“And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” St. Mark 3:24-25
We should all consider ourselves *CATHOLIC*, not Resistance, not SSPX, not FSSP, etc. This sectarian nonsense will be the end of us.
Sounds great and all, but ideas do matter. It's ecuмenical nonsense to say, "As long as you're a good person, all that silly stuff like beliefs doesn't matter..."
No, beliefs DO matter. They determine our actions. And there are very real differences in the positions of, say, the FSSP and the Resistance.
You can go ahead and call yourself "simply Catholic" -- and everyone will assume you're Novus Ordo. For my part, I am TRADITIONAL Catholic. That appellation is necessary, just as it's necessary to call ourselves CATHOLIC rather than CHRISTIAN ever since the Protestant Revolt. Words mean things. Words convey a certain reality.
There is a REALITY behind each of the names used. If those terms weren't useful, no one would use them.
So that is why there are different groups. Let me ask you this: Who should dissolve, and which group should be the one left standing? I bet no one would agree on which one should be the one left standing. Hence the multitude of groups, one for each major position.
As for being divisive and causing sects and dissensions, you must not know me very well. The most common criticism of me is that I'm "Trad-cuмenical" or friendly to all the Trad groups. My belief is that God hasn't expressed a favorite, so it's all kind of up-in-the-air and mysterious when it comes to "What Trad group is objectively the best, or God's personal favorite?"
Putting Lutheranism and Catholicism on the same footing (like Modernist Rome does) is sinful and unjust, because Lutheranism is of the devil. But you can't say the same thing for "other Trad positions" which are different from your own. Truth is/can be known in the case of the One True Faith, so the others are IN ERROR. However, truth CANNOT be known in the case of the various Trad groups. Each of the Trad groups is just a network of lifeboats. Choosing one over the other is only a matter of prudence, NOT dogma.
God hasn't made His will known as to which of them is His favorite. So any of them could turn out to be the best, in the end. So we should respect them all, more or less, even if we have a personal favorite which we think is the most prudent/safest/best lifeboat to ride out the Crisis.
That is why we can't BIND OTHERS or condemn those who disagree with us, on matters touching on the Crisis in the Church. There is too much confusion, doubt, and lack of certainty. All we have is MORAL certainty that this or that path is the most prudent.
We can and should feel strongly about our position -- arguing why it's better, safer, etc. and point out apparent errors or problems with the opposing positions. But we must maintain charity, and not cross the line. We can't excommunicate our fellow Trad Catholics or claim they are heretics, just because they don't hold our position. The Crisis in the Church is unprecedented, and there is NO clear-cut guidance in the matter. If there were, there would only be two possible outcomes:
1. Just one Trad position
2. One GOOD Trad position, and all the others contain 100% men of bad will.
The Dimond Brothers, etc. go with option 2), which I believe is wrong and forbidden to Catholics.
But instead, all we have are the virtues of wisdom and prudence, and the wisdom/prudence of saintly prelates like Abp. Lefebvre to guide us. But even he is not infallible, so the confusion persists.
But, nevertheless, it's a simple fact that you can't call a random Thuc-line priest "Resistance". It simply violates the truth, so I have a problem with it. For those seeking a Resistance priest because of the prudence and sanity of that position, they expect a Resistance priest when they go to a chapel considered "Resistance".
An independent chapel with a thuc-line priest, with insufficient training, who does not work with any Resistance bishop, is simply not Resistance. It simply is what it is.