The laity are not members of the Society so if rumors turn out to be true, I presume we will be told we cannot fulfill our Sunday obligation by going to Mass at SSPX chapels and that they do not have the authority to forgive sins so sacramental confessions will be invalid. And, of course, so will the sacrament of Confirmation and Matrimony. Whew! The sword of Damocles will be over our heads wielded by Cardinal Fernandez of kissing and porno book fame. Really, it boggles the mind. So while Pope Leo embraces and dialogues with Patriarch Bartholomew of the schismatic Easter Orthodox Church, he refuses to meet with the SSPX.
What a father, eh?
So what was my first thought when I read the articles about what may be, and probably is, coming? Well, I'm a fairy tale kinda gal so I saw Chicken Little dressed like Cardinal Fernandez running around the Vatican barnyard screaming, "The schism is coming, the schism is coming!" My second thought was even less edifying. It was the pope and his cabinet in procession with the Archbishop of Canterbury (who cannot be a priest) and with all the synodal bishops of Germany carrying banners in favor of gay marriage and women's ordination. None of them were wearing any clothes except rainbow stoles with the words "All Are Welcome!" embroidered in gold.
It's hard to take the Vatican seriously these days. The same pope who welcomes a woman "bishop" who cannot possibly be validly ordained and embraces the patriarch of the Eastern Church which is in schism, not to mention allows the German bishops to commit one heretical act after another without rebuke is threatening the SSPX. Why? Isn't every religion on the planet a path to God? Is the SSPX, who remain committed to the Rome of St. Peter and all the faithful popes of the past the only group going to hell going directly to hell without passing go?
The SSPX only wants to continue to do what the Church has always done since the first century -- provide priests to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass giving glorify to God and serving the flock for the salvation of their souls.
That the pope would not even acknowledge the SSPX request for a meeting makes me cry -- literally. "Papa, do you love us? Do you care about us? When will you hear the cries of your poor children?"
Do I sound cavalier? I'm not; I'm grief stricken. Am I looking forward to schism? No! But if schism didn't frighten Pope Francis, why should it frighten us? And if Cardinal Fernandez is the instrument of persecution it becomes even less frightening. Was Jesus frightened when He was betrayed with a kiss from Judas? Should we fear the kiss of spiritual death from the likes of Fernandez?
According to Montagna, the Vatican is preparing for the exodus of priests from the SSPX if the excommunication goes into effect. But I suspect the number leaving will be few. The crisis in the Church has exploded like a nuclear bomb since 1988 and is much more obvious to Catholics. The prophecies of mystics approved by the Church warned us about the collapse of the Church from the very top. I doubt if many of the laity will abandon the SSPX or will stop praying for eternal Rome. We are not fair weather friends to either, but it's all too clear that something's rotten in the state of Vatican City.
At any rate, in these last few months before the consecrations I will be praying daily as I do always for the pope and the hierarchy. I will never stop practicing the faith as I was taught it from my childhood. That the pope and many of the bishops and clergy practice a faith almost unrecognizable from what I learned at my mother's knee is a tragedy beyond belief.
I do have one question. In the event of excommunication, who will really be in schism, breaking away from the Church of Christ? Who will really be abandoning the Faith of our Fathers and of the apostles? I leave the answer of that question to God.
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