• The Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX), Bishop Bernard Fellay, says that an agreement with the Vatican is not possible in "human terms." As usual, it's difficult to know what this means.  Does Bishop Fellay hold out hope that God will finally "put things in order"?  Only time will tell, but we should continue to pray for the reconciliation of the SSPX with the Catholic Church.  The fostering of traditionalist societies that offer the sacraments according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite is part of the Holy Father's larger plan for the renewal of the Church — a plan that most definitely includes the reconciliation of traditionalist Anglicans!

"And now, it is asked, will a result be achieved in the discussions with Rome, will we soon have an agreement? Frankly, sincerely, speaking in human terms, we do not see such an agreement in view. What does an agreement mean? On what are we in agreement? On the fact that only through the Church we find the means of salvation? …

"This does not mean abandoning truth in order to find a middle way, absolutely not; yes, in human terms, we will not reach an agreement, the way we see things, [the talks] do not serve any purpose, in human terms. Yet, when we speak of the Church, we do not speak in human terms, we speak of a supernatural reality to which Our Lord promised that it would not fail, against which the gates of hell would not prevail. And, therefore, even if we face a difficult and contradictory reality, we know that events are in God's hands, He who has the means to put things in order. It would be proper to recall that to talk and to debate is necessary, but it is not enough: when one talks about saving souls, when one considers how God rescued the Church from other crises it faced through the centuries, we see that holiness is that with which He renews and heals the Church. Without grace, and remaining solely at the level of men, all is lost from the beginning. All of us, as Catholics, must, therefore, act, advancing in grace, in the love of God, in charity."

• The Kirk is miffed at the Holy Father's address to the Scottish Bishops. In his address, the Holy Father referred to "the great rupture with Scotland’s Catholic past that occurred four hundred and fifty years ago" and linked Scotland's history of sectarianism to the upheaval of the Protestant Reformation.  Some Scottish Presbyterians are eager to celebrate the 450th anniversary of the Reformation.  Donald Gorrie, the former Liberal MSP and a Kirk elder for forty years, said:

I think this (the Pope's remarks) contributes to the difficulties. One of the difficulties in persuading either the Church of Scotland or the government to celebrate the Reformation as it deserves is that it will be seen as being sectarian and triumphalist and anti-Catholic. In fact, it is a good opportunity to celebrate the Reformation by ecumenical type services to show how far we've come.

Och, it's unbelievable that anyone would think that the Protestant Reformation was sectarian and anti-Catholic!

• This year will see the replacement of the heads of several key offices in the Roman Curia. John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter feeds the rumor mill.  Cardinal Pell continues to top the chart, being oft-mentioned for the Congregation for Bishops.
• The New Liturgical Movement asks whether or not too much is being made by traditionalists of Latin as a sacred language. While Latin most definitely deserves pride of place in both forms of the Roman Rite, the vernacular is here to stay.  Roman Catholics would do well to look to our Anglican "use" for ideas on how to employ a language "understanded of the people" — though not really a "vernacular" it is true.  And liturgical language is important, but the ars celebrandi is perhaps even more so.  We can help out there too!
• On a "private member's motion," the General Synod of the Church of England is being asked by a lay representative from the Diocese of Chichester to "express the desire that the Church of England be in communion with the Anglican Church in North America" (ACNA). There are reports that the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, is in England hoping to influence the Synod.  The motion will be debated on Wednesday.