Reaching an agreement-La Stampa on the SSPX

[Dawn Marie]

Lefebvrians. Reaching an agreement

 

Lefebvrians

Fellay replies. The Society of St. Pius X might be awarded the status of “Personal prelature” by the pope himself

Andrea Tornielli
Vatican City

 

The Holy See and the Society of St Pius X, founded by Mgr. Marcel Lefebvre, might come to an agreement in matter of days, or even hours. The Superior General of the Society, Bishop Bernard Fellay, apparently signed a new version of the doctrinal preamble, which he had been given last September by cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and president of the pontifical commission Ecclesia Dei.

 

Officially the Vatican is still waiting for Fellay’s reply. On the 16th of March the bishop had been asked to make a final decision. But according to the information gathered by the Vatican expert Jean-Marie Guenois, who works for the French magazine Le Figaro, unofficially negotiations have moved significantly forward and an agreement will soon be reached.

 

In September 2011, at the end of a series of doctrinal dialogues requested by the Society of St. Pius X, the Holy See presented the Lefebvrians with a short document and asked them to sign it. The document was left open for small changes. It featured three main points and the request to subscribe to the “confession of faith” required by anyone wanting to take on a role in the Church.

 

This would ensure “a religious submission of the intellect and will to a doctrine which the Supreme Pontiff or the college of bishops declare concerning faith or morals when they exercise the authentic magisterium, even if they do not intend to proclaim it by definitive act”, as it is the case for the great majority of the magisterium‘s documents.

 

The Vatican authorities reiterated that subscribing to the preamble does not mean the end of the “legitimate discussion, study and theological explanation of particular expressions or formulations found in the documents of the Second Vatican Council”. It is common knowledge that the Society of St. Pius X declared itself open to accept many conciliar documents, except the doctrine of religious freedom as stated in the second paragraph of the Dignitatis Humanae Declaration, the doctrine of the Church stated in paragraph 8 of the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium and the doctrine on ecumenism in article 3 of the Unitatis Redintegratio decree, as well as the doctrine on collegiality as written in paragraph 22 of Lumen Gentium.

 

It seems that they have finally drafted a text that can be mutually recognized. After all, Fellay himself during the meeting in September 2011 had explained to the Roman authorities that he had no problems accepting the first and second points of the preamble, while there were still unresolved issues concerning the third. However in the reply that he sent in two rounds between December and January and therefore in more than one public statement, the Superior General of the Society of Pius X had declared the doctrinal text suggested by the Vatican unacceptable.

 

On the 16th of March, the final meeting took place and the Holy See asked Fellay to reply within a month. It is well known that Benedict XVI cares deeply about healing this rift within the Church.  After all he witnessed it happening when he was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1988.

 

At that time Lefebvre, after having reached an agreement with the Vatican, decided not to sign it and appointed four new bishops without the pope’s commission, thus creating a Schism. Pope Benedict liberalized the Traditional Latin Mass and lifted the excommunication of the four Lefebvrian bishops, he even agreed to the third demand of the Society, which was to begin a doctrinal debate with the Vatican authorities, especially concerning the conciliar documents.

 

 

The Society of Pius X would fit in the Canon by being awarded the status of “personal prelature”, a new juridical role added to the Canon law in 1983 and so far adopted only by Opus Dei.

http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/the-vatican/detail/ar...

[Copacabana]

I wonder if the journalist, who wrote the following headline, would have read the address of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre to the four bishops elect in June 12th 1988.

http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/homepage/blog-sacri-palazzi-en...

[Copacabana]

DM, it's very sad indeed! Very sad!

Not long ago, I read this:

'Little children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that Antichrist cometh: even now there are become many antichrists: whereby we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us: but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have remained with us: but that they may be manifest that they are not all of us.'

1 John 2:18-19

[Cathleen]

Have they actually signed anything?  I haven't heard the latest news from an unbiased source.   Because before it sounded like they were not going to go along with it.

We have tried our best here anyway, praying hard for the SSPX leadership, and will continue to do so.  Our novena to OLGC is coming up this Tuesday.  Maybe she can help clear the fog.

[Dawn Marie]

For the recordTornielli: Fellay's reserved message

Published moments ago by La Stampa's Andrea Tornielli. We post it here for the record of ongoing events and media reports.

