Fellay: the first interview"I am confident"

The Swiss daily Le Temps published today the first interview granted by Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX), after the remission of excommunications made public last Saturday.

The full text:

- [Patricia Briel, Le Temps:] Do you condemn the negationist declarations of Bishop Williamson?

- [Fellay:] It does not belong to me to condemn them. I do not have the competence for this. But I deplore that a Bishop may have given the impression of involving the Fraternity with a view that is absolutely not ours.

- According to observers, the Pope's decision could create divisions within the Fraternity. All the faithful and priests would not be ready for unity.

- [Fellay:] I do not fear it. There may always be a dissonant voice here or there. But the zeal with which the faithful prayed the Rosary to ask for the removal of the excommunications says a lot about our union; 1 700 000 rosaries were said in two and a half months.

- In your letter to the faithful of January 24 [PDF], you display your desire to examine, with Rome, the deeper causes of the "unprecedented crisis which afflicts the Church today". What are these causes?

- [Fellay:] In the essence, this crisis is caused by a new approach to the world, a new view of man, that is, an anthropocentrism which consists of an exaltation of man and a forgetfulness of God. The arrival of modern philosophies, with their less precise language, has led to confusion in theology.

- Is the Second Vatican Council also responsible for the Church crisis, in your opinion?

- [Fellay:] Not all comes from the Church. But it is true that we reject a part of the Council. Benedict XVI himself condemned those who claim the Spirit of Vatican II to demand an evolution of the Church in a break with its past.

- Ecumenism and religious liberty are at the center of the criticisms you make of Vatican II

- [Fellay:] The quest for unity of all in the Mystical Body of the Church is our dearest desire. Nonetheless, the method that is used is not appropriate. Today, there is such a focus on the points which unite us to other Christian confessions that those which separate us are forgotten. We believe that those who have left the Catholic Church, that is, the Orthodox and the Protestants, should come back to it. We conceive ecumenism as a return to the unity of Truth.

Regarding religious liberty, it is necessary to distinguish two situations: the religious liberty of the person, and the relations between Church and State. Religious liberty implies liberty of conscience. We agree with the fact that there is not a right to force anyone to accept a religion. As for our reflection on the relations between Church and State, it is based on the principle of tolerance. It seems clear to us that there where there are multiple religions, the State should be watchful of their good coexistence and peace. Nevertheless, there is but one religion that is true, and the others are not. But we tolerate this situation for the good of all.

- What will happen if the negotiations fail?

- [Fellay:] I am confident. If the Church says today anything that is in contradiction with what it taught yesterday, and if it forced us to accept this change, then it must explain the reason for it. I believe in the infallibility of the Church, and I think that we will reach a true solution.

Tears

The publication of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum led at least one Italian bishop to tears.

Now, a popular Italian theologian (Gianni Gennari, a "Conservative Catholic" and laicized priest, now married, who is a columnist for Catholic daily Avvenire, under the pseudonym "Rosso Malpelo") cannot hold back his own tears.

Genari: "I am disappointed, stunned, scandalized"

«A swipe at John Paul II. It is the complete debacle of the Church»

by Laurence Figà-Talamanca

CITTÀ DEL VATICANO

"A swipe at John Paul II", who, up to the end, "begged" Anti-Conciliar Bishop Marcel Lefebvre not to consecrate new bishops. Gianni Gennari, former priest of dissent, is, to say little, "troubled", and he does not spare words in condemning the removal of the excommunication imposed by Pope Wojtyla, on June 30 1988 [sic], to the four Lefebvrist [sic] bishops: "It is a tragedy, the complete debacle of the Church!". "I am ashamed by the result of this act. I am disappointed, stunned, scandalized!", affirms Gennari to Ansa [news agency], holding back his anger and his tears with difficulty, and declaring he has a wide documentation of what took place at the time, "including a telegram of then-Cardinal Ratzinger" to Lefebvre.

"I don't know if the Pope himself should also be ashamed, that belongs to his conscience. He is a great theologian, and I do not understand what may have happened. It displeases me because I like him," adds the former priest, now married and a well-liked journalist in the columns of Avvenire under the pseudonym of "Rosso Malpelo".

"I don't know if anyone has fooled the Pope, but in this case there is no place for the mercy of Christ, because mercy is used for those who repent". But the Lefebvrists have never repented, even "for 40 years they have spoken of 'bastard popes', 'bastard Mass', they even called Paul VI a bastard, spewing venom and calumny."

Poor Gennari: he does not know what just hit him.

