John Paul II did not hesitate to say that Catholicism in Europe was, as it were, in a state of “silent apostasy.” Shortly before his election to the Throne of Peter, Benedict XVI compared the Church to a “boat taking in water on every side.”
Advertisement
MENZINGEN (Catholic Online) - As the news of the lifting of the excommunications of the four Bishops of the SSPX has spread, Bishop Bernard Fellay, the Superior of the Society and the one who has been directing the movement toward reconciliation sent the following letter to the members:
Letter From Bishop Bernard Fellay to the members of SSPX
Dear faithful,
As I announce in the attached press release, “ the excommunication of the bishops consecrated by His Grace Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, on June 30, 1988, which had been declared by the Congregation for Bishops in a decree dated July 1, 1988, and which we had always contested, has been withdrawn by another decree mandated by Benedict XVI and issued by the same Congregation on January 21, 2009.”
It was the prayer intention I had entrusted to you in Lourdes, on the feast of Christ the King 2008. Your response exceeded our expectations, since one million seven hundred and three thousand rosaries were said to obtain through the intercession of Our Lady that an end be put to the opprobrium which, beyond the persons of the bishops of the Society, rested upon all those who were more or less attached to Tradition. Let us not forget to thank the Most Blessed Virgin who has inspired the Holy Father with this unilateral, benevolent, and courageous act to. Let us assure him of our fervent prayers.
Thanks to this gesture, Catholics attached to Tradition throughout the world will no longer be unjustly stigmatized and condemned for having kept the Faith of their fathers. Catholic Tradition is no longer excommunicated.
Though it never was in itself, it was often excommunicated and cruelly so in day to day events. It is just as the Tridentine Mass had never been abrogated in itself, as the Holy Father has happily recalled in the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum of July 7, 2007. The decree of January 21 quotes the letter dated December 15, 2008 to Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos in which I expressed our attachment “to the Church of Our Lord Jesus-Christ which is the Catholic Church,” re-affirming there our acceptation of its two thousand year old teaching and our faith in the Primacy of Peter.
I reminded him that we were suffering much from the present situation of the Church in which this teaching and this primacy were being held to scorn. And I added: “We are ready to write the Creed with our own blood, to sign the anti-modernist oath, the profession of faith of Pius IV, we accept and make our own all the councils up to the Second Vatican Council about which we express some reservations.” In all this, we are convinced that we remain faithful to the line of conduct indicated by our founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, whose reputation we hope to soon see restored.
Consequently, we wish to begin these “talks” – which the decree acknowledges to be “necessary – about the doctrinal issues which are opposed to the Magisterium of all time. We cannot help noticing the unprecedented crisis which is shaking the Church today: crisis of vocations, crisis of religious practice, of catechism, of the reception of the sacraments… Before us, Paul VI went so far as to say that “from some fissure the smoke of Satan had entered the Church”, and he spoke of the “self-destruction of the Church”. John Paul II did not hesitate to say that Catholicism in Europe was, as it were, in a state of “silent apostasy.” Shortly before his election to the Throne of Peter, Benedict XVI compared the Church to a “boat taking in water on every side.”
Thus, during these discussions with the Roman authorities we want to examine the deep causes of the present situation, and by bringing the appropriate remedy, achieve a lasting restoration of the Church.
Dear faithful, the Church is in the hands of her Mother, the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. In Her we place our confidence. We have asked from her the freedom of the Mass of all time everywhere and for all. We have asked from her the withdrawal of the decree of excommunications. In our prayers, we now ask from her the necessary doctrinal clarifications which confused souls so much need.
Menzingen,January 24, 2009, +Bernard Fellay
- - -
Deacon Keith Fournier asks that you join with us and help in this vital mission by sending this article to your family, friends, and neighbors and adding our link (www.catholic.org) to your own website, blog or social network. Let us broadcast, we are PROUD TO BE CATHOLIC!
Comments
No, it won't damage Jewish Christian Relationships. I think that the media will look for anything to throw at the Holy Father and to discredit Our Holy Mother Church. Yes I believe Williamson is wrong about the Holocaust (allthough he does not deny it, but diminish it) The pope has spoken to affirm the church's Solidarity with those affected by the Holocaust (after all didnt we catholics die together with the Jews, gypsies, Slavs, Homosexuals etc?) Frankly The media wants to throw Stones and no comment from the Vatican is going to stop them. Praise God in all things. Congratulations to these enduring Bishops of the SSPX
Euge | 2/2/2009
I think that the Holy Father has made a very wise decision. It is true that the opinions of these men are strange, so to say, especially when applied to Second Vatican Council. However, what we must aim at (all Christians) is unity not division.
The fact that late John Paul II established Ecclesia Dei led by venerable Msgr Dario Castrillon Hoyos, is that he hoped for this decision in future.
And now a great step towards unity has been taken and DEO GRATIAS!!!
Marcin Kukuczka | 1/28/2009
I am glad for the spirit of reconciliation and the drive for unity in the Church. What bother s me is that the majority of people i know who follow the SSPX believe that my conversion in 2001 is invalid. I am a member of the Roman Catholic Church who is in line with the Holy See. They are the ones in stuborn rebellion of it's teachings. That kind of elitism seems to be the sin of pride. Perhaps they need to go to confession for it.
Comments that include profanity, personal attacks, antisocial behavior such as "spamming" and "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will not be posted on Catholic Online. Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our terms of service. While Catholic Online invites robust discussion, we maintain the right to not print material that is patently false in its claims concerning the teaching of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, overtly anti-Catholic or which, in the opinion of the moderator, are intended to mislead readers as to what the Catholic Church teaches. Comments DO NOT necessarily reflect the opinion or views of Catholic Online.
RSS | Make Catholic Online Your Homepage
