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ZE09061510 - 2009-06-15Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-26184?l=englishPius X Society: Restructuring of Ecclesia Dei Imminent Faces Threat of New Excommunications in Germany By Kris Dmytrenko TORONTO, Canada, JUNE 15, 2009 (Zenit.org).- An announcement that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will now oversee discussions with the Society of St. Pius X is imminent, says the society's general superior. Bishop Bernard Fellay revealed to ZENIT that the congregation told him to expect the publication of a statement issued "motu proprio" (on his own initiative) by Benedict XVI on the new structure of Ecclesia Dei before June 20. The bishop confirmed that he met...

MENZINGEN, Switzerland, MARCH 13, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the communiqué released Thursday by the superior-general of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X, Bishop Bernard Fellay, which responds to the March 10 letter sent by the Pope on the situation regarding the society. * * * Pope Benedict XVI addressed a letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church, dated March 10, 2009, in which he made them aware of the intentions which guided him in this important step which is the Decree of Jan. 21, 2009. After "an avalanche of protests was unleashed" recently, we greatly thank the Holy...

Here, now, is the full text of the Pope's letter regarding the lifting of the SSPX excommunications itself, which has already been published in the most prestigious and reliable German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, in an NLM translation: Dear brethren in the Episcopal ministry! The lifting of the excommunication of the four bishops ordained by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1988 without a mandate of the Holy See has led, both within and outside the Catholic Church, for a variety of reasons, to a discussion of such vehemence as we had not experienced for a long time. Many bishops felt at...

From the Italian news agency ANSA, this news (ht: National Catholic Register):The Society of Saint Pius X whose ultratraditionalist bishops were recently rehabilitated by Pope Benedict XVI will not accept the reforms introduced by the Second Vatican Council, the head of the order has told a Swiss paper. Monsignor Bernard Fellay told the daily Le Courier on Thursday that the Council has caused the Catholic Church ''only damages''. ''The aftermath of the Council has been to empty seminaries, nunneries and churches. Thousands of priests have left their orders and millions of faithful have stopped being practicing Catholics and have joined...

An Interview with Bishop Fellay -SSPX Superior General Expects Clarifying Theological Discussions -Says Even Some Cardinals See "Devil at Work" in Recent Media Firestorm Brian Mershon REMNANT COLUMNIST, South Carolina -Exclusive to The Remnant- (Posted 2/18/09 www.RemnantNewspaper.com) In this exclusive interview for The Remnant since the lifting of the excommunications of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), General Superior Bishop Bernard Fellay emphasizes that the path forward would be determined by what he expects to be extensive but, hopefully fruitful, theological discussions on the documents of the Second Vatican Council. In addition to the SSPX’s desire to have more...

PARIS (Reuters) - An ultra-traditionalist bishop seeking rehabilitation from the Vatican said in an interview on Wednesday that his breakaway movement could not fully accept landmark 20th century church reforms, as his critics demand. Bishop Fellay, whose excommunication was lifted last month along with those of three other bishops, said his Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) did not agree with a key document of the Second Vatican Council on respecting other religions. He also told the French weekly Famille Chretienne he did not reject the 1962-1965 Council completely but only "a dangerous spirit that runs through the whole Council"...

Communiqué of the Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X,Bishop Bernard Fellay  It has come to our attention that Bishop Richard Williamson, a member of our Society, granted an interview to a Swedish network. In this interview, he also commented on historical issues, especially on the genocide of Jews by the National-Socialist regime. It is obvious that a bishop speaks with religious authority solely on matters of faith and morals. Our Society claims no authority over historical or other secular matters.  The mission of the Society is the offering and restoration of authentic Catholic teaching, as handed down...

The schismatic traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) has reacted to a Vatican ultimatum by challenging the conditions Rome set for its return to the Catholic fold. By sending this in a letter, SSPX leader Bishop Bernard Fellay partly fulfilled one condition of the ultimatum, i.e. answering by the end of this month. But he did not fulfill the more important other half of that requirement, i.e. that he respond positively. In fact, he told the Vatican that other conditions — to accept papal authority and not criticise the pope — were too vague to be accepted, according to...

Folks, this as reported by Phil Lawler for Catholic World News: Vatican, Jun. 27, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Leaders of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) report that they will not respond directly to what some observers have called an "ultimatum" from the Vatican. But the SSPX has not ignored the Vatican's message, either. The talks continue. A spokesman for Bishop Bernard Fellay, the superior of the SSPX, has confirmed to the French newspaper La Croix that the traditionalist bishop has written to Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos (bio - news), the president of the Ecclesia Dei commission, responding to...

PARIS (Reuters) - The leader of a breakaway traditionalist Catholic group has rejected a Vatican offer to rejoin Rome, accusing Pope Benedict of trying to silence dissenting voices. Bishop Bernard Fellay, head of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) that broke with Rome 20 years ago, said conditions set by the Vatican amounted to muzzling the traditionalists who claim to be the only true Catholics since Church reforms in the 1960s.

