Catholics Close a Historic Rift
The Roman Catholic Church on Friday ended a schism that had divided it for three decades, as followers of the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre were welcomed back into the fold.
Vatican representative Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos declared the dispute officially over during an evening ceremony in Campos, 430 miles northeast of Sao Paulo.
Followers of the ultraconservative Lefebvre, known as “traditionalists,” rejected the liberalizing reforms of the 1962-65 Second Vatican Council. The reforms include allowing priests to face the congregation and to celebrate Mass in languages other than Latin.
In 1976, Pope Paul VI officially suspended Lefebvre, who founded the Society of St. Pius X order. The maverick bishop was excommunicated in 1988 after having ordained four bishops in defiance of Rome. He died in 1991. Friday’s ceremony lifted that excommunication.
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