Is it not fascinating that after all this time with the "as we are" mantras and the supposed changes in negotiations where it looked like they would be exempt from accepting VII and boom, out of nowhere, they suddenly HAVE to accept all of VII?
It's a game alright.
I try not to speak ill of +Fellay personally but if he is not in on the game he is awfully, awfully ... unintelligent. But are we seriously expected to believe that a grown man, with holy orders, a consecrated bishop, with all his experience in leadership, politics and money, someone who has gotten himself elected SG for 2 decades, is really THAT naïve?
ABL played the game ONCE and said "no more". Yet +Fellay keeps going back for more! He is either in on it or so incredibly naïve that he is spectacularly unfit for any position of leadership whatsoever.
In 2012 the cult of +Fellay was sooo strong. All the talk of him being the only one with the graces of state to know what to do. All the talk about prudence and +Fellay being the only one who could know what is good for the society. How is that working out?? He has been "duped" by Rome twice; and duped is only the best case scenario.
IF +Fellay is actually somehow that naïve, how is he not learning from his mistakes, putting two and two together and realizing that this detrimental back and forth, this slow erosion of the integrity of the SSPX is EXACTLY why ABL decided it was unwise and imprudent to deal with Rome as they are? After all the talk of the singular prudence of +Fellay, it turns out that the priests (and BISHOP) who stuck with the WISDOM of ABL in rejecting the illusions of a purely practical agreement have been proven right -- twice.
In the end, his actions tell us the truth. There is no way he is sincerely disappointed while still persecuting the priests who warned him and the faithful of this exact outcome. I don't buy for a second that he is disappointed. How many more priests and faithful have been convinced that they are owed recognition by NO Rome and ought to keep seeking it? How many more priests and faithful have been convinced against all evidence that the NO landscape is more favorable to tradition? How many more priests and faithful have been convinced against all humility that the SSPX is meant to swoop in and save the NO day through a practical agreement? How many more priests and faithful have been convinced against all principle that Pope Francis' gestures are gracious and good and ought to be celebrated? No, with only a few trouble spots they hope to deal with quickly, this transition period has been a smashing success.