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Rumblings from the SSPX Pews


Rosary Crusade
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Dear TIA,

Fr Meramo in his Open Letter to his Superior General is critical about the use of the Rosary by the SSPX to further the agenda of coming to a deal with the Modernists.

As a matter of interest, barely a month or so after the Rosary Crusade was announced by the SSPX, in October 2008, to have the excommunications lifted, a priest here in India was told by a visiting SSPX priest that the excommunications would be lifted in January 2009. This would be about a month before the actual event.

A few years ago, an Indian Prelate, very senior in the Roman Curia, is supposed to have told an acquaintance in Mumbai that the only obstacle to an SSPX-Rome deal was "that Bishop who had converted from Anglicanism" (Williamson). Now, for whatever reason, Bishop Williamson is to all intents and purposes, out of the way.

     Best wishes & God bless

     N.C.
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Was Fr. Méramo Expelled from SSPX?
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TIA,

I'm confused about what is going on with the SSPX and the Vatican.

I read the letter you posted by SSPX priest Fr. Basil Meramo in Mexico accusing Bishop Fellay of betrayal. Then some one sent me an e-mail from a source I don't trust that said he was expelled from SSPX for writing the letter. So, my question is if you can tell me whether this is really true? If it is, it is very disturbing to say the least.

I read your site everyday and am looking for some direction. Everything is very confused and chaotic in politics and the Church right now, that's the one thing that's for sure.

Thanks for your time.

     In the Immaculate Heart of Mary,

     J.J.F.

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TIA responds:

J.J.F.,

Thank you for your support and constancy in visiting the TIA website. Our effort to post a daily update is rewarded when we learn of persons like you.

The Superior of the SSPX in Mexico, obeying an order of the General Superior, sent a letter to Fr. Basilio Meramo accusing him of going against the discipline of the Congregation and asking him for a public apology for his open letter of January 26, 2009. Should he refuse, the process of his expulsion from SSPX would begin.

Fr. Meramo appealed the decision, arguing that he was not a rebel but a priest in good standing, and that the question was not disciplinary, but theological. According to him, the Superior in Mexico would not have the competence to decide on theological matters, and his case should be heard only by the General Superior. So he was awaiting an answer from the latter.

The polemic continues, and the priest received a second prohibition from the Mexican Superior on behalf of the General Superior. He answered this with a second open letter to Bishop Fellay. We plan to post shortly on our website a precise summary of the controversy and the translation of Fr. Méramo's second open letter.

You are right in saying that everything is very confused. We should not despair, however. It is in difficult situations that recourse to Our Lady is more necessary. Be sure of our prayers for you and for all the members and supporters of SSPX who should be in a similarly afflicted situation.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

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Fr. Méramo's Second Letter
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Dear Tradition in Action,

I have been following the current situation of the SSPX since the revocation of the false excommunications as a concerned Traditional Catholic mother of five who attends an SSPX Mass center in N.Y.

I have also read the translated responses by Fr. Meramo on certain websites and have shared it with other parishioners. I cannot read Spanish and the Babelfish translator does not do a good job in translations.

I found this new letter [his second open letter] by Fr. Meramo to Bishop Fellay on this website and I am wondering if you can please consider translating it into English for your English-speaking readers.

I would greatly appreciate it and I thank you for all your labors to restore all things in Christ and for making Our Lady of Good Success known and loved throughout the world.

May the Holy Family continue to bless and protect your apostolate.

     In The Hearts of the Holy Family,

     Z.N.

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TIA responds:

Dear Mrs. Z.N.,

Thank you for your kind wishes.

We also thank you for sending us the second open letter of Fr. Meramo, which we had already received from other readers in Mexico and Italy. We plan to translate it as soon as our time will allow it. We are going to press with a new book and are running on a tight deadline. We ask your prayers that we may accomplish both tasks.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

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Independent Priests?
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Dear TIA,

Thank you for all the information you've provided on your website as I've learned much about our Catholic Faith. I'm hoping you could provide some insight/advice on the following problem I'm facing.

I currently attend a SSPX chapel (Our Lady of Victory) here in Las Vegas, but I'm very concerned at the direction in which the Society is heading. There's another church (St. Joseph's Traditional Catholic Church) which celebrates the Mass of St. Pius V and I'm very inclined to change chapels due to (in my opinion) the untraditional actions in which Bishop Fellay has recently taken.

My dilemma is that the priest who celebrates the Holy Mass of St. Pius V is an independant priest, and apparently does not have to answer to any higher authority (besides Almighty God Himself).

As a Catholic, should I be researching his background as to his ordination and why he does not have any superiors to answer to? Or is it sufficient to just accept that the "fully Traditional Mass" is being celebrated (without politics) where my family and I can start attending? My two children have also been baptized at the SSPX chapel and the Godparents are both SSPX members (not related), but (as I've stated before) I'm very uncomfortable with the recent things taking place within the SSPX and very comfortable with leaving. The most important thing to me and my family is our salvation.

Your advice will be greatly appreciated.

     May God Bless you all,

     R.W.

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TIA responds:

Dear R.W.,

We understand and respect your serious situation.

In questions of conscience, it is our policy to always leave the decision to the interested party. We can help by offering the necessary information for his/her decision, but the responsibility of doing this or that must be taken by the person involved. The data follow.

