The bishop said the chapter meeting gave him an opportunity to explain fully his discussions with the Vatican and correspondence relating to a "doctrinal preamble," which the Vatican has asked the society to sign. The document, which has not been made public, outlined what the Vatican said were "doctrinal principles and criteria for the interpretation of Catholic doctrine necessary to guarantee fidelity" to the formal teaching of the church.

Fellay said the chapter discussions cleared up doubts and misunderstandings among the society's members, leading to "peace and unity of hearts."

The members agreed that they must continue their mission to preserve what they see as Catholic tradition, he said.

"We cannot keep silent when facing the rampant loss of faith, the staggering fall of the number of vocations and the decrease of religious practice. We cannot refrain from speaking when confronted with the 'silent apostasy' and its causes," he said.

In the interview, the bishop also was asked about Pope Benedict XVI's appointment July 2 of Archbishop Gerhard Muller of Regensburg, Germany, as the new prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The congregation has been overseeing the Vatican's doctrinal discussions with the Society of St. Pius X. Fellay said it was "no secret" that Muller "does not like us."

While Pope Benedict reached out to society members to begin a dialogue in 2009, Fellay said Muller "refused to co-operate and treated us like we were lepers. He is the one who stated that our seminary should be closed and that our students should go to the seminaries of their dioceses of origin, adding bluntly that 'the four bishops of the SSPX should resign.' ”

However, Fellay said, "for us what is more important and more alarming is his leading role at the head of the congregation for the faith," which has the mission of uprooting "doctrinal errors and heresy."

But, he said, some of Muller's statements on the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, on Mary's virginity and on the need for membership in the Catholic Church for salvation "are questionable, to say the least."

Fellay said society members do not want to break with the Church, but they feel an obligation to protect tradition.

"It is not us who will break with Rome, the eternal Rome, mistress of wisdom and truth. Nevertheless, it would be unrealistic to deny that there is a modernist and liberal influence in the Church since the Second Vatican Council and its subsequent reforms. In a word, we maintain faith in the primacy of the Roman pontiff and in the Church founded upon Peter, but we refuse all which contributes to the 'self-demolition of the Church,' ” he said.