News of Great Joy !
"...Based in the faculty expressly granted to me by the Holy Father Benedict XVI,
in virtue of the present Decree,
I remit
to
Bishops Bernard Fellay,
Bernard Tissier de Mallerais,
Richard Williamson,
and
Alfonso de Galarreta
the censure of
latae sententiae excommunication ...
Rome,
from the Congregation for Bishops,
January 21, 2009.
Card. Giovanni Battista Re
Card. Giovanni Battista Re
Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops
The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemersend their heart felt congratulations
to Bishop Fellay
and
all the members
of
the Society of St Pius X
on the
"benevolent and courageous act"
of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI.
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVIThe Benevolent! The Courageous!
Long may he reign!
Long may he reign!
Comments
What a wonderful, joyful day for Holy Mother Church. God bless Pope Benedict XVI!
I never thought I would live to see this day! If I had the money, I'd go the Vatican and hug His Holiness! Yes, He is courageous indeed.
Veronica
I hope this eventually leads to reconciliation within your community and within the community of your long-time supporters.
It did take a lot of courage for our Holy Father to do this. I hope, and pray hard, that all members of the SSPX make every effort to meet him more than half way.
Veronica
I was looking forward to read this post since I have heard the great news at TV. Now, even your detractors will have to thank you for your incessantly work of mediation.
God has blessed your efforts !
To quote "Confiteor", this is really a wonderful, joyful day for Holy Mother Church - and for all of us.
You are in my prayers
With All Respect
Alessandro Botto
My thoughts, exactly, Kradcliffe! :-)
http://tinyurl.com/c8ybf9
Roy
No. With the Motu proprio it was all clear. We were given a grace. We made a decision in conscience and answered the call of the Holy Father, the call of Our Lord, with both the prudence and haste that was required of us. As we said at the time, it was easier for us, since we are a small group and the Society is very much bigger. Today we rejoice that the Society has come to the same decision. The Society has humbly asked for the end of the excommunication and the Holy Father has received their request which Bishop Fellay has described as being 'benevolent and courageous.' This is truly wonderful and worthy of joy. This is a day to rejoice in, it is not even a day for explaining. We rejoice dear Anonymous and we hope that you do too.
Fr Michael Mary, F.SS.R.
On another blog I read that The Sons of the Holy Redeemer must be regretting that they made such a hasty move all those months ago. But why would anyone say that?
The monks of Papastronsay belong to the Roman Catholic Church like everyone else and are recognised by the successor of Peter. Their role in bringing tradition to the Church is no less honorable than others.
In this new period in the Church we should strive to unite behind Benedict with his wishes to unite the Church and bring her into line with the traditional practices. As he said in France, "everyone must feel accepted in the Church."
I love the Roman Catholic Church because I love Jesus Christ who founded her. Those who fix the problems today in the Church are not those who created them. The Church moves on all the time and this must be recognised. We must be prepared to trust the Church if we want to belong to her. All is not rosy, and far from it. But yesterday was a sign for all that the One Church founded by Christ has not changed, and cannot change for that matter. I celebrate the lifting of the excommunications from the SSPX Bishps, but look toward Papastronsay as well, realising that their faith, prayer and example is part of God's plan and another reason to celebrate.
I love reading your little blog posts (and your longer ones, too!). Your writings always seem to exhibit a sense of true joy and love for the Church, without a hint of any "traddy" bitterness. God bless you all! Let's hope the SSPX returns shortly!.
I also continue to pray everday for your community, that God may continue to bless you as He obviously has done now for so long.
I'm glad you share this opinion with the rest of us, your readers. At first I was just surprised, but I've realized these are great news for all that love the Church. Bishop Fellay has shown humility to the Pope, and even has called back Msgr. Williamson when the media showed up an old interview from November.
The very Bishop Williamson was respectful of authority and has kept a low profile ever since, avoiding further talks about those declaration.
I personally see a copernican change of attitude in the FSSPX, which is most welcome. We're going to show the world that traditions of the Catholic Church are far from being outdated. Just think at the number of seminarians in France the Fraternity can provide...
Once the canonical status of the FSSPX is made official, many true 'modernists' are going to have a headache. But those were always in minority. Ever since John Paul II and way more with Benedict XVI.
These are incredible times for the Church. Let us pray for our Pope!