Traditionalists say they've met Vatican's deadline for reconciliation

Published: 2008-07-03

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The traditionalist Society of St. Pius X said it met the Vatican's deadline to respond to a memo outlining preliminary conditions for full reconciliation with the rest of the Catholic Church. However, a statement released by the Swiss-based society July 1 implied that the traditionalist group did not accept all the conditions set out in the letter, and it appealed to Pope Benedict XVI to lift the 1988 decree of excommunication against the society's bishops who were ordained without papal permission. The Vatican press office said July 3 that it did not plan to comment on the statement. In the July 1 statement, the Society of St. Pius said, "The very general -- not to say vague -- character of the demands singularly contrasts with the urgency of the ultimatum," adding that they appeared to be geared simply to promoting dialogue rather than resolving differences. The memorandum was given June 4 to the head of the society, Bishop Bernard Fellay, by Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, the Vatican official in charge of dialogue with the traditionalists.

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