Rome-SSPX Update: Reconciliation within weeks

Andrea Tornielli, of Vatican Insider has a highly informative article on the Rome-SSPX developments over the past few days. Instructive are the numerous positive statements from a number of District Superiors:

In recent days, statements by some authoritative figures of the Society of St. Pius X have multiplied, particularly from the Lefebvrian wing that is more favourable towards the Society’s return to full communion with the Catholic Church. In a public conference in Hattersheim, Germany, Fellay’s First Assistant Fr. Niklaus Pfluger, said that under the current circumstances, the Fraternity’s superior does not “believe it is possible to turn down the Pope’s proposal.” He said that straying from the Pope’s wishes would lead to Sedevacantism.... The former superior of the Society of St. Pius X, Fr. Franz Schmidberger, wrote an equally important editorial in the May issue of the Fraternity’s monthly magazine which says: “The fact that Rome is now calling us back from the exile we were forced into in 1975 - with the abrogation of the” Fraternity’s canonical “approval”, and “set in stone in 1988 with the degree ordering the excommunication “ of consecrating and consecrated bishops” - “is an act of justice and undoubtedly an act of authentic pastoral care by Benedict XVI.” More importantly, is the editorial of another historical member of the Fraternity, Fr. Michele Simoulin, which was published in the May issue of the Seignadoubulletin published by the Saint-Joseph-des-Carmes priory. Fr. Simoulin also talks about the agreement reached between Lefebvre and Ratzinger in 1988, explaining that the version of the doctrinal preamble presented at the time was not the reason for the split; the real reason was a more practical one. Indeed, Lefebvre did not trust the Vatican’s reassurance regarding the possibility of consecrating a bishop as his successor: “The reason has nothing to do with doctrine or the statute presented to the Fraternity,” Fr. Simoulin wrote. “The reason why the process came to a halt was to do with the date of consecration of the conceded bishop.”

The full article may be read here.