COMMUNIQUE CONCERNING THE SOCIETY OF ST. PIUS X

Vatican City, 16 March 2012 (VIS) - Given below is the text of a communique relating to the Society of St. Pius X, released this morning by the Holy See Press Office.

"During the meeting of 14 September 2011 between Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and president of the Pontifical Commission 'Ecclesia Dei', and Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the Society of St. Pius X, the latter was presented with a Doctrinal Preamble, accompanied by a Preliminary Note, as a fundamental basis for achieving full reconciliation with the Apostolic See. This defined certain doctrinal principles and criteria for the interpretation Catholic doctrine, which are necessary to ensure faithfulness to the Church Magisterium and 'sentire cum Ecclesia'.

"The response of the Society of St. Pius X to the aforesaid Doctrinal Preamble, which arrived in January 2012, was examined by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith before being submitted to the Holy Father for his judgement. Pursuant to the decision made by Pope Benedict XVI, Bishop Fellay was, in a letter delivered today, informed of the evaluation of his response. The letter states that the position he expressed is not sufficient to overcome the doctrinal problems which lie at the foundation of the rift between the Holy See and the Society of St. Pius X.

"At the end of today's meeting, moved by concern to avoid an ecclesial rupture of painful and incalculable consequences, the superior general of the Society of St. Pius X was invited to clarify his position in order to be able to heal the existing rift, as is the desire of Pope Benedict XVI".

CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH HAS A NEW DOMAIN: WWW.DOCTRINAFIDEI.VA

Vatican City, 16 March 2012 (VIS) - The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has opened a new domain (www.doctrinafidei.va) within the official website of the Holy See. In this way, the congregation hopes to facilitate the consultation of its documents which, having the express approbation of the Holy Father, participate in his ordinary Magisterium as the Peter's Successor. Attentive reception of these texts is important for all members of the faithful and in particular for those who are engaged in theological and pastoral work.

The major documents are available in eight languages: Latin, French, English, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, German and Polish. Certain documents are also available in Hungarian, Slovak, Czech, and Dutch. There is a general list of all the texts organised chronologically, and three subgroups of these texts, divided into doctrinal, disciplinary and sacramental documents.

The new domain also presents information on the Congregation's series "Documenti e Studi", which are individual printed volumes presenting a major document of the Congregation together with commentaries by noted theologians. There is also a description of the volumes containing the proceedings of various symposia organised by the Congregation in recent years, as well as speeches and other contributions by cardinal prefects.

A communique by the congregation published this morning explains how "wider distribution of the teaching of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is necessary in today's world. The documents of the congregation which have been published since the time of Vatican Council II ... deal with significant questions for the life and mission of the Church and give important doctrinal responses to the challenges of our times. ... The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is convinced that the enhanced availability of these documents will be of significant value in communicating the teaching of the Church to people throughout the world".

The old domain address of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith remains active within the official website of the Holy See.

AUDIENCES

Vatican City, 16 March 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience:

- Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family.

- His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, major archbishop of Kyiv-Halyc, Ukraine.

- Thirteen prelates of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, on their "ad limina" visit:

- Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller M.Sp.S. of San Antonio, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Cantu.

- Bishop Patrick James Zurek of Amarillo.

- Bishop Kevin Joseph Farrell of Dallas, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishops John Douglas Deshotel and Mark Joseph Seitz.

- Bishop Kevin William Vann of Fort Worth.

- Bishop James Anthony Tamayo of Laredo.

- Bishop Placido Rodriguez C.M.F. of Lubbock.

- Bishop Michael David Pfeifer O.M.I. of San Angelo.

- Archbishop Paul Stagg Coakley of Oklahoma City.

- Bishop Anthony Basil Taylor of Little Rock.

- Bishop Edward James Slattery of Tulsa.

- Manuel Tomas Fernandes Pereira, ambassador of Portugal, on his farewell visit.

This evening he is scheduled to receive in audience Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.