The Modernist Crisis

In the dialogue between the CDF and the SSPX it would seem that there is a long road ahead towards reconciliation.  It appears that the questions on the Vatican II teachings on Ecumenism and Religious Liberty seems to be the point of contention.  In my personal reflection I would say that the basic problem with the modern church today is the problem of continuity.  There are sectors in the church and they are influential which hold to the idea (directly or indirectly) that the church started at Vatican II and that whatever is of the past have been supplanted by Vatican II.  In other words they think that Vatican II is a super Dogma that overturn the others.  But this is the fallacious argument.  They failed to understand that Living Tradition means continuity.  This feeling was evident in the sermon of Bishop Fellay and I hope I got it right.

And practically, at many levels, we have to say no. Not because it does not please us, but because the Church has already spoken about that. Even many of these things it has condemned them. And so, in our discussions with Rome we were, so to say, stuck there. The key problem in our discussions with Rome was really the Magisterium, the teaching of the Church. Because they say, "we are the pope, we are the Holy See" – and we say, yes. And so they say, "we have the supreme power," and we say, yes. They say, "we are the last instance in teaching and we are necessary" – Rome is necessary for us to have the Faith, and we say, yes. And then they say, "then, obey." And we say, no. And so they say to us, you are protestant. You put your reason above the Magisterium of today. And we answer to them, you are Modernists. You pretend that the teaching of today can be different from the teaching of yesterday. We say, when we adhere to what the Church has taught yesterday, we, by necessity, adhere to the teaching of the Church today. Because the truth is not linked to time. The truth is above it. What has been said once is binding all times. These are the dogmas. God is like that; God is above time. And the Faith is adhering to the truth of God. It’s above time. That’s why the church of today is bound and has to be like (not only like) the Church of yesterday. And so when you see the present pope say that there must be continuity in the Church, we say, of course! That is what we have said at all times. When we talk about tradition, that’s precisely the meaning. They say, there must be Tradition, there must be continuity. So there is continuity. Vatican II has been made by the Church, the Church must be continuous, so Vatican II is Tradition. And we say, beg your pardon? 

For an excerpt of his sermon visit the website of  St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary 

Let us pray harder and let us stay on with the faith humbly following the Lord in this most difficult struggle and seek the guidance of the Virgin Mary.