Reviews for Sacramental Guidelines: A Companion to the New Catechism for Religious Educators

The average rating for Sacramental Guidelines: A Companion to the New Catechism for Religious Educators based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-11-20 00:00:00 Wayne Bates The first half, which deals with the canonical status of the SSPX and traces the Archbishop Lefebvre's actions up to and including the 1988 Econe consecrations was the only worthwhile part of this book. Canon law is obviously a very technical field, but I found the presentation intelligible for a layman. Without reading more on the subject I cannot judge the validity of the excommunications, though the insistence that the SSPX is in schism is just untenable. This was written before Pope Benedict XVI's papacy so I would be interested to see how the authors would have argued differently based on the lifting of the excommunications, the vindication of Archbishop Lefebvre's position on the Mass by Summorum Pontificum, and then, under Pope Francis, the granting of faculties to SSPX priests to hear confessions and perform marriages. The last two sections of the book attempted to address traditionalist critiques of Vatican II and the Novus Ordo, and it utterly failed. One of the authors, Pete Vere, used to attend an SSPX chapel, so I find it rather odd that the arguments that are presented for refutation are so weak. There were a number of logical fallacies in the argumentation, and the consistent rhetoric of "extreme" traditionalists really prevented this from being considered a serious response to the positions of the SSPX.

Review # 2 was written on 2021-02-26 00:00:00 Samantha Sun The book is split into three parts; background/canonical status, traditionalist statements regarding Vatican II, brief answers to some some traditionalist arguments. The first part is very technical with many references to Canon Law - best to take a few notes as you go along or have the references handy for each time they are mentioned. I think this was the best section as it dealt with ultimately the most important factor in dealing with groups like the SSPX, namely Canon Law. The arguments are water tight with every possibility explored. The second chapter is also excellent and deals with questions such as, "Was Vatican II merely pastoral?" "Did the Council change Church teachings regarding the Eucharist?". Again, very interesting. The third chapter is a slight disappointment. The book only aims to give brief explanations to typical traditional argument but questions such as, "Is the New Mass a danger to the faith" deserve a whole book to themselves rather than a page giving a very simplistic answer to (often valid) criticisms of the Novus Ordo Mass. Saying that, if you would like to know more about the SSPX, their history and have a solid refutation against their arguments then this is the book for you. 5 stars.