In the Diocese of Chur (?) in Switzerland, the local bishop will not discipline three parishioners gave Consecrated Hosts, that is, Our Lord Himself, to their dogs. The bishop's name is Joseph Vonamane, and has instructed his priests not to condemn LGBTQ behavior. The 1983 code of canon law attaches automatic excommunication to certain offenses, among them being desecration of the Holy Eucharist.
In the LifeSite News clip, Westin quotes the bishop as excusing those parishioners for they "did not act with sacrilegious intent". So everything is just hunky-dorry over in Switzerland, right? Well, hold that thought as we consider another situation where the excommunication sword is most definitely being rattled in iss scabbard.
As most of us know by now, the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) will consecrate new bishops to relieve their aging bishops. They do not have an official papal mandate to do so, despite their attempts to obtain one. The Vatican has thus far remained obdurate. Many are puzzled by this strong-arming from the Vatican. I am not. Ladies and gentlemen, the SSPX, owing to their fidelity to traditional liturgy and Sacred Tradition, remind the current pope and his aficionados of the sinfulness of their own disregard for the Deposit of Faith. The SSPX, by their very existence, rightly rebukes the progressives who are attempting to destroy the Church from within. They want the destruction of the SSPX. That is why they won't approves of the ordination of SSPX bishops.
Faithful Catholics have been pointing out the utter folly of denying permission to the SSPX for the ordination of those bishops. I will not rehash what they say here, but recommend them to your reading. My blogging colleague at Les Femmes makes the point that supplied jurisdiction can and often does override strict adherence to official jurisdiction. She cited examples such as English priests ministering to the faithful under the reign of Elizabeth I. Maike Hickson points out that it is the Vatican's tinkering with Tradition that is the true cause of disunity, not the SSPX's attempts to preserve Tradition.
Rorate Caeli published a piece authored by the Canon of Shaftesbury that explained why the proposed excommunication of the SSPX simply doesn't pass canonical muster. I will quote one key passage: "Furthermore, for a canonical act to constitute schism, there must be a positive will to separate from the Roman Pontiff or to refuse submission to his authority (cf. Canon 751). This is an essential element of the offense, not merely an aggravating circumstance. Bishop Athanasius Schneider and other reputable canonists have argued persuasively that the SSPX lacks this intent entirely. The Society professes full submission to the Roman Pontiff, accepts his doctrinal primacy, and explicitly does not seek to establish a parallel hierarchical jurisdiction."
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| Pope Leo! Listen up! |
Let's look at Pope Leo himself and his visit to the Mosque of Algiers last month. Upon entering, he removed his shoes and expressed "gratitude for being in a place that represents the space proper to God". It should be noted that others inside that room kept their shoes on. Recall also that last October, the pope gave a "prayer room" to Muslins inside the Vatican. He facilitated prayer to an idol at best, and perhaps a demon itself.
Now go back to that list of excommunicable offenses. I see "apostates, heretics and schismatics" listed therein. Is the pope himself excommunicated?

The problem for the SSPX is that they recognize Leo as pope. They are refusing to submit to his authority in regard to the planned consecrations. You can't have it both ways.
ReplyDeleteIs it not possible to recognize someone with legitimate authority and at the same time refuse obedience to them if one discerns - whether rightly or wrongly - that they are abusing their authority?
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is. In fact, if a person in authority abuses it, we sin against honesty by not pointing it out.
DeleteThe pope, if you accept Leo as such, is the proximate rule of faith - not you. It is certainly not an abuse of papal authority to control episcopal ordinations. By what authority do you get to oppose a legitimate pope exercising his right of office? The Church is a hierarchy.
DeleteAgain, you can't have it both ways.
Who should be excommunicated? Let's start with the Pope and then starting working our way down through the Cardinals.
ReplyDeleteWe lay people haven't the authority to do that, but we can certainly recognize when the excommunication saber is being rattled in disregard for canon law and Church Tradition.
Delete"Disregard of canon law"? That's quite a take:
DeleteCode of Canon Law (1983), Canon 1013 (and related canons like 1382/1387): No bishop is permitted to consecrate anyone a bishop without a pontifical mandate. The Supreme Pontiff freely appoints bishops or confirms those lawfully elected (Canon 377 §1).
Mr Frisbee, I am curious. Do you have your own blog or other forum where you discuss the problems in the Church, or do you simply come onto other's forums to not so subtly suggest sedevacantism?
DeleteI don't have my own blog, nor do I "stalk" others to promote sedevacantism. I think we can all agree that there is a crisis in the Church and, for me at least, it starts at the top.
DeleteI'm open to sedevacantism, sedeprivationism, "Benevacantism," impeded see, etc. as they all recognize the papacy without diminishing it while trying to explain the crisis. Yes, each theory has holes in it. However, the "Recognize and Resist" approach undermines the office of pope, such that I've been told the Councils of Constance and Nicea taught error, that Vatican 1 (Pastor Aeternus) needs to be re-interpreted, and that legitimate popes can teach error in documents binding on all of the faithful. No orthodox Catholic prior to Francis would support any of these positions, but that's what R&R leads to....
Such a dismal situation. I'm wondering how the Lord is going to bring good out of it. Perhaps strengthening the faithful by suffering persecution while we persevere. It builds spiritual muscle.
ReplyDelete