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Meanwhile, Bishops speaking anonymously to Il Messaggero cannot stop complaining about the Pope's decision:

Even though the gesture is motivated by the will to achieve unity, the consequences of the entry of the ultra-Traditionalists who "do not believe in Vatican II" and who have fought for the rehabilitation of the Latin Mass according to the ancient rite will lead "inevitably to some imbalance". 

The liturgical experts sound more than skeptical and agree."I ask myself" - a prelate declares - "at what cost will the reentry come. I fear that it will consolidate what two years ago was only an extraordinary rite. The entry of the Lefebvrists cannot but undermine the path made since Vatican II. Moreover, it is like ignoring the work of Paul VI and John Paul II". Pope Montini did what he could to understand the gesture of Archbishop Lefebvre, while Pope Wojtyla, before reaching the decision of excommunicating him, promoted a kind of internal query within the episcopate, ending at the 1984 indult. "The gesture of Pope Ratzinger will cause a certain instability" - a Cardinal adds. "It will expand even the movement towards the ancient rite, creating ulterior uneasiness, at a theological and pastoral level, in the parishes."

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Transcript: Papa Ratzinger
Picture: Orbis Catholicus

Decree of the Congregation for Bishops

CONGREGATIO PRO EPISCOPIS

By way of a letter of December 15, 2008 addressed to His Eminence Cardinal Dario Castrillón Hoyos, President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, Bp. Bernard Fellay, also in the name of the other three Bishops consecrated on June 30, 1988, requested anew the removal of the latae sententiae excommunication formally declared with the Decree of the Prefect of this Congregation on July 1, 1988. In the aforementioned letter, Bp. Fellay affirms, among other things: "We are always firmly determined in our will to remain Catholic and to place all our efforts at the service of the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the Roman Catholic Church. We accept its teachings with filial disposition. We believe firmly in the Primacy of Peter and in its prerogatives, and for this the current situation makes us suffer so much."

His Holiness Benedict XVI - paternally sensitive to the spiritual unease manifested by the interested party due to the sanction of excommunication and trusting in the effort expressed by them in the aforementioned letter of not sparing any effort to deepen the necessary discussions with the Authority of the Holy See in the still open matters, so as to achieve shortly a full and satisfactory solution of the problem posed in the origin - decided to reconsider the canonical situation of Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, and Alfonso de Galarreta, arisen with their episcopal consecration.

With this act, it is desired to consolidate the reciprocal relations of confidence and to intensify and grant stability to the relationship of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X with this Apostolic See. This gift of peace, at the end of the Christmas celebrations, is also intended to be a sign to promote unity in the charity of the universal Church and to try to vanquish the scandal of division.

It is hoped that this step be followed by the prompt accomplishment of full communion with the Church of the entire Fraternity of Saint Pius X, thus testifying true fidelity and true recognition of the Magisterium and of the authority of the Pope with the proof of visible unity.

Based on the faculties expressly granted to me by the Holy Father Benedict XVI, in virtue of the present Decree, I remit from Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, and Alfonso de Galarreta the censure of latae sententiae excommunication declared by this Congregation on July 1, 1988, while I declare deprived of any juridical effect, from the present date, the Decree emanated at that time.

Rome, from the Congregation for Bishops, January 21, 2009.

Card. Giovanni Battista Re
Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops

Translation: RORATE
Sources:

1.Available Vatican publication (in Italian)

2.Text of the 1988 Decree (in English)

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Reactions:

1. Press release of the Superior General of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X

The excommunication of the bishops consecrated by His Grace Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, on June 30, 1988, which had been declared by the Congregation for Bishops in a decree dated July 1, 1988, and which we had always contested, has been withdrawn by another decree mandated by Benedict XVI and issued by the same Congregation on January 21, 2009.

We express our filial gratitude to the Holy Father for this gesture which, beyond the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, will benefit the whole Church. Our Society wishes to be always more able to help the pope to remedy the unprecedented crisis which presently shakes the Catholic world, and which Pope John Paul II had designated as a state of “silent apostasy.”

Besides our gratitude towards the Holy Father and towards all those who helped him to make this courageous act, we are pleased that the decree of January 21 considers as necessary “talks” with the Holy See, talks which will enable the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X to explain the fundamental doctrinal reasons which it believes to be at the origin of the present difficulties of the Church.

