The Pope revokes the sentence of excommunication upon the Lefebvrists

[fpb]

I am horrified. Of all the unwelcome, untimely, ill-conceived, unnecessary, insulting and disastrous measures Pope Benedict could have taken, this is the worst. On the very week that the most anti-Catholic and pro-abortion President has taken office in Washington DC, the Pope seems to indicate that open flirtations with Le Pen and Pinochet,

Comments

[kgbman]

Calm down. If lifting a decree of excommunication meant the excommunicate was being welcomed back with open arms, then the Orthodox would have all been in communion with Rome for the past forty years. Lifting the decree is only a first step towards eventual reconciliation. Obviously there is still much that needs to be done.

I would add that it is pure wickedness to want to kick anyone out of the Church or to rejoice in their leaving. I guess you could call me "conservative," but I don't want Catholics who believe women should be ordained or that contraception is perfectly moral to become Episcopalians any more than I want racists, fascists, or other unpleasant types to go into schism. The Church is Christ's, and Christ wants everyone. Can you be a good Catholic and hate the Jews or any of your neighbors for that matter? Maybe not at the end, but we're not at the end; the tares are mixed in with the wheat. If Christ is willing to put up with someone like me until then, I'm willing to put up with them.

Re: Yes, I have two LJ accounts and I use them interchangeably.

[fpb]

To ask for evidence that the SSPX are Jew-bashers and fascists is like asking for evidence that the sea is salt. Visit their own websites, google them and see what they have said and published, find out what their founder thought about Petain, about Pinochet, about Videla, about Francisco Franco. I should not have to teach you about this. I have followed the career of Archbishop Lefebvre since 1978, not 1988. You are talking of what you do not know, and what is more, of what you do not want to learn about.

Re: Yes, I have two LJ accounts and I use them interchangeably.

[fpb]

To deserve to be part of the Church, you need to not have gone out of your own will; to not have insulted and charged with heresy four successive Popes; to not have rejected the workings of an Ecumenical Council; to not have done that as adults, in recent year, of your own free choice; and finally to have given the slightest signal of contrition. These people have done absolutely nothing to show that they even begin to regret the schism they have carried out, the heresies they have taught, and the insults they have thrown at Popes and conciliar Fathers. The meanest club would not take back former members who had behaved in such a way.

Re: Yes, I have two LJ accounts and I use them interchangeably.

[fpb]

Oh, and funny how you seem to think that a Papal decision is not to be questioned when it amounts to lifting the condemnation on a schismatic sect, but may quite happily be questioned when it amounts to removing the charge of Deicide from the Jews. Place these two positions you have taken side by side, and they have a most unfortunate effect. Besides, you are grossly wrong: it is not "a Papal declaration", but the Conciliar constitution Nostra Aetate, ratified by Pope Paul VI. Which means that anyone who states that the Jewish nation/religious group as such is guilty of Deicide is in plain violation of the workings of an Ecumenical Council. I suggest you do a little thinking on the matter.

[kgbman]

Well, I should say compared to your post, Dr. Peters is being appropriately hopeful yet cautious.

[fpb]

I should get you a Diplomatic-English dictionary. Translated from Diplomatic, this is an absolutely ringing declaration of lack of confidence in the SSPX.

[fpb]

One thing I have not underlined enough is that these people were NOT in the Church, and therefore your implicit accusation of "pure wickedness" against me is so much hot air - and rather offensive. They were, in case you hadn't noticed, schismatics, and in fact they still are so. As for rejoicing in their leaving, you should tell me where I did that. When it happened, I felt a rather sad sort of satifaction, as of a running sore that had finally been dealt with; but pleasure? If I made the kind of assumptions you seem to be making here, I would ask you not to ascribe to others your own emotions. As for hating the Jews, I refer you to the Conciliar statement Nostra Aetate, which is probably the main reason why the Jew-bashing SSPX still hopes to overturn the Second Vatican Council.