What I copy below is from Sileri non possum’s English commentary on Pope Leo’s elocution to an organization of Eastern Catholics. You can read the entire English commentary HERE.
What I highlight in red below, though, is the most important part of the Pope’s talk in my book and His Holiness has said similar things in the past about the East.
Under Pope Benedict’s Summorum Pontificum, His Holiness showed clearly the similarity between the “united, yet not uniform” two forms of the one Roman Rite, the Ancient Order and the Bugnini Order.
But Pope Leo XIV brings in a new dimension, that of spiritual and theological diversity that enriches each other, another type of “united, yet not uniform”
This can clearly be applied to the FSSPX!
For example, in the East, there is a completely different emphasis on the purification that takes place after death, the anthropology of the sacraments, and in many Eastern Rites, they join with Eastern Orthodoxy in saying that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, not the Father and the Son as the West has emphasized. And this is in their liturgical Creed! They also have their own Code of Canon Law.
In our own Western or one Latin Rite, it is obvious that the FSSPX disagree with the liturgical reform carried out by Bugnini and approved by St. Pope Paul VI.
They also reject Vatican II’s religious liberty document, ecumenical dialogue with other Christian Communions and dialogue with non-Christian religions and even non-believers.
I believe that the Eastern Rites reject much more about Vatican II than the FSPPX and also many other ecumenical Councils since the Great Schism, yet they are in full Communion with the Pope and the Holy See.
The Eastern Rites are the model to promote true unity in the Church and full Communion—and that is what Pope Leo is saying in the remarks I paste below:
Formation and identity: “supporting a Church does not merely mean providing it with material means”
…the Pope expressed his appreciation for the particular richness of the Eastern Catholic communities, guardians of traditions they share with the Orthodox Churches. He dwelt on the image of a Church “united, yet not uniform”, whose “fertile womb has given birth to various spiritual and theological traditions, as well as different rites and disciplines, which enrich one another”. In support of this, he cited the Second Vatican Council, which taught that the different theological formulations of East and West “are often to be considered complementary rather than conflicting”.
The Christian East, he warned, “can only be preserved if it is understood: to lose that understanding is to impoverish the Church”. To know and love it, however, there must be investment in formation — a need already indicated by John Paul II in Orientale lumen, from which Leo XIV took up the invitation “to deepen … knowledge of the spiritual traditions of the Fathers and Doctors of the Christian East” and to offer appropriate teaching on these subjects in seminaries and theological faculties.
To this bond between knowledge and charity, between “open minds and working hands”, the Pope added the need for a spiritual foundation: the spiritual life, constancy in prayer and participation in the sacraments. Good works, he recalled, referring to the Letter of James, bear no lasting fruit unless they are nourished at their source, which is God; and if “faith without works is also dead”, it is equally true that works, without a living faith, remain fruitless.
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The Silere Non Possum article noted that Pope Leo XIV's address in question focused great attention upon the subject of war.
The article's headline has reflected that.
-- Leo XIV to ROACO: while you generate life, others sow death
The article noted that the second part of our Holy Father's address in question concerned "The denunciation: war and “instability”
Pope Leo XIV declared:
"My dear friends...I cannot help but think of how much money, in this dark period of history, is being wasted on killing, squandered by so many who foment wars."
"While you generate life, they sow death; while you reach out to your brother, they seek enemies to crush; while you create dialogue, they seek monologues; while you open paths of hope, they lock people into fear; while you build the future, they destroy the present.
"How can we fail to think of the painful exodus of Eastern Christians from their own lands, caused above all by war — which, I repeat, does not solve problems but creates tragedies, tragedies..."
"There is a plague, a scourge born of war, which I would like to speak about today, one that continues to drain the life blood of the Eastern Churches in particular. I define it with a single word: instability.
"When a visitor travels to a country that has experienced conflicts...those societies are weakened by institutional instability, by the presence of armed gangs that divide up the territory and by a political system influenced and, not infrequently, manipulated by external agents and interests."
"As a result, a perpetual cycle of instability is created, stifling opportunities for development and always falling hardest on the poor.
"As a result, fear and insecurity prevail everywhere in many countries: jobs seem precarious, wages are paid irregularly, healthcare — when it functions at all — is sporadic and education remains precarious.
"It becomes a tragedy that weighs on everyone’s hearts, devours hopes and makes it impossible to build for the future, which drives many to leave, as is the case for so many of our brothers and sisters in faith, especially in the Middle East.
"I would like to appeal once again for reflection on the consequences of war and instability and for their prevention through wise and responsible decision making..."
"History shows how the schemes of violence and oppression, of power and domination, of gains made without justice and without scruples, backfire not only against those who suffer them, but also against those who pursue them.
"Let us pray to Jesus, the Lord of peace, and appeal to people’s consciences so that they may be moved by indignation; and may respect for humanity and a proper sense of civility be restored!"
Pax.
Mark Thomas
National Catholic Register published about one week ago the following article:
https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/chapp-church-situation-sspx
-- Is the Church as Troubled as the SSPX Claims?
"COMMENTARY: While the Catholic Church faces serious difficulties, the situation is not as dire as the SSPX claims.
"The best counterargument the Church can offer is a renewed focus on the many things that are right with the Church."
Larry Chapp declared that "the claim by the SSPX leadership that the Church is in such a grave crisis of apostasy that the society’s schismatic acts are warranted and, therefore, are not even really schismatic at all."
"I reject such an assertion."
"Is it really as dark as the SSPX claims?
"No, it is not, and therefore the best counterargument that the Church can give to the SSPX is to begin a renewed focus on what is right with the Church and why it is not in a grave crisis, despite its problems."
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Father McDonald,
I bet if you tallied the German bishops' rejection of portions of the Catholic Faith, in contrast to the SPPX, the Germans would win that prize, hands down. It might help some of us who do not follow this slavishly, to know exactly what articles of the Catholic Faith that SPPX rejects. A list would be helpful instead of screeching, "they are against Vatican II!"
Of course he knows; but he does not care how hypocritical it is. He (and the Spirit of Vatican II crowd) want to crush tradition.
This plea reflects what is very wrong with the Church: uncharitable, leftwing bishops:
Charity? Mercy? Pastoral concern? Unfortunately, these concepts in the Church only apply in one direction, just as in politics many on the left believe in the rule of “no enemies on the left”. Although many bishops are quite willing to tolerate all sort of abuses on the”left”, on what they perceive as the “right” there is nothing but strict by the book enforcement. Our parish has been blessed for 10 years by a pastor who, in addition to offering a very reverent Novus Ordo, is authorized to also offer the Traditional Latin Mass and we usually have a Missa Cantata every Sunday and also on special occasions. Unfortunately, our pastor is retiring and although he previously trained or new pastor, our new bishop refuses to request a dispensation from Rome to allow the TLM to continue. The TLM, is well attended, has a large group of dedicated altar servers, and an excellent trained choir. Interestingly, the TLM is attended by several large families with small children and some of them are Spanish speaking who prefer the TLM over our Spanish Mass. We have begged the bishop for charity to no effect. Letters, petitions, all to no effect. He has even refused an invitation to simply attend our TLM and talk to us before shutting us down. Charity? No where to be found.
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