Something old, something new, 
something borrowed, something blue
November 18, 2007

Philosophy German Style !

Thursday (appropriately enough, Thanksgiving) marks the eleventh anniversary since I arrived at Our Lady of Fatima Church.

Discussing awhile back with a priest friend the “ups and downs” of the current Papacy, I coined the term above. (Well, okay, I actually didn’t “coin” it I just re-applied it.)

When I say “ups and downs” I am referring to the rumors of rumors, the reversed policies, the slow decisions of the Pope etc. One has only to think of the famous “subito” comment of Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos on December 31^st, 2006 in reference to the “imminent” appearance of the Motu proprio which took a further seven months to materialize. Take the replacement of Archbishop Piero Marini as papal master of ceremonies that Vatican watcher Sandro Magister was touting as “imminent” in May of 2005. If we are to believe Magister’s postings he is ostensibly a man with inside knowledge, however, Marini was only replaced September 14, 2007 !

Now the rather interesting campaign of the “new hermeneutic of continuity” is being ratcheted up. The term “new hermeneutic of continuity” is a reference to Pope Benedict XVI’s allocution to the curial Cardinals on December 22, 2005 in which the Pope called for a “re-reading” of the Conciliar documents “in the light of Tradition” – a phrase that was always dear to the heart of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

Earlier this year, a column appeared in praise of the Italian Theologian Romano Amerio. Then a few weeks ago a conference in Ancona, Italy was arranged to (posthumously and favorably it would appear) study the life and work of this deceased theologian. Amerio was the author of two books, one available in English Iota Unum. In this book, the now deceased Amerio, systematically analyzes the theological changes that sprang from the Council.

Next, we had the bombshell extracts from Cardinal Giacomo Biffi’s new memoirs in which he is highly critical of some aspects of what transpired at the Second Vatican Council.

Even more amazing was the news this past week (to return to Amerio again) that he has been “re-habilitated” by the official Vatican newspaper Osservatore Romano. Needless to say, when Amerio was alive he was ostracized by the Italian theological establishment for his criticisms of the Council. Hence the articles in the Osservatore Romano PRAISING him are truly astounding !

Eleven years ago I would never have believed that the Latin Mass would have been “liberated” nor that Cardinals would be questioning the Second Vatican Council, nor yet that theologians who have systematically critiqued the “New Theology” that Vatican II seemingly ushered in would be rehabilitated.

What on earth is going on ? Well, in addition, I believe, to the liturgical battle, there is at least the attempt to create a dogmatic synthesis to somehow reconcile the various “camps” that Vatican II produced. They are the progressives (or liberals) whose agenda was and is to change everything in the Church, the Traditionalists (of all shades) that reacted to the progressive movement, and the conservatives who have seen the debacle that Vatican II foisted upon the Church and somehow want to re-tweak the Council so that it can be re-applied in a different light.

Pope Benedict is clearly the “corrector-in-chief” or “re-tweaker-in-chief”. Under Pope Paul VI and to a lesser extent under Pope John Paul II the progressives had the upper hand. Cardinal Ratzinger cranked out book after book which were in effect a manifesto of what should be done to fix the mess. To some extent he has made good on some of those ideas, but he has been slow, too slow for those who live in a push-button age ! I would use the word cautious not slow.

The progressives will have none of this. The Council was the opening up for the trashing of the past. The trads have moved on from the view held by Archbishop Lefebvre: the Council interpreted “in the light of Tradition” – Bishop Tissier de Mallerais (one of the 4 bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre) told us all in April 2006 that Vatican II needed to be a “Tabula rasa” (or “clean slate”) – as though one can sweep an ecumenical council under a mat in the Apostolic Palace !

Pope Benedict’s approach seems to be “something old, something new” a melding of aspects of the previous magisterium with the novelties of the post-conciliar period. The melding process is an appropriation (“something borrowed”) from the German philosopher Georg Hegel. Neither the progressives nor the Trads will ever be sold on this. It leaves us in a theological quagmire from which I see no escape – Bunyan’s “Slough of despond” (or, put another way, it leaves us in a state of “something blue” !) 

Well we live in exciting times to be sure ! Humanly speaking there is no solution, but the Lord God is in charge and we must pray a great deal !

+TF

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