In his latest Letter to Friends and Benefactors (no. 83, dated 11-21-14), Bishop Fellay praises Pope Benedict XVI for his “personal wisdom”. There are three problems with Bishop Fellay’s praise of the (former) pope:
It is scandalous to praise the conciliar revolutionaries who are attacking the Church. The new SSPX has praised them many times, during the last few years, e.g., praising Pope Benedict’s “courage” here: http://www.dici.org/en/documents/interview-of-bishop-fellay-in-nouvelles-de-france/
Faithful Catholics do not praise the wolves attacking the flock! Moreover, Bishop Fellay’s praise of Pope Benedict’s “wisdom” is especially scandalous because Catholics know they should learn from wise teachers. By praising his wisdom, Bishop Fellay falsely indicates to the faithful that the pope would be a suitable teacher.
It is false that Pope Benedict is wise, as Bishop Fellay says he is. Wisdom is correctly judging all of our actions according to our final end of pleasing God and gaining heaven. St. Thomas defines wisdom as: “the measure of right judgment . . . in directing human affairs according to Divine rules”. Summa, IIa IIae, Q.45, a.5, respondeo.
Pope Benedict is extremely unwise! For example, he declared that Vatican II is the “compass” of his papacy. http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0505788.htm So instead of Pope Benedict correctly directing himself by the revealed Word of God, he directs himself by the opposite, conciliar errors embodied in Vatican II. Thus, Pope Benedict is most unwise and Bishop Fellay’s praise of that pope directly attacks the truth.
It is not special “wisdom” for the pope to say what he did, but is only ordinary common sense. The subject of Bishop Fellay’s admiration, was Pope Benedict’s 1997 assessment (as Bishop Fellay summarizes it in his letter), “that the Mystical Body would be so fragmented [in the future] that it would be reduced to a collection of small groups that were still lively, though surrounded by general decadence”. Bishop Fellay calls the pope’s assessment not only wise but “almost prophetic”.
But the visible Church has sharply declined ever since Vatican II, as anyone with common sense could see. Here are the statistics: http://www.wnd.com/2002/12/16195/ Thus, Bishop Fellay praises the former pope’s “wisdom” for stating what was obvious to any Catholic with average common sense. Does Bishop Fellay think that what is obvious to ordinary people, is wisdom in a pope?
Bishop Fellay’s most revealing remark about the pope’s 1997 assessment, is that “at the time it seemed very pessimistic”. This remark shows Bishop Fellay’s naiveté, failing to appreciate even as late as 1997, what was obvious to Catholics with ordinary common sense, decades before that.