Vatican announces start of dialogue with traditionalist group

VATICAN-SSPX Oct-15-2009 (490 words) xxxi

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican announced the start of a long-awaited dialogue aimed at repairing a 21-year break with a group of traditionalist Catholics.

The first encounter between the leaders of the Society of St. Pius X and Vatican experts will take place Oct. 26 at the Vatican, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said Oct. 15.

The announcement came a few days after the head of the traditionalist society, Bishop Bernard Fellay, reiterated a list of objections to the Second Vatican Council and said he hoped the dialogue would help dispel "errors" in the church.

Pope Benedict XVI has named a commission under the authority of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to conduct the delicate dialogue with the society, saying the remaining problems with the society are mainly doctrinal in nature. The head of the commission is the doctrinal congregation prefect, U.S. Cardinal William J. Levada.

The Vatican said the initial talks would focus on the unresolved doctrinal issues, and that the contents of the meeting would remain "strictly private." A statement will be issued at the end of the meeting, it said.

The pope cleared the way for reconciliation talks last January when he lifted the excommunications of four society bishops ordained against papal orders in 1988. The pope later said that full communion for the group's members would depend on "true recognition of the magisterium and the authority of the pope and of the Second Vatican Council."

In a recent interview with the African magazine Tradition, Bishop Fellay said the goal of the dialogue with the Vatican would be to clarify church teaching in recent years and "help dispel the errors or the severe ambiguities that have since been spread with full hands throughout the Catholic Church."

Bishop Fellay said the modern church was in crisis, and that "the solution to the crisis is a return to the past." He said the society's main objections to Vatican II were its teachings on religious liberty, ecumenism and collegiality, but added that other problems included the influence of modern philosophy, liturgical novelties and a "worldly spirit" that "has run rampant throughout the church."

He said the talks with the Vatican could take a long time, and that the "restoration of the church" may take a century.

The bishop praised Pope Benedict for emphasizing the importance of continuity in church practice and teaching. But he said the pope acts as if the changes introduced by Vatican II are not a break with the past, and that this presents "a very sensitive issue."

The Vatican did not provide a full list of participants in the dialogue, but said they would include Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer, secretary of the doctrinal congregation; Msgr. Guido Pozzo, secretary of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei"; Msgr. Fernando Ocariz, vicar general of Opus Dei and a consultor to the doctrinal congregation; and Jesuit Father Karl Becker, a consultor to the doctrinal congregation.

VATICAN AND SSPX TO START TALKS OCTOBER 26

The first in a number of scheduled meetings between the Vatican and the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X, known as SSPX, will take place Monday morning, October 26, according to Fr. Federico Lombardi, head of the Holy See Press Office, who made the announcement on Thursday.

Among those taking part in the meeting will be Msgr. Guido Pozzo, secretary of the “Ecclesia Dei” commission, which was set up in 1988 by Pope John Paul II to deal with questions involving this schismatic society. Other participants include Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and various previously named experts including consultors for Doctrine of the Faith, the secretary of the International Theological Commission, and the vicar general of Opus Dei.

Fr. Lombardi said the meeting will take place in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, adding “the contents of conversations that regard open doctrinal questions will be strictly private.” A statement will be issued at the end of the meeting.

In July of this year, Pope Benedict signed the Apostolic Letter Motu Proprio "Ecclesiae unitatem," making the Ecclesia Dei commission dependent upon the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In his move to suggest that the remaining issues that divide the SSPX from Rome are doctrinal, the Pope also named Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the congregation, as president of the commission.

Benedict wrote that, “the duty to safeguard the unity of the Church, with the solicitude to offer everyone help in responding appropriately to this vocation and divine grace, is the particular responsibility of the Successor of the Apostle Peter, who is the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of the unity of both bishops and faithful.” He notes that it was in fidelity to this mandate that John Paul II, “following the act of June 30, 1988 by which Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre illicitly conferred episcopal ordination upon four priests, set up Ecclesia Dei.”

