FILIPINO TRADITIONAL ROMAN CATHOLIC: Reply of Bishop Bernard Fellay to the Letter of Pope Benedict XVI

Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the Society of St. Pius X released a communique recently in reply to the Letter of Pope Benedict XVI to the Bishops of the world clarifying the lifting of the excommunications of the Four SSPX Bishops. Here are some excerpts from the communique. The full text can be read from DICI .

"After the “avalanche of protests unleashed” recently, we wholeheartedly thank the Holy Father for having placed the debate back on the level on which it must be held, that of the Faith. We fully share his main concern of preaching the Gospel “in our days, when in vast areas of the world the faith is in danger of dying out like a flame which no longer has fuel.”

"Far from wanting to stop Tradition in 1962, we wish to consider the Second Vatican Council and post-conciliar teaching in the light of this Tradition which St. Vincent of Lérins defined as “what has been believed at all times, everywhere and by all” (Commonitorium), without rupture and in a perfectly homogenous development. Thus we will be able to contribute efficaciously to the evangelization requested by the Savior (see Matthew 28; 19-20)"

"The Priestly Society of Saint Pius X assures Benedict XVI of its determination to enter into the doctrinal talks recognized as “requisite” by the Decree of January 21, with the desire to serve revealed Truth, which is the first act of charity to perform towards all men, Christians or non-Christians. It assures him of its prayers so that his faith fail not and that he may confirm his brethren. (cf. Luke 22:32)"

Indeed a very positive development. The Pope is right when he said that the medicine of mercy is effective in changing the attitudes of people.

The Official Translation of the LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI TO THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH concerning the remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre can be read from the Official Site of the Holy See .

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A 13 years old boy............. in 1983, but now I am a golden boy, gaining weight and wiser, but younger at heart. I consider myself as a “novus ordo baby” because I was born in the late 60s after the 2nd Vatican Council introduced the novus ordo missae and grew up confronted by the confusions as a result. Like my generation I never saw what the church was like prior to Vatican II, but I am a living witness to the gradual disappearance of religious traditions we hold dear. Young as I was then I could not understand what was going on. But I suffered the sense of loss as I saw how the modernizing influence in the church disfigured the liturgy and clouded the way we believe and practice our faith. But then being a child, powerless, not knowing what it was, and why it happened, I simply drifted into the sea of confusion, too young to understand. With a glimmer of faith in my heart, planted by baptism and confirmation, strengthened by the sound teachings of my parents and grandparents, I sailed into the sea of life, day after day, seeing the changes happen, feeling the sense of abandonment, yet God was merciful to me. In 2005 I discovered the Traditional Latin Mass or commonly known in the post-conciliar period as the Tridentine Mass. I began to love the rite of mass that has nourished my ancestors, the saints and the martyrs. I am eternally grateful to His Holiness Pope John Paul II for recognizing the rightful aspirations of Catholics attached to the ancient forms of the Roman Rite through his apostolic letter ECCLESIA DEI DI AFFLICTA. I am also eternally grateful to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for liberating the Traditional Latin Mass through his apostolic letter Summorum Pontificum. I fully agree with the program of his pontificate regarding the Hermeneutics of Continuity and disdain the hermeneutics of rupture. Today I consider myself a Traditional Roman Catholic attached to the liturgical discipline of 1962 as outlined in the Motu Proprio SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM of his Holiness. I believe that there is only one Roman Rite, the Ordinary and the Extraordinary and that the Mass in whatever form should be celebrated with dignity. My voyage is on. Join me in this quest.

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FILIPINO TRADITIONAL ROMAN CATHOLIC

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Reply of Bishop Bernard Fellay to the Letter of Pope Benedict XVI

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