SSPX re-elects Bishop Fellay

Catholic World News : SSPX re-elects Bishop Fellay

Jul. 12 (CWNews.com) - Bishop Bernard Fellay, the superior general of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), has been elected to a new 12-year term as head of the Lefebvrist group.

Meeting in a general chapter at SSPX headquarters in Econe, Switzerland, SSPX leaders voted on July 11 to re-elect Bishop Fellay, who was originally chosen to head the breakaway traditionalist group in July 1994.

The SSPX election had been closely watched by Vatican officials for signs of any change in the traditional group's approach toward reconciliation with the Holy See. Although he has met with Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) to discuss the prospects for such a reconciliation, Bishop Fellay has consistently stated that the SSPX will not relent in its demands for unfettered use of the traditional Latin Mass and the lifting of decrees of excommunication upon him and the other bishops illicitly ordained by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1988.

The SSPX leader has been sharply critical of Church policies in the wake of Vatican II-- in June he suggested to a French newspaper that the post-conciliar Church has engaged in "suicide"-- but he is regarded as more amenable than some other SSPX leaders to continued talks with the Holy See.