Mr. Terence Fulham, known by his followers as "Bishop" Fulham, has left a comment at this Blog objecting to my use of the word schismatic to describe him and his church which is located in Spring Hill, Florida. Mr. Fulham wrote in part: "The determination 'schismatic' is to be made by somebody in possession of canonical authority."
Mr. Fulham's understanding of Church teaching and Canon Law is, to put it charitably, less than adequate. In the words of Dr. Germain Grisez, Ph.D, one of the finest moral theologians of our time who serves as the Rev. Harry J. Flynn Professor of Christian Ethics at Mount Saint Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Maryland:
"A schismatic intentionally rebels against hierarchical authority which he or she knows to be legitimately exercised. Instead of acting obediently as parts of the one body, schismatic individuals and groups act as if they were autonomous wholes, independent of the whole which is the Catholic Church; they commit the sin of schism by carrying disobedience so far that they purposely separate themselves from the Church's unity, which is realized by the submission of Jesus' members to him and by their communion with one another. Since the pope is Jesus' vicar, Catholics who separate themselves from him divide themselves from Jesus and thus divide the Church. Schismatics refuse to be subject to the pope, either directly or by rejecting communion with those loyal to him. Thus, 'Schism is the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him'*...While schismatics often are also heretics, it is possible to be in schism over matters of law and policy without rejecting any truth of faith."
* Canon 751 of the Code of Canon Law provides that a schismatic incurs automatic excommunication.
Dr. Grisez also notes that: "Among those who recently have been or appeared to be in schism" are the "Patriotic Association of Chinese Catholics, Marcel Lefebvre and his followers, the so-called Popular Church in Nicaragua, various groups (some reactionary and some revolutionary) which set themselves up as worshiping communities in defiance of their Bishops, and the many families and individuals who reject papal authority and leave the Church. John Paul II, Letter to the Bishops of Nicaragua, AAS 74 (1982) 1108-13, OR, 6 Sept. 1982, 6-7, points out that the so-called Popular Church leads to the autonomy of the basic communities from the Church's legitimate pastors and teachers."
As this article from the online encyclopedia Wikipedia makes clear: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_Fulham, Terence Fulham is still in an irregular situation (especially given his episcopal consecration).." The article also notes that Terence Fulham's episcopal consecration is "without a papal mandate" and that "He is a bishop consecrated by a converted bishop from the Carlos Duarte Costa line." And who was Carlos Duarte Costa? Another article at Wikipedia explains: "Most Reverend Carlos Duarte Costa (declared Saint Carlos of Brazil by the Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church) (1888-1961) was a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. After many years of struggle with Rome he was eventually excommunicated by Pope Pius XII, and went on to establish the Catholic Apostolic Church of Brazil."
There you have it. Terence Fulham is not a Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. His episcopal consecration is without a papal mandate. He attempts to justify the schismatic act of his "episcopal consecration" by "appealing to the 'emergency and crisis situation' he says the Roman Catholic Church is in presently" (Wikipedia article).
His attitude is that of "Brother" Francis of the Saint Benedict Center, who wrote these words roughly two years ago:
"Since the death of Father Feeney, we have never had a cleric as a religious member of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, circumstances in the Church [read their own disobedience to Church teaching and authority] making it virtually impossible to attain that goal. Regardless of this, it was the intention of our Founder to have priests in our First Order, and we have never abandoned that desire...Years of searching for priests to assist us have turned up no long-term solution.... The demands of serving our community call for a priest convinced of our position and goals. Otherwise, longevity is not likely. The most obvious question is how will it be done? We have long prayed for this goal, and sought to achieve it through proper canonical channels. Knowing how saturated the hierarchy is with modernism - from Rome on down - we have concluded that passage through these channels is impossible without compromising our Crusade. We are forced to take extraordinary measures to procure ordination. To be precise, we would be seeking ordination without dimissorial letters, the canonical permission granted by a diocesan bishop or other prelate for a man to be ordained. Is this action justified? In a word: Yes..."
Such an attitude is deeply disturbing. But comes as no great surprise. Disobedience to the Church is, for some, a way of life.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
Long before the Second Vatican Council, when Nazism reared its ugly head and the Jewish People were dehumanized and sent to death camps as part of Hitler's "Final Solution," Pope Pius XI raised his voice:
"Pius XI responded by issuing in 1937 the encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge condemning the Nazi ideology of racism and totalitarianism and Nazi violations of the concordat. Copies had to be smuggled into Germany so they could be read from the pulpit.