The commission’s task, said the Holy Father, is "to collaborate with the bishops, with the departments of the Roman Curia and with the interested spheres, for the purpose of facilitating full ecclesial communion of priests, seminarians, religious communities or individuals until now linked in various ways to the Society founded by Msgr. Lefebvre, who may wish to remain united to the Successor Peter in the Catholic Church, while preserving their spiritual and liturgical traditions.”

In January 2009 Benedict lifted the excommunication of the four men ordained by Lefebvre in 1988 in the hope, he said in the motu proprio, of “favoring the repair of all fractures and divisions within the Church, and healing a wound that is ever more painfully felt within the ecclesiastical structure.” Two years ago, on July 7, 2007 the Pope allowed an expanded use of the Latin rite Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal.

Thursday, October 15, 2009
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Vatican Spokesman Says Media Creating Confusion Over SSPX Bishop

Rome, Italy, Sep 23, 2009 (CNA).- The director of the Holy See’s press office, Father Federico Lombardi, denied again today that Pope Benedict knew Bishop Richard Williamson held Holocaust diminishing beliefs before the Pontiff lifted the excommunication of the Pius X Society bishop. Such charges only “lead to creating confusion for no reason,” he said.

Responding to questions from journalists about a Swedish TV report scheduled to air Thursday night, the Vatican spokesman said today that there is “absolutely no basis for stating or insinuating that the Pope had been informed beforehand.”

Father Lombardi also noted that the statement by the Vatican Secretariat of State on February 4 “clearly denied” that the Pope was aware of the positions of the Lefebvrist bishop. He went on to explain that the statement categorically disassociated the Pope and the Catholic Church from any anti-Semitic position or denial of the Holocaust.

Moreover, he said, “the Pope’s letter to the bishops on March 10 put an end to the matter and there is no reason to revisit it.”

Benedict XVI, Father Lombardi said, “has explained the meaning of the lifting of the excommunication as a gesture in support of the unity of the Church and at the same time he has shown that the accusations about the lack of respect for the Jewish people are totally unfounded, and he has simply acknowledged the limits of Vatican communications both internally and externally.”

The Holy Father “has granted a new status to the Ecclesia Dei Commission (for dialogue with the Society of St. Pius X) in order to guarantee a better and more secure manner of proceeding” in issues related to relations with the followers of Archbishop Lefebvre, he added.
Therefore, “re-launching the Williamson case only leads to creating confusion for no reason,” Father Lombardi said.

http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=97810

Vatican-Pius X Society Talks Set for October

16-September-2009 -- ZENIT.org News Agency
http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=97654

VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 15, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Holy See will hold talks with the Society of St. Pius X in October, according to a Vatican spokesman, and not "in a few days," as earlier reported by an Austrian cardinal.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, confirmed today that the meeting will take place during the last two weeks of October.

He also revealed the three Vatican representatives: Dominican Father Charles Morerod, secretary-general of the International Theological Commission, Jesuit Josef Becker, and the vicar general of Opus Dei, Father Ocariz Brana.

The archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, told the Passauer Neue Presse on Saturday that the talks would begin this week.

He also "the SSPX will be told very clearly what is not negotiable for the Holy See. This includes such fundamental conclusions of the Second Vatican Council as its positions on Judaism, other non-Christian religions, other Christian churches and on religious freedom as a basic human right."

In July, Benedict XVI restructured the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, uniting it more closely to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The commission was formed in 1988 for those communities and persons who, coming from the Society of St. Pius X or from similar groups, wish to return to full communion with the Successor of Peter.

The president of the commission is the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, currently Cardinal William Levada. The Holy Father appointed as secretary Monsignor Guido Pozzo, who is currently assistant secretary of the International Theological Commission and official of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

In March, Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications of four Lefebvrite bishops who were excommunicated in 1988 when they received episcopal ordination illicitly at the hands of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who ordained them without papal permission.

