The state of play...

Rorate Caeli provides the text of Bishop Williamson's latest reflections on the discussions between SSPX and the Vatican. At the outset we note that it is based on rumours rather than actual documents coming from the discussions. We will not reproduce the text here because it's quite a lengthy piece and to place it's contents out of context would not do it justice. Essentially there are three points; (1) the talks have become 'brickwalled' over the issue of the nature of the Church particularly what constitutes the Church. (2) that this situation is so serious that the Holy Father is considering a motu proprio to resolve the impasse. (3) that the way of compromise that this would entail is not acceptable because of a failure to confirm a traditional belief of the Catholic Church.

It is obvious that Bishop Williamson sees the negotiations with the Vatican primarily more an opportunity to correct errors on the part of the Roman establishment rather than an act of mutual diplomacy. It's a bit of a David and Goliath scenario but one has to admire the  unswerving devotion to tradition. I suspect, for some, there will be no resolution of the problem until a statement comes from Rome that there has been, at the least, certain misinterpretations of texts within the documents of the Second Vatican Council. For Bishop Williamson, and those who agree with him, a diplomatic statement bypassing the need for any doctrinal agreement would be a step backwards rather than forwards.

Whilst we must remember that this 'brickwall' is only rumour we can also presume that the intelligence the bishop imparts is not without foundation and that he wouldn't go into print without reason. That there may be serious problems in the discussions should be no surprise. The enemies within the curia seem to be legion. It would be surprising, however, for the current Holy Father to bypass a central issue for the sake of short term gain. If the recent history of documents from the hand of Benedict XVI, we learn that what he wants he gets despite whatever opposition thrown in the way. Deo Gratias!