As the extreme nature of Nazi racial anti-Semitism became obvious, and as Mussolini in the late 1930s began imitating Hitler's anti-Jewish race laws in Italy, Pius XI made his position clear, both in Mit Brennender Sorge and in a public address in the Vatican to Belgian pilgrims in 1938: "Mark well that in the Catholic Mass, Abraham is our Patriarch and forefather. Anti-Semitism is incompatible with the lofty thought which that fact expresses. It is a movement with which we Christians can have nothing to do. No, no, I say to you it is impossible for a Christian to take part in anti-Semitism. It is inadmissible. Through Christ and in Christ we are the spiritual progeny of Abraham. Spiritually, we [Christians] are all Semites."
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_XI).
His successor to the Chair of Peter, Pope Pius XII of happy memory, stood with the Jewish People during their painful trial, and rescued anywhere between 800,000 and 1.5 million of the Jewish People. The Historical Record: What Pius XII Did for the Jews: http://www.catholicleague.org/pius/dalinframe.htm
The anti-Semitism of the Saint Benedict Center and other "traditional Catholic" groups in no way represents the mind of the Church.
"Pius XI responded by issuing in 1937 the encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge condemning the Nazi ideology of racism and totalitarianism and Nazi violations of the concordat. Copies had to be smuggled into Germany so they could be read from the pulpit.
As the extreme nature of Nazi racial anti-Semitism became obvious, and as Mussolini in the late 1930s began imitating Hitler's anti-Jewish race laws in Italy, Pius XI made his position clear, both in Mit Brennender Sorge and in a public address in the Vatican to Belgian pilgrims in 1938: "Mark well that in the Catholic Mass, Abraham is our Patriarch and forefather. Anti-Semitism is incompatible with the lofty thought which that fact expresses. It is a movement with which we Christians can have nothing to do. No, no, I say to you it is impossible for a Christian to take part in anti-Semitism. It is inadmissible. Through Christ and in Christ we are the spiritual progeny of Abraham. Spiritually, we [Christians] are all Semites."
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Pius_XI).
His successor to the Chair of Peter, Pope Pius XII of happy memory, stood with the Jewish People during their painful trial, and rescued anywhere between 800,000 and 1.5 million of the Jewish People. The Historical Record: What Pius XII Did for the Jews: http://www.catholicleague.org/pius/dalinframe.htm
The anti-Semitism of the Saint Benedict Center and other "traditional Catholic" groups in no way represents the mind of the Church.
DECLARATION ON THE RELATION OF THE CHURCH TO NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS (NOSTRA AETATE) PROCLAIMED BY HIS HOLINESS POPE PAUL VI ON OCTOBER 28, 1965
1. In our time, when day by day mankind is being drawn closer together, and the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger, the Church examines more closely he relationship to non- Christian religions. In her task of promoting unity and love among men, indeed among nations, she considers above all in this declaration what men have in common and what draws them to fellowship.
One is the community of all peoples, one their origin, for God made the whole human race to live over the face of the earth.(1) One also is their final goal, God. His providence, His manifestations of goodness, His saving design extend to all men,(2) until that time when the elect will be united in the Holy City, the city ablaze with the glory of God, where the nations will walk in His light.(3)
Men expect from the various religions answers to the unsolved riddles of the human condition, which today, even as in former times, deeply stir the hearts of men: What is man? What is the meaning, the aim of our life? What is moral good, what sin? Whence suffering and what purpose does it serve? Which is the road to true happiness? What are death, judgment and retribution after death? What, finally, is that ultimate inexpressible mystery which encompasses our existence: whence do we come, and where are we going?
2. From ancient times down to the present, there is found among various peoples a certain perception of that hidden power which hovers over the course of things and over the events of human history; at times some indeed have come to the recognition of a Supreme Being, or even of a Father. This perception and recognition penetrates their lives with a profound religious sense.
Religions, however, that are bound up with an advanced culture have struggled to answer the same questions by means of more refined concepts and a more developed language. Thus in Hinduism, men contemplate the divine mystery and express it through an inexhaustible abundance of myths and through searching philosophical inquiry. They seek freedom from the anguish of our human condition either through ascetical practices or profound meditation or a flight to God with love and trust. Again, Buddhism, in its various forms, realizes the radical insufficiency of this changeable world; it teaches a way by which men, in a devout and confident spirit, may be able either to acquire the state of perfect liberation, or attain, by their own efforts or through higher help, supreme illumination. Likewise, other religions found everywhere try to counter the restlessness of the human heart, each in its own manner, by proposing "ways," comprising teachings, rules of life, and sacred rites. The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself.(4)
The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men.
