Press Release

The dialogue which has been open since last September between the Institute of the Good Shepherd and the Diocese of Bordeaux has just passed an important stage: the creation of a personal parish for those priests and lay faithful desirous of celebrating the liturgy according to the books in force in 1962, and the signature of an agreement entrusting to the Institute of the Good Shepherd this parish in the Church of St. Eloi in Bordeaux.

This stage is the sign of a firm desire to work for unity and to seek paths of reconciliation after a time for polemics. This agreement gives a context for mutual knowledge and a constructive dialogue. Mutual respect will allow for a calm discussion on the reception of the Second Vatican Council, in fidelity to the Magisterium, and on the conditions for evangelism today.

In the months to come, only a climate of peace, trust and the spirit of the Gospel will allow us to be completely faithful to this mission which Christ has entrusted to his disciples: "That they might be one, that the world may believe!"

At Bordeaux, the 1st February, 2007

Father Philippe Laguérie
Superior General of the Institute of the Good Shepherd

Jean-Pierre Cardinal Ricard
Archbishop of Bordeaux
Bishop of Bazas