Rorate Caeli

2 + 2 = 4 (too rigid)
2 + 2 = 6 (too lax)
2 + 2 = 5 (aaah, perfect!)


Antonio Socci, no traditionalist he, has his many idiosyncrasies (Medjugorje is one; his newfound obsession with the 2013 Conclave is another), but he still is a great essayist. From his article praising the beatification of Paul VI and the outcome of the 2014 assembly of the Synod of Bishops:

UNHEARD-OF

[T]he "uprising" of the orthodox prelates of the past Thursday (the anniversary of Wojtyla's election) was an epic and almost miraculous event.

The Church faithful to Tradition prevailed on that day. It was thus established that, just as it had happened in the [February 2014] Consistory [after the presentation of the Kasper proposal], Papa Bergoglio found himself in the minority, practically with a "vote of no confidence".

For this reason, in his final address he rushed to repair things, trying to detach himself from the more Progressive [Fathers], and find for himself a tardive position super partes. Between those who said that two plus two equals four (the orthodox) and those who supported that it equals six (Kasper), Bergoglio proclaimed that it equals five. Jesuitical. But wrong.

The "revolutionary" position of Kasper, who always said (which was never denied) that he spoke in Bergoglio's name, did not win. But it is not clear what the conclusions of the Synod are.

Bergoglio, quoting Benedict XVI, recalled a truth that many of his supporters during these days have forgotten: "the Church is Christ's" and "the Pope... is not the supreme lord but rather the supreme servant ... the guarantor of the obedience and the conformity of the Church to the will of God, to the Gospel of Christ, and to the Tradition of the Church, putting aside every personal whim."

Perhaps the truth is that he tried it and (for the time being) couldn't do it. In the end, there is only one sure outcome: the split of the Church, and great confusion in her Magisterium. [Source: Libero, October 19, 2014]