3. The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth,(5) who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.
Since in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Moslems, this sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom.
4. As the sacred synod searches into the mystery of the Church, it remembers the bond that spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham's stock.
Thus the Church of Christ acknowledges that, according to God's saving design, the beginnings of her faith and her election are found already among the Patriarchs, Moses and the prophets. She professes that all who believe in Christ-Abraham's sons according to faith (6)-are included in the same Patriarch's call, and likewise that the salvation of the Church is mysteriously foreshadowed by the chosen people's exodus from the land of bondage. The Church, therefore, cannot forget that she received the revelation of the Old Testament through the people with whom God in His inexpressible mercy concluded the Ancient Covenant. Nor can she forget that she draws sustenance from the root of that well-cultivated olive tree onto which have been grafted the wild shoots, the Gentiles.(7) Indeed, the Church believes that by His cross Christ, Our Peace, reconciled Jews and Gentiles. making both one in Himself.(8)
The Church keeps ever in mind the words of the Apostle about his kinsmen: "theirs is the sonship and the glory and the covenants and the law and the worship and the promises; theirs are the fathers and from them is the Christ according to the flesh" (Rom. 9:4-5), the Son of the Virgin Mary. She also recalls that the Apostles, the Church's main-stay and pillars, as well as most of the early disciples who proclaimed Christ's Gospel to the world, sprang from the Jewish people.
As Holy Scripture testifies, Jerusalem did not recognize the time of her visitation,(9) nor did the Jews in large number, accept the Gospel; indeed not a few opposed its spreading.(10) Nevertheless, God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers; He does not repent of the gifts He makes or of the calls He issues-such is the witness of the Apostle.(11) In company with the Prophets and the same Apostle, the Church awaits that day, known to God alone, on which all peoples will address the Lord in a single voice and "serve him shoulder to shoulder" (Soph. 3:9).(12)
Since the spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews is thus so great, this sacred synod wants to foster and recommend that mutual understanding and respect which is the fruit, above all, of biblical and theological studies as well as of fraternal dialogues.
True, the Jewish authorities and those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ;(13) still, what happened in His passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today. Although the Church is the new people of God, the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures. All should see to it, then, that in catechetical work or in the preaching of the word of God they do not teach anything that does not conform to the truth of the Gospel and the spirit of Christ.
Furthermore, in her rejection of every persecution against any man, the Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel's spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.
Besides, as the Church has always held and holds now, Christ underwent His passion and death freely, because of the sins of men and out of infinite love, in order that all may reach salvation. It is, therefore, the burden of the Church's preaching to proclaim the cross of Christ as the sign of God's all-embracing love and as the fountain from which every grace flows.
5. We cannot truly call on God, the Father of all, if we refuse to treat in a brotherly way any man, created as he is in the image of God. Man's relation to God the Father and his relation to men his brothers are so linked together that Scripture says: "He who does not love does not know God" (1 John 4:8).
No foundation therefore remains for any theory or practice that leads to discrimination between man and man or people and people, so far as their human dignity and the rights flowing from it are concerned.
The Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against men or harassment of them because of their race, color, condition of life, or religion. On the contrary, following in the footsteps of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, this sacred synod ardently implores the Christian faithful to "maintain good fellowship among the nations" (1 Peter 2:12), and, if possible, to live for their part in peace with all men,(14) so that they may truly be sons of the Father who is in heaven.(15)
NOTES
1. Cf. Acts 17:26
2. Cf. Wis. 8:1; Acts 14:17; Rom. 2:6-7; 1 Tim. 2:4
3. Cf. Apoc. 21:23f.
4. Cf 2 Cor. 5:18-19
5. Cf St. Gregory VII, letter XXI to Anzir (Nacir), King of Mauritania (Pl. 148, col. 450f.)
6. Cf. Gal. 3:7
7. Cf. Rom. 11:17-24
8. Cf. Eph. 2:14-16
9. Cf. Lk. 19:44
10. Cf. Rom. 11:28
11. Cf. Rom. 11:28-29; cf. dogmatic Constitution, Lumen Gentium (Light of nations) AAS, 57 (1965) pag. 20
12. Cf. Is. 66:23; Ps. 65:4; Rom. 11:11-32
13. Cf. John. 19:6
14. Cf. Rom. 12:18
15. Cf. Matt. 5:45
This is the mind of Christ. This is the mind of His Church. Anyone professing to be Catholic who sets himself in opposition to this teaching sets himself against the mind of Christ and His Mystical Body which is the Church.
