Over at SSPX.Org a new letter from Bishop Fellay was posted today. Here's a snippet: "In itself mercy is a word that is dear to the heart of every Catholic, because it designates the most touching manifestation of God’s love for us...
"Nevertheless true mercy, which implies this initial, extremely touching movement of God toward the sinner and His misery, continues in a moment of the creature’s conversion to God: “God desires not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (cf. Ezek 33:11). Hence the Gospels insist on the duty of conversion, renunciation and penance. Our Lord went so far as to say: “Unless you do penance, you shall all perish” (cf. Lk 13:5)."
"Opposed to the true notion of mercy is the new "spirit of Vatican II" notion of mercy which lacks a sense of repentance, an error that is being promoted as part of Pope Francis' reform of the Roman Curia: Can you truncate mercy, cut it off from necessary repentance, as Cardinal Maradiaga does, for the stated purpose of giving a new spirit to the conciliar reforms and breaking with the traditional spirit? Certainly not!" READ MORE HERE
REMNANT COMMENT: Question: Are these the words of a man who "sold out" to the Vatican in exchange for some personal gain and a more glorious place in history? The critics of Bishop Fellay seem to be revealing themselves as men on whom nuance and prudence are largely wasted. In constant pursuit of the next wild conspiracy theory, they seem to have difficulty grasping the significance of the crucial role Bishop Fellay is obliged to accept as one of the last remaining traditional Catholic bishops in the world today. His strategy requires diligence against the fever swamps to the right, while for the good of the whole Church (and not just the SSPX) maintaining lines of communication with the tiny remnant of believing hierarchs left in Rome--men who may be of some use in leading many diabolically disoriented shepherds back from the precipice and in the direction of sacred Tradition. Bishop Fellay does not seem to be settling for mere self-preservation either for himself or for the Society of St. Pius X. Rather it seems obvious that he is motivated by a much higher goal, which includes a stubborn refusal to abandon the Church in crisis. How easy it would be for him to spend every waking moment shooting at the sad and dizzy little modernist fish swimming round and round inside the Vatican fishbowl just now. But is that really what the Church needs? I think not. Rather, the Church desperately needs bishops who understand the awesome responsibility that comes with their holy mission to serve the Church with prudence and wisdom in times of great upheaval. There are not many such bishops left in the world today. Pray for this one, and stop playing the part of the useful idiot by attacking him for not being as strident, shrill and counterproductive as the Internet mob demands he should be.
Michael J. Matt | Editor
Michael J. Matt has been an editor of The Remnant since 1990. Since 1994, he has been the newspaper's editor. A graduate of Christendom College, Michael Matt has written hundreds of articles on the state of the Church and the modern world. He is the host of The Remnant Underground and Remnant TV's The Remnant Forum. He's been U.S. Coordinator for Notre Dame de Chrétienté in Paris--the organization responsible for the Pentecost Pilgrimage to Chartres, France--since 2000. Mr. Matt has led the U.S. contingent on the Pilgrimage to Chartres for the last 24 years. He is a lecturer for the Roman Forum's Summer Symposium in Gardone Riviera, Italy. He is the author of Christian Fables, Legends of Christmas and Gods of Wasteland (Fifty Years of Rock ‘n’ Roll) and regularly delivers addresses and conferences to Catholic groups about the Mass, home-schooling, and the culture question. Together with his wife, Carol Lynn and their seven children, Mr. Matt currently resides in St. Paul, Minnesota.