Rorate Caeli

Fellay speaks: the contacts continue

[UPDATE (June 10): Full translation of the interview, provided by DICI.] From an interview granted by the Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, Bishop Bernard Fellay, on June 1, 2011, as he visited Gabon:

Allow me to end [this interview], Your Excellency, with two questions. The first is related to the relations between the Fraternity and Rome. Where are you in your contacts? A subsidiary question: can we expect, on a mid- term, a normalization of these relations?

The contacts continue. We are probably reaching the end of a phase of discussions. This is not yet completely clear. What will happen? What will be the outcome of this phase? This answers the second question. What does Rome foresee for us now? One should not be mistaken: we are truly within the crisis of the Church; it has certainly not ended. What is our fate in this crisis? I believe that, at some level, the Good Lord linked us with this crisis, because we work for the restoration of the Church, but this may still last for a decade, maybe two. It is necessary to have lots of courage and perseverance. This can be resolved tomorrow, this may be be resolved the day after tomorrow. All is in the hands of the Good Lord. Let us all remain simply faithful.

My second question is related to your feeling following the beatification of Pope John Paul II.

A very mixed feeling. The impression [that is given is that] of an incredible precipitation, that disregards all rules that the Church herself expressed before proceeding to these kinds of acts. The impression of imprudence. One example: when one wishes to beatify or to canonize, what was said and written by the candidate that is called "venerable" is very closely examined. Well, here, the greatest part of what was written by him is located within the secret archives of the Vatican, that have not yet been opened. We remain, therefore, uneasy. We fear seeing there a desire to cement a cause that John Paul II put in place, that he wished to continue throughout his Pontificate, of which he wished to be the apostle.
[Source: DICI]
[See also: Pozzo speaks.]