1. In our time, when day by day mankind is being drawn closer together, and the ties between different peoples are becoming stronger, the Church examines more closely he relationship to non- Christian religions. In her task of promoting unity and love among men, indeed among nations, she considers above all in this declaration what men have in common and what draws them to fellowship.
One is the community of all peoples, one their origin, for God made the whole human race to live over the face of the earth.(1) One also is their final goal, God. His providence, His manifestations of goodness, His saving design extend to all men,(2) until that time when the elect will be united in the Holy City, the city ablaze with the glory of God, where the nations will walk in His light.(3)
Men expect from the various religions answers to the unsolved riddles of the human condition, which today, even as in former times, deeply stir the hearts of men: What is man? What is the meaning, the aim of our life? What is moral good, what sin? Whence suffering and what purpose does it serve? Which is the road to true happiness? What are death, judgment and retribution after death? What, finally, is that ultimate inexpressible mystery which encompasses our existence: whence do we come, and where are we going?
2. From ancient times down to the present, there is found among various peoples a certain perception of that hidden power which hovers over the course of things and over the events of human history; at times some indeed have come to the recognition of a Supreme Being, or even of a Father. This perception and recognition penetrates their lives with a profound religious sense.
Religions, however, that are bound up with an advanced culture have struggled to answer the same questions by means of more refined concepts and a more developed language. Thus in Hinduism, men contemplate the divine mystery and express it through an inexhaustible abundance of myths and through searching philosophical inquiry. They seek freedom from the anguish of our human condition either through ascetical practices or profound meditation or a flight to God with love and trust. Again, Buddhism, in its various forms, realizes the radical insufficiency of this changeable world; it teaches a way by which men, in a devout and confident spirit, may be able either to acquire the state of perfect liberation, or attain, by their own efforts or through higher help, supreme illumination. Likewise, other religions found everywhere try to counter the restlessness of the human heart, each in its own manner, by proposing "ways," comprising teachings, rules of life, and sacred rites. The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself.(4)
The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men.
3. The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth,(5) who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.
Since in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Moslems, this sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom.
4. As the sacred synod searches into the mystery of the Church, it remembers the bond that spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham's stock.
Thus the Church of Christ acknowledges that, according to God's saving design, the beginnings of her faith and her election are found already among the Patriarchs, Moses and the prophets. She professes that all who believe in Christ-Abraham's sons according to faith (6)-are included in the same Patriarch's call, and likewise that the salvation of the Church is mysteriously foreshadowed by the chosen people's exodus from the land of bondage. The Church, therefore, cannot forget that she received the revelation of the Old Testament through the people with whom God in His inexpressible mercy concluded the Ancient Covenant. Nor can she forget that she draws sustenance from the root of that well-cultivated olive tree onto which have been grafted the wild shoots, the Gentiles.(7) Indeed, the Church believes that by His cross Christ, Our Peace, reconciled Jews and Gentiles. making both one in Himself.(8)
The Church keeps ever in mind the words of the Apostle about his kinsmen: "theirs is the sonship and the glory and the covenants and the law and the worship and the promises; theirs are the fathers and from them is the Christ according to the flesh" (Rom. 9:4-5), the Son of the Virgin Mary. She also recalls that the Apostles, the Church's main-stay and pillars, as well as most of the early disciples who proclaimed Christ's Gospel to the world, sprang from the Jewish people.
As Holy Scripture testifies, Jerusalem did not recognize the time of her visitation,(9) nor did the Jews in large number, accept the Gospel; indeed not a few opposed its spreading.(10) Nevertheless, God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers; He does not repent of the gifts He makes or of the calls He issues-such is the witness of the Apostle.(11) In company with the Prophets and the same Apostle, the Church awaits that day, known to God alone, on which all peoples will address the Lord in a single voice and "serve him shoulder to shoulder" (Soph. 3:9).(12)
Since the spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews is thus so great, this sacred synod wants to foster and recommend that mutual understanding and respect which is the fruit, above all, of biblical and theological studies as well as of fraternal dialogues.
