The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) have resurfaced. They plan to consecrate bishops without papal mandate — an act that would carry serious canonical consequences and risk deepening the rupture that has existed since 1988.
Whatever one thinks of the theological disputes involved — Vatican II, the liturgy, religious liberty, ecumenism — the deeper question beneath all of it is this: What does fidelity to Rome actually mean?
And this is where St. Cyprian—the subject of today’s Fathers Know Best article—comes into play.
St. Cyprian is writing in the middle of ecclesial chaos, schismatic movements, rival claimants to authority — and he does not blink. In the 3rd century, after brutal Roman persecutions under Emperor Decius, many Christians had lapsed under pressure. After the persecutions, many Christians wanted to reconcile with Rome. The Church had to decide whether and how these Christians could be reconciled.
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