Bishop WIlliamson: Rome Agreement With SSPX Here

Agreement here

On December 13 of last year, in St Martha’s House in Rome where the Pope is currently living, the Pope met briefly with Bishop Fellay, Superior General of the Society of St Pius X. The Society officially denies that the meeting had any significance, but an Italian commentator having some familiarity with how Rome operates, one Giacomo Devoto (G.D.), argues that the meeting was proof that a Rome-SSPX agreement has been reached. See www.unavox.it . In brief:—

On the morning of the 13th Bishop Fellay and his two Assistants at the head of the SSPX met in the Vatican with the heads of the Ecclesia Dei Commission at the invitation of Monsignor Guido Pozzo, restored to the Commission by Pope Francis to deal with the problematic relations between Rome and the SSPX. An official publication of the SSPX, DICI, claims that this meeting was merely “informal,” but G.D. says that even being informal it cannot have taken place without there having been beforehand a series of discreet contacts to repair the public breach of relations in June of 2012. Also, says G.D., such a meeting is the necessary preliminary to any “formal” meeting.

In any case after that meeting Msgr. Pozzo, Msgr. di Noia and the three heads of the SSPX repaired to St Martha’s House where the Pope also happened to be lunching. When the Pope stood up after the meal to leave, Bishop Fellay went over to him, they exchanged a few words in public view and the Bishop kissed the Pope’s ring (or knelt down for his blessing, according to Rome’s Vatican Insider). DICI again minimised the encounter as nothing more than a chance meeting with a spontaneous exchange of courtesies. On the contrary G.D. reasonably maintains that even such a “chance” encounter cannot have taken place without the Pope’s previous knowledge and approval.

Society Still Open as Always to Reconciliation with Roman Authorities

Edit: Rorate just dismissed an Italian blogger Enzo Bianchi who claims to have inside information. In fact, French website Nouvelles de France ridicules him.  Indeed, the Society is open to an agreement with Rome, most likely this is much to the chagrin of those like Curial Archbishop Müller, the Prefect f the Congregation of Doctrine and the Faith  as well as  others who've been trying to derail it for a long while.  Here's the passage copied from Rorate:

Let us read this interesting - and real, not imaginary... - 11th paragraph of the June 27, 2013, declaration: "We mean to do the same: either when Rome returns to Tradition and to the Faith of all time – which would re-establish order in the Church; or when she explicitly acknowledges our right to profess integrally the Faith and to reject the errors which oppose it, with the right and the duty for us to oppose publicly the errors and the proponents of these errors, whoever they may be – which would allow the beginning of a re-establishing of order." In other words, a kind of open door is left to the consideration of the Roman authorities. A door that does not require a calling into question of Vatican II, but rather a pragmatic solution. This passage contains a true revolution. But it was curiously ignored. A pity! It was perhaps the true scoop that, unfortunately, eludes newsrooms that are more skilled in spreading gossip than in the study of ecclesiology ...

Bishop Fellay States What's Been Evident All Along About Vatican II

Edit: remember when we pointed to the fact that the Holy Father was willing to accept the SSPX's reservations about Vatican II?
Bishop Fellay: ‘total acceptance of Vatican II’ no longer prerequisite for full communion with Holy See [br]


CWN - June 08, 2012[br /] [br]Stating that discussions with the Holy See “have allowed us to present clearly the various problems that we experience with regard to Vatican II,” the superior general of the Society of St. Pius X said in an interview that “what has changed is the fact that Rome no longer makes total acceptance of Vatican II a prerequisite for the canonical solution.”

“The attitude of the official Church is what changed; we did not,” said Bishop Bernard Fellay. “We were not the ones who asked for an agreement; the Pope is the one who wants to recognize us. You may ask: why this change? We are still not in agreement doctrinally, and yet the pope wants to recognize us! Why? The answer is right in front of us: there are terribly important problems in the Church today.”

Asked about religious liberty, ecumenism, and other doctrinal issues that have been points of disagreement between the Holy See and the Society, Bishop Fellay said that.

Link to CWN...