"In Light Of Tradition"... The Society Of St. Pius X And Vatican II

For those vaguely familiar with traditional Catholic circles, two recent articles by Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos, curial prefect for the Clergy and for the Ecclesia Dei Commission, might not seem meaningful.

Admittedly, even within circles of those who keep tabs on Church issues, this story has not received much press. Many recognize a cordial dialogue took place between the Society of St. Pius X superior general, Bishop Bernard Fellay, on August 29 with the Holy Father. In November, Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos appeared on Italian television, and in an interview, made the following statement:

“We are not facing a heresy. One cannot say in correct, exact, precise terms that there is a schism [here]. There is a schismatic attitude in the consecration of bishops without a pontifical mandate. They are inside the Church; there is only lacking a full, a more perfect -- as was said in the meeting with Msgr. Fellay --a fuller communion, because there is communion”
(http://qien.free.fr/20051113_hoyos.htm).

Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos declared that both the bishops and the priests of the Society of St. Pius X are within the body of the Church, even if not in full communion. An analogy would be that they may reside within the body of the Church, but not necessarily within its heart.
. . .
...to recognize the Holy Father as St. Peter’s Successor requires all Catholics to obey him, not only in matters of faith and morals, but in matters of governance. A Catholic cannot judge the individual dispositions of the priests and/or bishops of the SSPX who offer Catholics refuge by providing sacraments, moral teaching, and authentic Catholic doctrine in certain dioceses where the bishop has not provided “wide and generous” access to the Traditional Latin Mass, as requested in Ecclesia Dei Adflicta, by Pope John Paul II.

Catholics must not only recognize the authority of the Pope and the bishops of the Church vested with authority by Jesus Christ; they must obey them as well. Vatican I makes this very clear regarding the Pope’s right to govern.

More here.