Decree of
the
Congregation for Bishops
By way of a letter of December 15, 2008
addressed to His Eminence Cardinal Dario Castrillón Hoyos, President of
the
Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei,
His Holiness Benedict XVI - paternally
sensitive to the spiritual unease manifested by the interested party
due to the
sanction of excommunication and trusting in the effort expressed by
them in the
aforementioned letter of not sparing any effort to deepen the necessary
discussions with the Authority of the Holy See in the still open
matters, so as
to achieve shortly a full and satisfactory solution of the problem
posed in the
origin - decided to reconsider the canonical situation of Bishops
Bernard
Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, and Alfonso
de
Galarreta, arisen with their episcopal consecration.
With this act, it is desired to consolidate
the reciprocal relations of confidence and to intensify and grant
stability to
the relationship of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X with this Apostolic
See.
This gift of peace, at the end of the Christmas celebrations, is also
intended
to be a sign to promote unity in the charity of the universal Church
and to try
to vanquish the scandal of division.
It is hoped that this step be followed by
the prompt accomplishment of full communion with the Church of the
entire
Fraternity of Saint Pius X, thus testifying true fidelity and true
recognition
of the Magisterium and of the authority of the Pope with the proof of
visible
unity.
Based on the faculty expressly granted to
me by the Holy Father Benedict XVI, in virtue of the present Decree, I
remit
from Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard
Williamson,
and Alfonso de Galarreta the censure of latae sententiae
excommunication
declared by this Congregation on July 1, 1988, while I declare deprived
of any
juridical effect, from the present date, the Decree emanated at that
time.
Card. Giovanni Battista Re
Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops
Press
Release from the
Superior General of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X
The excommunication
of the bishops consecrated by His Grace Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, on June
30, 1988, which had been declared by the Congregation for Bishops in a decree
dated July 1, 1988, and which we had always contested, has been withdrawn
by another decree mandated by Benedict XVI and issued by the same Congregation
on January 21, 2009.
We
express our filial gratitude to the Holy Father for this gesture which,
beyond
the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, will benefit the whole Church.
Our
Society wishes to be always more able to help the pope to remedy the
unprecedented crisis which presently shakes the Catholic world, and
which Pope
John Paul II had designated as a state of “silent apostasy.”
Besides
our gratitude towards the Holy Father and towards all those who helped
him to
make this courageous act, we are pleased that the decree of January 21
considers as necessary “talks” with the Holy See, talks which will
enable the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X to explain the fundamental
doctrinal reasons which it believes to be at the origin of the present
difficulties of the Church.
In
this new atmosphere, we have the firm hope to obtain soon the
recognition of the
rights of Catholic Tradition
Menzingen, January 24, 2009
+Bernard Fellay
Letter of the Superior General of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X (January 24, 2009)