Commentary on the Letter by Fr Federico Lombardi, SJ, Head of the Press Office of
the Holy See
The arduous commitment to reconciliation
The “Letter to the Bishops
of the Catholic Church concerning the remission of the excommunication of the four
Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre” is definitely an unusual document and
deserves all our attention. Never before in his Pontificate has Benedict XVI expressed
himself in such a personal manner and intensity on a controversial subject. There
isn’t the slightest doubt: this Letter bears his mark, from beginning to end. The
Pope has lived this event, the remission of the excommunication, and the following
reactions with an involvement and suffering that are manifest. He speaks of a “discussion
more heated than any we have seen for a long time”, and has felt the need to intervene
to “contribute to peace in the Church”, a peace that has been disturbed. With
his usual lucidity and humility, he recognises the shortcomings and the mistakes which
have had a negative influence on the course of events ; and with great nobility, he
doesn’t make others shoulder the responsibility, thus showing his solidarity with
his collaborators. He speaks of insufficient information pertaining to the Williamson
case, and lack of clarity in presenting the measure of remission of excommunication
and about its meaning. However, this is not the most significant aspect of his reflexions.
Whereas the “Williamson case”, misconstrued as a denial of the path of reconciliation
between Christians and Jews, is fortunately behind us, the Pope reminds us, with legitimate
pride, that the sharing and promotion of all the steps accomplished for the reconciliation
since the Council, have been “since the beginning the objective of his own theological
work”; and he thanks the “Jewish friends” for their contribution in re-establishing
quickly an atmosphere of trust, although a certain sadness still lingers because of
the attacks coming from certain Catholics on this subject.
The Pope then sets
out to clarify the nature, the meaning and the intentions of the remission of excommunication;
he explains that, since excommunication was a punishment for persons who had accomplished
an act that endangered Church unity by not recognising the Pope’s authority, therefore,
now that the persons who were thus sanctioned have shown their acknowledgment of the
Pope’s authority, the remission of the excommunication was a warm invitation to their
returning within the unity of the Church. The Pope makes a distinction as far as
the problem of the juridical recognition of the Saint Pius X Fraternity is concerned,
linking it clearly to doctrinal questions about the acceptance of Vatican II Council
and the magisterium of the Popes since that Council. Until that happens, their representatives
will not be able to fulfil any recognised ministry in a legitimate way in the Church.
A
central point of the Letter concerning the Pope’s decision – in the light of the mainly
doctrinal nature of the needed clarification – is the join the Commission “Ecclesia
Dei”, for the relations with the traditionalist communities, with the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith, thus ensuring a better practice of collegiality in
the procedure and decision making. With this perspective of a renewal in the Curia’s
organisation, the Pope gives an answer to most of the objections concerning the making
of the recent measure, especially to the episcopates more directly implicated.
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However, there still remains the question of many people, in the light of
the recent tensions: Was this measure of remission of excommunication really necessary
? Weren’t there in the Church questions of greater importance and urgency ? The
answer to this question makes up more than half of the Letter. The Pope’s writing
becomes more and more intense. Benedict XVI feels deeply challenged in his responsibility
as Pastor of the universal Church, and compelled to clarify, without hesitation, his
brothers in the Episcopate, co-responsible of the well-being of the Church, about
the priorities and the spirit in which he carries out his service.
In a nutshell,
he recalls the great priorities of his Pontificate, which were anyway clearly said
from the very first day: lead men to God, the God who revealed himself in the Bible
and in Christ; Christian unity; dialogue between those who believe in God, at the
service of peace; testimony of love according to the social dimension of Christian
life. However, the Pope then goes on to invite his interlocutors to a personal
and ecclesial reflexion in a committed and urgent manner. That a gesture, intended
to be merciful in view of reconciliation, should give rise to a situation of acute
tension, is a paradox that should compel us to questioning so as to discern about
the spiritual attitudes that have been manifest and at work in this event.
The
first criterion that the Pope asks to reflect upon is the commandment of reconciliation
with the “brother who has something against you”, according to what the Lord said
on his ‘Sermon on the Mount’. The Pope’s questions become pressing, animated by
a vivid preoccupation for unity. Without losing any sense of realism, for he recalls
the grave defects of the traditionalists, but equally critical in a realistic way,
the Pope feels obliged to ….. in the conflict between members of the Church and of
society who seem to oppose, with unyielding intransigence, every effort of reconciliation,
or simply any recognition of positive elements in others. The spiritual realism reaches
its zenith when he evokes saint Paul’s injunction to the Galatians “not to bite and
devour each other”.
The reflexion concludes with yet another passionate invitation
to love as an absolute priority for the Christian, and a profound aspiration for peace
in the Church community. Beyond the errors or mishaps, which are recognised in
a fair manner and overcome when possible, beyond any human prudence that calls to
avoid touching sensitive points, the Pope brings us back, with firmness and courage
to the Gospel as fundamental and ultimate criterion, not only of Christian and Church
life, but of the government of the Church as well. For it is only through mutual
conversion to this Gospel that we can hope to overcome the divisions, and to be able
to understand the profound convergence between Tradition and Council. Finally,
we are led to understand that our Pope, by his personal commitment in these situations
of crisis, brings us to rediscover the essential point, more profound and radical,
which will enable us to resume our journey.