Communiqué
of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei"
The text of the response of His Excellency Bp. Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, requested during the meeting in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of March 16, 2012, was delivered on April 17, 2012. This text will be examined by the Dicastery and submitted afterwards to the judgment of the Holy Father.
[Source: original texts in Italian and French]
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[Update: Apr. 18, 1220 GMT:] Father Lombardi, head of the Holy See Press Office, offers his comments (transcript provided by the French service of Radio Vaticana - oral style kept):
"Today's news means that yesterday Bp. Fellay's response, that had been requested by Cardinal Levada at the last meeting, was delivered to the Congregation, to the Ecclesia Dei Commission, to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Now, this response, it is a reponse that, according to the words of those who could see it, is a very different response from the previous one, and this is encouraging, we proceed forward. But, naturally, we also find in the response the addition of some details or integrations to the text of the doctrinal preamble that had been proposed by the Congregation for a doctrinal agreement, and this response will be discussed, it will be examined first by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in one of its meetings of the next few weeks and, afterwards, it will also naturally be examined directly by the Pope. It can be said that steps forward have been taken, that is to say, that the response, the new response, is rather encouraging, but there are still developments that will be made, and examined, and decisions that should be taken in the next few weeks. I think the wait will not be long because there is the desire to reach a conclusion in these discussions, in these contacts."
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[Update: Apr. 18, 1300 GMT - SSPX General House communiqué:]
Communiqué
of the General House of the Society of Saint Pius X
The media are announcing that Bishop Bernard Fellay has sent a “positive response” to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and that consequently the doctrinal question between the Holy See and the Society of St. Pius X is now resolved.
The reality is different.
In a letter dated April 17, 2012, the Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X responded to the request for clarification that had been made to him on March 16 by Cardinal William Levada concerning the Doctrinal Preamble delivered on September 14, 2011. As the press release dated today [April 17] from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith indicates, the text of this response “will be examined by the dicastery then submitted to the Holy Father for his judgment”.
This is therefore a stage and not a conclusion.
Menzingen, April 18, 2012. [1300 GMT]
[Update: Apr. 20, Statement from Fr. Alain Lorans on DICI Newsletter # 253:]
At the hour when DICI is being published
At the hour when DICI is being published, despite all the hypotheses and predictions of the international press about the imminence of a canonical recognition of the Society of Saint Pius X by the Holy See, nothing is certain. An allegedly sensational article by the Vatican-watcher Andrea Tornielli announced on the evening of April 17 that a “positive response” from Bishop Bernard Fellay arrived at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In reality it was a set of written clarifications that Cardinal William Levada had requested of the Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X, which now must be studied by that dicastery and then submitted to the judgment of Benedict XVI. In this issue we review the commentaries by journalists who stir up among some people hope one minute and apprehension the next, and among other people—fear or joy. But it is important to remember that all these commentaries, like the sentiments or resentments that they provoke, have to do with mere speculations. DICI, for its part, will not discuss facts until they have been verified.
[Update: Apr. 20, Rome – Society of Saint Pius X: Press Review published on DICI]
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