SSPX: Papabile Speaks

One of our most-trusted sources on things SSPX has been our dear friend Papabile, currently on blog hiatus....

Here are some historical-practical points he raises in light of Cardinal Arinze's reputed intervention yesterday.

Rome, with Prot # 1411 "forced" the Fraternity of Saint Peter Priests to concelebrate on Holy Thursday to indicate 'unity' with the local Bishop.

This caused a big division in the Fraternity, because they originally thought they were under particular law so that they didn't have to ever offer the Pauline Rite.

Important to Remember is that they are a Society of Apostolic Life under the regional/geographic Bishop, not independent of him. To some extent, they were treated differently, and in exception to Canon 902 because of their role.

Now, with the Apostolic Administration in Campos, they were exempted from this because a) They are affirmatively under a particular [ordinary], Bishop Rifan, and b) They are held under [the Congregation for the Clergy].

Arinze yesterday suggested that the SSPX Priests would have to concelebrate to indicate unity.

1) I don't think it's unreasonable for them to have to be more explicit about their intentions of unity with the local Geographic Bishop, even if they are in a seperate Apostolic Administration. After all, they are a hell of a lot more obstinate that the Campos group was.

2) They way to do this is to require SSPX Priests attend in choir the Holy Thursday Liturgy and to receive the Eucharist from the geographic bishop.

3) Let's face it. The idea that concelebration with the Bishop is required to be in unity with the Church is a) ahistorical, b) uncanonical ( c.f. CIC 902) and c) will fundamentally, in an effort to achieve unity, prevent real unity.

Making them attend in choir, and receive the Eucharist, demands that they recognize the Pauline Rite of the Mass in itself is valid and that they are in communion with the wider Church.

I don't think Arinze is approaching this from a point of view that allows for their views. Ratzinger was one of the main causes for CIC 902 because so many Priests at the time had problems with the issue of concelebration. It was, to a certain extent drafted to protect precisely them.

This is solely for the benefit of our readers who are superlatively invested in the SSPX-Pian-Gallo-Germanic question. I don't know whether to make up or down of it.

Then again, that's why SSPX is Papabile's beat, and I'm just a fill-in....

-30-