Rorate Caeli

Fellay speaks: I am confident

From an interview granted by Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX) to Paolo Luigi Rodari, in Il Riformista:

Fellay... has often been defined as the head of the more moderate wing of the Lefebvrists. The opposite of Bishop Richard Williamson, who would represent the more intransigent wing in the Fraternity, that [wing] of the "never and never again" regarding a compromise with Rome.

"Nothing could be falser - Fellay explains it -, Williamson and I are on the same line, that which believes that we could hardly re-enter a Church as is. And the reasons are quite simple. Benedict XVI has indeed liberalized the ancient rite, but I cannot explain for what reason he made such a decision if he then allows the majority of Bishops to criticize and disobey him regarding what he determined. What should we do? Re-enter the Church and then be insulted by all those people?"

And more: "Other than the ancient rite, the problem for us is in the words which Benedict XVI dedicated to Vatican II. We have read his wish to put in place an exegesis of continuity. But it seems to me that no concrete actions have followed this desire. because the rupture with the past is directly related, unfortunately, to some texts of Vatican II and these texts are what should be, in some way, reviewed. In the interview which opens the book of Cardinal Leo Scheffczyk, 'The World of Catholic Faith: Truth and Form', he [Benedict] declares that after the Council he was too fearful regarding the colleagues devoted to a clear line of openness to the world. That is fine, but, concretely, what actions does he intend to pursue to fix it?"

That is to say, Ratzinger should ready himself for a direct revision of the Conciliar texts, and not only for a denunciation of an incorrect hermeneutic. "Let us take, for instance - Fellay says - the declaration Dignitatis Humanae dedicated to religious liberty. In it, the Church places itself in a position of subjection regarding a civil authority that must assure it the right to free expression. Yet in my opinion it should be the opposite: it is the State which must submit to the Catholic faith and recognize it as the State religion."

If the liturgy is the heart of the dissent of the Lefebvrists regarding Rome, the divergences seem to have a wider scope which the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum can not solve by itself. "I - Fellay concludes - have met Benedict XVI only once, in the summer of 2005. From that day onward, I have kept an intense exchange of letters with Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, president of Ecclesia Dei. But there still is no common working document. I am nevertheless confident because all our dealings have otherwise been excellent."