True, the Jewish authorities and those who followed their lead pressed for the death of Christ;(13) still, what happened in His passion cannot be charged against all the Jews, without distinction, then alive, nor against the Jews of today. Although the Church is the new people of God, the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures. All should see to it, then, that in catechetical work or in the preaching of the word of God they do not teach anything that does not conform to the truth of the Gospel and the spirit of Christ.
Furthermore, in her rejection of every persecution against any man, the Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel's spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.
Besides, as the Church has always held and holds now, Christ underwent His passion and death freely, because of the sins of men and out of infinite love, in order that all may reach salvation. It is, therefore, the burden of the Church's preaching to proclaim the cross of Christ as the sign of God's all-embracing love and as the fountain from which every grace flows.
5. We cannot truly call on God, the Father of all, if we refuse to treat in a brotherly way any man, created as he is in the image of God. Man's relation to God the Father and his relation to men his brothers are so linked together that Scripture says: "He who does not love does not know God" (1 John 4:8).
No foundation therefore remains for any theory or practice that leads to discrimination between man and man or people and people, so far as their human dignity and the rights flowing from it are concerned.
The Church reproves, as foreign to the mind of Christ, any discrimination against men or harassment of them because of their race, color, condition of life, or religion. On the contrary, following in the footsteps of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, this sacred synod ardently implores the Christian faithful to "maintain good fellowship among the nations" (1 Peter 2:12), and, if possible, to live for their part in peace with all men,(14) so that they may truly be sons of the Father who is in heaven.(15)
NOTES
1. Cf. Acts 17:26
2. Cf. Wis. 8:1; Acts 14:17; Rom. 2:6-7; 1 Tim. 2:4
3. Cf. Apoc. 21:23f.
4. Cf 2 Cor. 5:18-19
5. Cf St. Gregory VII, letter XXI to Anzir (Nacir), King of Mauritania (Pl. 148, col. 450f.)
6. Cf. Gal. 3:7
7. Cf. Rom. 11:17-24
8. Cf. Eph. 2:14-16
9. Cf. Lk. 19:44
10. Cf. Rom. 11:28
11. Cf. Rom. 11:28-29; cf. dogmatic Constitution, Lumen Gentium (Light of nations) AAS, 57 (1965) pag. 20
12. Cf. Is. 66:23; Ps. 65:4; Rom. 11:11-32
13. Cf. John. 19:6
14. Cf. Rom. 12:18
15. Cf. Matt. 5:45
This is the mind of Christ. This is the mind of His Church. Anyone professing to be Catholic who sets himself in opposition to this teaching sets himself against the mind of Christ and His Mystical Body which is the Church.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Canon Law and usurpation of ecclesiastical functions and offenses in their exercise, relevant canons:
Can. 1378
1. A priest who acts against the prescription of can. 977 incurs an automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.
2. The following incur an automatic (latae sententiae) penalty of interdict or if a cleric, an automatic (latae sententiae) suspension:
(1) One who has not been promoted to the priestly order and who attempts to enact the liturgical action of the Eucharistic Sacrifice;
(2) Outside the case mentioned in (1), a person who attempts to impart sacramental absolution or a person who hears a sacramental confession when one cannot validly give sacramental absolution.
(3) In the case mentioned in (2) other penalties including excommunication can be added in accord with the seriousness of the offense.
Can. 1379
Outside the cases mentioned in can. 1378, one who simulates the administration of a sacrament is to be punished with a just penalty.
Can. 1381
1. Whoever usurps an ecclesiastical office is to be punished with a just penalty.
This is the law of the Church regarding the usurpation of ecclesiastical offices and functions. And so, I will ask the question again: Why has "Brother" Andre Marie of the Saint Benedict Center been photographed at a schismatic church wearing a priestly biretta and what appear to be priestly vestments?
