Hello Bill, 

I know at least 3 of the signers personally.

Only 2 of the signers are SSPX (facts Bill, facts) and I fail to see how they are heretical. No one, certainly Rome never has, claimed them to be heretical. Uncanonical, schismatical- but heretical now there is a bold assumption. What do you know beyond which you assume?

I fail to see how being retired from a Univeristy post no longer implies that you are educated or have authority in your field. 3 of the signatories are or were Oxford Profssors- Oxford has not been Catholic for a while, but one would be foolish to assert such men are not highly educated.

Out of tens of thousands of theologians (assuming, if I may Bill, that this is a researched and not simply assumed figure?) yes they might seem a few dozen, but that was not the context the phrase was used in the article.

And again, how does names or numbers qualify what is truth? As for your last suggestion we can agree, and that is precisely what the signatories want