Everyone Is Intolerant At Some Point
An Editorial in the National Catholic Reporter (April 7) is mighty worried about the possibility of Archbishop Lefebvre’s Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) reconciling with Rome. The Editorial says: “Though unity is always a good thing, it must not come at the expense of clarity about what we believe…. Leaders of the Society of St. Pius X have demanded a formal ‘right to dissent’ from these elements of the teaching of the council [Vatican II: religious liberty, ecumenism, and interfaith relations] as the price of returning to the fold…. Benedict XVI must make it crystal clear that the price of admission is unambiguous assent to Vatican II, whole and entire. This is an opportunity for the pope to show the world that his emphasis on Catholic identity is…a principled insistence on ‘thinking with the church’….”
So finally, the Reporter is speaking up for “clarity,” “Catholic identity,” “a principled insistence on ‘thinking with the church,'” and no “right to dissent.” How can the Reporter say that with a straight face?
The Reporter has been promoting homosexuality, contraception, priestesses, etc., which are defined doctrines. Is the Reporter “thinking with the Church”? No one would read the Reporter for “Catholic identity,” “clarity,” or no “right to dissent.”
The Reporter says, “the price of admission is unambiguous assent to Vatican II, whole and entire.” What is Vatican II, whole and entire? Vatican II is full of open-ended and ambiguous statements. There are widely varying claims as to what Vatican II means to say.
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