I'm not demanding that you change your position(after all, you are your each your own person, with free will)
What I do ask is for you to appreciate the fact that your "chosen path" is fraught with at least as much danger, and is every bit as sloppy/messy as the SSPX path you look down upon.
I guess my view is that Sedevacantists miss the point. They are so focused on whether or not a heretic can be pope, and whether or not Benedict XVI is a heretic, that they lose sight of the big picture. They lose sight of many things:
1. Dismissing the pope really solves nothing.
2. They are really dismissing the entire institutional Catholic Church, not JUST the Pope, reducing the size of the Church Christ founded by an order of magnitude (from 900 million, down to about 900 -- or even 90, depending on the Sedevacantist)
3. There are very real issues with laymen attributing authority to themselves that an Ecuмenical Council would tremble to wield.
4. Sedevacantism has very serious issues with trust. In most cases, trust is non-existent.
5. All the adherents of Sedevacantism have only "secession" as a unifying factor, if you can call it that. That is why Sedevacantist groups are constantly fighting, splitting and sub-dividing -- actually much like Protestantism, which, while different in many important ways, is also similar in many ways.
6. Deciding to reject the entire mainstream Catholic Church as being non-Catholic is a positive decision. Meanwhile, holding back from such a decision, doing only what is necessary to keep the Faith, does not constitute a positive action. It is a refraining from what could easily be considered a rash action.
7. Sedevacantism is inherently unconstructive. It is more about cursing the darkness than lighting a candle. It is about amputation rather than disinfecting a grievous wound.
There is a war for "who has the True position in this Crisis" between the SSPX and the Sedevacantists. How can we judge a winner?
How about judging by the FRUITS? That sounds like a very good idea, having come from Our Lord Himself.
The SSPX and Sedevacantist groups both had their chance to do their thing. Who is doing better? How can that question possibly be answered... Who is keeping the Faith? Who is converting souls? Who is holding out holy Hope and doing their best to shine light in the present darkness? How can Faith be judged... again, let's look to Scripture. "Faith without works is dead." So who is doing works that look like the Catholic Church before the Crisis? Who is being most faithful to Tradition?
Which side has more "cult" chapels, with bullying, strong-handed tactics by the priest, exile of various parishioners, contracts to sign, charismatic leaders, etc.?
By whatever yardstick you judge, one must conclude that the SSPX is easily holding its own beside all the Sedevacantist groups. Shining a light in the darkness? How about Angelus Press and all the thousands of conferences, retreats, sermons, books, etc. the SSPX uses to enlighten minds. Converting souls? The SSPX seems to be growing, including new priestly and religious vocations. Laymen attending SSPX chapels are living like true "trads", having large families even to this day. The SSPX certainly isn't fruitless.
Those are just two points; I don't need to go on down the line and talk about morals, dress, customs, etc. which are easily as good at an SSPX chapel as they are at a Sedevacantist chapel. Anyone who disagrees is probably going to point to ONE priest, or a GROUP of laymen who were uncharitable, guilty of this or that sin, etc.
As an aside, I would recommend all sedevacantists -- at least those who are interested in the truth -- to read an early history of the SSPX and/or Archbishop Lefebvre. It reads like the founding of many other Catholic orders, such as the Dominicans, the Franciscans, the Redemptorists, etc. Maybe comparing the SSPX to those heavyweights is a bit much, but the SSPX has more than its share of evidence of God's providence, just like any work that is of God.
The Catholic Church has always been a church full of sinners! That includes the priests! Only Our Lady was without sin.
It is the height of folly to disagree with a certian priest, and to conclude that the entire organization of which he is a member is worthless, evil, etc.
How is that logical?
Let's illustrate such a person's "logic":
Fr. Joe is uncharitable.
Fr. Joe is an SSPX priest.
Frs. A, B, C and D are SSPX priests.
Therefore Frs. A, B, C and D are all uncharitable.
Joe is a thief.
Joe is a man.
Matthew is a man.
Therefore Matthew is a thief.
If you think these syllogisms show good logic, go back to logic class!
At any rate, *AT BEST* one could say the "judgment by fruits" is inconclusive at this time.
Saying the SSPX flunks out of the Fruits test is simply willful blindness, axe grinding, bad will, or a combination of the three.
You would have to honestly find serious issues in more than one or two chapels, and then determine that those issues are due to the essence or founding principles of the SSPX, to conclude that it is bad.
The fact is that the World, the Flesh, and the Devil have dealt serious damage to Catholics, both lay and cleric, both inside AND outside of the SSPX.
Most critiques of the SSPX that I've read here on CathInfo have nothing to do with the mission statement or the ESSENCE of the SSPX, but rather personal experiences, or individuals within the organization, who are quite fallible -- and peccable (able to sin).
The World, in particular, has been firing its machine gun at Catholics for decades. Joe Catholic watches a few SSPX parishioners fall dead of bullet wounds, and feigns horror, as if the SSPX chapel he's in is not a safe place to be. The truth is that the "casualty list" was probably just as large, if not larger, that day at the equivalent sedevacantist chapel.
What is disgusting is to see Sedevacantists so lost in despair that they can no longer understand what Hope means. They can only assume that Bishop Fellay is conspiring to sell out the SSPX, because he holds out hope for Rome to convert. Yes, it takes supernatural hope to do so. Yes, we realize the "talks with Rome" have a snowball's chance in Hell, humanly speaking. BUT what other choice is there? We're talking about the visible Catholic Church, for God's sake man! You don't just cut her loose and watch her sink! Is that a Catholic attitude? I believe that all other Catholic fora (from Angelqueen to Fisheaters) answered with a resounding NO as they instituted a ban on sedevacantist members. It's not even necessarily because they don't want to hear the truth. They probably banned them for the same reason you and I don't like to hang out with negative people. They do you no good, and only bring down your spirit until you're as unhappy as they are. Misery loves company.
I had to post this, because I was sick of seeing the SSPX being attacked all the time, as if it is somehow the weaker position, or on the defensive. The SSPX position is easily as tenable as the sedevacantist position.
I just don't have as much time to defend it as Raoul has to attack it. I have a job, and a family.
Matthew