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The leader of the Society of St. Pius X, Superior General, Bishop Bernard Fellay, says the traditionalist group will respond to the Vatican’s offer of reconciliation based upon “the good of the Church and of souls.”
He said that the Rosary crusade which the Society is conducting will continue for several more months so that the Society may obtain “the graces of light and strength that we need more than ever.”
Bishop Fellay’s comments followed a two-hour meeting at which he was presented with a statement of principles, or “doctrinal preamble,” by the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal William Levada. The document outlined points of doctrine that the Vatican needs clarified before finally healing the decades-long rift between the two sides.
If the Society agrees they may be offered the status of a personal prelature within the Church – a jurisdiction without geographical boundaries designed to carry out particular pastoral initiatives.
“The meeting was conducted with great courtesy and with equally great candor, because for the sake of honesty the Society of St. Pius X refuses to evade the problems that remain,” said Bishop Fellay in an interview posted on the Society’s website.
Yesterday’s talks seem to leave open the possibility of the Society repairing its relationship with the Church, while still being allowed to express concerns over the legacy of the Second Vatican Council.
Bishop Fellay says this view confirms a 2005 conversation he had with Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos, then President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, who told him that the Society’s various objections to aspects of the Second Vatican Council “does not mean that you are outside the Church.”
While not giving a time scale for the Society’s response, Bishop Fellay said he will reply to the Vatican as soon as he has “taken the time necessary to study” the document and “to consult with those who are chiefly responsible for the Society of St. Pius X.”
Full Article: CNA
Image: Rorate Caeli
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