REBUTTAL TO KENNEDY HALL'S PRO-APOLOGIA FOR THE SSPX PART III: MY PERSPECTIVE ON THE MATTER AS A FATHER, ONE INVOLVED IN THE LATIN MASS, AND A SON OF THE CHURCH TRYING TO BE LOYAL TO HIS SPOTLESS BRIDE, ON KENNEDY'S DECISION.
I have hoped to elucidate those readers here, of reasoning for NOT involving one's faith life DIRECTLY with the SSPX in this manner, and arguments to point out flaws in material provided by the SSPX, as well as their statements and those stated by pro-apologia materials, such as the articles written by Mr. Kennedy Hall.
To conclude this counter to the articles made by Mr. Kennedy, I will share my perspective on these matters and the making of such a harmful spiritual decision, as a father of a 4 month old boy, an altar server who serves the Lord in organized Latin Masses in my Archdiocese, and one man who strives his best to be loyal to Christ in his Holy Mother Church, without succumbing to radical traditionalism, also known as a heresy.
I will say that in pursuing the vocation of marriage, I took this matter seriously. I purposely enrolled in North America's largest Catholic dating site, Catholic Match, to find a solid young woman near me to seriously marry in the Sacrament of Marriage, and even to start a family with and raise all future children PROPERLY in the faith. I would not accept a woman who didn't take her Sunday Obligation with laxity, or had a past history and/or embraces mental ideologies, contrary to the doctrines of the Catholic Church. Thankfully, with much petition of prayer to St. Joseph and Christ, I was blessed with my wife of today, and now, my 4 month old son, Gianluca. Might I say in irony, she ended up being a teacher in a Catholic School board in my Archdiocese?
Further, through a good friend I met via a young adult ministry in my then local parish some 8.5 years ago, he introduced me to the Latin Mass, and eventually both of us became servers. Through serving the Lord at the altar at Masses, mainly those organized by St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir in Toronto, as well as my own personal Latin Mass serving blog, Servimus Unum Deum, I have come to appreciate and play a direct part in the Traditionalist movement in the Archdiocese. However in doing so, I have encountered the gamut of insanity of both online, and in person, commentary and material that unfortunately promotes radical traditionalism, which has stalled progress of the Latin Mass in some senses in my Archdiocese. Coupled with bullying and harassment of multiple forms (of which I have been personally targeted with,) this has made some former acquaintances of mine in serving either reduce their ministry to their home parishes, abandon traditionalism altogether and retreat to their Novus Ordo parishes, or even worse ... become adherents to the SSPX and attend only their EF masses in Toronto.
In serving the Latin Mass, one is bound to in one form or another, encounter the SSPX and some of their printed materials. I will admit that I do contain a book or two from their Angelus Press at home, and found a great resource online for the Missa Cantata/High Mass level of the Latin Mass. However, their provision and experience of doing the Latin Mass alone, is NOT enough to warrant approval of them. Let me also state that, not just from the SSPX solely, though they do emphasize this more, I became aware of the "crisis of the church." Crisis of vocations? check. Novus Ordo done not as reverently due to temptations that exist for liturgical abuses? check. Culture war? check. Gourmand, internet celebrity priest who is a textbook encyclopedia for all things Latin Mass related and emphasizes all of the above? Check, and Fr. Zuhlsdorf at WDTPRS is one of my favourite internet reads! I am not an ignoramus to all those things emphasized by Latin Mass participants and the SSPX.
Still, would I be so inclined, based on what I know and understand about the Novus Ordo and current institutional (e.g. the people, bricks and mortar and political structures,) and sociological culture of the Catholic Church, to make the same decision as Kennedy to jump the "ship without a rudder" to quote one Pontifical Latin Mass loving prelate, and become an SSPX adherent?
THE ANSWER IS A RESOUNDING, "NO!" "SERVO DEUM!!!!!"
