 |
| Pope Francis |
We have a new Pope! After five ballots, the cardinals have elected Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, who has now taken the name of Pope Francis. I quite like the name, and I liked what I saw of him when he stepped out onto the balcony; I also liked what I read about him on Wikipedia, although there wasn't very much there. I have yet to learn what his opinions are about tradition and liturgy and that sort of thing. In his archdiocese where he was archbishop, Summorum Pontificum has hardly been applied, apparently, and the SSPX seem to have had little success there (not sure of the details of all this...), which are somewhat frightening things to know. But I don't know. I will not lose hope. It is time now to pray for Pope Francis, in thanksgiving for his election, and in humble petition that he will benefit the Church and contribute to the restoration it to its former glory. Long live the Pope!
Yay pope!
ReplyDeleteThe lack of success of SSPX is a good thing. Be not afraid.
Maybe so; depends on what kind of success...
ReplyDeleteAnd I should make clear it's not just the SSPX's "success" that I'm thinking about here, but Traditional Catholicism in general. I'm reading a bit which gives the impression that it hardly thrived at all in his archdiocese.
ReplyDeleteSSPX is a form of cafeteria catholicism, so I'm not shedding any tears about it's failure in his diocese.
ReplyDeleteI assume by "Traditional Catholicism" you meant the Tridentine rite. I doubt he suppressed it. My guesses are A) that there was no demand for it in his diocese, which is reasonable considering they have a very different cultural heritage. Just like the Caldean rite fits people in the Middle East better than the Tridentine or the Ordinary form. The same rite is not equally good for everyone. B) There aren't that many Latin Mass "Saying" priests, ergo, not all dioceses get a vibrant, Latin loving community.
I'll stand corrected if somebody finds something conclusive, but I see no reason to expect the devil hiding behind every corner here.
Well I would disagree about SSPX being a form of cafeteria Catholicism; at least, I would disagree with generalizing it as such. Certain some SSPXers will approach in that way, but I think one finds in the Society a much more sincere and authentic approach to the Catholic faith than one would find among average Catholics today. That said, the fact that they are not reconciled does provide a real obstacle to my sympathizing with them completely. Hence, I suppose that neither do I shed many tears for their failures, except their failure of obedience to the Pope... Ack. I don't know. I'm just a bit lost about what to think about the SSPX...
ReplyDeleteAnd in reply to what you say about Traditional Catholicism and the Tridentine Rite... I don't think I can make a sufficient answer yet, but I have read passing comments to the effect that he did indeed suppress the application of Summorum Pontificum - I don't know how, or if it is even true. Even if the Tridentine Rite might not fit best in that culture, the fact that Pope Benedict wanted it applied wherever it was called for means that it ought not to be suppressed - so I would think. But then again, as you say, there may not have been a demand for it... I think we can only speculate. Time will tell what sort of a Pope he will be for us; for now we can only pray.
South Americans dislike worshiping in a foreign language in general,so a lack of Tridentine Mass would follow naturally from their culture. I expect that you would find similar numbers throughout the rest of the continent.
ReplyDelete