Sspx Rejects Pope's Call To Rejoin Rome

[mortify]

[b]Catholic rebel snubs pope call to rejoin Rome[/b]
Thu Jun 26, 2008 6:25am EDT
By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor
[url="http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSL2641197220080626?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0"][u]Link to article[/u][/url]

[color="#0000FF"]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.

Keen to end this schism, Benedict agreed last year to their demand to restore the old Latin Mass. But he insists they must accept the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) before he can lift excommunication decrees against them.

"Rome is telling us, okay, we are ready to lift the excommunications, but you cannot continue this way," Fellay said in a sermon last Friday now posted as an audio file on the U.S.-based Voice of Catholic Radio website.

"So we have no choice... we are continuing what we've done," the Swiss-born Fellay said in English at an SSPX seminary in Winona, Minnesota. "They just say 'shut up' ... we are not going ... to shut up."

The Milan daily Il Giornale reported on Monday the Vatican had told the SSPX it must pledge to respect the pope and accept him as the Church's final doctrinal authority.

Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi told the Paris Catholic daily La Croix: "The pope wants to extend his hand so they can return, but for that to happen, this offer must be received in an attitude and spirit of charity and communion."

Lombardi did not spell out the consequences of rejecting the offer, but Il Giornale's well-informed Vatican expert Andrea Tornielli wrote: "Such favorable conditions for a return to full communion will in all probability not come again."

(page 2)

TIP OF THE ICEBERG

The SSPX claims about a million followers worldwide, many of them in France. It split off when its founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, consecrated four traditionalist bishops -- including Fellay -- in 1988 against orders from Pope John Paul.

Since then, it has regularly appealed to the Vatican to withdraw the excommunications and allow it to return to the 1.1-billion strong Church. But its leaders often publicly denounce the pope.

Fellay said the pope must restore other Church traditions besides the old Latin Mass before the SSPX could return. It is particularly critical of the Vatican Council's reconciliation with Judaism and call to cooperation with other Christians.

"The new Mass is the tip of the iceberg of Vatican II and of these modern ideas." Adding the old Mass to the "iceberg of Vatican II" did not change the reforms hidden below, he said.

Vatican watchers say the ultimatum could split SSPX into a hard core of rebels and a larger group ready to return to Rome now that it has allowed wider use of the old Latin Mass.

"Most people want a reverent Mass and sound preaching. They care little for the loftier theological arguments," Rev. John Zuhlsdorf, a prominent conservative Catholic blogger, wrote in an analysis. "The identity of the SSPX is at stake now."

The ultimatum's deadline of June 30 is the 20th anniversary of the bishops' ordinations that sealed the schism.

(Editing by Keith Weir)[/color]

Edited June 27, 2008 by mortify

[catholicinsd]

[quote name='mortify' post='1584796' date='Jun 27 2008, 12:08 PM'][b]Catholic rebel snubs pope call to rejoin Rome[/b]
Thu Jun 26, 2008 6:25am EDT
By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor
[url="http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSL2641197220080626?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0"][u]Link to article[/u][/url]

[color="#0000FF"]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.

Keen to end this schism, Benedict agreed last year to their demand to restore the old Latin Mass. But he insists they must accept the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) before he can lift excommunication decrees against them.

"Rome is telling us, okay, we are ready to lift the excommunications, but you cannot continue this way," Fellay said in a sermon last Friday now posted as an audio file on the U.S.-based Voice of Catholic Radio website.

"So we have no choice... we are continuing what we've done," the Swiss-born Fellay said in English at an SSPX seminary in Winona, Minnesota. "They just say 'shut up' ... we are not going ... to shut up."

The Milan daily Il Giornale reported on Monday the Vatican had told the SSPX it must pledge to respect the pope and accept him as the Church's final doctrinal authority.

Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi told the Paris Catholic daily La Croix: "The pope wants to extend his hand so they can return, but for that to happen, this offer must be received in an attitude and spirit of charity and communion."

Lombardi did not spell out the consequences of rejecting the offer, but Il Giornale's well-informed Vatican expert Andrea Tornielli wrote: "Such favorable conditions for a return to full communion will in all probability not come again."

(page 2)

TIP OF THE ICEBERG

The SSPX claims about a million followers worldwide, many of them in France. It split off when its founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, consecrated four traditionalist bishops -- including Fellay -- in 1988 against orders from Pope John Paul.

Since then, it has regularly appealed to the Vatican to withdraw the excommunications and allow it to return to the 1.1-billion strong Church. But its leaders often publicly denounce the pope.

Fellay said the pope must restore other Church traditions besides the old Latin Mass before the SSPX could return. It is particularly critical of the Vatican Council's reconciliation with Judaism and call to cooperation with other Christians.

"The new Mass is the tip of the iceberg of Vatican II and of these modern ideas." Adding the old Mass to the "iceberg of Vatican II" did not change the reforms hidden below, he said.

Vatican watchers say the ultimatum could split SSPX into a hard core of rebels and a larger group ready to return to Rome now that it has allowed wider use of the old Latin Mass.

"Most people want a reverent Mass and sound preaching. They care little for the loftier theological arguments," Rev. John Zuhlsdorf, a prominent conservative Catholic blogger, wrote in an analysis. "The identity of the SSPX is at stake now."

The ultimatum's deadline of June 30 is the 20th anniversary of the bishops' ordinations that sealed the schism.

(Editing by Keith Weir)[/color][/quote]

We wash our hands on the Women-Priests on the Left, and we wash our hands on these on ther Right.

[dUSt]

Not surprising at all.

All this does is reaffirm that SSPX is and always has been in schism.

