Bishop Fellay speaks to U.S.Bishops's Catholic News Service VIDEO ADDED
"The move from the Holy Father is genuine"
The Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX), Bishop Bernard Fellay, spoke today to Catholic News Service (CNS), the news agency of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The main excerpts are the following. (Comments may be made on the post of the Letter from the General Council.)
"There are some discrepancies in the society," Bishop Fellay told CNS. "I cannot exclude that there might be a split."
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"I think that the move of the Holy Father -- because it really comes from him -- is genuine. There doesn't seem to be any trap," he said. "So we have to look into it very closely and if possible move ahead."
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"The thing is not yet done," the bishop said. "We need some reasonable understanding that the proposed structure and conditions are workable. We are not going to do suicide there, that's very clear."
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"Personally, I would have wished to wait for some more time to see things clearer," he said, "but once again it really appears that the Holy Father wants it to happen now."
Bishop Fellay spoke appreciatively of what he characterized as the pope's efforts to correct "progressive" deviations from Catholic teaching and tradition since Vatican II. "Very, very delicately -- he tries not to break things -- but tries also to put in some important corrections," the bishop said.
Although he stopped short of endorsing Pope Benedict's interpretation of Vatican II as essentially in continuity with the church's tradition -- a position which many in the society have vocally disputed -- Bishop Fellay spoke about the idea in strikingly sympathetic terms.
"I would hope so," he said, when asked if Vatican II itself belongs to Catholic tradition.
"The pope says that ... the council must be put within the great tradition of the church, must be understood in accordance with it. These are statements we fully agree with, totally, absolutely," the bishop said. "The problem might be in the application, that is: is what happens really in coherence or in harmony with tradition?"
Insisting that "we don't want to be aggressive, we don't want to be provocative," Bishop Fellay said the Society of St. Pius X has served as a "sign of contradiction" during a period of increasing progressive influence in the church. He also allowed for the possibility that the group would continue to play such a role even after reconciliation with Rome.
"People welcome us now, people will, and others won't," he said. "If we see some discrepancies within the society, definitely there are also (divisions) in the Catholic Church."
"But we are not alone" in working to "defend the faith," the bishop said. "It's the pope himself who does it; that's his job. And if we are called to help the Holy Father in that, so be it."
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The National (c)atholic DISTORTER
Cold feet in match between Rome and Lefebvrists
May. 14, 2012
Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior of the Society of St. Pius X, is pictured near a photo of Pope Benedict XVI at the society's headquarters in Menzingen, Switzerland, May 11. (CNS/Paul Haring)ROME-- Cold feet, of course, are fairly common before any wedding. It’s thus probably no surprise that as Rome and the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, popularly known as the “Lefebvrists,” prepare to walk down the aisle, important voices on both sides of the match are having some second thoughts.
Leaked correspondence shows that three of the four bishops of the society are strongly opposed to a deal, while the top French traditionalist has denounced the “plague” of the Second Vatican Council. The society’s superior has openly admitted a split may be in the works.
Meanwhile in Rome, even some of the pope’s best friends are voicing concern that a deal should not signal a retreat from Vatican II.
Sources say that an offer for reunion could be made by the end of May, along the lines of a “personal prelature”, a non-territorial diocese status currently held by Opus Dei. In mid-April, the superior of the Society of St. Pius X, Swiss Bishop Bernard Fellay, approved a “doctrinal preamble” laid out by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Though long opposed to Vatican II’s teachings on liturgy, religious freedom and ecumenism and inter-faith dialogue, the society did not split from Rome until 1988, when the late French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre ordained four bishops in defiance of Pope John Paul II.
While a deal to heal that breach seems imminent, there’s trepidation within the society.
A traditionalist web site recently posted correspondence between Fellay and the other three bishops ordained in 1988: Frenchman Tissier de Mallerays, Spaniard Alfonso de Gallareta, and English prelate Richard Williamson. (It was Williamson’s comments questioning the Holocaust which caused a cause célèbre in January 2009, when Benedict XVI lifted their excommunications.)
On April 7, Mallerays, de Gallareta and Williamson wrote to Fellay insisting that “agreement is impossible with Rome,” because after Vatican II “the official authorities of the church separated themselves from Catholic truth”.
The three prelates warned of the dangers of “placing ourselves in the hands of conciliar bishops and modernist Rome,” and said that Fellay is leading the society to “a point of no return” and a “deep division.”
On April 17, Fellay wrote back, telling his fellow prelates that they have an “overly human and fatalistic conception of the church,” seeing “dangers, plots and difficulties, but not the grace of the Holy Spirit.”
Fellay argued the traditionalists should embrace Benedict’s overture, since the pope “knows very well it would have been easier for him, and for us, to leave things as they were.”That line apparently hasn’t convinced everyone, as evidenced by an essay published on “Porte Latine,” the website of the French district of the Society of St. Pius X, in early May. (France is home to the world’s largest concentration of Lefebvrists, with some 120 of the society’s 500 priests.)
Fr. Régis de Cacqueray, superior of the French district, wrote that Benedict XVI still does not see “the calamitous consequences of the new religion which has unfolded over the last half-century in the church,” asserting that he’s under “grave and deep illusions” about Vatican II.
Cacqueray urged the society to “distrust like a plague the novelties introduced by Vatican II, and the popes which have come after the council.”
Such sentiment may be what Fellay had in mind when he told the Catholic News Service in early May that “there might be a split” should a deal with Rome occur.
In Rome, meanwhile, influential voices around the pope are quietly insisting that a deal should not come at the cost of abandoning Vatican II.
