Pope Benedict's decision to lift the excommunication of four dissident Bishops has caused controversy. It has largely focused on the anti-Semitic statements made by of one of the four Bishops, Richard Williamson (pictured). Church authorities on all sides have since scrambled to disown Williamson's attitudes.
But the Pope's decision also raises wider questions about the unity of the Catholic Church. These bear on a current conflict within the Catholic Church in Brisbane.
It is a challenge for any church to ensure that its faith and life remain authentically Christian. The life of the church includes its liturgical practices, moral convictions and relationships with other groups. It is an even greater challenge to see that this faith and life are shared across the church.
In Catholic theology the controlling image of unity is that of the Apostles gathered with Peter. In the continuing church, the Bishops represent the Apostles, and the Bishop of Rome represents Peter. The Bishops ensure that there is unity in the faith and life of their local church and its congregations. The Pope is responsible for serving the unity in faith and life of the universal church in its various manifestations.
Both the excommunication of the four bishops and its lifting should be seen against this background. They were ordained in 1988 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a noted missionary. He was disaffected by the Second Vatican Council. In particular he saw its opening to other churches and religions, as well as the changes it introduced in liturgy, as not truly Catholic.
He opened a seminary for like minded candidates, and in 1970 formed the Society of Saint Pius X for priests. His local Bishop saw this as divisive, and ordered the seminary closed. This decision was ratified by Pope Paul VI.
When Archbishop Lefebvre continued to ordain priests, despite being forbidden by the Vatican, he was suspended from celebrating the Sacraments. In 1987 he decided to ordain bishops to maintain the Society after his death. In the Western church this requires the permission of the Pope. Its breach led automatically to excommunication.
The disciplines that Archbishop Lefebvre ignored and the excommunication of the bishops were designed to safeguard the unity of the church in its faith and life. The decision of the Pope to lift the excommunication reflects a desire to restore unity. From his perspective it is a generous initiative, a circuit breaker, to heal division.
The gesture