were plenty of pictures of them.
- Why are Bishop Fellay’s statement so “strange”? It seems like the right thing for him to say. Sort of nit-picking if you’re implying that he treats Swedes as some kind of superior race here.
I agree this lifting doesnt mean anything juridically
Its not clear.
Maybe you should reread Bishop Fellay’s statements. It seems as if he was distinguishing between what’s secular and what’s religion. I could be wrong however.
Good points.
Well do YOU know what they said? All I know is their positions have not changed and that’s all we have to go by. I have no reason to believe the facts have changed but maybe you know better than I. I seriously doubt that the SSPX bishops have admitted any wrongdoing - in fact I would guess just the opposite. The need to go beyond is to better understand why this particular Traditionalist group that appears to simply adhere to Tradition was singled out when there are hosts of priests, bishops and cardinals that have acted and are acting EVERYDAY in direct defiance of the Pope and the Church’s teachings and have NOT been disciplined or excommunicated. This is a double standard and clearly egregious. We should also ask why the Church, as you say, does not want to make this a public matter. If you are Rome, what is there to be afraid of if you haven’t done anything wrong? If you are an SSPX bishop, Rome had already publicly excommunicated you so you wouldn’t care if Rome made it a public matter. The entity that doesn’t want publicity is typically the one with something to hide. I also think we deserve to hear why it took 20 years to resolve this as opposed to 2 weeks or 100 years. Is there some manual that speaks to appropriate length of excommunication? I think these men and Catholics deserve an answer to the timing question. If this is simply a lifting of an excommunication as you say, insofar as our Faith is based on reason, then there must be some reason for this now as opposed to another time.
This has all the appearances of a bogus letter. HE Fellay would not address a letter “To Whom it May Concern.” Anyone who has taken the time to read the letters of Bishop Fellay will not recognize the above letter to be in his style. Also, it has not been published on the SSPX website.
Of course not and I have no desire to know, any more than I desire to eavesdrop on people’s confessions. The excommunications are lifted, which is cause for rejoicing. I need to know nothing else. I, for one, am not the pope.
That is the ONLY thing they have NOT done. They cut themselves off from the church in word and deed, and rather than present themselves for canonical trial to prove their innocence, went to the court of public opinion and rejected papal authority and mercy.
Bp. Fellay had asked for the Decree of Excommunication to be removed, ‘without prejudice’ to whether the decree was valid in the first place. Rome are never going to say, “We made a mistake, and it took us 20 years to rectify it”. As with any family quarrel, the best thing to do is simply shake hands, draw a line on the past and move forward. This was Our Lady’s work: but on the human level, His Holiness was clearly impressed that “schismatics” should bother to offer up 1,703,000 Rosaries (of 5 decades) for this gesture of reconciliation from the Pope. Can you imagine Martin Luther organising that?