Are "The Five Conditions" necessary and reasonable? By Brian Kopp There is much debate going on inside and outside SSPX circles over "The Five Conditions." One may ask whether these conditions are "insulting" to the SSPX leadership, as some SSPX supporters insist that the SSPX already adheres to "The Five Conditions." By and large, this seems to be true of Bishop Fellay, though he recently slipped a bit in this regard: Bishop Fellay: Pope Benedict is a "perfectly liberal Pope"Given his record of otherwise prudent and measured statements regarding Pope Benedict XVI, this gaff of Bishop Fellay could easily be...

Conditions which result from the meeting of June 4, 2008, between Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos and Bishop Bernard Fellay 1. The commitment to a response proportionate to the generosity of the Pope. 2. The commitment to avoid every public intervention which does not respect the person of the Holy Father and which may be negative to ecclesial charity. 3. The commitment to avoid the claim to a Magisterium superior to the Holy Father and to not propose the Fraternity in contraposition to the Church. 4. The commitment to display the will to act honestly in full ecclesial charity and in...

Secret theological discussions with the SSPX in Rome? The Superior-General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX/SSPX), Bishop Bernard Fellay, granted today an interview to registered readers of the French website Donec Ponam. When asked about the possible removal of the excommunications of the four bishops of the FSSPX by the Holy See, Fellay answered: In my opinion, the Roman authorities have no grave reason to keep the excommunications. It is therefore a matter of political balance between the FSSPX, on one side, and, on the other, the Progressives with whom these authorities believe they must deal. Meanwhile,...

In its October 16 edition, Le Figaro published an article by Sophie de Ravinel entitled: “The Lefebvrites: Rome about to lift the sanctions”. This article, which claims that Bishop Fellay is sending a letter to the pope asking that the excommunications be lifted, contains two errors which lead to an untrue statement: Sophie de Ravinel mistook the two preconditions formulated by Bishop Fellay at the beginning of 2001 (freedom for the Traditional Mass and withdrawal of the decree of excommunication) and the spiritual bouquet of one million rosaries which he will offer to the pope at the end of the...

The Rev. Yves le Roux, rector of St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Winona, is clear about the role of the Society of St. Pius X, of which he is a member. “We are Roman Catholic,” he said. “We are recognized by Pope Benedict XVI. He is our father, but we are obliged to tell you we do not accept the teachings of Vatican II because it’s not an echo of the traditional church. The Church does not have the ability to teach something new.” St. Thomas Aquinas is one of six seminaries around the world run by the Society of...

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 9, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI has appointed three new members to the commission that is working for a return to full communion for members of the Society of St. Pius X. The three appointed to the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" are Cardinals William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Jean-Pierre Ricard, archbishop of Bordeaux and president of the French episcopal conference; and Antonio Cañizares Llovera, archbishop of Toledo and primate of Spain. The commission's president is Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy. The Commission "Ecclesia Dei" was instituted...

Vatican City, Apr. 10, 2006 (CNA) - A source at the Vatican has told CNA that during Holy Week Pope Benedict XVI may grant universal permission to use the Missal of St. Pius V, the liturgical rite used in the Church before Vatican II. According to the source, the announcement could come “between Holy Thursday and Easter Sunday,” but the exact day has not yet been set.  Nevertheless, the source said the decision has already been made by the Holy Father and that it’s “only a matter of time” before it is publicly announced. “A minor official gesture by the...

Continuing the series begun last night, here's some more interesting transcription from remarks given by Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior-General of the Society of St. Pius X, at a Conference in Denver in mid-February. The Society's four bishops, ordained by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1988 in obstinate defiance of the Holy See and the explicit pleas of the late Pope John Paul II, were excommunicated for manifesting schism in ignoring the authority of Rome. Before running this bit, in which Fellay speaks of the interregnum and his audience with Benedict XVI last 29 August, I must say that I'm...

Talks aimed at reconciling the Roman Catholic Church and an ultra-traditionalist splinter group are progressing, with the Vatican pushing to move faster than the rebels, the head of the breakaway group said on Friday.Bishop Bernard Fellay, head of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), told journalists he was sure that Pope Benedict wanted to end the 17-year split and bring the group back into the mainstream of the Catholic Church.But the SSPX, which has maintained the old Latin Mass and rejects much of the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), still has some profound differences with Rome...

So the Saint Pius X Fraternity announced the audience given on 29 August by Benedict XVI to the Superior Monsignor Fellay. 30Days had a telephone conversation with the successor of Monsignor Marcel Lefebvre in the headquarters of the Fraternity, in Menzingen, Switzerland. ... What reasons pushed you to ask for an audience?    FELLAY: First of all love for the Church. And then the fact that there is a new Pontiff, and it was natural for us to ask for an audience to reverence and pay homage to the new Successor of Peter, our Pope. That was the first reason. Then in...