Vatican could convert Lefebvrists into personal prelature, Fellay

Santiago: October 24, 2009, (PCTV Newsdesk)

In an interview with the Chilean daily, "El Mercurio," the Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X, Bernard Fellay, acknowledged that the Vatican is considering the possibility of converting the Lefebvrist group into a personal prelature as part of the discussions aimed at bringing about reconciliation.

Fellay, who visited members of the SSPX movement in Chile, is one of four bishops whose excommunication was lifted by Pope Benedict XVI last January. Asked about the speculation that the Society of Pius X could be made into a personal prelature similar to Opus Dei, Fellay responded, "There is a lot of truth to that. I think the Vatican is moving towards that kind of canonical solution."

He also noted that the controversy unleashed by Bishop Richard Williamson's statements on the Nazi holocaust "was a well-planned attack, not against the Society, but directly against the person of Pope Benedict XVI, in order to tarnish his gesture."