Lefebvrite bishop says ecumenism has become 'silent apostasy'

Published: 2004-02-02

ROME (CNS) -- In a document addressed to Pope John Paul II and top church officials, a Lefebvrite bishop blamed the Vatican's modern efforts in ecumenism as the cause for what he called a "silent apostasy" sweeping the world. Bishop Bernard Fellay, head of the schismatic Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X, said the church's post-Second Vatican Council vision of Christian unity has played a major role in the phenomenon of Christians abandoning their faith and the moral relativism that the pope decried in his 2003 apostolic exhortation, "Ecclesia in Europa" ("The Church in Europe"). The criticisms came in a 45-page document titled "From Ecumenism to Silent Apostasy" presented Feb. 2 by Bishop Fellay and other members of the society at a hotel press conference near the Vatican. The document, sent in early January to the pope and the College of Cardinals, describes in detail what the society sees as the doctrinal and pastoral problems in ecumenism today.

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