The head of the Society of Saint Pius X, Superior-General Bishop Bernard Fellay, keeping his general cautious tune on the matters related to the talks between his fraternity and the Holy See, said recently that any reconciliation between Rome and the the SSPX is "not for tomorrow". But the official news website of the Bishops of Switzerland took this to mean that he "denied any rapprochement", which is not true at all, and which we know is not even objectively true, and is not what the bishop himself has been saying repeatedly in the past few months under Pope Francis. No imminent reconciliation had been announced recently: in this case, some in the Swiss Bishops' Conference news department just wished to cause diversion.
The contrast between the headline and the content is evident, see below:
Bp. Fellay denies any rapprochement of the Society of Saint Pius X with RomeBernard HalletBishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) denies March 5 in the daily Le Nouvelliste, rumors of an "imminent" reconciliation between the SSPX and Rome which was announced by Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, one of the three bishops of the SSPX."In my opinion, this is not for tomorrow. It can still take years” Bishop Fellay said in the daily Le Nouvelliste, adding that in this case, “we must not rush, (...) these are things that have been going on since the year 2000".In a lecture given at Versailles in January, Bishop Alfonso de Galaretta, one of the three bishops of the Society of St. Pius X, had announced the imminent reconciliation of the SSPX with Rome. "I think that [the Pope] will override any doctrinal requirement, theoretical, practical, or any condition whatsoever ... He is going to take his own steps towards recognizing the Society” he said in remarks reported on February 26 by La Porte Latine, official website of the French district of the SSPX. [Reported in Rorate on 2/26]The reconciliation of the Fraternity with the Church is not on the agenda for Bishop Fellay who believes that "there are a lot of injuries and we must heal these before having a calm discussion." The superior of the SSPX remains, however "open to discussions with Rome, but not to concessions."
[Translation: Contributor Mornac]
