The feast of St. Pius V came and went without so much as a peep from any dicastery of the Holy See. Nary a word was issued from the Apostolic Palace which might widen the use of the older form of Mass, the so-called "Tridentine" form.
yawn
In the meantime, according to a paper that comes from my home town, the SSPX bishop Bernard Tissier de Mallerais has blasted the Pope as a do nothing and a heretic, in so many words.
Yah… that’ll help, I think.
There’s a preview at
http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/mershon/060501
of a forthcoming article in another paper from your home town, in which the president of Una Voce International says the federation was consulted and that “My personal feeling is that late summer is a possible timeframe” for some kind of formal document from the Holy See.
I wonder whether this is developing into a situation like the English translation of the missal, about which Cardinal Pell recently recalled that several years ago he’d predicted that it would be finished in a couple of years, and that he still thinks that’s the best available estimate.
On the other hand, let us not forget that May 5 (this coming Friday) is the real Feast of St. Pius V — on the traditional calendar that surely would be followed in such a matter as this.
After (once again) yesterday’s weekly “Sunday Liturgy” – a compilation of banalities, silliness, abuse, and a general eucharistic irreverence (with the seats in the church arranged in such a way that those who face the altar have their backs to the tabernacle [but they can see the guitar player and his chorus of sexy girls]) – I feel like the bark of Peter is violently shaking and I am overboard hanging on with one hand to a piece of rope that’s about to snap while a party of revelers has taken over the main deck.
In my private prayers I complain to John Paul II in so many words: “do you see this? Now that you can see this from my perspective, do you still think that you couldn’t have, shouldn’t have done anything? See if you’re gonna get canonized!”
Father,
As you know, Bishop Fellay’s term as Superior expires in July. It’s well known that de Mallerais is a sockpuppet for Bishop Williamson, and neither of them want the deal with Rome to go down. They might not get to play pope anymore if that happens. So de Mallerais is out there making Kerryesque speeches for the media and his faction, uttering nonsense and falsehoods like a good little schiklgruber in an attempt to scuttle the process.
I’m sure the Holy Father can see right through such infantile tantrums.
I don’t think that he and Cardinal Hoyos, in whatever negotiations they’re engaged, realistically think a reconciliation will include the Williamson wing. Williamson et. al. are ready to fall in line with the Old Catholics and the Polish Nationals. It’s the perhaps two-thirds of the Society with Bishop Fellay and Father Schmidberger that might come in from the cold. Any increased availability of the old Mass is meant for them, people like myself and my family who genuinely prefer the TLM, and ultimately and especially, the realization of Benedict’s reform of the reform.
De Mallerais and Williamson can go play in the pampas for all I care. Their hearts are hardened and they’re lost to persuasion by compassion, facts, and logic. Only prayer can persuade them now.
Btw, the REAL ;^) feast of Pius V is this coming Friday.
PS – I first registered, went to my e-mail, clicked back to enter my password, got up and down from my computer while writing, before I hit “submit.” I didn’t even SEE that copy-cat Henry Edwards post till then!
What if the Pope was to issue a document and say that we now have de facto two rites: that the Novus Ordo has evolved into a new rite and everyone can choose which rite they wish to belong to. Problem solved! The Novus Ordo folks can function without having to deal with the TLM folks and the TLM folks can have their parishes and liturgy without any restriction from any Novus Ordo bishops.
Did I just invent the light bulb?
Sounds “rite” to me Andrew. Much as I would like to see our schismatic brothers and sisters reunited with the Church, I think it will take more than permitting the TLM for all (though I want to see this anyway). They need a serious attitude adjustment.
One of the reasons that many dioceses have granted the Indult Mass was with the hopes that people going to the SSPX Masses would come home. Some have but some don’t and won’t. I think there is some sin of pride involved there.
Well, I have not kept up with the details on the SSPX re-uniting, but I really get the feeling there are two completely different schools of thought.
From Rome’s perspective, we want to let them back in as simply and easily as possible.
But from the SSPX’s view, they seem to want everything to go back to the way it was in 1960 before they will even seriously consider coming back in.
I just don’t see a resolution to this problem from the things I have heard anyone with SSPX say.
yeah, many people think the primary concern of the SSPX is the preservation of the Faith. Nothing could be further from the truth. The arrogance of the four SSPX Bishops don’t help either.