The SSPX has chosen to follow the path of schism

The Society of St Pius X has loftily declared that it will not return to full communion with the Catholic Church until Rome rejects the "errors" of the Second Vatican Council, and especially its declaration that Jews cannot be blamed for the death of Christ. One can only ask: who do the Lefebvrists think they are? Do they seriously imagine that Rome is about to scrap Nostra Aetate in order to placate a traditionalist movement that is about one thousandth of the size of the whole Church? That is never going to happen. Bishop Bernard Fellay, who announced the Society's intransigent stance last weekend, says that it will continue its dialogue with the Vatican. But, in all honesty, such dialogue is now doomed to failure.
This impasse may seem regrettable, but in the long run it will help to clarify matters. We now know, if we did not before. that the SSPX's problems with the Catholic Church extend far beyond matters of liturgy. Its rigid adherence to pre-Vatican II notions of the "blindness" of the Jews places it outside the mainstream of Catholic thinking as it has developed under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Bishop Fellay makes some valid points about the rambling trendiness of teaching in some seminaries, and the "brutal resistance" of groups of bishops to the Motu Proprio liberating the traditional Mass. But these are surely reasons to submit to the authority of a Pope who is trying to rectify these problems.
The SSPX has been granted a Holy Father who has lifted the restrictions on the celebration of the traditional liturgy — and, moreover, has restored that liturgy to a place of high honour. He affirms the ancient devotions of the Church and issues teaching documents that are entirely free of the Protestantising platitudes of liberal theologians. Yet, instead of seizing the opportunity to return to the fold, Bishop Fellay has chosen to remain huddled with those members of the SSPX for whom no Christians except their own members can ever be "true" Catholics.
This is authentic sectarianism. The Lefebvrists, like most extreme religious groups, carry in their religious DNA the impulse to search after ever greater rectitude; in the process, they become almost comically fissiparous. There is already a Society of St Pius V that regards the SSPX as dangerous liberals; we foresee the creation of many more groupuscules in the future. What an irony: in its arrogant quest.for a mythically pure Catholicism, the Lefebvrists may soon end up as a Protestant denomination.
All of which makes it more, not less. urgent that the Church makes proper arrangements for former Lefebvrists. Now that Bishop Fellay has chosen the wrong path, many devout traditionalists will wish to enjoy the old Mass in full communion with Rome. Before last year, the Church did not welcome them; now, following Summorum Pontificum, the Extraordinary Form is in theory widely available. We hope that Pope Benedict will turn theory into practice by ensuring that his ruling is properly implemented. Former Lefebvrists who have bravely turned away from schism and towards Rome deserve nothing less.