For those paying attention to the pitched battle between the SSPX and the Vatican (or a few bureaucrats therein), Bp. Schneider presents a clarifying essay.
Here's the guts of it:
...Among the other twenty ecumenical councils, one finds numerous pastoral or disciplinary statements and documents that are no longer applicable today ... as well as non-definitive doctrinal statements (e.g., on the matter and form of the sacrament of Holy Orders from the Council of Florence) that were later corrected by the Magisterium of the Church. One cannot absolutize every concrete historical form of Church leadership, for doing so would eliminate the necessary distinction between, on the one hand, the unchanging and enduring truths of faith (Depositum Fidei) and, on the other, the various modes by which those truths are transmitted (e.g., a pastoral statement, non-definitive doctrinal statement, or ex-cathedra definition), each of which carries a different degree of authority and binding force.
Today, however, to be in full communion with the Holy See, one must accept those affirmations and teachings of Vatican II that are pastoral and certainly non-definitive in terms of their magisterial nature. This raises an important question: Why is the unconditional acceptance of the texts of Vatican II presented as a conditio sine qua non for full communion with the Holy See, while no comparable requirement exists with respect to the pastoral, disciplinary, or non-definitive teachings of the preceding twenty Ecumenical Councils?
Among the non-definitive teachings of Vatican II there are several—particularly those concerning religious liberty, ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, and collegiality—whose formulations are ambiguous and difficult to reconcile with doctrines taught consistently by the Magisterium from the era of the Church Fathers through the period immediately preceding the Council.
There is also the question of the ritual and doctrinal deficiencies of the Novus Ordo Missae. Such concerns can no longer be dismissed out of hand...
.The good Bishop's observations and questions are not only sincere, but valid. The ambiguities expressed in some of the VatII docs have been remarked upon since they day they were published, and by people of good will (and some not-so-good-willed.)
We are not adherents to SSPX, and we attend a New Rite parish--but are perfectly comfortable in the Old Rite and are sympathetic to those who prefer it.
It appears that Pope Leo is .........ahhh.........ambiguous about this whole thing. He is certainly hesitant about attempting to enforce any sort of "ban" on the Old Rite. That said, some of his lieutenants in the Vat are hell-bent for leather to crucify the SSPX along with the Old Rite.
Stay tuned.
4 comments:
We need the old rites clarity in Church teaching as we are failing with the Vatican II B.S.
For example look at the state of the culture:
40% of All Babies Born in U.S. Last Year Were to Unmarried Mothers
https://www.lifenews.com/2026/06/05/40-of-all-babies-born-in-u-s-last-year-were-to-unmarried-mothers/
Get rid of Vatican II and the SSPX Problem goes away
…….WE speak of the things which you see with your own eyes, which We both bemoan. Depravity exults; science is impudent; liberty, dissolute. The holiness of the sacred is despised; the majesty of divine worship is not only disapproved by evil men, but defiled and held up to ridicule. Hence sound doctrine is perverted and errors of all kinds spread boldly. The laws of the sacred, the rights, institutions, and discipline — none are safe from the audacity of those speaking evil. Our Roman See is harassed violently and the bonds of unity are daily loosened and severed. The divine authority of the Church is opposed and her rights shorn off. She is subjected to human reason and with the greatest injustice exposed to the hatred of the people and reduced to vile servitude. The obedience due bishops is denied and their rights are trampled underfoot. Furthermore, academies and schools resound with new, monstrous opinions, which openly attack the Catholic faith; this horrible and nefarious war is openly and even publicly waged. Thus, by institutions and by the example of teachers, the minds of the youth are corrupted and a tremendous blow is dealt to religion and the perversion of morals is spread. So the restraints of religion are thrown off, by which alone kingdoms stand. We see the destruction of public order, the fall of principalities, and the overturning of all legitimate power approaching. Indeed this great mass of calamities had its inception in the heretical societies and sects in which all that is sacrilegious, infamous, and blasphemous has gathered as bilg water in a ship’s hold, a congealed mass of all filth……
—- Mirari Vos, On Liberalism and Religious Indifferentism
Pope Gregory XVI, 1832
Lots of People, lots of Religious
WATCH: Society of Saint Pius X consecrates four bishops
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/watch-society-of-saint-pius-x-consecrates-four-bishops/?utm_source=popular
The Superior General
To His Holiness
Pope Leo XIV
Ecône, 30 June 2026
Most Holy Father,
Thank you very much for the letter that Your Holiness so kindly addressed to me.
I have been deeply touched by Your paternal solicitude.
For a long time, I had hoped to have the opportunity of meeting You in person, in order to express to You directly our sincere desire to serve the Church. Unfortunately, that opportunity has not presented itself.
I ask only that You consider the sincerity of this intention, which is in no way feigned. Paradoxically, in the present circumstances, we believe it to be our very duty to do everything possible to mend Christ's seamless garment, torn by forces and pressures incompatible with a truly Catholic spirit. I ask only that You consider the authenticity of this intention before making a decision concerning the Society of Saint Pius X. It is not yet too late.
Far be it from us to separate ourselves from the Roman Church. We desire, on the contrary, to serve her by means that are extraordinary, as one would assist a mother in distress who requires particular help, even if such help is not understood by everyone. Yet I am certain that the Holy Father could understand it.
The Holy See has shown itself capable of understanding very complex situations and of allowing time for discernment.
May I therefore filially ask Your Holiness to take the time necessary for that discernment.
If my own words are not sufficient, I would ask You to reflect upon two very simple facts. First, in 1988 the Society was already declared schismatic, for reasons and in circumstances entirely analogous to those of today. Yet, after so many years, we are speaking together as a father and his son. Your Holiness is paternally urging me to avoid a schism which, theoretically, has already taken place. Does not Your very attitude—whose paternal concern I deeply appreciate—constitute proof that the Society is neither schismatic nor hostile to the Church?
Secondly, some years ago, the Holy See entrusted two bishops of the Church with the task of engaging in dialogue with the Society of Saint Pius X: Bishop Vitus Huonder, then Bishop of Chur, now deceased, and Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of Astana. Both, after taking the necessary time for discernment, recognised the profoundly Catholic spirit of the Society and bore public witness to it.
Above all, however, I venture to address Your Holiness in the name of the thousands of souls who have rediscovered the Catholic faith and the practice of religion through the apostolate of the Society. This is a fact of which Your predecessors themselves took note. These souls have but one desire: to attain salvation through this instrument which Divine Providence has placed at their disposal. They have suffered, and they are sincere. I am confident that Your paternal heart as universal Shepherd will be moved by this very particular situation. One day, all the difficulties between the Holy See and the Society will be resolved. A gesture of understanding on Your part, far from harming unity, could only manifest before the world and before all Christians Your concern for unity and Your goodness as a father.
I leave all this to Your consideration. I renew my prayers for Your Holiness.
For a long time, even before Your election, I have been praying to Saint Rita for the present situation. I saw in the election of an Augustinian Pope a sign of hope. I am certain that the Saint will intercede. It is never too late.
Please give us Your blessing.
I take this opportunity to remain, with the deepest devotion in Our Lord,
Don Davide Pagliarani
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