The head of the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) has
denounced Vatican II, described the post-conciliar liturgy as “evil,”
and said that he is grateful the group never reached an accommodation
with the Holy See.
In a provocative address to the Kansas City audience, Bishop Bernard
Fellay said: “It is has never been our intention to pretend either that
the Council would be considered as good, or the New Mass would be
‘legitimate.’”
He said that although the Novus Ordo Mass introduced
after Vatican II may be valid, “The New Mass is bad, it is evil.”
Bishop Fellay told SSPX supporters that talks with the Vatican, designed
to regularize the status of the breakaway traditionalist group,
collapsed last June because the Vatican insisted on acceptance of the
teachings of Vatican II.
The SSPX leader flatly rejected the teaching of
Pope Benedict XVI that Vatican II statements should be read in the
light of consistent Catholic teaching.
“The Council is not in continuity
with tradition,” he said. “It’s not.”
While the SSPX leader said that the “hermeutic of continuity” preached
by Benedict XVI was unrealistic, he acknowledged that the former Pontiff
was somewhat sympathetic to the concerns of traditionalists.
Under Pope
Francis, he said, the gap between the SSPX and the Holy See is
widening.
“When we see what is happening now,” Bishop Fellay said, “we thank
God—we thank God!—we have been preserved from any kind of agreement”
with the Vatican.
The harsh words from the SSPX leader appear to signal an end to any
realistic hope for a reconciliation between the traditionalist group and
the Holy See, and an indefinite continuation of the schism that began
in 1988 when the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre ordained Fellay and
three other bishops in defiance of orders from Pope John Paul II.