Iohannes:
I believe if Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre was alive today, he would try and reconcile. Fr. Augliner(sp?) wanted to reconcile with Rome, but the SSPX threw him out despite the fact he was one of the original founders of it. Calling them protestant is not kind or charitable because they are not heretics, they are at worst schismatics and at best irregular status. Although, what they are doing is wrong, you have to at least sympathize with them a little bit on the situation of the Liturgy. Too bad the SSPX left, they could of been real useful against the modernism within the Church.
First off, if it looked like I said the members of the SSPX were Protestant, I apologize. I meant to say that, similar to Protestants, they refused to submit to the Pope or the Magisterium. I believe Dr. Colossus and Sparky were saying essentially the same thing, though I don’t mean to put words in their mouths. I apologize if what I said did not come across as kind, but I can assure you it was charitable. As adhering to schism incurs
latæ *sententiæ *excommunication and worshipping at an illicit Mass is grave matter, I worry about the souls of the priests in the SSPX and the laymen who frequent their Masses.
When you state that members of the SSPX have “at best irregular status”, I feel obliged to state that without a doubt the bishops, and almost certainly the priests as well, have been excommunicated by the Holy Father in
Ecclesia Dei. For more on the current status of the Society, see the following documents in EWTN’s vast database:
Ecclesia Dei,
Status of the Society of St. Pius X, and
Status of the Society of St. Pius X Masses.
I have thought long and hard many times about whether or not I sympathize with the members of the society. On one level, I do. I am very blessed that Msgr. McInerny, the pastor of my parish, has been granted an indult by our bishop to celebrate the Mass according to the Missal of 1962. There are many liturgical abuses in some Novus Ordo parishes (though hopefully
Redemptionis Sacramentum will fix that!
![Thumbs up :thumbsup: 👍](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f44d.png)
), but I believe that what the SSPX is doing is far worse than the vast majority of these abuses. When I read the writings of SSPX priests or visit the infamous
Novus Ordo Watch (
![Roll eyes :rolleyes: :rolleyes:](https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f644.png)
), I am often amazed by the pure and venomous hatred that seems to fill the hearts of many of these people toward the Novus Ordo Missae, toward the Supreme Pontiff, and toward us po’ “Novus Ordo Catholics”. As it is written, :bible1: by their fruits you shall know them. The only fruits of the SSPX I have seen so far are hatred and schism.
Nevertheless, I might still sympathize with the members of the society even a little bit, but I don’t. Why not? Perhaps the primary reason is that I have *never *seen any real move, on behalf of the society itself, to reconcile itself with Holy MotherChurch. As you mention, there are individual priests who have made an effort and individual priests who have returned to the flock and joined the FSSP. The Society of St. Pius X pays only lip service to the pope and refuses to rejoin the Church until She returns to pre-Vatican II ways. The stubbornness of the society imperils countless souls.
I agree, though, that it is too bad they left. Their staying indeed would have had a practical purpose. Most SSPX priests (except for that one little problem on authority) are far more orthodox than many priests I have encountered and undeniably would have been valiant warriors in the daily battle against Modernism. But even more than the help they would be to us and Mother Church, think of the help they would be to themselves if they were visibly within the fold and not adhering to schism!
Every time I write a message I promise myself that “This one will be short!”, but it never is. Every time I write a message I promise myself that “This one will convince everyone and offend no one!”, but I know it won’t. However, this is the truth of the Society: the Society of St. Pius X, apparently in good faith, is leading otherwise pious Catholics astray. How can I support any group doing this?