Three years ago, we lost a couple of good souls. A couple of seminarians were tragically killed in car accident-- one of whom was a friend of mine and one of the finest human beings I'd ever met.

There is a tribute on Facebook.

Resquiat in pace.

There's been a lot of discussion on the Catholic blogs about the proposed agreement between the Vatican and the SSPX. A lot of font will be spilled on this topic by people who are in a better position than me to have an informed opinion, but in hopes of producing a coherent comment, I will approach the subject here.

First, a moment of definitions and backstory. The SSPX is the Society of Saint Pius X, a fraternity of priests who, in short, offer Mass in the old pre-Vatican 2 form. This old form is properly called by a number of terms, commonly including the "Gregorian Rite," the "Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite" and the "Tridentine Latin Mass". I generally shorthand the old mass as the "TLM", that is the predominant acronym that you'll hear and see when the topic is discussed. The SSPX formed in 1970 after the Second Vatican Council introduced reforms to the Catholic Mass which substantially changed the liturgy under the direction of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in resistance to the New Order of the Mass (in latin, Novus Ordo Missae, commonly called the Novus Ordo or "NO").

The proverbial poop really hit the proverbial fan for the SSPX in 1988 when Abp. Lefebvre consecrated four SSPX priests as bishops in direction violation of the orders of then Pope John Paul II. In doing so, Abp. Lefebvre and the new bishops basically excommunicated themselves, kicking themselves out of the Catholic Church. Today, these excommunications are a badge of honor to many SSPX supporters who claim that the Vatican left the Catholic Church in the Second Vatican Council.

Today, the Novus Ordo Mass is the predominant Mass in Catholic Churches. It is the "Ordinary Form" of the Mass. It's what I grew up knowing and the format they use in the parish I still primarily attend. There aren't nearly as many TLMs as Novus Ordo Masses, but there are 3 regular TLM communities in my hometown of beautiful Kansas City. The communities are held by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) [a communion-with-Rome group of priests who split from the SSPX in the aftermath of the 1988 excommunications], the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICRSS) [a communion-with-Rome group of priests a little newer than the FSSP], and the SSPX. I've never been to the St. Vincent De Paul chapel of the SSPX, but I hear that this KC congregation is one of the biggest SSPX congregations in the United States. The other two congregations are great and I'd recommend them to any Catholic trying to broaden and deepen their understanding of the Faith--and I'll issue a standing offer to any Kansas Citian: if you're interested in going to Mass at either one on any Sunday, drop me a line and I'll be happy to join you.

Our pope is a rather Tradition-friendly pontiff and has expressed interest in normalizing relations with the SSPX. Indeed, when before he was pope, he tried to negotiate an agreement between the SSPX and Pope John Paul II leading up to the 1988 excommunications that included official recognition and a new bishop, but Abp Lefebvre became suspicious of the offer and indicated that he would not accept the deal. This week, the Vatican again extended an offer to the SSPX saying that they would like to regularize the relationship between the two, saying that before they could begin reunification negotiations, Bishop Bernard Fellay (the current head of the SSPX) would need to accept 5 conditions that basically say that the SSPX will accept and respect the pope.

1. A commitment to a proportioned response to the generosity of the Pope.
2. A commitment to avoid any public speech which does not respect the person of the Holy Father and which can be negative for ecclesial charity.
3. A commitment to avoid the pretense of a Magisterium superior to the Holy Father and to not put forward the Fraternity [SSPX] in opposition to the Church.
4. A commitment to demonstrate the will to behave honestly in full ecclesial charity and in respect to the authority of the Vicar of Christ.
5. A commitment to respect the date - fixed at the end of the month of June - to respond positively. This will be a required and necessary condition for the immediate preparation for adhesion to have full communion.

This shouldn't be a tall order for an organization that puts a picture of the pope and a pledge of devotion on the website, but all evidence is that the SSPX thinks this is another trick or trap and are likely not going to accept these 5 conditions.

If that turns out to be true, it's sad for the Catholic Church. That would be a real missed opportunity. I don't roll with the SSPX because of these Canonical issues, but have a lot of respect for their history and their total adherence to Tradition.

Take the deal, Bernie.

The incomparable "Fr. Z" of the What Does The Prayer Really Say blog is emerging as the leading source for commentary on this subject. (Incidentally, if Fr. Z isn't part of your daily reading for Church matters, it's time to add him to your bookmarks). He has also encouraged people to pray a selection from the "Mass for the Unity of the Church" in the 1962 Roman Missal, reprinted here:

O God, Who settest straight what has gone astray,
and gatherest together what is scattered,
and keepest what Thou hast gathered together:
we beseech Thee in Thy mercy to pour down on Christian people,
the grace of union with Thee,
that, putting disunion aside and joining themselves to the true shepherd of Thy Church,
they be able to render Thee worthy service.

This is a worthy prayer for a very worthy cause. Take a moment if you will for this very special intention.

In nomine patris, et filii, et spirits sancti...

I wanted to point everyone to a unique Catholic blog in Kansas City, Journal of God's Call. Fr. Rossman is a young priest in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, and he currently got a post up titled ”I have issues…”about some questions posed to him by his parishioners at Prince of Peace in Olathe, Kansas. Two children’s groups and an adult mothers’ group have asked some interesting questions that he will endeavor to answer on his blog.

I’m really interested to see how the answers turn out for some politically, liturgically, morally and rhetorically charged questions.