More from German Bishops on SSPX

Full statement here in German

The General Assembly has occupied itself with the debate over the repeal of the excommunication of the four bishops of the SSPX. It has become clear immediately following the receipt of unsustainable and irresponsible view of Bishop Williamson that the Bishops' Conference spoke out and any denial of the Holocaust condemned. As a result, the Episcopal Conference made available publicly the necessary documents for the debate (Decree of the Congregation for Bishops, Declaration of the State Secretariat, etc.) in a dossier our the website. In the discussion, members of the Episcopal Conference gave their experiences of the last few weeks. We set out the following specific points:

- The controversy surrounding the SSPX has made clear that even in ecclesiastical circles in Germany the understanding and reception of the Second Vatican Council is given to some misunderstandings and unilateral interpretations which should be more accurately perceived and should be intensively worked on.
- The disturbance of the relationship to the Jews was the clarification of the Holy See and the bishops in Germany can be renewed. The German Bishops' Conference is fully committed to the current path of Jewish-Catholic dialogue. For us here it is clear: There is no going back after what has been achieved and there will be no reversal to the relationship before the change (Cathcon- they mean Post-Vatican II – Wende is also used for the fall of Communism).
- The integration of the SSPX into the Church which is a goal of the Apostolic See, remains given the current experience a project with dubious prospects of success. The intransigent attitude of the leaders of the SSPX on the central question of full recognition of the Second Vatican Council and the lack of willingness to adapt to the Roman requirements gives a clear message.

We have put together these concerns and make public today a joint statement by the German bishops on the current path of the Catholic Church (see Appendix). It sees itself as a continuation of what we have repeatedly said in recent weeks and have done. In the next week in Rome, I will be addressing many points in different departments of the Vatican, particularly around the issues of communication between Rome in the national bishops' conferences.

In the discussion on the petition of the movement "We Are Church", the secretary of the German Bishop's Conference, P. Dr. Hans Langedörfer SJ, accepted the list of signatures. He made it clear that the contents of the petition were in part in great contradiction.to the views of the Bishops' Conference

Comments