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This one's a keeper, Matthew:
A ROME DEAL WASN'T BUILT IN A DAY.
That sounds to me like an opinion.
It's certainly possible he is pursuing a deal but there is no hard evidence that he is at this time, or since the collapse of talks. No official statements, no leaked pre-ambles, no new Resistance joining priests speaking of new draft agendas or midnight cold calls.
I therefore don't see that it is "lunacy" to hold the opinion that the SSPX-ROME deal is dead and not being pursued in any meaningful way. On the face of it, that would seem to me to be a sober opinion.
A "practical agreement" could mean anything and not encompass any kind of "deal". It could simply be to maintain the status quo, swap Christmas cards, allow SSPX pilgrimages to Fatima and other Catholic shrines. It could be that the Church agrees to recognise the validity of SSPX marriages for practical reasons (i.e. avoid scandalous situations of people playing the SSPX marriage card to get an annulment).
"transformation of the SSPX into something more edible by Rome."
I don't see Rome laying the table or putting a bib on. Do you?
I think it's great that Matthew doesn't delete old posts from say two or three years back, because posts like this one, above, will be great to read once the news erupts that the SSPX will be hosting a NovusOrdo Newmass or concelebration, or the Confirmations this year will be using the New-rite, or a lecture series on the CCC and/or "Centering Prayer" will be hosted in the Widow's Mite Hall downstairs, or whatever.
But sadly, I'm a bit unhappy to imagine what we'll be able to say about it, then.
We'll have to resort to things like this:
Hey, ggreg!
So, do you still think that it's just "like an opinion?"
Hey, ggreg!
Do you still think there's "no hard evidence" of +F pursuing a deal?
Hey, ggreg!
Are you still waiting for "official statements, leaked pre-ambles and new draft agendas or midnight cold calls?"
It might look like gloating now for me to bring this up, but just imagine how gloating it will look when it actually HAPPENS............. :scratchchin:
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OK I'll take that bet, if you care to put your money where your mouth is.
If in 2.5 years any kind of deal or accord has been signed where the SSPX as HQ'd in Menzingen has been officially co-opted into the Roman hierarchy I will donate $1000 or 1oz of gold, (whichever is more valuable) to this website or whatever you tell me constitutes the treasury of "the resistance".
If no deal has been signed by Feb 21st 2017 then you pay me $1000 or 1oz of gold (whichever is more valuable). Failure of either party to honour their agreement will result in a permaban.
If you don't have $1000 to wager then get together with a couple dozen of your resitance pals and share the load.
Spoken like a true gambler. For you, money talks (& B.S.W.), correct? Any discussion that is not reducible to dollar signs is of no "real" value, correct? How much was the life of Christ worth? 30 pieces of silver? Are you an admirer of Judas, then, because that's what he thought.
I've met a few Protestant 'preachers' who firmly believe that the only 'good' sermon is one that rakes in lots of 'quiet' money, 5's 10's and up, so to speak. I heard of one trad priest saying "no more coins" in the collection basket, unless they're solid gold or perhaps sterling silver. Seriously.
Here is a recent (7-24-2014, Madra, India) sermon by Fr. Pfeiffer where, at minute 18
he quotes Bishop Fellay (without any verifiable reference, unfortunately, but perhaps someone else here can fill in the gap)
saying, regarding the book of the sermons (?) of ABL, that
his book is expelled from the Society of St. Pius X: "His book no longer has any place in our Society." Now maybe to you, that kind of evidence isn't "hard" enough -- you can be the judge. While I can't provide the reference data, it seems reasonably well-established that +Fellay owns the copyright on the collection of Sermons of Archbishop Lefebvre, and that +F has forbidden its publication, because he doesn't want us to remember what ABL had to say. It's too INCONVENIENT. Does that qualify for "hard evidence?"
Don't get me wrong, ggreg, because I appreciate your skepticism, for it puts the bee on us to be more diligent. Someone needs to compile a list or two, that collects these data points, with footnotes. The DICI and sspx.org websites are being scrubbed such that these data points are being removed, and
"thrown down the memory hole" like in
1984, a dystopian novel by George Orwell published in 1949.
It's simply not convincing to you for me to punch out these alpha-numeric character pixels on an LCD screen for all the virtual world to see. I get that.
Batter up.
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