VATICAN: Pope Benedict XVI and senior Curia cardinals are due to hold a special meeting later this month to discuss, among other things, the lifting of the excommunication which was imposed by Pope John Paul II on the followers of the late controversial and traditionalist French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the Society of St Pius X.
According to Milan-based daily Il Giornale, not only will the Vatican meeting discuss the situation of the excommunicated "Lefebvrites" but it will also consider the possibility of making it easier for clerical communities to use the Latin Mass.
The so-called Tridentine Mass was used throughout the Catholic Church from 1570 until 1969, when its use was largely discontinued in the wake of second Vatican Council reforms.
Two senior Curia cardinals, Colombian Dario Hoyos Castrillon and Spaniard Julian Herranz, the latter a member of the lay movement Opus Dei, are believed to have promoted the lifting of the excommunication.
Cardinal Hoyos has been in contact with the Society of St Pius X, while Cardinal Herranz has reportedly drawn up plans for the "apostolic administration" of the society, bringing the "Lefebvrites" under the direct control of the Holy See. It is no secret that both the Holy See and the Society of St Pius are keen on establishing better relations.
Two senior society figures, Bernard Fellay and Franz Schmidberger, met Pope Benedict at Castelgandolfo last August. After that meeting, a Vatican communique recorded that the meeting had taken place in "a climate of love for the church and of the desire to arrive at a perfect communion".
In March 2001, Pope John and senior cardinals also discussed the Lefebvre question but on that occasion, the late pope concluded that "the time is not right" for the lifting of the excommunication.
As for the Tridentine Mass, the Congregation of Divine Worship currently grants diocesan bishops "the possibility of using an indult [ a licence granted by the pope authorising an act that the the church does not sanction] whereby priests and faithful may be able to celebrate the Mass by using the Roman Missal accord- ing to the 1962 edition". In practice, this usually means the Tridentine Mass is used only by special communities in particular circumstances. This month's meet- ing is set to discuss easing these restrictions, writes Il Giornale.