Free Republic

From the website of the "French District of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter" (FSSP): Offering up our Lent for Catholic Unity (Last modification: 02.24.2012, 0827) In this Lenten season, some among our friends have taken the initiative of offering up their struggles and sacrifices for reconciliation and unity between all Catholics. At a moment in which the dialogue between the Society of Saint Pius X [SSPX] and the Holy See reaches a decisive point for the future, the District of France [of the FSSP] encourages its friends to double their fervor in prayer. P.S. reading material to enrich our...

Bernard Fellay The first text reached the Vatican in December, but it was considered inadequate: the Holy See called for a new document, which has just arrived and is now being examined Andrea TornielliVatican City   The true response of the superior of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X, Bernard Fellay, formulated according to the requests of the Holy See, arrived at the Vatican just last week. The first reply, received by the Vatican on 21 December, was not considered adequate by Vatican authorities, who urged the head of the Lefebvrians to redraft it, considering the first delivery as more of...

While the neo-conservative Polish Bishops lead the country slowly into the abyss, the apostolate of the SSPX blooms in the land. (kreuz.net) The apostlate of the Society of St. Pius X is growing "surprisingly fast" even for the conditions of the Society. This was written by the District Superior for East Europe, Fr. Karl Stehlin in his Christmas letter. The Society can only devote twelve priests in eastern Europe. Actually, the present pastoral work would require thirty priests -- so says Father Stehlin. In Warsaw the Fathers will be shortly leading a third old Mass on Sunday. Every week there...

The traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) has delivered its official response to a Vatican offer for reconciliation, but the response is not what the Holy See expected, reports leading Vatican journalist Andrea Tornielli. Last week the SSPX submitted a response to the “Doctrinal Preamble” that was presented to the traditionalist group in September as the possible basis for a reconciliation with the Holy See. The document allowed for some amendment or clarification, but the Vatican made it clear that the SSPX would be expected to accept the essence of the statement, acknowledging the authority of Vatican II, before...

Bishop Bernard Fellay, the Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX), said it in his sermon of December 8: the Roman proposals are at each time more interesting, but in their formulations there remains a point with a bitter taste, that demands before everything else the concession that Vatican II is consistent with the Tradition of the Church. Following the declarations of His Swiss Excellency, pressure mounts, minds are enkindled. Now that the familiar sirens wave anew the red flag of definitive schism, that vaticanist Tornielli lets himself be taken by feeling - by imagining...

From Our Store: Essays in Apologetics, Volume I (eBook) What is finally emerging as the sticking point between the Vatican and the Society of Saint Pius X is the question of the assent owed to the Second Vatican Council. This is now the subject of an important essay in L’Osservatore Romano by one of the key negotiators for the Vatican, the vicar general of Opus Dei, Msgr. Fernando Ocariz. Note that there is a link to the full text at the end of our news story, which itself includes substantial quotations.I hate to say I told you so, but Msgr. Ocariz...

St. Pius X Society superior general Bishop Bernard Fellay Rome, Italy, Nov 29, 2011 / 01:16 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X says he will inform the Vatican “in the next few days” that they cannot give the doctrinal reassurances required of them to advance reconciliation with the Catholic Church.“It is true that this Doctrinal Preamble cannot receive our endorsement,” said Bishop Bernard Fellay on the society’s website, Nov. 28. However, Bishop Fellay said his understanding is that the document is “not a definite text” and that it “can be clarified and...

Q. Why is the Doctrinal Preamble that Cardinal Levada delivered to you on September 14 still surrounded by so much secrecy, both on the part of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and by the Society of St. Pius X? What is this silence hiding from the priests and faithful of Tradition? A. This discretion is normal for any important proceeding; it ensures the seriousness of it. It so happens that the Doctrinal Preamble that was delivered to us is a document which can be clarified and modified, as the accompanying note points out. It is not a...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Jewish groups have called on the Vatican to suspend reconciliation talks with a traditionalist group after one of its bishops argued that the Jewish people were responsible for the death of Jesus. "Comments like these take us back decades to the dark days before there was a meaningful and mutually respectful dialogue between Jews and Roman Catholics," Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, president of the Conference of European Rabbis, said in a statement Oct. 19. "We call upon the Catholic Church to suspend negotiations with extremist Catholic tendencies until it is clear that these groups show a...

Fr. Niklaus Pfluger Rome, Italy, Oct 4, 2011 / 03:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A senior figure in the breakaway traditionalist group, the Society of St. Pius X, says it could “very, very difficult” for the Vatican and the Society to agree terms for reconciliation. “Assisi III and even more the unfortunate beatification of John Paul II but also many other examples make it clear that the leadership of the Church now as before is not ready to give up the false principles of Vatican II and their consequences,” said the Society’s First Assistant, Father Niklaus Pfluger, in an interview...

