Information and deformation
Journalists are people who know how to write; that much is true. But do they know how to read? We may wonder at times. Thus, in Le Figaro of July 9, Sophie de Ravinel, under the headline Some Catholics thank the Pope, others thank Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre… wrote: “There is less nuance among the Lefebvrists separated from Rome. Rather than thank the pope, they prefer – following the lead of the Superior of the Society of Saint Pius X, Bishop Bernard Fellay – to ‘thank today Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre for having maintained us in this fidelity to the Mass of all times in the name of true obedience, and against all the abuses of power’.”
The journalist of Le Figaro did quote from the letter of Bishop Fellay to the faithful, but “forgot” to read in the same letter a few lines below: “For this reason, we will continue to pray for the pope so that he may remain firm following this courageous act.” And she especially “forgot” to quote the Press Release which reads: “The Priestly Society of Saint Pius X extends its deep gratitude to the Sovereign Pontiff for this great spiritual benefit.”
Likewise, Gérard Leclerc in La France catholique of July 9, wrote: “We can even find tokens of good will on the part of the SSPX, Bishop Fellay going so far as congratulating himself over the prospect that the two rites ‘would mutually enrich one another’. Doubtless, numerous obstacles still stand in the way of full reconciliation with the traditionalist wing most committed in the contestation of Vatican II. But we cannot refrain from considering as very positive the adhesion – at least in the order of wishes for its accomplishment – to the hermeneutics strongly defined by the pope for the reception of the Council. Vatican II could not be lived as a rupture, it is in the line of an organic continuity of Tradition since its apostolic origins.”
Where did he find these congratulations and this adhesion? The quotation from the letter of Bishop Fellay is incomplete, the whole paragraph should be quoted: “But we may also see in this an expression of the "reform of the reform" desired by the pope himself, and in which, as he himself writes in this letter, the Mass of Saint Pius V and that of Paul VI would mutually enrich one another. In any event, there is in Benedict XVI the clear desire to re-affirm the continuity of Vatican II and the Mass which issued from it, with the bimillenial Tradition. This denial of a rupture caused by the last council – already shown in his address to the Curia on December 22, 2005 – shows that what is at stake in the debate between Rome and the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X is essentially doctrinal. For this reason, the undeniable step forward made by the Motu Proprio in the liturgical domain must be followed – after the withdrawal of the decree of excommunication – by theological discussions.”
And lastly, here are two headlines which show that journalists do not see the same thing. La Croix of July 9 ran the header “The traditionalists avoid triumphalism”, and specified: “Those who for forty years had been openly contesting Vatican II, obtain satisfaction on their first claim, but they remain prudent.” Whereas Le Monde of July 10, under the header “The traditional Catholics strengthened by the pope’s decree” wrote “After the Motu Proprio of Benedict XVI authorizing the Mass in Latin, the schismatics display the tranquil assurance of those who had been right all along.”