abundant blessings from the Lord upon your person and your ministry, so generously dedicated to the great cause of the Gospel."The gestures and words of renewed fraternity between pastors of the Lord's flock show how ever more intense collaboration in truth and charity contribute to increasing the spirit of communion, which must guide the steps of all the baptized."The modern world, Benedict XVI continues, "needs to hear voices indicating the way of peace, of respect for everyone, of condemnation for all forms of violence, of the higher dignity of all individuals and of their intrinsic rights."
And Alexis said some nice things in return, echoing Benedict's prioritizing the unity of Christian witness:
"In our own times, with the rapid growth of secularism, Christianity finds itself facing important challenges that require a shared testimony."I am convinced," the patriarch continues, "that one of today's priorities for our Churches, which have a shared vision of the many problems currently facing the modern world, must be the defense and affirmation in society of the Christian values by which humanity has lived for more than a millennium. I hope that the rapid resolution of outstanding problems between our two Churches will also contribute to this end."
But then, every party has a pooper, and SSPX Bishop Richard Williamson openly declared to his supporters that Traditionalists are of a different religion than Catholics.
"Whether they realize it or not, they are replacing the religion of God’s truth with the religion of man’s liberty, because religious liberty is the underpinning of their beliefs." The commitment to religious liberty, Bishop Williamson continued, "undermines all objective truth in order to set up the religion of man." True Catholicism, he said, does not exalt religious freedom but "condemns the errors of the world."
With respect, I'm not sure this man understands what faith is. Practice can be imposed by force, but not belief. Is there a way to believe that is not free?