During an interview the SSPX Superior for Germany, Fr. Franz Schmidberger, made and interesting comment about the Holy Father’s visit in Germany. Original German.He gave an opinion about the style of the Papal Masses.The following is from the translation provided by our friends at Rorate who are deeply tapped into SSPX veins. Q: What do you as the District Superior think of a celebration of the Eucharist in a football stadium with a colorful opening act and with both boys and girls serving as altar servers?Fr. Schmidberger: All those mass meeting have in them the danger of an “event”, that...

New York, NY, September 16, 2011 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) urges the Vatican to ensure that a breakaway Catholic sect which teaches anti-Judaism will be required to accept the church's official positive teachings about Jews and Judaism before they are fully accepted back into the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican announced earlier this week that in order for The Society of St. Pius X to gain full reconciliation with the church, SSPX must accept some core church teachings, but they have not been made public. It was unclear from news reports and Vatican statements whether the landmark reforms of...

VATICAN CITY, 14 SEP 2011 (VIS) - At midday today the Holy See Press Office released the following communique concerning the postion of the Society of St. Pius X: "On 14 September at the offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the congregation and president of the Pontifical Commission 'Ecclesia Dei'; Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer S.J., secretary of the congregation, and Msgr. Guido Pozzo, secretary of the pontifical commission, met with Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the Society of St. Pius X, who was accompanied by Fr. Niklaus Pfluger...

The Vatican is close to an agreement with the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) that would regularize the status of the breakaway traditionalist group, according to a report in Le Figaro. Jean-Marie Guenois, the veteran religion correspondent for the French daily, predicts that a September 14 meeting between the SSPX leader, Bishop Bernard Fellay, and key Vatican officials will lead quickly to a resolution of the split that began in 1998 when the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre ordained 4 traditionalist bishops without permission from Rome, resulting in the excommunication of the SSPX leaders. Pope Benedict XVI lifted the excommunications...

Fellay Before a key meeting in Rome, the leader of the traditionalists stressed that he was not prepared to make any compromises and also revealed some interesting behind the scenes happenings… “If their aim is still to force us to accept the second Vatican Council, the discussions have been clear enough in showing that we have no intention of  doing any such thing.”  These were the decisive but prudent words of Bernard Fellay, who was adamant he would not agree to any compromise with the Vatican. On the 15 August, Fellay spoke openly about the talks between the Lefebvrians...

Rome became aware of a serious growth of antisemitism and extremism in January of 2009. The Holy Father had just lifted the excommunications of four bishops of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), including Bishop Richard Williamson. As soon as this was done, Swedish Television released the tape of an interview with Bishop Williamson in which he denied the Holocaust. Rome condemned his statements and the Society of SSPX distanced itself from the radical Bishop. During the next weeks, a flurry of antisemites came to the fore defending their Bishop. It now became clear to many that the traditional...

The case of Bishop Richard Williamson's denial of the Holocaust has caused Catholics and non-Catholics to question this and and other similar conspiracy theories. Many have come to the Bishop’s defense, claiming that questioning the actual number of the Jewish victims of the Nazis does not make one antisemitic. This defense, posited by followers of Bishop Williamson and the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), shows an inherent lack of understanding of what conspiracy theories are and how they are used. Conspiracy theories are not just disagreements about historical facts, they are political tools used to move people to action....

Bishop Fellay of the SSPX move to restore order in Great Britain. A radical website has been forced to remove offensive content concerning SSPX attorney, Maximilian Krah. He was publicly attacked by Holocaust Deniers and antisemites.

Pope May Offer the Society a Personal Ordinariat Msgr Galarreta leads Rome Talks for SSPX Editor: More speculation arising, surrounding Bishop Williamson's statement last year about the possibility of a Motu Propio. The Holy see is ascertaining the possibility of the unifying of the Society of St. Pius X by erecting a Personal Ordinariat.As far as concerns the question of a form in church law for the Society founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the Vatican appears to be considering the erection of a Personal Ordinariat. since Autumn 2010 Canon lawyers have been studying this idea. One such canonical solution for...

It took the Vatican about 72 hours to declare excommunicated Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and the four bishops he consecrated without a papal mandate on June 30, 1988. Whether one agrees with his decision or not, Lefebvre acted for what he thought was the best interest of the faithful, consecrating four bishops to preserve the traditional Mass and sacraments in a time of "diabolical disorientation" in the Church, to recall Sister Lucy’s memorable phrase. Indeed, the Church’s Code of Canon Law exempts from penalties such as excommunication one who acts out of what he believes is necessity, even if his good...