Rorate can independently confirm the report --hinted at just now in Le Forum Catholique -- that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has sent a letter with a final offer to the Society of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX): resume the dialogue with the Holy See by February 22, or else the Holy See will make an offer of reconciliation and full communion to individual SSPX priests. (What kind of offer or structural basis will be offered is unclear.)
We can only wonder how things would be like if dissenting liberal theological faculties and the individual heretics teaching in them were approached by the CDF with the same diligence and focus.
In other news: Mons. George Ratzinger highlights two events that deeply pained the Pope in his pontificate. These events may not have directly caused the resignation, but they certainly inflicted great bitterness on the heart of His Holiness, in his brother's opinion. They were the Vatican leaks scandal and relations with the Society of Saint Pius X (the failure of an agreement, possibly - the report speaks of "Pius Brotherhood", but that is only the literal translation of the name by which the SSPX is known in German):
(NBC news report - tip: Sancte Pater)
In other news: Mons. George Ratzinger highlights two events that deeply pained the Pope in his pontificate. These events may not have directly caused the resignation, but they certainly inflicted great bitterness on the heart of His Holiness, in his brother's opinion. They were the Vatican leaks scandal and relations with the Society of Saint Pius X (the failure of an agreement, possibly - the report speaks of "Pius Brotherhood", but that is only the literal translation of the name by which the SSPX is known in German):
Ratzinger said the pope’s time in office had “created great challenges for him,” highlighting two particular issues that concerned his brother.
"Within the church a lot of things happened, which brought up troubles, for example the relationship to the Pius Brotherhood or the irregularities within the Vatican, where the butler had let known indiscretions,” he said.
“These were emotional years, but with God's help and his own commitment, I think he mastered it rather well,” he added.
Ratzinger did not specify the pope’s issues with the Pius Brotherhood, or Society of St. Pius X as the group is formally known.
(NBC news report - tip: Sancte Pater)
