Report: Pope May Soon Offer SSPX Regular Canonical Status

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Pope Francis may soon offer the Society of St. Pius X regular canonical status within the Church, without requiring the acceptance of certain texts of the Second Vatican Council with which they disagree. It also appears the SSPX may itself be poised to take such a historic step, urging that “perhaps only Pope Francis is able to take this step, given his unpredictability and improvisation,” according to an internal SSPX document that was leaked to the press in recent weeks. The memo, titled “Considerations on the Church and the Position of the Society of St. Pius X in It,” outlines six reasons why the group should accept an offer of regularization by Pope Francis, provided “an appropriate ecclesial structure” is ensured. It also addresses possible objections raised against such a move. “It seems the time to normalize the situation of the society has come,” the memo reads. The document, dated Feb. 19, was written by Father Franz Schmidberger, rector of the SSPX’s seminary in Germany. Father Schmidberger served as superior general of the SSPX from 1982 to 1994. In the memo, Father Schmidberger asserts that the Vatican has been “gradually lowering its demands and recent proposals, no longer speak of recognizing neither the Second Vatican Council nor the legitimacy of the Novus Ordo Missae.”

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