A Church Frozen in Time

A Church Frozen in Time - my discussion with a sedevacantist.

A certain sedevacantist site, which I will not mention, posted an article about the alleged rebuke of St. Peter by St. Paul. I commented that many reliable sources contend that the Peter that was rebuked was not St. Peter, but another person by that name. I provided a link to a blog post article on my web site. This led to a series of back and forth responses by myself and the moderator. At some point he decided to take a close look at my websites, and wrote a comment bewailing my books on Luisa Piccarreta since some of her writings had been placed on the Index. He wrote that the “Divine Will cult is condemned by the Church.”

I responded that the Indexed works were some of her ancillary writings that were highly edited by others, and that the first nineteen of her books received the Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat. I added that Her "cult" is certainly NOT condemned by the Church, but is rather encouraged by the current Ordinary, who is promoting her Cause and is preparing a critical edition of her writings. All of the objections have been thoroughly answered by competent theologians. A good summary of the situation is at the EWTN  website. 

His answer was that I was citing Novus Ordo sources. “That the Novus Ordo Sect would approve these works or revelations, is not surprising.” In other words, what EWTN says does not count, it is Novus Ordo. What the current Ordinary of Luisa's Diocese says is irrelevant since he is Novus Ordo. I replied, and he replied back, and so on.

In thinking about this, it occurs to me that should the Church beatify her, or officially approve the writings of Luisa Piccarreta, it will mean nothing to him, since this would all be “Novus Ordo.” That is, his views are based on a Church that is frozen in time. It marched on only until the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958. Nothing that happened after that in the Vatican matters to the sedevacantist.  They have no obedience to the hierarchy, and either ignore or mock whatever the recent Popes have said.  Nothing that the living Catholic Church now says or does has any meaning to them, since it is not part of their leaderless religion. Theirs is a lifeless church with no one at the helm and which cannot grow.  It cannot issue authoritative documents, and has no formal jurisdiction.  It is a religion frozen in time.  

Since they have separated themselves from the pope, they are no longer part of the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church. The church that they recognize until 1958 is not experienced by them from within, but is seen from the outside. It is just a historical event, a fixed snapshot, it is not “living.” That is why for the sedevacantist it is a church frozen in time. But for those within the Mystical Body, the Church from the time of Christ, with all its saints and teachings, remains a living reality throughout its history, since they experience it from within.

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