In this episode, we’ll be looking at the history of

Over the last 39 episodes we’ve seen the history of the Crisis, and in the last set of episodes the errors facing Catholics as a result. Now we’re going to get into the response to the Crisis – the traditional Catholic movement. And we certainly can’t talk about this movement without talking about the Society of Saint Pius X. But before we start talking about the history, which we’ll do in Episode 41, we have to look at the mission. What are the guiding principles behind the SSPX? And what led Archbishop Lefebvre to make certain decisions that he did about the organizational structure? He could have done a hundred different things. Why this?

both ceremonies – does that make this sacrament invalid? Are we in the midst of a crisis where all the priests and bishops who were ordained using this rite are not actually priests and bishops? To understand this, we’ll need to look at the form and matter of sacraments and answer a fundamental question – can the Church change the form of sacraments at all? And if the Church is allowed to make these changes, what needs to remain in order for a sacrament to be valid?

First, can a pope abdicate? Second, if he can, did Pope Benedict abdicate properly? What’s required for this to happen? Did Pope Benedict leave us a hidden meaning, or a coded message meant for the faithful to find during this process? And third, if this was all done properly, what do we make of the 2013 conclave that elected Pope Francis?

We’ll finish our discussion from last week, all leading to the main question – how can the Church, which is indefectible, give us a rite of worship which is defective? Last week we looked at how the Church could, in fact promulgate errors through an ecumenical, non-dogmatic Council. Then we saw how the Church is not always infallible in its disciplinary laws – so today we’ll continue on that same track – looking at Liturgy. Have there been errors in Catholic Liturgy in the past? Were they corrected? What can history, and logic, tell us about the infallibility of the Church in its Liturgy? And can we be 100% certain about any of this, or does prudence have a role to play?

Today we’re joined by Fr. MacGillivray to ask one question: How is it that the Church, which is supposed to be indefectible, can give us a rite of worship, the Novus Ordo Mass, which is, at the least, problematic, if not defective? We won’t be able to answer this specifically today, since this question opens up many other questions we need to answer first, namely, how can the Church, through an ecumenical council, promulgate errors? Then we’ll begin to look at whether or not the Church can be infallible in its discipline – which is where the Liturgy falls.

In the past years – especially very recently, it has become a mandate for all Catholics to unequivocally accept all the teachings of Vatican II – as a sort of litmus test as to whether or not you’re a good Catholic. The SSPX does not accept all the teachings of Vatican II. Fr. Loop will join us to explain why – but first we’ll start with the infallibility of the Council

This flows directly from the last episode on obedience, and its limits – but takes it to next step entirely. There are several different categories or theories within the sedevacantist structure. We’ll discuss a couple of the most widespread ideas, but broadly, they all share a single disturbing commonality – that those who hold these ideas will necessarily open the door to the wholesale destruction of the hierarchal Catholic Church.

This episode is the linchpin of the Crisis Series – pulling in all the concepts we’ve already learned, and setting the stage for the rest of the episodes. In short, are there limits to obeying a higher authority? Are traditional Catholics just being disobedient and spiteful? What can we learn from this episode about Traditiones Custodes?

We’ll finish where we left off last episode, when we discussed the errors of Father Leonard Feeney, and today we’ll look at the doctrine of “No Salvation Outside the Church.” What does this mean? In order to attain heaven, is it a strict necessity to be baptized with water, and be a practicing Catholic? Are there three baptisms, or just one? What does the Ordinary Magisterium of the Church say on these matters? What about St. Thomas Aquinas, and what about Archbishop Lefebvre – if anyone in the twentieth century was fighting against the impulses of ecumenism that was sweeping the Church, and this doctrine, it would be him – so did he agree with Fr. Feeney?