Fr Hunwicke's reflections upon Archbishop Lefebvre

On his Mutual Enrichment blog my friend Fr Hunwicke has been posting his reflections upon key passages in Archbishop Lefebvre's book They have Uncrowned Him following on from his reading of the Archbishop's reasons for his rejection of so much of what the Second Vatican Council did, or what was done in its name in subsequent years.

His first four posts can be read at "They have uncrowned Him" (1) which is an introduction,"They have uncrowned Him" (2) False Religions?. which is also rather general in its concerns, "They have uncrowned Him" (3) which begins a more detailed approach to the issues of freedom of religion, and

"They have uncrowned Him" (4) which considers further aspects of this question. The most recent is on the key question for many SSPX members and sympathizers, the interpretation and indeed purpose of Dignitatis humanae, and it can be read at "They have uncrowned Him" (5).

In these pieces Fr Hunwicke is not going Lefebvrist and neither is he attacking the Archbishop. What he is seeking to do is understand what Archbishop Marcel said - and why he said it - and seeking to show that there is perhaps more common ground with others than is often thought, or that the Conciliar statements allow of a breadth of interpretation that can be seen as enabling co-existence in communion. As always, a useful and helpful series from Fr John.

Understanding Dignitatis Humanae

A post by Joe Shaw entitled Religious Liberty: a fresh approach pointed me to an important article by Prof. Thomas Pink, Professor of Philosophy at King's College London, on the interpretation of Vartican II's 1965 statement on Religious Liberty Dignitatis humanae which can be read on Rorate Caeli.

The background to the passing of the declaration can be read here. The question of whether there was a hermeneutic of rupture or continuity in this conciliar statement with what the Church had previously taught has been a vexed issue for many Traditionalists, and apparently still remains a sticking point in the discussions between the Holy See and SSPX. Prof. Pink appears to offer a way forward, and argues that Dignitatis Humanae should be read with a hermeneutic of continuity in the Church's teaching. Here is another article from 2009 by Peter Kwasniewski entitled Dignitatis Humanae which looks on first sight to be offering a similar analysis.

If this is so then it must devoutly be hoped that this can enable discussion to be carried forward on the full reconciliation of SSPX to the Holy See.

I do rather wonder, assuming Thomas Pink is right, why it has taken so long for people to see what he sees. Has there been a hermeneutic of blindness on this topic for far too long?