A Sound of Sheer Silence

The Society of St. Pius X, or "SSPX" is a dissident group of Catholics that split off from the main body of the Church after the Second Vatican Council under the leadership of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.  Their objections were numerous, essentially all of a traditionalist variety.  In the 80s. Pope John Paul II excommunicated Lefebvre for ordaining new bishops.  In the 00s, Pope Benedict rescinded those excommunications in preparation for a deal believed to be imminent to bring them back into the fold.  That deal fell through, for reasons that vary depending on who you talk to.  Since then, they have been in a kind of limbo. Recently, reports have surfaced that a new deal is in the works, and that reconciliation is imminent.  Based on the reporting that has been happening, and now an interview with the leader of the SSPX , it appears that a reunion will occur without any preconditions or concessions from the SSPX side.  If this does come to pass, I b...

Yesterday I wrote a post suggesting that Catholics should channel Nick Saban and embrace The Process .  Clearly, Michael Brendan Dougherty is not college football fan . I guess I have two major take-aways from this piece.  One, I simply cannot fathom why people like Dougherty (and, to a less extent, Ross Douthat ) think that so much is at stake with the so-called Kasper proposal specifically and the Synod discussions generally.  Prior to the coming of Pope Francis, the Catholic Church's position was that marriages are indissoluble in theory, but in practice in most dioceses in the world one could get out from under a failed marriage to remarry through the annulment process.  After Pope Francis's canon law reforms a few weeks ago, the position of the Church is that marriages are indissoluble in theory, but in practice in most dioceses in the world one could get out from underneath a failed marriage to remarry through the ( now faster and more "user friendly" ) annu...