"Since the death of Father Feeney, we have never had a cleric as a religious member of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, circumstances in the Church [read their own disobedience to Church teaching and authority] making it virtually impossible to attain that goal. Regardless of this, it was the intention of our Founder to have priests in our First Order, and we have never abandoned that desire...Years of searching for priests to assist us have turned up no long-term solution.... The demands of serving our community call for a priest convinced of our position and goals. Otherwise, longevity is not likely. The most obvious question is how will it be done? We have long prayed for this goal, and sought to achieve it through proper canonical channels. Knowing how saturated the hierarchy is with modernism - from Rome on down - we have concluded that passage through these channels is impossible without compromising our Crusade. We are forced to take extraordinary measures to procure ordination. To be precise, we would be seeking ordination without dimissorial letters, the canonical permission granted by a diocesan bishop or other prelate for a man to be ordained. Is this action justified? In a word: Yes....Readers can rest assured that we would never present ourselves to a heretic or schismatic for Holy Orders. Such an action would violate the very principles we are vowed to defend." - "Brother" Francis, "Two Major Announcements - Epiphany 2005."
Can. 1378
1. A priest who acts against the prescription of can. 977 incurs an automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See.
2. The following incur an automatic (latae sententiae) penalty of interdict or if a cleric, an automatic (latae sententiae) suspension:
(1) One who has not been promoted to the priestly order and who attempts to enact the liturgical action of the Eucharistic Sacrifice;
(2) Outside the case mentioned in (1), a person who attempts to impart sacramental absolution or a person who hears a sacramental confession when one cannot validly give sacramental absolution.
(3) In the case mentioned in (2) other penalties including excommunication can be added in accord with the seriousness of the offense.
Can. 1379
Outside the cases mentioned in can. 1378, one who simulates the administration of a sacrament is to be punished with a just penalty.
Can. 1381
1. Whoever usurps an ecclesiastical office is to be punished with a just penalty.
This is the law of the Church regarding the usurpation of ecclesiastical offices and functions. And so, I will ask the question again: Why has "Brother" Andre Marie of the Saint Benedict Center been photographed at a schismatic church wearing a priestly biretta and what appear to be priestly vestments?
"Since the death of Father Feeney, we have never had a cleric as a religious member of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, circumstances in the Church [read their own disobedience to Church teaching and authority] making it virtually impossible to attain that goal. Regardless of this, it was the intention of our Founder to have priests in our First Order, and we have never abandoned that desire...Years of searching for priests to assist us have turned up no long-term solution.... The demands of serving our community call for a priest convinced of our position and goals. Otherwise, longevity is not likely. The most obvious question is how will it be done? We have long prayed for this goal, and sought to achieve it through proper canonical channels. Knowing how saturated the hierarchy is with modernism - from Rome on down - we have concluded that passage through these channels is impossible without compromising our Crusade. We are forced to take extraordinary measures to procure ordination. To be precise, we would be seeking ordination without dimissorial letters, the canonical permission granted by a diocesan bishop or other prelate for a man to be ordained. Is this action justified? In a word: Yes....Readers can rest assured that we would never present ourselves to a heretic or schismatic for Holy Orders. Such an action would violate the very principles we are vowed to defend." - "Brother" Francis, "Two Major Announcements - Epiphany 2005."
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
I have been truly blessed in my life in so very many ways. Two of the greatest blessings in my life have been my parents. From both of them, I inherited a deep piety and a strong devotion to the Church and to the Immaculate Mother of God. I also learned what it means to love God and neighbor in a home overflowing with both. My parents embraced everyone they came into contact with irregardless of that person's skin color, ethnicity, faith tradition etc.
My father was a career soldier. And after his tour in Korea with the U.S. Army as a tank commander, he crossed over to the Air Force where he remained on active duty for twenty years. Growing up in a military family had its advantages and disadvantages. One disadvantage was making new friends and having to leave them behind every year or two. That was very difficult to say the least, but it also shaped my personality in so many ways. For one thing, I never take anyone for granted and I never forget a friend. One advantage, however, was that I was exposed to a wide variety of people and circumstances. I had friends from every race, religious creed and socio-economic background.
When I was five years old, I had a best friend named Irwin. We did everything together. We ran and jumped and played with a kite, two carefree children enjoying our summers together. And then one day, a neighbor noticed that his scissors were missing from his garage. And Irwin and I were playing across the street in my parent's yard. The man walked to the end of his driveway, and started to yell something at us. Soon I realized what he was saying, even if I didn't understand exactly what he meant: "You, nigger, what did you do with my scissors."
Now Irwin hadn't taken the scissors. He had been with me the whole time and neither one of us had gone anywhere near that man's house. But I remember thinking (something which was actually encouraged in my family), "Why didn't he accuse me of taking the scissors?" Today I know the answer to that question. And the answer has haunted me to this day.
