SSPX has sent new response to Holy See on 'doctrinal preamble'
April 13, 2012
The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) has reportedly sent the Vatican a new response to a proposed "doctrinal preamble" that could form the basis for reconciliation between the traditionalist group and the Holy See.
In March, Bishop Bernard Fellay met with Cardinal William Levada, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), to discuss an earlier SSPX response to the "doctrinal preamble." Cardinal Levada informed the SSPX leader that the response was inadequate, and asked for a "clarification" of the SSPX position by April 15.
According to a spokesman, Bishop Fellay has now made that clarification. The spokesman said that the SSPX would not have any further public comment on the matter until the Vatican responds.
The Vatican made it clear in September that the SSPX would be asked to accept the "doctrinal preamble" as a condition for reconciliation with the Holy See. Although the contents of the document have not been made public, the Vatican was asking for an acknowledgment from the SSPX that the teachings of Vatican II are valid.
In a first response to the "doctrinal preamble," SSPX officials said that they could not accept the document as it was written, and suggested some amendments. In March the Vatican revealed that Bishop Fellay has been advised that "the position he expressed is not sufficient to overcome the doctrinal problems which lie at the foundation of the rift between the Holy See and the Society of St. Pius X." The Vatican said that it as urgently seeking a more favorable response "to avoid an ecclesiastical rupture of painful and incalculable consequences."
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