The game last Sunday was a farewell celebration for him between Castlecliff St Anthony's XI and a Whanganui combined XI which was attended by almost 100 people.

Buchholz is from Belgium, he was posted to Whanganui by his superiors who have now called him back to resume his work in Western Europe.

Vice president of Castlecliff FC Sean Peterson said that the turnout was a testament to how well-respected Bochkolz was in the community.

Peterson said that Bochkolz had become a close friend of his through playing together at Castlecliff.

"He's a huge loss to the club, he was my right-hand man when it came to motivating everyone. His level of commitment and dedication was infectious.

He has been the guy that has lifted everyone's spirits when it comes to games and when it comes to training."

Bochkolz is a member of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), an international organisation of traditionalist Catholic priests founded in 1970 by the French archbishop, Marcel Lefebvre.

In 1988, Pope John Paul II excommunicated Archbishop Lefebvre for ordaining four "bishops" without permission from the Holy See, as required by canon law.

The excommunications of the surviving bishops were lifted in 2009 by Benedict XVI

In remitting the excommunications, Benedict noted that "doctrinal questions obviously remain and until they are clarified the Society has no canonical status in the Church and its ministers cannot legitimately exercise any ministry."

SSPX appears to have abandoned efforts to reunite with Rome, releasing a statement in June 2016 that claims Pope Francis is encouraging the spreading of errors in church teaching.

In July SSPX elected Fr. Davide Pagliarani as their new superior general.

Jean-Marie Guénois, the religion correspondent at French newspaper Le Figaro, said the previous superior, Bishop Fellay had been "ousted" in favour of a candidate who opposes further rapprochement with the Vatican.

Source

• nzherald.co.nz
• wikipedia.org
• ncronline.org
• catholicnewsagency.com
• international.la-croix.com
• Image: nzherald.co.nz

The Society effectively broke with Rome in 1988, when its founder, the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, ordained four bishops without the permission of Blessed John Paul II in a protest against changes of the Second Vatican Council.

In April the Society responded to a "doctrinal preamble" stipulating the group's assent to certain Church teachings as a prerequisite for reconciliation. The Vatican has yet to respond, but the director of the Vatican press office initially described the latest position as a "step forward".

However, the Society's other three bishops warned Bishop Fellay that the Vatican's apparent offer to establish the group as a personal prelature - a status currently held only by Opus Dei - constituted a "trap" and urged him to say no. Bishop Fellay admitted that reconciliation may cause a split in the Society.

But he spoke appreciatively of 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.

While not admitting that Vatican II is essentially in continuity with the Church's tradition - a position which many in the SSPX have vocally disputed - Bishop Fellay showed some sympathy to the idea. When asked if Vatican II was part of Catholic tradition, he responded, "I would hope so."

Bishop Fellay indicated that Pope Benedict was pushing the process. "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."

However the vice-president of the German Bundestag expressed concerns over the negotiations as the SSPX refuses to accept Nostra Aetate, the Second Vatican Council document which rejected all forms of anti-Semitism and prepared the ground for a new relationship between the Church and both Judaism and Israel.

Wolfgang Thierse, met Cardinal Kurt Koch, the President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, who assured Thierse that the SSPX must accept the authority of the Church's Magisterium and must recognise the Second Vatican Council.

Read More: Catholic Herald, The Tablet

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