First of all, were I to abandon the Church and bring my current (and future) family outside of the Church into the SSPX, for the sake of a FORM of the Roman Rite and what is being promoted by its clergy as the "TRUE" Church, I would be causing spiritual harm to my family, and eliciting spiritual pride, akin to Satan's "non serviam" of God, in a form of spiritual rebellion. Knowing that the Novus Ordo IS a valid and licit liturgy, promulgated by the Church via Apostolic authority of then Pope Paul VI, and maintained up to current Pope Francis, and even stated explicitly by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who in essence "freed" the Latin Mass in an IMMEDIATE ACTING LAW FOR THE ENTIRE CHURCH, A MOTU PROPRIO, I would be committing a grave violation of Church Law. I would violate a doctrinally, legal document in Summorum Pontificum article 1, and also violate the DOGMATIC constitution of Pastor Aeternus from Vatican I, believing that the Pope has NO authority in discipline and government of the Church in the finite world. I would be encouraging my family and I to become schismatics and separate themselves from the Church, though albeit my wife, my children, and my grandchildren might be less culpable in their actions as they were influenced by my decision and their new SSPX environment. Personally, I do not want to arrive at the court of Christ after death, and be sentenced to Hell because I became schismatic and left Holy Mother Church, and dragged my wife and children with me, doing what Matthew 7:9-10 describes: giving them the opposite of what is supposed to be the nourishment of Christ. I would be judged harshly with our Lord`s Divine Wrath as the spiritual head of my family for this decision upon all our souls.
Second of all, I get that we are facing ever increasing odds and forces that oppose the family and the Catholic Faith, especially the Church's children being brainwashed with anti-Christian ideologies and/or lifestyles, particularly the lifestyle du-jour, that of homosexuality and/or including multi-genderism. Sadly, the Catholic school system IS failing in that regard, even aiding as such with the establishment of Gay-Straight Alliance groups in schools, instead of general anti-bullying or ``respecting differences`` groups. I also understand, having now been a practicing Catholic adult, parish politics, and the problems that priests themselves bring to the liturgy and the ordinary faith life of the faithful, who are used as pawns in the greater politics that is the bureaucracy of the Church hierarchy. I also am aware of the poor formation that many priests got in seminaries, which according to some sources, includes homosexual shenanigans and purposeful selection of candidates who were effeminate or gay to be ordained, removing conservative/liturgically minded candidates for priesthood. This last note was recently brought to public light, once again, in the Cardinal McCarick scandals, and cowardly via peer pressure, he has turned in his resignation to Pope Francis.
However, this is NO excuse to abandon the barque of Peter for the sake of finding a liturgical 'bomb shelter' to hide out in! There are some teachers willing to actually teach the deficient Catholic curriculum properly in their classes, such as my wife. She actually uses Church documents in her courses, such as VATICAN II documents to introduce the proper Catholic framework of the Grade 11 World Religions course, before she delves into ANY of the world religions in detail. She also attempts her very best to connect things back to the Church, regardless of the religion, and at the end of every Gr. 11 course puts a question on the final exam to purposely tie together the religions the students learnt about and the Catholic Church's teachings on other religions and/or faiths. She does NOT aim in any of her classes to slander the Catholic Faith, or make it simply another choice of faith as options in the course.
Also, because both my wife and I work, and I am not the heir of a wealthy business or enormous inheritance, I know that I will NOT be able to afford private Catholic education. Therefore, I know intuitively that I will have to FIGHT the system, and I will be ever more attentive to my son's education, both as a parent, but also in teaching him in the home. One strategy: I have amassed a personal library of works and spiritual literature to nourish my child's soul (e.g. Aquinas' Summa Theologica, 1/2 of the Ascetic Volumes of St. Alphonsus Liguori,) While I have not read front to back every book to date, nonetheless I will attempt to educate myself as much as possible, and hopefully my son as well, that he will 'seek the good' in some of what is the best, most Traditional literature I could afford.