In this new atmosphere, we have the firm hope to obtain soon the recognition of the rights of Catholic Tradition

Menzingen, January 24, 2009

+Bernard Fellay

2. Letter of the Superior General of the SSPX to the faithful (PDF)

3. Editorial of L'Osservatore Romano (25.01.2009): 50 years of Vatican II and the Pope's gesture (in Italian)

4. Personal note of Father F.Lombardi, Director of the Holy See Press Office and of Radio Vaticana (in Italian)

5. Statement of the German Episcopal Conference (in German)

6.Interview of Card. Vingt-Trois, President of the French Ep. Conference (in French)

7. Communiqué of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP)

8. Statement of the International Federation Una Voce (FIUV)

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CONGREGATIO PRO EPISCOPIS

[GO TO ENGLISH VERSION]

Con lettera del 15 dicembre 2008 indirizzata a Sua Em.za il Sig. Cardinale Dario Castrillón Hoyos, Presidente della Pontificia Commissione Ecclesia Dei, Mons. Bernard Fellay, anche a nome degli altri tre Vescovi consacrati il giorno 30 giugno 1988, sollecitava nuovamente la rimozione della scomunica latae sententiae formalmente dichiarata con Decreto del Prefetto di questa Congregazione per i Vescovi in data 1° luglio 1988. Nella menzionata lettera, Mons. Fellay afferma, tra l'altro: "Siamo sempre fermamente determinati nella volontà di rimanere cattolici e di mettere tutte le nostre forze al servizio della Chiesa di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo, che è la Chiesa cattolica romana. Noi accettiamo i suoi insegnamenti con animo filiale. Noi crediamo fermamente al Primato di Pietro e alle sue prerogative, e per questo ci fa tanto soffrire l'attuale situazione".

Sua Santità Benedetto XVI - paternamente sensibile al disagio spirituale manifestato dagli interessati a causa della sanzione di scomunica e fiducioso nell'impegno da loro espresso nella citata lettera di non risparmiare alcuno sforzo per approfondire nei necessari colloqui con le Autorità della Santa Sede le questioni ancora aperte, così da poter giungere presto a una piena e soddisfacente soluzione del problema posto in origine - ha deciso di riconsiderare la situazione canonica dei Vescovi Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson e Alfonso de Galarreta sorta con la loro consacrazione episcopale.

Con questo atto si desidera consolidare le reciproche relazioni di fiducia e intensificare e dare stabilità ai rapporti della Fraternità San Pio X con questa Sede Apostolica. Questo dono di pace, al termine delle celebrazioni natalizie, vuol essere anche un segno per promuovere l'unità nella carità della Chiesa universale e arrivare a togliere lo scandalo della divisione.

Si auspica che questo passo sia seguito dalla sollecita realizzazione della piena comunione con la Chiesa di tutta la Fraternità San Pio X, testimoniando così vera fedeltà e vero riconoscimento del Magistero e dell'autorità del Papa con la prova dell'unità visibile.

In base alle facoltà espressamente concessemi dal Santo Padre Benedetto XVI, in virtù del presente Decreto, rimetto ai Vescovi Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson e Alfonso de Galarreta la censura di scomunica latae sententiae dichiarata da questa Congregazione il 1° luglio 1988, mentre dichiaro privo di effetti giuridici, a partire dall'odierna data, il Decreto a quel tempo emanato.

Roma, dalla Congregazione per i Vescovi, 21 gennaio 2009.

Card. Giovanni Battista Re

Prefetto della Congregazione per i Vescovi

New Thread: Removal of the excommunications of SSPX Bishops3 Updates: Decree of the Cong. for Bishops?Confirmed:Vatican Statement SATURDAY

1. New article by Andrea Tornielli in Friday's edition of Il Giornale: Saturday or, at most, next week; Fellay met Cañizares in Rome.

The removal of the excommunication, decided by Pope Ratzinger, will be published already Saturday, or at most next week, after the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The four Bishops at this hour wait in silence ... .

The Superior-General of the Fraternity, Bishop Bernard Fellay, first signatory of the letter with which it was requested of the Pontiff to remove the excommunication, in the past few days was in Rome and also met Cardinal Antonio Cañizares, new Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship.

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2. UPDATE (1630 GMT) Paolo Luigi Rodari, as Andrea Tornielli, reaffirms the news, and expects the removal of the excommunications to be made public tomorrow or, at the latest, on Monday.

[A]s you know, soon (tomorrow or, at the latest, on Monday) the Pope will revoke the excommunications of the four schismatic Lefebvrist [sic] Bishops. The Decree will be signed by the Congregation for Bishops, the opinion of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts having been heard.

Meanwhile, The Remnant discloses a January 21 letter in which the Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, Bishop Bernard Fellay, distances the FSSPX/SSPX from any specific privately held opinion.