The decree to lift the excommunications was made public days after one of the four -- Bishop Richard Williamson -- appeared on Swedish television in a previously taped interview in which he refuted the extent of Holocaust. A furor ensued which led Vatican-Jewish relations to the breaking point.

In a March letter to the world's bishops, explaining why he had lifted the excommunications, Benedict XVI announced his intention to place the commission under the guidance of the doctrinal congregation.
He said it "will make it clear that the problems now to be addressed are essentially doctrinal in nature and concern primarily the acceptance of the Second Vatican Council and the post-conciliar magisterium of the popes."

Vatican Watcher Stands by Report on Papal "Reform of the Reform"

30-August-2009 -- Catholic News Agency
Vatican Watcher Stands by Report on Papal "Reform of the Reform"

Rome, Italy, Aug 31, 2009 (CNA).- The Italian Vatican analyst Andrea Tornielli wrote this past Saturday on his blog that the recent clarifications by high-ranking Vatican officials do not refute what he stated in a column for the Italian daily Il Giornale on August 22. Tornielli had reported that Pope Benedict XVI is considering various measures to move forward with a liturgical “reform of the reform.”

Both in his column and on his usually well-sourced blog, Tornielli announced on August 22 that the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, led by Cardinal Antonio Canizares, had put forth a series of liturgical reforms—including greater use of Latin in the Mass, the possibility of celebrating the Mass ad orientum at least during the consecration, and a greater emphasis on Communion on the tongue—that were being studied by the Holy Father.

In an apparent response to the report by Tornielli, the vice director of the Holy See’s Press Office, Father Ciro Benedettini, said on August 24, “No institutional proposals currently exist that refer to a modification of the liturgical books.” Additionally, last Friday, in an interview with L’Osservatore Romano, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone called the reports “imaginary.”

According to Tornielli, the denial by Father Benedettini and the comments by Cardinal Bertone were provoked not by his article but “rather, by the manner in which the story was picked up by various blogs, which claimed the ‘reform of the reform’ and the changes to the Mass in a more traditional sense were imminent.”

He said on Saturday that his column referred to “the beginning of work” and not to “imminent reforms or documents already prepared,” adding that both the results of the meeting of the Congregation led by Cardinal Canizares as well as their presentation to the Pope for his consideration are real facts.

“All of this is an attempt to tell people not to believe what I wrote, saying there is nothing happening, that the Pope and the Congregation for Divine Worship are not considering anything, that the ‘reform of the reform’ and the recovery of a greater sense of the sacred in the Liturgy is a false story reported by me,” Tornielli said.

He concluded his blog saying, “Ever since I become a Vatican analyst I have made many mistakes and I will continue to make them, but the article in question, believe me, is not among them.”

http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=97305

Vatican Denies Reports that Liturgical Reforms Being Formalized

Vatican City, Aug 24, 2009 (CNA).- The Press Office of the Holy See today denied reports in the Italian press that Pope Benedict is poised to make changes to enhance the sacredness of the liturgy. The statement added that there are currently no institutional proposals to alter the rites being used to celebrate the Mass.

The Assistant Director of the Press Office, Father Ciro Benedettini, said that "so far there are no institutional proposals for amendment of the books currently in use."

Fr. Benedettini made the statement after the Vatican watcher Andrea Tornielli wrote that the bishops who comprise the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments had voted on March 12 to recommend a series of liturgical reforms to the Pope.

Tornielli wrote that the bishops of the Congregation voted almost unanimously to “restore greater sacredness to the rite, to recover the meaning of Eucharistic adoration, to restore Latin in the celebration and to revamp the introductory parts of the Missal to put an end to abuses, experimentation and inappropriate creativity.”

The bishops also reportedly voted to reaffirm that the norm for receiving Holy Communion is on the tongue and not the hand. However, noted Tornielli, some bishops’ conferences have received an indult from Rome to allow the reception of the Eucharist on the hand.

http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=97201