Note of the Vatican Secretary of State regarding the lifting of the excommunication from the bishops of the Society of Saint Pius X

Monday, 09 February 2009, 13:09
In connection with misunderstanding caused by the fact that Pope Benedict XVI lifted the punishment of excommunication from four Lefebvrite bishops, on February 4, 2009, the Secretary of State of the Holy See published a note with proper explanations.
In connection with misunderstanding caused by the fact that Pope Benedict XVI lifted the punishment of excommunication from four Lefebvrite bishops, on February 4, 2009, the Secretary of State of the Holy See published a note with proper explanations. The note, in particular, explains that the lifting of the excommunication from these bishops releases them from severe Church punishment. However, it does not change the official status of the Society of Saint Pius X, which at this time does not have official acknowledgment in the Church. Also, the mentioned bishops did not receive a canonical mandate in the Church and do not execute any ministry in it. The document explains that a necessary condition for regulating the legal status of the Society of Saint Pius X is full acceptance on the part of its members of the Second Vatican Council and the teachings of the Universal Hierarchs [Popes] after the council. The Secretary of State of the Holy See explains also that, lifting the excommunication from Bishop Richard Williamson, the Pope did not know about his views on the Holocaust. The note acknowledges that the condition of allowing him to carry out episcopal ministry in the Church will be unambiguous and public renunciation of these views. The document once again recalls the unambiguous position of Benedict XVI regarding the elimination of the Jewish people by the Nazi regime, about which he has repeatedly spoken, and he has also resolutely dissociated himself from the views of Bishop Williamson. www.oecumene.radiovaticana.org/ucr/Articolo.asp Translated by the Information Department of the UGCC
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