NEWS FROM THE VATICAN CONCERNING THE SSPX

Article taken from and translated by RORATE CAELI

NOTE OF THE SECRETARIAT OF STATE



Following the reactions caused by the recent Decree of the Congregation for Bishops, with which the excommunication of the four Prelates of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X was remitted, and regarding the Negationist or Reductionist declarations on the Shoah of Bishop Williamson, of the same Fraternity, it is considered convenient to clarify a few aspects of past events.

1. Remission of the excommunication.

As already made public previously, the Decree of the Congregation for Bishops, dated January 21, 2009, was an act by which the Holy Father graciously responded to the repeated requests by the Superior General of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X.

His Holiness desired to remove an obstacle which prevented the opening of a door to dialogue. He now expects that an equal disposition will be expressed by the four Bishops in complete adherence to the doctrine and discipline of the Church.

The extremely grave censure of latae sententiae excommunication, in which the aforementioned Bishops had incurred on June 30, 1988, then formally declared on July 1st of the same year, was a consequence of their illegitimate ordinarion by Mons. Marcel Lefebvre.

The removal of the excommunication released the four Bishops from an extremely grave canonical censure, but has not changed the juridical position of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X, which, at the current moment, does not enjoy any canonical recognition by the Catholic Church. Not even the four Bishops, though released from the excommunication, have a canonical function in the Church and they do not exercise licitly a ministry in it.

2. Tradition, doctrine, and the Second Vatican Council.

For a future recognition of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X, the full acknowledgment of the Second Vatican Council and of the Magisterium of Popes John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II, and of the same Benedict XVI is an indispensable condition

As it was already affirmed in the Decree of January 21, 2009, the Holy See will not avoid, in ways deemed appropriate, discussing with the interested [party] the questions that remain open, so as to be able to reach a full and satisfactory resolution of the problems which originated this painful division.

3. Declarations on the Shoah.

The positions of Mons. Williamson on the Shoah are absolutely unacceptable and firmly rejected by the Holy Father, as he himself remarked on the past January 28, when, referring to that brutal genocide, he reaffirmed his full and unquestionable solidarity with our Brethren, receivers of the First Covenant, and affirmed that the memory of that terrible genocide must lead "mankind to reflect on the unpredictable power of evil when it conquers the heart of man", adding that the Shoah remains "for all a warning against forgetfulness, against denial or reductionism, because the violence against a single human being is violence against all".

Bishop Williamson, for an admission to episcopal functions in the Church, will also have to distance himself, in an absolutely unequivocal and public manner, from his positions regarding the Shoah, unknown to the Holy Father in the moment of the remission of the excommunication.

The Holy Father asks to be joined by the prayers of all the faithful, so that the Lord may enlighten the path of the Church. May the effort of the Pastors and of all the faithful increase in support of the delicate and burdensome mission of the Successor of Apostle Peter as "custodian of the unity" in the Church.

From the Vatican, February 4, 2009.

Interview with Bishop Fellay

Article taken from 'Rorate Caeli'



"Did you expect, Your Excellency, this removal of the excommunication concerning you?



[Fellay:] I expected it since 2005, after the first letter requesting the lifting of the excommunication which I had sent at the request of Rome itself. Because it is clear that Rome did not ask for this letter in order to refuse to lift the excommunication. As for the moment when it took place, I did not expect it. These past few months, after the ultimatum affair [link], even after it had been minimized, we were mostly cool [in the mutual relations]. Then, I wrote the letter of November 15, which is mentioned in the decree and in my letter to the faithful... [sic]



Is this decree a sign of the Pope's will?



I ascribe it first of all to the Holy Virgin. It is a manifest sign, with an almost immediate response. I had just decided to go to Rome to deliver the result of the Rosary bouquet we had launched at Lourdes with this explicit intention when I received a call from Rome inviting me to go there.



Is the satisfaction displayed by you today tempered by the remainder of the path to follow?



It is too early to tell. An act of the greatest relevance, for which we are truly grateful, has just taken place, but it is very difficult to assess it at this moment. We still do not view all its ramifications. There still is a lot of work, but we truly have great hope for a restoration of the Church.



From what moment dates this change in your relationship with Rome?


From the accession of the current pope. I first evoked the Holy Virgin but, at a human level, there should be no fear of ascribing to Benedict XVI what has just taken place. It is the beginning of something, which had already begun with the Motu proprio [Summorum Pontificum]. I think that the Pope appreciates the work that we do.



In this development, this movement, some have held that you departed too late. Do you believe today that others, especially inside the Fraternity of Saint Pius X, may hold that you are departing too soon?



I cannot rule out everything, but, in case there are separations, they will be extremely minimal.



Do you believe that your situation will be first settled at a practical level?


Up to now, our roadmap has been to clarify first the doctrinal problems - even if it does not mean settling everything, but obtaining a sufficient clarification - or we risk doing things incompletely. Or it may end up badly.


And do you believe that, beyond Rome, your contacts will intensify?



It is the goal, as I explained in Rome, by saying that the situation, as we propose it, is certainly temorary, but it is pacifying, and that it will allow all souls of good will to catch up. This will thus be done gradually. And this will also depend on the reaction on the other side. But there is no a priori, the only a priori is that of Truth and of Charity.

Bishop Williamsons appology

From Rorate Caeli:



Mgr Richard Williamson
To His Eminence Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos

Your Eminence

Amidst this tremendous media storm stirred up by imprudent remarks of mine on Swedish television, I beg of you to accept, only as is properly respectful, my sincere regrets for having caused to yourself and to the Holy Father so much unnecessary distress and problems.

For me, all that matters is the Truth Incarnate, and the interests of His one true Church, through which alone we can save our souls and give eternal glory, in our little way, to Almighty God. So I have only one comment, from the prophet Jonas, I, 12:

"Take me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you."

