Dear Father, the situation in the Church has gotten even more confusing since the consecration of the four bishops by the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). The four new bishops and the bishops consecrating them have been declared excommunicated; it seems the SSPX priests have been declared schismatic and threatened with excommunication, and even laity who ‘adhere’ to the schism of the SSPX are threatened with excommunication. The reaction of commentators has been all over the ballpark—even commentators I generally trust as orthodox and conservative. What gives??
Dear Reader: Amazing, isn’t it? I can’t think of another situation which has been so poorly, even disastrously handled, although the East-West schism of 1054 might qualify.
The SSPX maintains that the Church is in a state of extraordinary crisis, and that it is impelled by the duty of fidelity to God to take the actions it has taken. The Holy See seems in denial about that ‘state of extraordinary crisis.’ I find that denial interesting. Just within the last few days of this writing I have read about a London church—a Catholic church—in which a public Mass was celebrated for the fiftieth anniversary of a particular couple. Two bishops were present and concelebrating, the main celebrant was a priest friend of the couple, the homily was preached by a Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church (Timothy Cardinal Radcliffe, the Dominican, created Cardinal by Pope Francis), the congregation was composed of people from various places and even international guests. The celebration was the golden anniversary of a homosexual couple.
The Holy See can issue norms and protocols until the cows come home; this was not a “non-liturgical blessing,” spontaneous and informal, by any means. I have heard nothing about this scandal being addressed.
Frankly, I think we are watching the emergence of a moment of tragically missed opportunity.
Robert Cardinal McElroy, Archbishop of Washington, offered Mass at Georgetown University for 500 attendees of the “Outreach Conference” of “LGBTQ+ Catholics” on June 20th. He cited as a great sign of hope the assertion of Leo XIV, on his Africa trip, that “the unity or division in the Church should not revolve around sexual matters.” And he also cited the controversial report of Study Group 9 of the 2024 Synod which, he said, offered a “new paradigm” (which seems to move away from concentration on natural law principles to focus on ‘lived experience’ of believers).
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But, no, we’re not in a state of extraordinary crisis. Nothing to see here. And don’t look over at Germany either…
Frankly, I think we are watching the emergence of a moment of tragically missed opportunity. Instead of endless conversation about Walking Together In Synodality, Just War Theory and Being Nice to Migrants, I wish that the Holy Father would address the whole Church—bishops, priests, Religious and laity—from his pastoral heart and say:
“In light of the recent events in the Church’s life, I would suggest that it is time to stop, take a deep breath, invoke the unfailing assistance of the Holy Spirit and enter into a wide-ranging, profound and honest conversation as a Church about ‘the signs of the times,’ as the Fathers of the Second Vatican urged. You may recall that two of my predecessors, Pope St John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, expressed awareness of the need for continued examination and interpretation of the Council documents in light of the whole Tradition, particularly of the teaching of previous councils and of previous Popes. The need for this has only grown more acute with the passage of time. Divisions have arisen among us which are all the more painful for being mostly differences between believers in good faith. I wish to apologize to those who have been harmed and dis-edified by the persistence of this situation, and Today, mindful of my obligation to ‘strengthen the brethren,’ I call the whole Church, clergy and Faithful, to prayerful consideration of the crisis in the Church’s life which has been caused by ambiguous and even false teachings and an evident impulse in many places to push for change while neglecting the reverence for Sacred Tradition which must always be a hallmark of faithful Catholics.
“Shortly I will communicate with the College of Cardinals and the heads of the various national episcopal conferences inviting their thoughts on the state of the Church. I will also be reaching out to the Superiors of the contemplative religious communities of the Church urgently asking that they accompany this process with their fervent prayers. I will also be in communication with heads of various groups and associations of the Faithful, inviting their perspective on these matters. Upon receiving and pondering the reflections of the Cardinals and heads of the episcopal conferences and the lay groups I will announce the details of the process of examining and clarifying the need to achieve and strengthen a consistent ‘hermeneutic of continuity,’ to recall the famous phrase of Pope Benedict.
“In the meantime, I recall another phrase of Pope Benedict, in his Letter to the Bishops of 7 July 2007 accompanying the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum: ‘In the history of the Liturgy growth and progress are found, but not a rupture. What was sacred for prior generations, remains sacred and great for us as well, and cannot be suddenly prohibited altogether or even judged harmful.’ It is tragic that the matter of the sacred Liturgy has become a cause of division among us. Conditions in the Church are obviously different from the time of the 16 July 2021 issuing of Traditiones Custodes of my predecessor Pope Francis of blessed memory. Therefore, in the interests of safeguarding the rights of the Faithful, I declare the motu proprio Traditiones Custodes abrogated, along with the Letter to the Bishops which accompanied it, and the motu proprio of Benedict XVI Summorum Pontificum and the Letter to the Bishops which accompanied it reissued in full force. And may it be that we all remember the phrase so often attributed to Saint Augustine : In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.“
If the Holy Father did this, I would suggest that finally a long-standing, critical need of the Church could be addressed honestly and forthrightly.
