Support the Papa Stronsay community

Action: all trads should support them, now they are being reconciled to Rome, and the SSPX is turning its back on them. Please subscribe to their newspaper, The Catholic.

Briefing and comment: The Transalpine Redemptorists of Papa Stronsay, now to be known as the "Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer" (Filii Sanctissimi Redemptoris: "F.SS.R"), were founded in the 1980s and have existed for for twenty years associated with the Society of St Pius X, the order founded by Archbishop Levebre to maintain the traditional Mass and doctrine of the Church. The SSPX is in less than complete communion with Rome, notably since Archbishop Levebre consecrated four bishops without the Pope's permission in 1988.

In recent years, and especially following the Motu Proprio, several small groups of Traditionalists have returned to full communion with the Holy See: the Institute of the Good Shepherd in Bordeaux is the best known. Such reconciliations are an intended and wonderful fruit of the Motu Proprio, and it is important that these communities get a good welcome. One day, we hope, the SSPX will be reconciled; at the moment, they are cutting off their long-standing contacts with the Papa Stronsay community, which include arrangements for the training of seminarians, apostolates, and the distribution of their newspaper, The Catholic. This is a pity. Catholics who like the Traditional Mass should show that the friends they lose in 'coming over' will be more than compensated by the friends they will gain: a concrete gesture would be to subscribe to this newspaper - only £10 a year! On-line form and snail-mail details on their blog.

Hat-tip to Rorate Caeli and Cornell Society.