Even if a compromise with Progressivism will be actually signed by Bishop Fellay, which so far the news hasn't reported, the Mass and the Sacraments ministered in SSPX chapels continue to be valid. In the case of a clearcut compromise, these chapels would enter the same status as the Fraternity St. Peter, the Institute Christ the King, etc. So, in principle, you may continue to go there to benefit from the Mass and Sacraments. Many of our supporters around the United States assist at Masses at those institutions with this precise objective.

However, when one enters the parish life of the church he attends, he usually experiences a strong pressure to hold the same position of the pastor. So, it is understandable that to avoid such pressure, he would start to look for alternative solutions.

One of these solutions is to go to Eastern Catholic Rites that still maintain their traditional liturgies. A little research is advisable to avoid a futile move.

Another solution is to go, as we just said, to FSP or ICK.

Yet another one is to go to an independent priest. Here also, for the tranquility of one's conscience, he should know who ordained the priest. Normally, a validly ordained priest does not hide the facts about his ordination. We believe that, generally speaking, the ordinations by Novus Ordo Bishops are valid.

In Southern California we have flourishing chapels of independent priests which include some priests coming from the Novus Ordo. As you note, they don't have a superior; therefore, they don't have to give satisfaction about their actions to anyone. However, if they would submit to the Bishop of their area, his first requirements would be for them to adhere to Vatican II and the New Mass. So, the independent priests we are referring to are not independent out of rebellion, but out of fidelity to the Catholic Faith. They would normally submit themselves to an orthodox Bishop should there be one in the area.

We don't recommend that anyone assist at the Masses of priests ordained out of the Catholic Church, in places such as the American Church, the Brazilian Church, and the like. Even though it may be easy to track the validity of the bishops who ordained these priests, the fact that they were in Schism before Vatican II when the general orientation of the Church was healthy, puts them in a zone of high suspicion. Similarly, we do not advise anyone to go to a Catholic priest ordained by a bishop of an "Orthodox" Church.

Here you have some guidelines to help you make a good decision. You may read more on this topic here.

May Our Lady of Good Counsel enlighten you for the spiritual benefit of yourself and your family.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondence desk

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Vatican II in the Light of Tradition
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Dear TIA,

Please read the declaration of Bishop Fellay that he is open to interpret the Council in the light of tradition (Zenit, March 13, 2009).

There are so few Traditional Catholic Masses left, what is one to do if the SSPX folds? Is all hope lost that they will in fact capitulate???

You know this is not just an abstract situation; if the only Traditional Catholic Masses available within 100 miles or less is a SSPX and they go down...(this is the elephant in the living room).

     Your comments, please.

     P.L.S.

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TIA responds:

Dear P.L.S.,

It seems that we are witnessing an ongoing process of compromise. In theory, until the final steps are taken, there is a possibility for a return to a good position. In practice, it seems unlikely that, having gone this far, Bishop Fellay will step back. Whether the other three Bishops will follow him is open to speculation.

On what to do, you may read the previous answer, or a similar answer we have given before here.

     Cordially,

     TIA correspondent desk

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Your Article Inspired a Decision
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Dear TIA,

I wanted to send a quick note of thanks for all the invaluable information I have found on your site. Especially for the information regarding Fatima and for the article I read recently by Fr. Paul Sretenovic entitled Praying the Fifteen Decades of the Rosary.

This article was both informative and inspiring. I grew up in the Novus Ordo Church and was nearly 30-years-old before I ever learned to pray the Rosary. When I first started, I did so only periodically. After having read about Fatima and Our Lady's request that we pray the Rosary each day, I made it a priority to say one set of mysteries every day. I too thought this was sufficient and felt that it would be impossible to do more.

However, after reading Fr. Sretenovic's article last week, I was instantly inspired to say the entire Rosary each day. I have been doing so since then and would never have believed how easily I was able to find time to pray all 15 decades. I am quite grateful for having stumbled upon this article and believe that it was providential that it was now that I found it.

For the last couple of years I have been attending Mass at a chapel of the SSPX. Due to recent events within the Society, I felt it was no longer appropriate to attend Mass there. I did not think I should "wait and see" whether the apparent compromise of the Society would have positive fruits as I was advised.

I now have to drive a great distance to go to Mass and I am no longer able to visit the Blessed Sacrament. Having lost the opportunity to gain graces through attending Mass regularly and of visits to the Blessed Sacrament, it has become all the more important to avail myself of the graces that come through saying the Rosary.

I firmly believe that it was Our Lady who led me to this article and inspired in me the desire to say the full Rosary each day. Even after only a week I already feel the benefits of this good practice and am more convinced than ever that I made the correct decision in no longer attending Mass at the SSPX chapel.

Perhaps if my parents and others after Vatican II had not "waited to see" the fruits of the Council, but had instead followed their good instincts and resisted any compromise to the truth, the Church would not have had to suffer all that she has suffered in recent times. Perhaps I would not have spent the first 30 years of my life lost, confused, and without the graces that come from praying the Rosary.

Thank you again for all that you do to make the truth available to all those who seek it.

     Sincerely,

     C.C.
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Posted March 19, 2009

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The opinions expressed in this section - What People Are Commenting -
do not necessarily express those of TIA


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