I think the comments at the bottom of the article were silly to the extreme. To believe that such an offer would come from the CDF without Pope Benedict’s approval is unrealistic. …
I believe that if this report is true, the February 22nd deadline is authorized by Pope Benedict so as to begin the process before his papacy comes to a close. It’s a very good move on his part. The new pope is unlikely to kill something that is in progress.
I don’t think the SSPX will be offered anything new or different. He is giving them a chance to surrender which I believe he expects they will ignore. Then, he can offer reconciliation to the individual priests. This is from the article in
America on Papal transition:
Who governs the church between the pope’s death/resignation and the election of a new pope?
All the cardinals and archbishops in charge of departments in the Roman Curia, including the secretary of state (Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone), lose their jobs when the pope dies. The ordinary faculties of these offices, which are run by their secretaries during the interregnum, do not cease on the death of the pope, but serious and controversial matters are to await the election of a new pope. The offices are run by their secretaries who remain in position, as do the secretary for relations with states (Archbishop Dominique Mamberti) and the sostituto (Archbishop Giovanni Becciu). If the matter cannot be postponed, the college of cardinals can entrust it to the prefect or president who was in charge of the office when the pope died (or to other cardinals who were members of that congregation or council). Any decision made is provisional until confirmed by the new pope.
Three major officials do not lose their jobs: the vicar of the diocese of Rome (Cardinal Agostino Vallini), the major penitentiary (Cardinal Manuel Monteiro de Castro) and the camerlengo. The vicar for Rome provides for the pastoral needs of the diocese of Rome and continues to have all the powers he had under the deceased pope. The major penitentiary deals with confessional matters reserved to the Holy See, and he is allowed to continue functioning because the door to forgiveness should never be closed.
The camerlengo (Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone) is the most important official during the interregnum. While the pope is alive, he has the authority to act for the pope in certain areas when the pope is away from Rome. On the death of the pope, the camerlengo takes charge of and administers the property and money of the Holy See, with the help of three cardinal assistants chosen by lot from among those cardinals under 80. During the interregnum he reports to the college of cardinals, which governs the church until a pope is elected. He also organizes the conclave. By appointing the cardinal secretary of state as the camerlengo, Benedict simplified the organizational structure and made sure that his secretary of state had an important role during the interregnum.
Although the government of the church is in the hands of the college of cardinals until a new pope is elected, the powers of the college are limited. It cannot change the rules governing papal elections, appoint cardinals or make any decisions binding on the next pope. The cardinals meet daily in a general congregation, presided over by the dean of the college (Cardinal Angelo Sodano), until the conclave begins. All the cardinals attend the general congregation, although attendance by those over 80 is optional. A commission headed by the camerlengo with three cardinals (chosen by lot and replaced every three days from among the cardinals under 80) can deal with lesser issues.
Benedict XVI has a plan he will put into place just before he leaves and that will be carried out by the CDF and Cardinal Bertone during the “interregnum” because they really have no choice. The Pope didn’t create all those Cardinals to have his plan thwarted, and the SSPX knows that after he resigns no Pope will appear who will bow to their demands. Not only do SSPX leaders know this, the priests of the SSPX know, also.
I don’t think the Pope will threaten excommunication as he hasn’t time left to give them a chance to come home. While he can’t bind the next Pope, he can create a situation where the last move on the board is ineluctable.
