The decision by Pope Benedict XVI to allow universal use of the Tridentine Mass “is not a step, it’s a leap” of historic proportions, said the head of the order of schismatic priests.In an exclusive interview with the Spanish daily La Razon, Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the Lefebvrites, said that his reaction to the pope’s “moto proprio” (“on his own initiative”) is “more positive than what anyone who know the complexity of the ongoing case with the Holy See for more than 20 years could have expected.”
The schismatic bishop spoke with journalist Vittorio Messori from the general house of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X, founded by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. The movement boasts of 481 priests, 90 lay brothers, 206 nuns, six seminaries, 117 monasteries, 82 schools, six university institutes, 450 places of worship and at least 500,000 followers in 62 countries.
“The Mass, not only in Latin, but according to the ancient rite, has always been the rallying cry of the Lefebvrists,” the bishop said. “But dissidents have always insisted on the fact that the new eucharistic liturgy is nothing more than the expression of an orientation that is unacceptable in many aspects, adopted after Vatican II by the Catholic Church.”
”Thus, in certain traditionalist circles, it has often been said that a decree such as the one approved by the Pope Ratzinger would not only be insufficient, but would in some way be a distraction and would reinforce the ambiguities,” he said.
Nevertheless, “this is a truly historic,” Bishop Fellay said. “We desire to express our profound gratitude to Benedict XVI. His document is a gift of grace. It’s not a step; it’s a leap in the right direction.”
In addition, the bishop said the “normalization” of the Mass, “which does not belong to St. Pius VI but rather has always belonged to the church,” is “an act of justice, it’s a supernatural extraordinary help in times of grave ecclesial crisis.”
“The reaffirmation by the holy father of the continuity of Vatican II and the new Mass with the constant tradition of the church moves us to continue the doctrinal discussion,” he said. “‘Lex orandi, lex credendi’: ‘as one prays, so one believes.’ And now it has been recognized that in the eternal Mass, one can ‘adequately’ pray.”
“This document is a fundamental stage in a journey that now could be accelerated,” he noted, saying he hoped as well it would lead to a revisiting of the issue of the excommunications put in place by John Paul II.
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