As for the liturgical end of things, if one TRULY wants to seek out the Latin Mass, in developed countries should one have access to an automobile or public transit (or truly holy and great allies/friends,) one can seek these the EF actively and access it if they choose, whether for spiritual nourishment or to avoid liturgical abuses at a parish or Fr. Boisterous on the altar. Now, were I to have to make that decision, then NO, I would not be forsaking my family's Sunday obligation as that priest advises in his SSPX videos (10) just because there was not an EF or an SSPX EF Mass available. While the Church does not force you to endure liturgical abuse, it DOES request you, out of honouring the Lord and out of mercy for weak human fault, under obligation of sin, to fulfill your obligation. While yes, the Pontifical Council of Ecclesia Dei has stated you CAN (read, NOT MUST!) fulfill your obligation at an SSPX Mass, that does NOT mean it is your first choice to do so, particularly when there are Novus Ordo, or even parishes of other rites of the Church available to you (e.g. Byzantine/Ukrainian Catholic Rite.) Further, even if I am taking my wife and child to these Masses, such instances would support disobedience to Holy Mother Church, even if I do not sin for attendance SSPX Masses for proper reasons. Finally, as seen in the SSPX FAQ videos, it's clear that being in contact with the SSPX, including clergy who support such ideas in the FAQ videos, who could potentially preach such ideas from the pulpit or in instructional material for my family, HAVE THE POTENTIAL as per the warnings of the Church's communications, to put my family and I in harm's way of adopting a self-schismatic attitude.
Third of all, there ARE more and more ample opportunities in ordinary diocesan parishes, that are being created and developed each year in developed/"1st world" countries such as ours in Canada, whereby the lay faithful CAN partake in, should they be enamoured with the EF if it spiritually fulfills their needs. With the ever increasing access to the EF in dioceses, the argument of the SSPX that the Church is in a liturgical crisis and that lay faithful must abandon the Church for the EF (offered by the SSPX) has gradually become eroded, especially since Benedict Emeritus XVI released Summorum Pontificum in 2007. Let us not forget also laity-led, or combined laity-clergy led organizations/choirs who are organizing Latin Masses and providing both the sacred music for the Mass as well as the servers for the liturgical portion, in parishes willing to allow a diocesan priest trained in the EF to celebrate that form of the Latin rite and to hold the Masses in their sainctuaries. The most well-known example are chapters under the Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce, whom was established after Vatican II by laity, to preserve the liturgical traditions of the Church via the Latin Mass.
As a local example, in my Archdiocese of Toronto alone, there are two major parishes that are public transit accessible, that have not only Sunday obligation Masses, but also weekday Low Masses and even occasional, solemnity/feast day higher level Masses for the laity that they can attend. One of them, St. Lawrence the Martyr in Scarbourough, is also home to the Chaplain for the EF in our Archdiocese. The other parish, staffed by the Oratorians, is Holy Family/St Vincent de Paul, whose Sunday Obligation Masses are High or Solemn Level masses for the 11am offering.There are also at least 4 other parishes in my Archdiocese offering one of either Sunday obligation Masses (e.g. St. Patrick's in Schomberg, ON,) occasional Latin Masses on another weekday, or once a month. Should one be able to afford driving out occasionally, they can even find the Latin Mass in other (arch)dioceses of my province of Ontario, and these offerings are growing in the “peripheries” of my province of Ontario, or those of my Archdiocese. There are also the lay organizations/choirs of St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir and the Toronto Traditional Mass Society (a.k.a. Una Voce Toronto) who organize special offerings of the Latin Mass, particularly Missa Cantata and Solemnis (High and Solemn High) level Masses, in addition to the parishes that offer the Latin Mass in varying frequencies.
