Pope Benedict met with the head of the Society of St. Pius X today at the Vatican for about 35 minutes. Afterward, we heard the usual nice statements. The Vatican said it took place “in a climate of love for the Church and a desire to arrive at perfect communion.” Bishop Bernard Fellay of the SSPX said the SSPX “has always been, and will always be, attached to the Holy See.” (Could have fooled me from the way some SSPXers and Traditionalists talk about the Vatican.) In any case, he said they had “reached a consensus as to proceeding by stages in the resolution of problems.”
Fellay had previously said he would ask the Pope to grant a universal indult to allow all Catholic priests throughout the world to use the Tridentine rite in celebrating Mass. Will that come about now? Informed pundits seem to think that B16 would be amenable to the idea.
I wouldn’t get my hopes up too high for a quick resolution to the SSPX schism. They’ve been going back and forth in talks for 17 years.
