2 people I would not want to be right now

[Allan]

1) A Catholic Priest anywhere in the Middle East.  Rapes, murders, martyrs everywhere.  Church bombings, hostage takings - you name it.  Think THAT will get any help or attention or press from the Holy See?  Think Francis will speak out about it, or ask for support? Ha. You are "off message" my friend.  Screwed. Totally.  Muslims are our friends, people of the book, and their religion is not false...it has truth.  Rainbows and puppy dogs and lolly pops!  The appropriate response to any alleged "Islamic" violence is to reflect on our own poor treatment and oppression of them.  And don't forget...do not convert them.  We need them to stay Muslims.  Like Anglicans.  And all other equally valid religions. SCREWED.

2) An FSSP Priest or seminarian.  No bishops and a hostile Pope with no one willing to step up for you.  Bishops wanting to invite you in now probably won't.  See, some Bishops are liberal, some conservative and traditional but many are simply...career men.  They go whichever way the wind was blowing.  This was fine too under B16.  But now?  Cardinal Burke only has so many parishes.  Now, your seminary will continue to pump our priests as one of the few attracting them...but to go where?  And do what? 

I will say it again: Francis is God's answer to Benedict's "abdication".  And we're going to get it good and hard. 

Right about now I think Bishop Fellay is one of the smartest men alive. He played his cards flawlessly, and may be the last Catholic Bishop standing when this all ends.

[Johanna]

2) An FSSP Priest or seminarian.   Now, your seminary will continue to pump our priests as one of the few attracting them...but to go where?  And do what? 

Bring 'em on!  My parish alone could use a couple more.  I waited and hour and forty-five minutes for confession today.

[catquilt]

2) An FSSP Priest or seminarian.   Now, your seminary will continue to pump our priests as one of the few attracting them...but to go where?  And do what? 

Bring 'em on!  My parish alone could use a couple more.  I waited and hour and forty-five minutes for confession today.

I wish we had them in Boston. But we *do* have a couple of SSPX chapels.  :)

[dymphnaw]

I do feel sorry for the FSSP guys. They stuck their necks out and trusted. Now things don't look good at all.

[Maldon]

I disagree entirely. The FSSP went all out under BXVI and it paid off in spades. They got into all kinds of places at an accelerated pace, and this gave them tremendous access so that now, under a Pope who is not so much against as he seems to be simply indifferent to any of it, they can consolidate and build their parishes up with the people they have been given access to, and keep growing quietly within the canonical structures they have, until better times arrive. Progress is always 3 steps forward and 2 back.

I think all trads are not thrilled with the current situation, and I imagine neither are the FSSP. But there are 2 sides to every coin: had the SSPX gotten a good deal in sooner, they could have gotten access to more places. Still, as I have said elsewhere, when you have a pope who does not care about these things at all, we all lose, but we can use the situation to our advantage  we well.

I am sure the FSSP will continue to grow as much or more than before. Often, people get smarter when they have crappy leaders!