Fellay's reserved message [in Italiano]

The head of the Society of Saint Pius X writes to his priests: we are waiting, an agreement will happen if concessions which touch upon the faith are not asked from us and if we are assured true freedom

ANDREA TORNIELLI

CITTÀ DEL VATICANO

The Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X [SSPX, Bishop Bernad Fellay, took hold of paper and pen to send a reserved message to the other three bishops and to all priests belonging to the Lefebvrist group, confirming the state of relations with the Holy See.

Fellay, making reference to the media rumors on a possible positive outcome of the dialogue with Rome, would have explained that, at this moment, nothing of a definitive nature has yet taken place, neither in the direction of a canonical recognition, not in the direction of a rupture, and is thus in a moment of expectation.

The bishop, according to the rumors gathered by Vatican Insider, wished to confirm to the priests of the Society that which he had already written a few days ago, recalling the two principles that guide the Lefebvrists in the relations with Rome: the first is that no concessions be asked from the Society that touch ipon the faith and that which derives from it (liturgy, sacraments, morals, and discipline). The second, that a true freedom and autonomy of action be granted to the [Society of] Saint Pius X, which would allow it to grow and develop.

How to interpret this message of the Lefebvrist superior? Above all, it is interesting to note that the possibility of a positive outcome - which many sources, both those close to the Society of Saint Pius X and those Vatican [sources], consider at this moment probable and imminent - is not denied at all. Fellay, who knows he has within [the Society] a group outspokenly opposed to the agreement (estimated at around 25%, but which includes also the other three bishops, Williamson, Tissier de Mallerais and Galarreta, though with differentiated positions), probably wanted to calm his internal partners on the fact that the canonical setting and the reentry into full communion will take place according to those two conditions already made public by him in the past few weeks.

[Copacabana]

Thanks, DM, for posting this.

St. Pious X, pray for the SSPX Bishops!

[Dawn Marie]

I'm sorry, perhaps I should curb my tongue on this matter but I do a slow burn that Menzingen would even consider trying to come together with Rome under the present circumstances, let alone working hard toward finding a way to put the Society under Roman control.  There are so many reasons this is deadly they are hard to number but not the least of the reasons is stated above (and very well I might add).

On the other hand no matter what wheeling and dealing is being done, I know God is ultimately in control and added to that we have so many prayers, rosaries and sacrifices done by so many good, faithful and pius souls on this matter that deep down I know, no matter how it turns out God will see to His sheep .

 

May Our Lady of Good Counsel, Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady Help of Christians intercede for all of us+

God's Holy Will be Done+

[Copacabana]

DM, you are brave thanks to God and right: God will see to His sheep and we will not be left without. May I just transcribe what our Lord Jesus said to St. Gertrude: "Always offer Me, with a contrite and humble heart, the desire to endure,were it necesary for My glory, all the sufferings of the world till the end of time, and you shalt obtain from my Heart whatever thou shalt ask."  

[Cathleen]

Thank you for that inspiring quote, Maria Elena!

[Cathleen]

Agreed, DM....God surely sees the good will of His Little Ones, and like a Good Father won't let them be lost.  May His Most Holy Will be done.

[Cathleen]

And don't worry about curbing your tongue with us, DM.....we love you anyway!  ;-)

Last night I was thinking about "disorientation" -- the quote from Sr. Lucia about "diabolical disorientation" stuck in my mind.  This past year so many sad and unexpected things have happened to me personally....and then some of the scarey and worrisome (and downright evil) things I read about in the news....it makes me feel like I am in a bad dream sometimes, and that I don't know up or down any more.  Maybe I read too much....but Our Dear Lord did warn us to "watch and pray."  Thankfully we have Our Dear Lord and His Most Holy Mother to turn to, no matter what happens.  The day they take my rosary will be the day I am dead.

Sorry to ramble.  Too much on my mind.  I hope for a good outcome in all of this.

[Dawn Marie]

Thanks Cathleen.  You have a way about you which just makes a person feel better. 

You are right, we have Our Dear Lord and His Holy Mother, what greater comfort can there be than that?

and yes, I agree about the rosary!  Same here!

[3n21tr41n50ql]

On AQ it is posted that Bishop Fellay has signed on.

I'm mortified. How do you all react?