A letter has been delivered to Lefebvrian leader, Fellay, saying that the Pope wants to “avoid a rupture within the Church which would have painful and incalculable consequences.” But the Society must accept the doctrinal preamble.
The Lefebvrians have one month to make their final decision on returning to full communion with the Holy See. At the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, prefect Cardinal William Levada delivered a letter containing the Vatican’s response into the hands of Bishop Bernard Fellay. The letter reiterates the request to accept the doctrinal preamble - the text that the Holy See views as an absolutely necessary basis for the regularization of the Society of St. Pius X.
As you may recall, the preamble was delivered to Fellay last September. In essence, the text asks the LeFebvrians to sign the “profession of faith” that anyone who takes an ecclesiastical office must sign, and therefore indicate their adherence to the teachings of the magisterium in matters of faith and morals. Regarding the Second Vatican Council - the real sticking point in relations with the LeFebvrians - the Society has also been asked to interpret its teachings according to the hermeneutic proposed by Benedict XVI, in continuity with tradition.
“The response from the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X on the doctrinal preamble,” reads the statement issued today by the Vatican Press Office, “received in January 2012, was submitted to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith” - and to the judgment of the Pope. “In accordance with the decision of Pope Benedict XVI,” the note continues, “the evaluation of the response was communicated through a letter delivered to Mons. Fellay today.” This statement is followed by some very clear words that, for the first time, float the possibility that if the return does not take place, the Church will be headed toward a true schism.
Indeed, the letter suggests that Fellay’s position “is not sufficient to overcome the doctrinal problems underlying the fracture between the Holy See and the Society. At the end of today’s meeting, motivated by the desire to avoid a rupture within the Church and its painful and incalculable consequences, the Superior General of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X was invited to clarify his position in order to heal the existing fracture, as called for by Pope Benedict XVI.”
In the two responses, sent in December and in January respectively, Fellay did not sign the preamble, giving the LeFebvrians more time without closing the door to dialogue with Rome. But now the Pope and Cardinal Levada want clarity. The tone of the Vatican’s letter was determined by the written response sent by the Lefebvrian superior. During this morning’s meeting, however, he appeared more conciliatory, and in a private conversation that took place in the palace of the former Holy Office, he said he had “no difficulty in accepting the profession of faith,” and also claimed to have no difficulties with the principles expressed in the preamble: the problem, Fellay said, was not the principles, but their application - namely, the fact that the Church today lacks fidelity to the Magisterium.
The dialogue has thus continued uninterrupted - the door remains open, and the possibility of a return still exists. We will know immediately after Easter if Fellay and the Society of St. Pius X have decided to accept the preamble or not. If the answer is no, the Holy See will acknowledge that the LeFebvrians do not intend to accept these fundamental and basic criteria, and will therefore fall out of Catholic communion, with “painful and incalculable consequences.” The position of the superior of the Fraternity is clear: the problem is not just the text proposed by the Vatican, but also and primarily the polarized positions within the traditionalist group itself. Approximately one-half of the Fraternity would like to return into full communion with Rome - they experience the current disconnect with pain. But the other half is willing to say “yes” only if “Rome converts,” that is, if it adopts the Lefebvrian position.
Directly upon becoming pope, Benedict XVI did everything possible to heal the wound that was opened after the illegitimate episcopal ordinations celebrated by Lefebvre in 1988, and the subsequent excommunication. The Pope liberalized the ancient Mass (as Fellay had requested) and in January 2009, he reversed the excommunications of four LeFebvrian bishops, then initiated the doctrinal dialogues that concluded with the delivery of the preamble.