Skip to main content

A Look Back: Pre-Conditions for Doctrinal Discussions Circa 2001

Image
By
+
JMJ

I know that some 'resistors' will  freak at:
that the censures against the Bishops be declared null.
But hopefully they'll get over it because Bishop Williamson also agreed to the final letter before the excommunications were lifted.

Having been involved in negotiations between two organizations, I know that it is natural for  'positions' to be altered as opposed to issues. Even more so over negotiations that last eight years!

P^3



PRIESTLY FRATERNITY OF SAINT PIUS X
Statement of Bishop Fellay
to SSPX Members and Friends,
January 22, 2001
(Official Translation)
  1. In August, at the end of last summer's pilgrimage to Rome, Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos had a first direct contact with the Society's Bishops.

  2. During the month of November the same Cardinal, under a mandate from Pope John Paul II, invited the Superior General to come to see him 'to prepare a visit with the Pope".

  3. On December 29, Cardinal Castrillon proposed to Bishop Fellay different elements that could serve towards a possible agreement between Rome and the Society. The Superior General expressed his point of view, his distrust, his apprehension. (Although never before had Rome gone so far in favor of Tradition).

  4. On December 30, for a few seconds, the Superior General saw the Pope in his private chapel. (No words of importance were exchanged).

  5. On January 13 there was a special meeting of the General Council, of the Society's Bishops and of the delegate of Bishop Rangel, at which were established the principles to guide us in the present situation.

  6. On January 16, there was another meeting with Cardinal Castrillon, during which the Superior General exposed the necessity of having guaranties from Rome before going ahead in the details of eventual discussions or an agreement:
  • that the Tridentine Mass be granted to all priests of the entire world
  • that the censures against the Bishops be declared null.
The principles that are to guide us through this rather new situation are the following:
  1. Given that Rome has initiated this effort, it is normal that the Society take it with the seriousness that it deserves.

  2. Our distrust is extreme, keeping before our eyes on the one hand the very recent example of the Fraternity of St. Peter, and on the other hand the continuity in the post-conciliar direction, which is constantly reaffirmed.

  3. The Society has in no way the intention of modifying its principles and its general goal. The so abundant fruits of Grace, on the one hand, and the conciliar disaster on the other just go to reinforce its determination to conserve Catholic Tradition.

  4. If there were to be an agreement it could only be seen in the perspective of giving back to Tradition its rights of citizenship, even if the final triumph will only be obtained gradually.

  5. The prayers requested of the members of the Society for the duration of one month do not at all signify our expectation that this will be resolved within that time frame, or with any haste at all. This time of prayer is so that we can request more intensely of Our Lady that She open the hearts of those responsible in Rome and of the Bishops; that She enable us to avoid every trap, and that She might enable the rights of Her divine Son to triumph in the Church.
Menzingen, January 22, 2001
+ Bernard Fellay
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Reply to Martin Blackshaw’s FLAWED Remnant article titled: FLAWED: SSPX Advice on Abortion-tainted Vaccines

By
 + JMJ    An article has appeared in the Remnant (link to article) and I am afraid that there are a number of flaws in it that need to be addressed. The author, Martin Blackshaw, believes that both the Church and the SSPX are misapplying the principle of Moral Theology called 'Cooperation In Evil'.  Unfortunately, Mr. Blackshaw rests most of his arguments on citing authors that support his position, without considering the possibility that they are wrong. This highlights a key factor in this crisis: ignorance of the faith and its application . I don't am not singling out Mr. Blackshaw for this criticism, I have observed that it applies to laity and religious, superior and subject a like.  No one seems immune in this enduring crisis, myself included.  I further believe that this ignorance is why so many Catholics, both traditional and non, rely on their gut feeling or "Catholic conscience" for charting their way through this crisis of the faith.  While...
25 comments
Read more

What Archbishop Lefebvre Said About the New Mass - SSPX.org

By
+ JMJ The New Mass is many things and one thing that it is is ambiguous.  While there are a few Catholic elements in the Novus Ordo, but even those are lost in the morass of protestant simulation. It truly is a case of : P^3 Courtesy of SSPX.org: What Archbishop Lefebvre said about the New Mass
Post a Comment
Read more

Rome,the SSPX and this time of Crisis - Updated

By
+ JMJ Obviously there's lots of events right now. First we have the April 1st - I almost thought it was April Fools - meeting between Pope Francis and Bishop Fellay.  Nothing really news worthy as this is a natural progression as Rome appears to be considering fulfilling Archbishop Lefebvre's wish to 'accept us as we are'. Second we have the April 8th publication of what will be a verbose exhortation of the Synod of the Family. I'm willing to bet that the Pope will give with one hand (unilateral regularization of SSPX) and take with the other (ambiguous document that opens the flood gates of sin further). Much to pray for. P^3
30 comments
Read more

Does the SSPX 'Reject the conclusions of the Second Vatican Council'? (Updated 2026-08-03)

By
 + JMJ Update: Dr. Lamont, in a Rorate article (link) , pointed out that : It is notable that the profession does not reject any text of the Second Vatican Council, but only states that the influence of the Council promoted deviations from the faith. Catholics may hold that the influence of an ecumenical council was noxious in some respects. It is only the authoritative teachings of a council that demand their assent; they do not have to approve of all the historical results that it led to. One may, for example, reasonably hold that the definitions of papal infallibility and universal jurisdiction of the First Vatican Council led to an exaggerated and harmful conception of papal power, while accepting the definitions themselves. Further what the SSPX actually wrote (link) : I acknowledge in particular that modern errors represent a dreadful threat to the whole of the Catholic order, and that their penetration into the life of the Church, under the influence of the Second Vatican ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Vatican and SSPX – An Organizational Culture Perspective

By
Introduction The recent and continuing interactions between the Vatican and the SSPX have been a great opportunity for prayer and reflection.  The basis for the disagreement is theological and not liturgical. As noted by Dr. Lamont (2012), the SSPX theological position on the four key controversial aspects of the Second Vatican Council are base on prior theological work that resulted from relevant magisterial pronouncements.  So it is difficult to understand the apparent rejection of the theological position of the SSPX.
17 comments
Read more