Church in the World

Pope lifts ban on schismatic bishops

Pope Benedict XVI has revoked the excommunications of four men who were illicitly ordained to the episcopate in 1988 by the late schismatic Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a French missionary bishop who rejected most of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Along with Lefebvre and his fellow consecrating bishop, Antonio de Castro Mayer, now also dead, the four were automatically excommunicated by Pope John Paul II.

A one-page decree issued on 21 January by the Congregation of Bishops remitted "the censure of excommunication latae sententiae" incurred nearly 20 years ago by Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson and Alfonso del Gallareta.

"It is hoped that this step will be followed by the prompt fulfilment of full communion within the Church of the entire Fraternity of St Pius X [SSPX]," said the decree, which was not made public until Saturday 24 January.

The Vatican decree said the current SSPX superior, Bishop Fellay, had asked Pope Benedict to lift the excommunications. The Vatican indicated that he did so after the illicitly ordained bishops "clearly manifested to the Holy Father" that they accepted church teachings "with a filial spirit" and "the Primacy of Peter and its prerogatives".

Pope Benedict told pilgrims at his general audience on Wednesday that he lifted the excommunications out of "paternal mercy" because the bishops had "manifested their suffering" from this penalty. He said he now expected them to "make the necessary steps" to show their obedience to the "Magisterium of the Pope and Vatican Council II". 

The decree itself said the Holy See and the SSPX still needed to hold "necessary discussions" to resolve "the still open questions, to arrive at a full and satisfactory solution".

Archbishop Lefebvre founded the Society of St Pius X in 1970 in Ecône, Switzerland. Although it was originally approved by the Vatican, the fraternity came under investigation for adamantly rejecting key Vatican II developments such as religious freedom, ecumenism and the reformed liturgy. When Archbishop Lefebvre ordained priests without papal permission in 1976 he and all the ordained members of SSPX were suspended a divinis (from their duties).

The new Vatican decree says Pope Benedict was now going to "reconsider the canonical situation" of the four bishops. But apparently the 1976 suspensions continue to remain in effect for them and the some 500 priests the SSPX currently claims to have.

It was not clear when the Vatican was going to open talks with the SSPX, who would be involved or what their scope would be. Evidently, it will be Pope Benedict alone who will decide, since he alone was the one who chose to lift the excommunications.