Vatican newspaper addresses traditionalist concerns | by Jimmy Akin

Essay examines questions about Vatican II, authority, and assent

In an unusual move, the Vatican newspaper has published an essay responding directly to concerns raised by the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX).

The piece, titled "On Adhesion to the Second Vatican Council," appeared in the L'Osservatore Romano (L'OR) section of the Vatican's online news portal on December 1, and it deals with one of the most troublesome points in the Holy See's dialogue with the formerly schismatic society of priests.

Troublesome history

The SSPX broke from full communion with the Church in 1988 when its head, the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, acted against the instructions of Pope John Paul II and ordained the four bishops who currently lead it.

The SSPX argued that this action was necessary because of a crisis in the Catholic Church brought on in part by statements made by the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).

Since his election to the papacy, Benedict XVI has sought to heal the situation by allowing broader use of the traditional Latin Mass (one of the group's key demands) and lifting the excommunications that the four bishops leading the organization had incurred when they were ordained in 1988.

He also gave the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) the task of continuing a dialogue with the priestly society to resolve doctrinal concerns and, hopefully, clear the way for the SSPX's full rehabilitation.

A "doctrinal preamble"?

This dialogue has been conducted privately for the last two years, and recently the Holy See asked SSPX leaders to assent to a document referred to as a "doctrinal preamble."

Read the entire essay on www.CatholicWorldReport.com...