I’m shocked a priest would have a low opinion on his brother priests
The FSSP is grace-filled priestly fraternity that is rapidly growing and has many vocations. The only people I’ve heard disparage them are motivated by jealousy and ideological hatred. They’re jealous because the FSSP are thriving when other fraternities are dying. They’re ideologically opposed to the FSSP because the FSSP clings to the traditions of the Church - to the patrimony of the Church that produced thousands of Saints. They cling to the ancient, apostolic Roman Mass that was handed down and developed organically in the devotion of the centuries. The FSSP do a superb job forming priests. Their priests know Latin (as required by canon law), they know how to chant, they’re well acquainted with the Summa Theologica. They’re serious and devout. They take their priesthood seriously and are willing to sacrifice to transmit the Faith and save souls. In short: FSSP priests are the real deal. They’re like the Navy Seals of the Catholic Church. They’re truly an inspiration to me
Jealousy? Ideological hatred? What truly bizarre accusations to make
It does, however, speak quite a lot about your other posts about not entering the seminary because of not finding one to your satisfaction and your own personal standard
I remember the days of June and July 1988 like yesterday, thank you very much
I remember quite vividly the truly despicable schismatic act of Marcel Lefebvre and those who collaborated with him, who became excommunicate. Knowing how much it meant to both John Paul II and Cardinal Ratzinger, who worked so hard in the face of an ingrate, everyone was happy and certainly not surprised that the Holy Father erected
motu proprio a Pontifical right Society of Apostolic Life that we now know as The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter
Nor do I think any of us were particularly surprised at how few came over – something around a dozen, as I remember, with faces I still remember – as opposed to how many followed the excommunicated bishops
At least those dozen acknowledged that it is impossible to live the Catholic faith without – to use Pope Benedict’s words of February 2013 –
an absolute and unconditional obedience to the Successor of Peter
All this is a saga I’ve witnessed unfold in its many chapters across 50 years, from Lefebvre’s first act of wanton disobedience
I have no particular admiration for the men of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. For priests faithful to the Successor of Peter in all things, these other priests only did
the very minimum they had to do…being faithful to the Vicar of Christ. The others failed in the obedience they owed the Bishop of Rome over every other bishop…and for that, they will answer to God
It is not ideological hatred. It is the reality of the events
One could never be jealous of something one would never wish to become.
I would never have been in their situation
Let us be crystal clear, Dempsey 1919: those of that generation, unlike you, knew that John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul II were
saints of God, men especially given to the Church in this extraordinary time of the Church’s renewal. We knew they would one day be canonised
We knew the immense gift from God we were living with the election of John XXIII in 1958, with the Second Vatican Council that he called and that his successor saw to completion, and the wonderful things that flowed forth from what was one of the most tremendous ecumenical councils in the Church’s history
Next year, it will be 30 years that I have watched the FSSP. In 30 years, they have attained something less than 300 priests. I’ve seen that number go through classrooms in a handful of years.
That is not tremendous growth
Tremendous growth is the subject of this thread. The Neocatechumenal Way, thoroughly imbued with the spirit and renewal of the Council, have established and run seminaries in something over 100 dioceses. The communities number in the thousands
As for your other statements
- I have studied Latin, I read Latin, and I have taught Latin. That is hardly unique to the FSSP. Latin is studied in seminaries
- My whole programme of studies was based on the Summa and it is, in turn, my teaching methodology…which is not alien to my peers in the academy. So that, too, is far from unique to the FSSP
- There has been a vast improvement in seminary formation across these past decades. I would not go back to those days I remember in my beginning for anything compared with the programmes we have today
- The problem I would most underscore relative to Wigratzbad is the need for greater openness to the advances in formation since the Council and the need to place themselves more at the service of the particular churches, which a priest is ordained to serve. They are of minimal utility given their various restrictions. Which is the other great problem they present to dioceses. A monk lent to us by his abbot is able to do more in the service of a diocese than an FSSP priest
- The FSSP has one of the lightest pastoral duties in the Church compared with other clergy, because the communities that adhere to the vetus ordo are so tiny compared with parishes whose parishioners can number in the thousands
- The Mass of the Roman Rite is the Mass of the Roman Rite. In its essentials it comes from the Church’s Divine Founder and in its human elements, it is the invention of human beings…whether it is the novus ordo or the vetus ordo
- The Divine Liturgy of the Eastern Churches, on the other hand, are far closer to what the apostles would have known and celebrated their era – as well as in use of Aramaic – than would be the vetus ordo in its Latin
- Any expressed preference for the vetus ordo is banned on the forum
Amen. That’s why I want to point out about the person is not associate with FSSP. Best of all is that FSSP, unlike many other Traditional Catholic groups, are in full communion with the Holy See. The Father of the FSSP church I go to actually tell me to make sure to register to my geographic parish too (I still need to register, yes)She was raised going to an SSPX chapel with an SSPX priest since birth. Catechized there, received (invalid) sacraments there, and everything. She doesn’t understand the issue.
