Rorate Caeli

The Battle for the Heart of Tradition


At this point, nobody outside the inner circles of the Vatican knows for sure if or what the Holy Father will offer toward a possible reconciliation between the SSPX and Rome, but that does not prevent people from expressing their firm opinions, and they have:

AGAINST a possible reconciliation (February 2006):
...Clearly, we are at an important crossroads. The aging Roman establishment is losing confidence that their conciliar Revolution will survive. Tradition is storming back into the lifeblood of the universal Church as the churches of the Novus Ordo empty out and are sold to the highest bidder. This is obviously no time for traditionalists to back down, nor is the time right for the SSPX to end its standoff in the name of holy Tradition or to agree to anything less than a deal based on Rome’s promise to recall Vatican II...
FOR a possible reconciliation and a response to the previous statement (March 13, 2006):


...In conclusion we might ask ourselves: what is going to be the probable outcome of the bitter zeal of the writers of this manifesto in the case that their wrong advice is taken? First, that the full union of the SSPX with the Church will be further delayed. Second, that their current irregular canonical position might evolve with the passage of time into a formal schism. Third, that it is a totally flawed way of thinking to assert: "In fact, it seems obvious that at this point in time, the entire traditionalist movement benefits from the SSPX remaining exactly where it is." Any traditional manual of Moral theology would show to the authors of this manifesto that we should never do evil to obtain good...


The battle rages on...
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Dear reader, in order to fully appreciate the current affairs involving the SSPX and understand the many views involved, please read the latest interviews of actual decision makers, Bishop Bernard Fellay (here - "I would say that regarding this case Williamson is more pessimistic and I am more optimistic.") and Bishop Richard Williamson (here).