The SSPX, Vatican II, and the Liturgy Wars (Jacob Phillips) | Ep. 585

June 29, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

The theologian Jacob Phillips, a professor at St Mary’s University in London, came into the Church during the pontificate of Benedict XVI. He describes that era as one of clarity: the barque of Peter felt like a place of truth, not a place of warring factions. The shift under Pope Francis, he says, was disorienting not because solemn dogmas were touched—they were not—but because the level of authoritative, non-infallible teaching became unstable. Phillips argues that the real crisis is not about any particular document or liturgical form, but about a deeper loss of the hermeneutic of charity that Catholics are supposed to extend toward their shepherds.

The crisis of authority and the hermeneutic of charity

Phillips distinguishes three levels of church teaching. At the top is solemn dogma and the ordinary universal magisterium—things like the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body. None of that was touched under Pope Francis. Below that is authoritative doctrine, the level of encyclicals and bishops' conferences. This is not infallible, but Benedict XVI taught that Catholics should feel "certain if not sure" about it. The lowest level is prudential disciplinary judgments, where conscience can legitimately lead a Catholic to a different conclusion.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:00) **Episode Introduction & Sponsor** - Host Matt Fradd opens the episode with a Wayfair ad.
2 (01:19) **Opening the Big Questions** - The conversation jumps directly into the core tensions: the SSPX, Vatican II, and how to assess Pope Francis' pontificate.
3 (02:31) **Guest Introduction: Jacob Phillips** - Matt introduces Jacob Phillips, a Catholic theologian and professor at St Mary's University, Twickenham.
4 (03:10) **The Shift from Clarity to Chaos** - Both men, converts in the JPII/Benedict era, describe the feeling of the Church losing its clarity and authority under Pope Francis.
5 (05:30) **The Hierarchy of Truths and the Hermeneutic of Charity** - Phillips explains the different levels of magisterial teaching and argues that the starting point for a Catholic must be a "hermeneutic of charity" toward Church leaders, not suspicion.
6 (08:00) **Pope Francis and the Lack of Theological Rationale** - The discussion focuses on the difficulty of maintaining charity when authoritative documents like *Fiducia Supplicans* were issued without a clear theological rationale.
7 (12:05) **The Broader Crisis of Authority** - The conversation connects the Church's crisis to a wider Western crisis of trust in institutions, exacerbated by COVID and transgender ideology.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Catholic theologian Jacob Phillips is here to discuss papal authority, the SSPX's looming schism over unauthorized ordinations, liturgical division between the Novus Ordo and Traditional Latin Mass, and the broader crisis of institutional trust facing the modern Church.

Ep. 585

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📚 Resources Mentioned:

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