Further, I myself am trying to contribute the best I can to support the maintenance and growth of the Latin Mass, whenever I can, whether this is attending a Mass in the pews, to serving offerings of the Mass in a liturgical role as a server. I am also attempting to undergo training to become a Master of Ceremonies, so that I can assist my allies in the movement in my Archdiocese, as well as in the long run, possibly be able to assist the Church in some way of hosting another offering of the TLM, or possibly even training clergy/servers in their roles. Instead of throwing my arms up in the air to run with my family to the SSPX, I am playing an active role in the Latin Mass movement in our Archdiocese, the best I can while being a father to my newborn child, and also ensuring that my family fulfills their Sunday obligation via Sunday Mass attendance, which usually is at our local Novus Ordo parish. Occasionally, my wife will even attend the offerings of the EF I serve at, though I have yet to witness her don the mantilla my more Traditionalist friend gave her as a gift, despite my requests. She did though, bring my newborn son to the last EF mass I served in June for the Feast of the Sacred Heart.
Finally, let me end my resolve with an analogy, to understand all of the above. Imagine you are taking your family to a camping destination: A campground with supervision, maintenance staff, amenities such as a lake staffed with lifeguards, etc. You are driving your family along the road to your destination and you child diverts your attention as there is a crystal blue lake near large patches of land that look `pristine` as if man had never touched this part of God`s creation. Why, there`s even a perfectly made dock and crafted fishing boat waiting for you to go out in the deeper parts of the waters where juicy, non-mercury tainted tuna are waiting for you. At the behest of your rambunctious child, you go to investigate and naturally, your wife comes along with you.
Now, problem is that you have heard about this lake from the bait shop cashier you purchased your fresh supplies from, and a forest ranger friend of yours, who works at the campsite you frequent, who say NEVER to go on that lake, as it is not only too deep, but a large, great white shark is at the bottom. Since that lake is outside the county boundaries of the parks and recreation authority, they do not have the means legally to go in and kill the shark. Foolishly, you dismiss the cashier and your friends` warnings and take your family into the convenient fishing boat set aside for you at the dock. You decide to go out just enough that the water is not shallow anymore, and try to fish. You caught a couple of sizable minnows, but you wanted to get the ``big catch`` and go deeper. You then go out deeper and start catching small size tunas, but of course, you want the big tuna fish. Your child and wife, however, see a large shadow passing the side of the boat while you are distracted, and warn you that maybe this is not a good idea. In passing, you ignore the warnings of your family, and move deeper to the center of the lake with those big tunas. You put those small minnows, now bleeding from your fishing hook before, on the tip of your fishing hook into the depths of the water. A large shadow approaches your fishing pole and catches it ... enough to break it ... and that shadow isn`t leaving the side of the boat ...
This analogy, of the shark in the waters as you go deeper, is exactly what the SSPX is to me. All for the sake of the Latin Mass, one immerses themselves in the ``life`` of their `apostolates` or `chapels` while their priests like the one in the video spout partially or completely false ideas about the Novus Ordo Mass and the Modern Church, all for the sake of taking you away from Holy Mother Church and into a parallel, NON-CANONICALLY VALID `church` of supposed `true Catholicism` that only they can provide, that the Novus Ordo, `modernist` ``Church`` under the modernist Pope Francis, (who IS the Vicar of Christ they claim to honour,) cannot. In a big irony of them all, here is the non-canonical SSPX, telling the lay faithful to abandon Holy Mother Church and it`s major form of the Mass, the Novus Ordo, when Traditionalists strongly believe and adhere to the adage ``Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus`` which translates to ``No Salvation Outside the Church.``
How can a society outside of the Church, canonically speaking then, provide me salvation to my wife and child? As a "T"raditionalist, I would have to thus stick to the old adage, and remain loyal to the Bride of Christ, under the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, warts and Novus Ordo and all. I will do so, as my family`s spiritual authority, so my wife and my son, will be able to obtain the fullest opportunity, of obtaining salvation, as promised through my Lord, Jesus Christ, Sovereign King.
I pray that one day, in my lifetime, Christ's hopes and wishes that we may all be united be granted, and that the Society of St. Pius X is reconciled, and heavily re-vitalized so as not to be an instrument of division, but an instrument of unity serving Holy Mother Church in obedience to the Holy Father, and in revitalization of the sacred liturgy of the Latin Rite. Amen.
Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin
