Just Thinking Out Loud

Has the alarm gone off in the Vatican corridors?

 

At the end of a very surprising week, let us give some thought on what might (hypothetically) have happened. 

Francis approaches the SSPX with a view to a “reconciliation”. Either in order to see whether they can be trapped (I doubt this; even Francis must recognise they are smarter than him) or, more probably, to counterbalance his heretical project. “See? I want a very wide tent. Everyone will be invited. Let’s not be legalists, everything goes!”

As Francis’ work of destruction goes on, the talks with the SSPX are continued. Francis keeps them in the fridge, ready for use if the occasion arises. Any preliminary agreement would still need his approval, which could be withheld at his pleasure. Detailed agreements are explored. Texts are prepared. The only thing needed is for Francis to push the button.

This one is good to have in the freezer.  Also, when it is decided to do it there might be need for preparation work. This strategy is not new, or extraordinary. The Patti Lateranensi were ready many months before the official announcement, but Mussolini (R.I.P.) needed some time to “work” the party, still dominated by anti-Clerical influences. There is nothing strange in taking time in such matters.   

In September, Francis receives the Dubia letter. Being a clueless, uneducated individual, he initially dismisses it without further thoughts. But he asks around, and is made more familiar with the what and why of the Dubia letter.

Could it really be….? Really…?

Francis does nothing. However, the problem does not go away. He is unofficially warned that silence will not be taken as an answer, much less a satisfactory one. The SSPX is still in the back of his mind. But there’s no reason to play this card now. It’s better to do it, say, at the vigil of the next heretical encyclical letter, and after sending many signals about Francis being the pope of everyone. However, he makes double sure everything is ready.  

Four of the Cardinals go public. Merely hours thereafter, Cardinal Burke makes clear an official correction is in the cards if Francis stays silent. This can be anything from an affirmation of the heresy of some statements in Amoris Laetitia to the alternative for the Pope to recant or be declared a heretic. Francis speaks to Canonists and the rare experts in his entourage. Cardinal Mueller is worried, and he tells Francis so. Alarm bells start to go off, and they get louder by the day as the world press picks the story. His advisers tell him this is really serious, and it could become deadly serious. Francis will soon be seen by the entire Catholic world as a man suspected of heresy by his own Cardinals. Numbers don’t count, facts do. No precedents in more than 700 years.

The alarm bells are now deafening. He needs all the orthodoxy credentials he can muster, sharpish. 

Then the – typical of the man – impulsive, “off the cuff” decision: the button will be pushed now. A letter  is announced (only a few days in advance) to the press. The hoped- for “get out of the heresy trial-card” will be played now. Enter misericordia et misera.

I am not in contact with any fly in the Vatican walls. I have no idea what the document will contain. I am simply trying to connect some dots in a way that seems reasonable to me.   

We will know more in just a few hours. 

M

 

Misericordia Et Misera: SSPX Regularised?

I have this from Father Z’s blog. Rorate Caeli also mentions, and confirms the letter will have something about the SSPX in it. As Rorate is clearly well connected to the SSPX one can be sure something is brewing. It’s not clear to me whether the Eponymous Flower has its own sources  or is reporting external ones; but clearly, this is more than rumour.    

Before anyone panics, let me remind you of this: Bishop Fellay stated in the past that no solution/reconciliation/arrangement would be accepted from the SSPX, that has not been approved by the majority of the SSPX priests.

One can, therefore, be reasonably confident that whilst Francis might have fooled the one or other, he could not have fooled the majority of these good and faithful priests.

We shall see how this pans out. It can be an attempt to prepare a trap. It can also be that starting from last September (when he received the Dubia letter), Francis felt so much in a corner concerning his own orthodoxy that he now has desperate need of conservative credentials. This would, of course, contradict the insults  to the supporters of the Traditional Mass made earlier this week. But again, this is Francis for you. 

Imagine the irony: a V II Pope compelled to regularise the SSPX to counter accusations of heresy. You couldn’t make it up. Divine Humour at work.  

Prayers and confidence in the Divine Providence are in order.    

M

#MAGA Sunday!

I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of watching the Election Night videos…

The Saint Gregory The Great Reblog