Traditionalist Bishop Bernard Fellay & The SSPX-Rome Talks

An exclusive interview with Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), on May 11, 2012, at the society's headquarters in Menzingen, Switzerland.
The SSPX and Bishop Fellay have been at the heart of a drama within the Catholic Church since Fellay and three other priests were courageously consecrated bishops by the group's founder, the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and the late Brazilian Bishop Antonio de Castro Mayer, in 1988, to ensure the preservation of Catholic Tradition and the continuation of the priesthood.
Since 2009, Bishop Fellay has been involved in private doctrinal talks with Rome in an effort to overcome the division between his traditionalist society and those in control of the official structures of the Church.
The society and its members were attacked by Pope John Paul II in 1988, when Archbishop Lefebvre, after years of attempts to secure the Pope's permission to ordain a bishop to continue the work of Catholic Tradition, went ahead out of frustration and ordained four bishops without formal papal permission,
Today, with the exception of a few confused priests, the society is united behind its leader's position. In April, according to a letter which surfaced on the Internet May 10, the society's other three bishops warned Bishop Fellay that the Vatican's apparent offer to establish the group as a personal prelature -- a status currently held only by Opus Dei -- constituted a "trap," and urged him to say no.
"There are some discrepancies in the society," Bishop Fellay told CNS. "I cannot exclude that there might be a split."
But the bishop defended his generally favorable stance toward the order's conversations with the Vatican against the objections of his peers.
"I think that the move of the Holy Father -- because it really comes from him -- is genuine. There doesn't seem to be any trap," he said. "So we have to look into it very closely and if possible move ahead."
He cautioned, however, that the two sides still have not arrived at an agreement, and that unspecified guarantees from the Vatican are still pending. He said the guarantees are related to the society's traditional liturgical practices and teachings, among other areas.
Bishop Fellay insisted the impetus for a resolution comes from Pope Benedict XVI.
"Personally, I would have wished to wait for some more time to see things clearer," he said, "but once again it really appears that the Holy Father wants it to happen now."
Bishop Fellay speaks appreciatively of what he calls the pope's efforts to correct "progressive" deviations from Catholic teaching and tradition since Vatican II. "Very, very delicately -- he tries not to break things -- but tries also to put in some important corrections," the bishop said.
The Mass of Tradition is the Mass of the future!
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"The Mass of tradition is the Mass of the future!" I pray you are right and this is not just a pious sentiment! I think Tradition, as a light to rescue the conciliar church, is quickly fading. Generally, the bishops are hostile, or luke warm in their support. Even those who are supportive of the "reform of the reform" will pull back if the new regime in Rome disapproves. Now we have Francis, seemingly at war with anything that smacks of the pre-conciliar customs and tradition. Oremus!