Please also accept, and convey to the Holy Father, my sincere personal thanks for the document signed last Wednesday and made public on Saturday. Most humbly I will offer a Mass for both of you.

Sincerely yours in Christ

+Richard Williamson

When Converts Speak

Article taken from DICI,


" Magdi Allam was a Muslim. He converted to Catholicism. He was baptized by Benedict XVI on Easter 2008, and took the Christian name of Christian. Today, he is telling the pope about his anxiety to see the Church “making herself an accomplice in the edification of a worldwide pantheon of religions,” and he asks: “After that, how can we be surprised by the fact that Christianity is placed on an equal footing with myriads of other beliefs and ideologies which give the most disparate answers to spiritual needs, and ceases to fascinate, persuade, and conquer the minds and hearts of these very Christians who increasingly leave their churches, flee from the priestly vocation, and more generally exclude any religious dimension from their lives?”
Before him, other converts coming from Protestantism like Fr. Montgomery Wright, parish priest of Chamblac (France), or the Academician Julian Green expressed the same anguish. The former told his bishop that he could not celebrate the Mass of Paul VI, because he knew where he came from and did not want to return there. The latter confided to Archbishop Lefebvre, when presenting him with the narration of his conversion Ce qu’il faut d’amour à l’homme (How much love man needs), that he did not think he would be able to convert now… to the conciliar Church.

Fr. Alain Lorans "

His Lordship Bishop Fellay's press release following the lifting of the excommunications

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

Excommunictions lifted

From the Rorate Caeli Blogspot

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, Mons. 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, Mons. 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

Fr. Eldred Lesley Murdered in South Africa

From The Witness:

“Priest Murdered
21 Jan 2009

BHEKI MBANJWA
AN 83-YEAR-OLD Traditional Catholic priest of the Chapel of our Lady and St Michael in Bulwer Street was found murdered in his home which is part of the chapel premises.

Police discovered the body of Father Eldred Leslie just before 7.00pm last night after being alerted by Leslie’s nephew, Kenny, who lives nearby.

Kenny Leslie told The Witness yesterday he had gone to his uncle’s house to check on him as a parishioner had been unsuccessfully trying to get hold of him .

“This parishioner told me that they had been trying to phone Father Leslie but could not get hold of him. As I have the keys [to the house] I went in. All seemed fine from the outside as the gates were locked, as is normally the case. However I became suspicious when I saw that his backdoor was not locked,” Kenny told The Witness outside the house where police were still busy combing the murder scene for evidence.

According to Kenny, his uncle always kept the doors and gates locked. “When I got inside I noticed that the doorknob on his bedroom door, which was closed, had blood all over it,” he said.

Realising something was wrong Kenny phoned the police without entering the bedroom.

“The police responded and as they entered they found the body of Father Leslie slumped on the floor of his bedroom. He had sustained severe head wounds believed to have been caused by a sharp instrument,” said police spokesman Senior Superintendent Henry Budhram.

A source close to the investigation said Leslie had been stabbed in the neck behind the ear and in the head. The motive for the murder was still unknown yesterday and police said that no property had been taken from the house.

Father Leslie lived alone in the house, police added.

According to Kenny, this was not the first time that his uncle had fallen victim to crime since arriving in the area about ten years ago. “Since arriving here he has been robbed and had his house broken into about 15 times and that’s a conservative figure” he said.

Despite all this Father Leslie continued to do good in the area. He was well known in the area especially for his work with street children and the poor. “He gave street children and destitute people food and even paid school fees for some of the children,” Kenny said.

Residents of Bulwer and adjacent streets, who gathered outside Father Leslie’s house, expressed anger and shock at the brutal murder of the man they described as caring. “We, the residents of this area, are living in fear. There have been a spate of crimes in this area. We can only hope the police arrest whoever is responsible for this deed,” said one resident who did not want to be named.

One of the parishioners, Terence Talbot, described the priest as kind and caring. “He was very committed to the Traditional Catholic Church, what has happened here is a tragedy,” said Talbot.

bmbanjwa@witness.co.z”

http://crownofmartyrs.wordpress.com/2009/01/22/fr-eldred-lesley-murdered-in-south-africa/
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Murderer knew Fr. Lesley
Source:

“Priest’s ‘killer’ knew him
22 Jan 2009

SANDILE WAKA-ZAMISA
A 25-year-old man was arrested for the murder of 83-year-old priest Father Eldred Leslie, who was found slain in his home in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday night. The suspect was caught near Leslie’s house on Bulwer Street yesterday morning.

The area alongside the house was abuzz with police vehicles, paramedics, a television news crew and onlookers as the police combed the the house and its surroundings for clues and evidence.

The police started interviewing people around the area and were tipped off about the 25-year-old.

During that period, the suspect was seen walking up the road and he was caught.

A source close to Leslie said the priest used to give the suspect food.

“Father Leslie gave street children food everyday and he [the suspect] was one of the people who came to beg for food and would ask the priest for money sometimes.”

According to the source, the suspect had previously broken into Leslie’s home and “stole some stuff”. “He confessed to the priest and asked for forgiveness.”

He was forgiven, but a few days earlier he apparently made threats against the priest. He allegedly told the source that he would attack the priest.

Police spokesman Senior Superintendent Henry Budhram said the suspect has been charged and will appear in court shortly.

Tributes poured in for Father Lelsie yesterday.

“He cared for the needy and gave them food everyday,” said a neighbour.”

http://crownofmartyrs.wordpress.com/2009/01/22/murderer-knew-fr-lesley/

Father Lesley. SSPX Priest and defender of Traditional Catholicism.

Requisant in Pacem!