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3. UPDATE (1945 GMT): The Austrian Catholic news website Kath.net confirms that, "The Vatican will publish, on Saturday [January 24], a statement on the lifting of the excommunications of the Bishops of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X"; Kath.net informs that there is no "reliable information" on the content of the Vatican communiqué. [Tip: Exsultet]

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4. UPDATE (2010 GMT): French religious news agency I.Media reports the following (by way of news agency ASCA):

Citta' del Vaticano, Jan 23 - L'Osservatore Romano will publish tomorrow an "explanatory note" on the decision of Pope Benedict XVI to revoke the excommunication of the four schismatic Bishops ordained by Traditionalist Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1988. ...

The act of Pope Ratzinger will be presented in the daily paper of the Holy See as "an act of mercy by the Pope".

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See also: First Thread

Removal of the excommunications A Guide

All signs now seem to indicate that the removal, withdrawal, or annulment of the excommunications of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (+ 1991), Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer (+ 1991), and of the four Bishops consecrated by them for the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX) in Ecône, Switzerland, on June 30, 1988 is imminent. The Papal act on the matter has almost certainly been signed, and it will be made public shortly: read Surprise 2 - UPDATED; and Surprise 1.

RORATE CÆLI has been covering this matter since its beginning. Here is a guide of posts for those who wish to understand the situation.

1. The Events of 1988. The events which led to the consecrations of June 30, 1988, and to the subsequent reaction by the Holy See are summed up in two posts: 20 years on: Reliving the Events of 1988, Part I and Part II.

2. The Process of Regularization of the FSSPX. The process is clearly following the One-Two-Three Strategy, first explained by this blog here. The first step was accomplished, first, by the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, and will be completed with the removal of the excommunications.

3. Rumors on the papal decree. Rumors regarding the removal of excommunications have been reported at least since the Jubilee discussions of the Holy See and the SSPX, begun during the Pontificate of John Paul II. The current procedure for the removal of the excommunications began in earnest in the audience granted by Pope Benedict to the Superior General of the FSSPX, Bishop Fellay, in August 29, 2005.

As Fellay himself described,

At a certain point [during the audience], the Pontiff himself put the matter on the table: pondering on the state of the Church in countries such as France and Germany, Benedict XVI recognized as perfectly well-grounded the question of the subsistence of the state of necessity in such countries... [sic] The Pope said this, not we.

In November 2007, a few months after Summorum Pontificum, Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos, President of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei", declared that

the lifting of the excommunication weighing on the bishops of the Priestly Fraternity of St. X since 1988 "can happen" but that it definitely “depends on them."

Castrillón and Fellay set the final process in motion in their meeting of June 4, 2008, when the conditions agreed by both parties were written down. Fellay soon sent the official response of the Fraternity.

In late October 2008, the Fraternity launched its Rosary Crusade for the withdrawal of the excommunications, and in early November it was rumored that the decree was already on the Pope's desk. (More information on the events of the past few months in posts labeled Decision 2008.)

URGENTA surprise: end of SSPX Bishops' excommunicationsFour UpdatesScheduled for this weekendSSPX:prudent

The extremely well-informed Spanish blogger Francisco José Fernández de la Cigoña (whose blog La Cigüeña de la Torre was, for instance, one of the first to predict the nomination of Cardinal Cañizares Llovera as Prefect of CDW) had hinted on the nature of the "explosive news" since last week - and since November, in fact.

Today, he confirms that his sources report "explosive news" related to the "Lefebvrists" [sic] - probably the removal or withdrawal of the excommunications of the four Bishops of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX), consecrated by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and co-consecrated by Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer in Ecône, Switzerland, on June 30, 1988. Fernández de la Cigoña predicts the Papal act for "tomorrow" (though it is unclear how long it will take for the act to be made public).

The other signs that things are on the move were reported here yesterday.

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UPDATE (2248 GMT). Italian religious journalist Andrea Tornielli has just confirmed in his blog the increasing reports: the Pope has already signed the withdrawal of excommunications, and his act will be made public in the next few days.

Tornielli's post:

The decree in which Benedict XVI decided to cancel the excommunication of the four new Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1988 will be made public in the next few days. Now, other than the four (Bernard Fellay, Alfonso de Gallareta [sic - Galarreta], [Bernard] Tissier de Mallerais, and Richard Williamson), Lefebvre himself and the Brazilian Bishop [Antonio] de Castro Mayer who participateed at the ceremony, had been excommunicated.

In that occasion, after having been near reconciling with the Holy See (and after having dealt with then-Cardinal Ratzinger and having signed a protocol of intentions), Archbishop Lefebvre abruptly decided for the rupture and, by consecrating four of his young priests Bishops, accomplished a schismatic act [sic], justified by him due to the necessity of allowing his Fraternity of Saint Pius X to survive. Now, with a truly magnanimous gesture, receiving the request proposed by Fellay, Benedict XVI has decided to remove the excommunication. An excommunication which, it should be noticed, has always and exclusively applied only to the consecrating Bishops (Lefebvre and de Castro Mayer, both deceased for a long time) and the four consecrated Bishops, but not the Lefebvrist [sic] priests or the faithful.