Down with the extreme left.
Down with the extreme right.

The middle path is the orthodox path.

[kafka]

[quote name='the great bustin' bodacious air dUStin' post='1584822' date='Jun 27 2008, 12:43 PM']Not surprising at all.[/quote]
I agree. There the ones who split away from the Church by there heresy and schism. Technically, they dont need an offer to return(the Pope went above and beyond). All they need to do is repent in their minds and hearts and the door will always be open for them to return.

[Chiquitunga]

Fr. Z doesn't seem to think this article is the end of the story, [url="http://wdtprs.com/blog/2008/06/reuters-bp-fellay-says-no-story-is-not-the-end-of-the-story/"]http://wdtprs.com/blog/2008/06/reuters-bp-...d-of-the-story/[/url]

[url="http://wdtprs.com/blog/2008/06/pray-pray-now-2/"]http://wdtprs.com/blog/2008/06/pray-pray-now-2/[/url]

[url="http://wdtprs.com/blog/2008/06/sleepless-at-the-moment-pray/"]http://wdtprs.com/blog/2008/06/sleepless-at-the-moment-pray/[/url]

[url="http://wdtprs.com/blog/2008/06/pray-pray-now-3/"]http://wdtprs.com/blog/2008/06/pray-pray-now-3/[/url]

Although it does look very unlikely at this point that this agreement will take place within the next couple of days. And this is disturbing from Bishop Williamson - [url="http://wdtprs.com/blog/2008/06/musings-of-excommd-sspx-bp-williamson/"]http://wdtprs.com/blog/2008/06/musings-of-...-bp-williamson/[/url]

Also, there's a little podcast audio there with an interview. It starts around 27 minutes, where he is being interviewed about the current situation with the SSPX [url="http://www.wdtprs.com/podcazt/08_06_26.mp3"]http://www.wdtprs.com/podcazt/08_06_26.mp3[/url]

Edited June 27, 2008 by Margaret Clare

[Chiquitunga]

New blog post from FR. Z - [url="http://wdtprs.com/blog/2008/06/afp-lefebvrites-no-intention-of-responding-to-vatican-ultimatum/"]http://wdtprs.com/blog/2008/06/afp-lefebvr...ican-ultimatum/[/url]

[CatholicCid]

If tomorrow goes away without a word, I wonder how Rome shall respond. From their 5 conditions, the 5th seemed to me to suggest that they would not want to let this pass by.

[mortify]

According to recent reports the original leak about the SSPX having to accept the Second Vat Council is false, the five conditions are far milder and thus all the more shocking that they were rejected:

===QUOTE===
[color="#FF0000"]I have gotten hold of the letter (written in French) which Dario Card. Castrillon Hoyos wrote with the five conditions sent to [Bp.] Fellay in view of a return to full communion with Rome. Contrary to the first leaks, there is no mention of acceptance of the Council or the new Mass: they are prior general conditions. In fact the Holy See, showing a great generosity, asks that they not attack the person of the Pope. [Bp.] Fellay asked Benedict XVI for the revocation of the excommunication, so the request to respect authority without first pretending to be the recipients of a a "superior" Magisterium to that of the reigning Pontiff seems to me to be a commonsensical condition! This is the text of the letter which bears the signature of the Cardinal President of Ecclesia Dei:

Conditions resulting from the 4 june 2008 meeting between Dario Card. Castrillon Hoyos and Bishop Bernard Fellay:

1. A commitment to a proportioned response to the generosity of the Pope.
2. A commitment to avoid any public speech which does not respect the person of the Holy Father and which can be negative for ecclesial charity.
3. A commitment to avoid the pretense of a Magisterium superior to the Holy Father and to not put forward the Fraternity [SSPX] in opposition to the Church.
4. A commitment to demonstrate the will to behave honestly in full ecclesial charity and in respect to the authority of the Vicar of Christ.
5. A commitment to respect the date – fixed at the end of the month of June – to respond positively. This will be a required and necessary condition for the immediate preparation for adhesion to have full communion.[/color]
===END-QUOTE===

From: [url="http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2036232/posts"][u]Link to source[/u][/url]

[Nihil Obstat]

This is sad.
I was hoping they might see the wisdom in returning.
Is there still a chance that within SSPX there's a smaller schism, with some faction rejoining us still?

[CatherineM]

I think that we will get back many of the rank and file because their leader's response has clearly shown that this isn't about theology, this is about power, arrogance, and lack of obedience.

[abercius24]

I think its time to discontinue recognizing the SSPX by the term "SSPX" and call them what they will be known for in Church history to come: "The Lefebvrites". We should not participate in tarnishing Pope St. Pius X's good name in the name of those who have no love for the Papacy.

[CatherineM]

Wow, I agree with that as well.

[Deus te Amat]

[abercius24]

[quote name='abercius24' post='1585427' date='Jun 28 2008, 12:59 AM']I think its time to discontinue recognizing the SSPX by the term "SSPX" and call them what they will be known for in Church history to come: "The Lefebvrites". We should not participate in tarnishing Pope St. Pius X's good name in the name of those who have no love for the Papacy.[/quote]

And I'm sorry if this offends some of my Lefebvrite brothers and sisters, but you all need to know how disrespectul the Lefebvrite movement has been to us who have remained loyal to the Holy Father despite the liturgical abuses we have had to suffer through. Please return to the Church and suffer honestly with us and stop suffering dishonestly apart from us.

Edited June 28, 2008 by abercius24

[Lounge Daddy]

What a disappointment. I was really hoping that they would come around to the truth. *sigh*
Talk about willful ignorance.