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Catholic World News News Feature

Traditionalist Group to Reconcile with Rome? April 21, 2003

Pope John Paul II plans to end a major breach within Catholicism, welcoming breakaway traditionalists back into full communion with the Holy See after a 15-year split, according to published reports.

Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, the prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, will celebrate Mass using the Tridentine rite on May 24 in the Roman basilica of St. Mary Major. According to both the Italian daily Il Messaggero and the London Times , the cardinal-- who has been assigned by the Pope to seek a reconciliation between the Vatican and the schismatic Society of St. Pius X-- will lift the bans of excommunication on three of the four bishops ordained by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

The late Archbishop Lefebvre was excommunicated in 1988 when he presided at the episcopal ordination of four priests, in direct defiance of a disciplinary directive from Rome. The bishops who were consecrated that day also incurred the penalty of excommunication. But according to Il Messaggero , three of the four will be reconciled-- leaving one hard-line traditionalist bishop at odds with Rome.

The Vatican has not yet responded officially to reports of the reconciliation with the traditionalist groups. However it has been confirmed that Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos will president at the Tridentine-rite Mass on May 24-- becoming the first prelate in Rome to use the traditional liturgy in public since 1970.

The Tridentine rite, also known as the Mass of St. Pius V, was the liturgical form used throughout the Catholic world prior to Vatican II. Traditionalist Catholics have, to varying degrees, rejected the liturgical reforms that followed the Council, and insisted on preserving the use of the Tridentine rite. Archbishop Lefebvre and his followers in the Society of St. Pius X also objected to Vatican II statements on religious freedom.

Although he authorized the excommunication of Archbishop Lefebvre in 1988, Pope John Paul II has worked for years to reconcile the traditionalists, and in 2000 he authorized Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos to proceed with direct negotiations with traditionalist prelates. In January 2002 those talks bore their first fruits when a separate Brazilian traditionalist group, located in the Diocese of Campos, reached a full agreement with the Holy See and was restored to communion with Rome.

According to Il Messaggero, a similar agreement has now been reached with three of the four bishops of the Society of St. Pius X: Bishops Bernard Fellay (the group's leader), Bernard Tissier, and Alonso de Gallareta. The Italian newspaper reported that the Vatican would recognize all three as bishops in good standing, while only one holdout, Bishop Richard Williamson, would remain adamant in rejecting the Vatican's offers.

Despite the absence of confirmation for the story in Il Messaggero , the fact that Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos will celebrate a Tridentine-rite Mass is a dramatic gesture toward traditionalist Catholics. In 1984, Pope John Paul authorized the use of the old rite at the discretion of diocesan bishops, but traditionalists frequently complained that most bishops were slow to provide that authorization-- if they allowed the "indult" Mass at all.

The new negotiations between Rome and the Society of St. Pius X that began in 2000 reportedly opened with a letter in which Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos assured the traditionalists that the Vatican would allow their continued use of the Mass of St. Pius V. But the Lefebvrist group proved cautious in negotiations, frequently questioning whether they could receive adequate assurance of the Vatican stance.

In January, Bishop Fellay led a delegation to talks with Rome, during which the Society of St. Pius X expressed regret that two key traditionalist concerns had not yet been resolved. The group sought an assurance from the Holy See that all priests would be assured of the right to use the Tridentine liturgy, and that all disciplinary measures meted out against traditionalists after the 1988 break would be lifted. The traditionalists said that they had not gained assurances on either point. Since that time, the Vatican has not issued public comment on negotiations with the Society of St. Pius X.