Schism

Cloudy and mild to start the day, but a warm wind blew away the clouds and sent the temperature up to 23C. It wasn't humid overnight. I slept quite well and woke up with a clear head. If only I could succeed in getting a succession of good nights of sleep I think it would boost my recovery. Often I feel as if I'm at a standstill just treading water but not sinking so to speak. Having said that, others say they notice an improvement in me. It's a battle against physical and mental tiredness. Making sure not to skimp on sleep time and quality is vital.

Yesterday the Vatican declared the traditionalist Catholic faction known as the Society of St Pius the tenth (aka SSPX) to be in schism and excommunicate for ordaining four bishops without papal mandate. Pope Leo appealed to the group not to do so for the sake of Christian unity, but they went ahead anyway. Based at Econe in the Swiss Valais, SSPX started as a fraternity of traditionalist clergy who opposed the liberal drift of second Vatican Council teachings, rejecting the Missa Normativa in favour of the old Tridentine Latin rite of Mass. 

Pope Benedict didn't suppress SSPX but made concessions to avoid schism, and appease conservative Catholics. Fifty years later, the traditionalist Bishops associated with SSPX are dying off. New bishops were needed to continue a mission extending beyond conservative clergy to a growing group of laity. Unilateral action by SSPX establishing independent leadership sets up a 'church within the church' an act of schism.  

It's interesting to note that Switzerland was one of the places where there was schism in reaction to the declaration of the dogma of Papal Infallibility in 1870, leading to the foundation of the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland and the Old Catholic Church of the Utrecht Union. Both are strongly associated with the Anglican Communion. Conservative evangelicals within Anglicanism, having taken a strong position against liberal theology, oppose gay marriage and women's ordination, some of them siding with Anglo-Catholic traditionalists, but for different reasons. Maybe schismatic moves are inevitable on the long term journey of Christians learning to live together with differences in a world whose agenda is different from how it was in centuries past. Adherence to religious faith and support for historic institutional churches continues to decline. Is this exacerbated by lack of unity and consensus in witness and mission? At least Christians aren't persecuting each other under state patronage any longer, with a few exceptions maybe. 

Christian factions today may or may not discuss their differences in a way that commends faith to others. Seekers after a life of faith may fail to find the discussion relevant, meaningful or attractive. Our world is going through a huge phase of cultural upheaval, questioning and redefining meaning and purpose in all kinds of ways. Can Churches and interpreters of Christianity engage constructively in dialogue in this secular materialistic ethos, and move beyond talking among themselves about things that are of little concern to others? 

Clare cooked tagliatelli with a veggie sugo for lunch. I don't know why, but I started to feel tired after the meal and slept for half an hour. It didn't do me much good however. When I walked to the Post Office to bank a cheque I felt a bit unsteady. My balance and strength were OK but my legs felt wobbly, as if I was close to the end of a long distance run. I sat down to rest and dozed off for another twenty minutes. I've been sleepy headed all day for no reason I can understand. It's perplexing and frustrating.

After supper, I watched another couple of episodes of 'Panda', uninspiring detective romantic comedy fiction. Then bed.