Opus Dei Fr. Johannes Grohe, a leading church historian, defended Vatican II’s authority during a May 3-4 conference on the 50th anniversary of the council at the Opus Dei-run University of the Holy Cross, insisting that its teaching is “binding” and “must be accepted by those who want to enter into communion with the Catholic church.”
Grohe called for a “profession of faith”, including the teachings of Vatican II, for anyone who wants to join the church.
An even blunter warning came from Franciscan Fr. David Maria Jaeger, speaking on the council’s document Nostra Aetate, concerning non-Christian religions. Jaeger serves as a judge on the Roman Rota, the Vatican’s primary court.
Jaeger criticized “a tendency … to look with indulgence on marginal groups with an exaggerated media profile who truly denounce the doctrine of the council.” He expressed “the lively hope that “we won’t settle for quasi-adherence which is only a sham, accompanied by obvious verbal and mental reservations.”
Fellay has warned that a deal is not yet in place, and that the devil is in the details. “We are not going to do suicide here,” he said.
Yet even if an agreement is reached, that almost certainly won’t be the end of the story. It remains to be seen how many Lefebvrists will actually walk through the door – and what sort of reception will be awaiting them once they arrive.
[John L. Allen Jr. is NCR senior correspondent. His e-mail address is jallen@ncronline.org.]
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http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2012/05/f...ay-meeting.html
For the record: prior to the Wednesday meeting of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
In a very interesting news analysis posted yesterday, our friend Enrico of Messa in Latino provides his opinion on the current status of the Rome-Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) dossier - it is quite interesting, though it does not provide any new information, except for this, which we post here solely for the record of events:
A rumor (take it as such, but I assure you that it is credible) that has been revealed was that the latest response of Bp. Fellay, by which he accepts the famous [Doctrinal] Preamble, but with some significant modifications, before being officially sent to [the Pontifical Commission] Ecclesia Dei and to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was made known, by way of Mons. Georg [Gänswein, personal secretary of Pope Benedict XVI], directly to the Pope, who did not raise any objections. A way to ensure that some overzealous Roman servant, perhaps due to an excessive affection for the text of the Preamble originally prepared by his Dicastery, will not raise any problems... So we wait confidently for Wednesday, when the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is called to pronounce on the response of the SSPX.
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http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2012/05/u...-words-and.html
Using Abp. Lefebvre's words - and collegiality
From the sermon pronounced by Fr. Benoît Wailliez, Superior of the Benelux (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) District of the Society of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX), yesterday in Brussels:
(...) Bp. Fellay has called an extraordinary General Chapter for early July that will take place after the priestly ordinations and a retreat, (...) and this Chapter will deal with the questions of a canonical structure and of these important questions concerning the relations between the Fraternity and Rome.
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05/14/2012
Fellay visits Rome ahead of cardinals’ decision on proposed modifications to doctrinal preamble.
The Superior of the Society of St. Pius X was received by the Ecclesia Dei commission last weekend
ANDREA TORNIELLI
vatican city
One more step has been taken towards a resolution of the crisis, which the Pope has been pushing for. Bishop Bernard Fellay, the Superior of the Society of St. Pius X was in Rome this weekend, for a meeting with Pontifical commission Ecclesia Dei. Vatican Insider has learnt that during the meeting, attendees discussed some of the modifications Fellay had proposed for the doctrinal preamble. The outcome seems to have been positive. In the morning of Wednesday 16 May, the Feria Quarta meeting will be held in the Palace of the Holy Office. The Feria Quarta is a meeting between cardinals and bishops of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who have been called to express their views on the modifications to the text that was sent to the Lefebvrian superior. The result of the discussions will be communicated to the Pope a few days later. The meeting will be attended by cardinals and bishops of the Roman Curia and from important dioceses, including Cardinals Jean-Pierre Ricard, Archbishop of Bordeaux and Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna.
The Prefect of the Congregation, William Levada, who has reached the end of his mandate, will deliver the opinions expressed by each one of the fathers of the Feria Quarta, to Benedict XVI by hand. The Pope will then be able to assess not only the outcome of the final vote, but each individual’s decision as well, in order to make a completely independent decision. Apparently, the modifications proposed by Mgr. Fellay stress the importance of tradition as a stable element. The preamble, which was the starting point for the discussions, formed the core part of the doctrinal aspect of the agreement that was signed in 1988 by Mgr. Marcel Lefebvre. Lefebvre said he “accepted the doctrine contained in point No.25 of the Second Vatican Council’s dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, on the teachings of the Church and the compulsory compliance to these teachings.” With regard to the disagreement over some conciliar passages, he stated: “In terms of certain points taught by the Second Vatican Council or which regard subsequent liturgical and law reforms that do not seem to correspond with tradition; we strive to adopt a positive and communicative attitude towards the Apostolic See, avoiding any disputes.”
Last minute surprises are always possible, but judging by the last Feria Quarta meeting on this issue, and the opinions expressed by bishops and cardinals, there is a good chance that the outcome will be positive. Fellay’s recent meeting with Ecclesia Dei is said to have contributed to this likelihood.
What concerned the Vatican, was the content of the letter sent a month ago to Lefebvrian Superior Fellay by bishops Tissier de Mallerays, de Gallareta and Williamson. It was a tough letter which showed aversion to an agreement. Fellay replied to this letter with an important missive in which he outlined the reasons for his decision, in response to the Pope’s personal appeal. The publication of the confidential correspondence exchanged between Fellay and the three bishops caused a great deal of concern within the Holy See because it brought to light the existence of considerable opposition to the Fraternity’s return to full communion with Rome not by individual priests but by as many as three of the four bishops ordained by Lefebvre in 1988. The very bishops whose excommunication was revoked by Benedict XVI in January 2009.
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