Rorate is able to confirm that Cardinal Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will receive in the offices of his Congregation in Rome the superior-general of the Society of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX), Bp. Bernard Fellay, later this month (or on another day in early fall, the date is uncertain).
The way this high-level meeting became public is unusual and incomprehensible as a media operation: there is a discussion forum founded and led by a Frenchwoman (pseudonym "Gentiloup") who is a regular mass-goer in SSPX chapels - it is a forum dedicated to those who call themselves the "Resistance" (that is, those inside or outside the SSPX who are against all or most contacts with the Holy See). On Sunday, August 31, 2014, in the SSPX priory of Fabrègues (in the Languedoc, southern France), Fr. Louis-Marie Carlhian announced to the faithful that such a meeting would take place on September 21, and "Gentiloup" rushed to announce it in the "Resistance" Forum. The specific date was later modified to an "uncertain" day. Days later, it was posted at Tradinews, a French traditional news blog. From then on, it became widespread.
What will happen? Who knows? Maybe it's just a first cordial meeting (the first official one) between the two men since Müller was named Prefect. Maybe it includes additional talks. Maybe more. Maybe all details are set beforehand. Or not. Maybe it will eventually include a meeting with someone else higher. Maybe not.
So maybe this is big news. Or maybe not...