Rorate note: Did Lefebvre accomplish a schismatic act, as Tornielli states in his note? Maybe, but, at this moment, whether it really was a schismatic act or an act with the mere appearance of schism (but not actually schismatic, due to mitigating circumstances of a subjective nature) will be made clear by the precise wording of the papal decree.

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UPDATE 2 (Jan. 22, 0730 GMT): Paolo Luigi Rodari also confirms the news in his report for Il Riformista this morning, adding the information that:

"It [the decree] will come out in the next few days, probably by Sunday. The President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Archbishop Francesco Coccopalmerio wrote and signed it [the decree], by the Pope's will."

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UPDATE 3 (Jan. 22, 1700 GMT) Interesting excerpts of the article posted today by the ultra-"Progressive" French religious website Golias, with confirmation of informations already known and some new data.

On the eve of the fiftieth anniversary of the convocation of Vatican II (January 25, 1969)

THE POPE LIFTS THE EXCOMMUNICATION OF THE LEFEBVRIST BISHOPS!

...

According to our information, the decree regarding this decision has already been signed. ...

According to our sources, Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos and Mgr. Perl [Vice-Presidentof the commission], Luxembourger prelate who will very soon replace him at the top of the "Ecclesia Dei" Commission, were the ones who wrote, together with an Italian prelate, Mgr Mario Marini [Secretary of the Commission], a text of reconciliation in the sense of a removal of the excommunications of the four Lefebvrist Bishops.

Also according to our information, it would not be a full and complete recognition of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X, but a simple removal of the sanction of excommunication; a way to recognize the good faith and ecclesial sense of the "schismatics", while full agreement on the future juridical status of the Fraternity Saint Pius X is not yet complete. Some believe that the Fraternity of Saint Pius X could be erected as a personal prelature of the Pope, similar to that of the Opus Dei. However, those responsible for the latter view with some concern this prospect, which would remove [the exclusivity of] their exceptional status, which has been theirs since 1983, following the decision by Pope John Paul II.

For the time being,as has been his practice, Pope Benedict XVI advances little by little, and the question of the future statute of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X will come on its time... The essential [aspect] for him today is to treat the Lefebvrist bishops as if they had not been excommunicated, which is a completely Roman way of at least "relativizing", without, however, contradicting oneself completely!

It is clear, lastly, that this decision of Pope Benedict XVI, probably made official next January 24, will make a number of Catholic communities react in a critical manner, particularly in France and Switzerland.

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UPDATE 4 (Jan. 22, 2000 GMT): From Italian news agency ASCA, the prudent position of the SSPX, while it awaits an official publication:

22-01-09

VATICAN: LEFEBVRISTS - NO COMMENT BEFORE THE PUBLICATION OF THE HOLY SEE TEXT

(ASCA) - Roma, 22 Jan - "In the absence of an official declaration by the Holy See, the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius [X] does not discuss the rumors on a possible withdrawal of the excommunication. There will not be any communication before the publication of a text by the Vatican": it is the response of Father Alan Lorans, director of the information services of the schismatic [sic] Fraternity founded by Archbishop Lefebvre ... .

NEW UPDATES IN OUR SECOND NEWS THREAD

A surprise?

[2002 GMT:] Could there be a surprise during the Chair of Unity Octave?

Rumors have been intense in the past few days.

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UPDATE (2100 GMT):

DICI (SSPX News Agency)

Message of H. E. Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X

Dear faithful,

The Rosary Crusade, to which we invited you in Lourdes, during our memorable pilgrimage of Christ-the-King, at the end of last October, has by far exceeded our expectations. In less than two months, one million seven hundred and three thousand rosaries were recited throughout the world to obtain from Our Lady the withdrawal of the decree of excommunication of 1988.

We would like to thank you all wholeheartedly. Considering such a generosity, we dare to ask you to continue your efforts in praying that this Crusade may bear its fruits for the good of the whole Church.

+Bernard Fellay
Menzingen, 20 January 2009

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UPDATE 2 (2250 GMT):

Rome. January 19. Own sources. In well-informed circles, it is said that Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior-General of the FSSPX, would have already delivered, in a discreet visit to Rome, the "bouquet" of 1.000.000 rosaries offered to the Most Holy Virgin, asking for the grace that the Holy See remove the excommunications which weigh on the four Bishops consecrated in 1988. [Source: Argentinian online Catholic website Panorama Católico Mundial.]