In grade school (I attended Johnny Appleseed Elementary in Leominster, Massachusetts), I had another good friend named Jeff. We would enjoy talking about religion and the two of us would make paper boats, launch them in the brook near my home, and would race them or attempt to sink them with large rocks. I always wondered if this had any bearing on his decision later in life to join the U.S. Navy. Jeff was an extremely intelligent and gifted student with an incredible sense of humor. I remember him always talking about the news program Sixty Minutes (this when most of us kids were content to watch Happy Days or reruns of Gilligan's Island).
There are two things I will always remember about Jeff (not including his curly hair): His wonderful laughter and his incredible generosity of spirit.
The Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, New Hampshire would have a problem with Jeff. You see, Jeff is a Jew. And according to "Brother" Andre Marie, M.I.C.M., the Jewish People have a "tendency to undermine public morals," while his associate, "Brother" Anthony Mary M.I.C.M., told a conference that Jews are the "perpetual enemies of Christ."
Funny, I never saw Jeff as an "enemy of Christ" or as someone who "undermined public morals." He was just a friend. In fact, one of the only friends I ever had as a child with whom I could discuss religion.
Saints preserve us from such nonsense.
Paul.
My father was a career soldier. And after his tour in Korea with the U.S. Army as a tank commander, he crossed over to the Air Force where he remained on active duty for twenty years. Growing up in a military family had its advantages and disadvantages. One disadvantage was making new friends and having to leave them behind every year or two. That was very difficult to say the least, but it also shaped my personality in so many ways. For one thing, I never take anyone for granted and I never forget a friend. One advantage, however, was that I was exposed to a wide variety of people and circumstances. I had friends from every race, religious creed and socio-economic background.
When I was five years old, I had a best friend named Irwin. We did everything together. We ran and jumped and played with a kite, two carefree children enjoying our summers together. And then one day, a neighbor noticed that his scissors were missing from his garage. And Irwin and I were playing across the street in my parent's yard. The man walked to the end of his driveway, and started to yell something at us. Soon I realized what he was saying, even if I didn't understand exactly what he meant: "You, nigger, what did you do with my scissors."
Now Irwin hadn't taken the scissors. He had been with me the whole time and neither one of us had gone anywhere near that man's house. But I remember thinking (something which was actually encouraged in my family), "Why didn't he accuse me of taking the scissors?" Today I know the answer to that question. And the answer has haunted me to this day.
In grade school (I attended Johnny Appleseed Elementary in Leominster, Massachusetts), I had another good friend named Jeff. We would enjoy talking about religion and the two of us would make paper boats, launch them in the brook near my home, and would race them or attempt to sink them with large rocks. I always wondered if this had any bearing on his decision later in life to join the U.S. Navy. Jeff was an extremely intelligent and gifted student with an incredible sense of humor. I remember him always talking about the news program Sixty Minutes (this when most of us kids were content to watch Happy Days or reruns of Gilligan's Island).
There are two things I will always remember about Jeff (not including his curly hair): His wonderful laughter and his incredible generosity of spirit.
The Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, New Hampshire would have a problem with Jeff. You see, Jeff is a Jew. And according to "Brother" Andre Marie, M.I.C.M., the Jewish People have a "tendency to undermine public morals," while his associate, "Brother" Anthony Mary M.I.C.M., told a conference that Jews are the "perpetual enemies of Christ."
Funny, I never saw Jeff as an "enemy of Christ" or as someone who "undermined public morals." He was just a friend. In fact, one of the only friends I ever had as a child with whom I could discuss religion.
Saints preserve us from such nonsense.
Paul.
Monday, April 23, 2007
THE CHURCH, A COMMUNITY COMMITTED TO CHRIST'S CHARITY
VATICAN CITY, APR 22, 2007 (VIS) - After his meeting with representatives from the world of culture in the University of Pavia, Benedict XVI travelled to the basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro to celebrate Vespers. Before entering the basilica, the Holy Father paused on the patio of the convent of St. Augustine where he blessed the cornerstone of a new Augustinian cultural center, which the Order intends to dedicate to him.
Once inside the basilica, the Pope incensed the urn containing the relics of St. Augustine and, after greeting Bishop Giovanni Giudici of Pavia and Fr. Robert Francis Prevost, prior general of the Augustinian Order, pronounced his homily.
"In this moment of prayer I would like to gather here, at the tomb of the 'Doctor gratiae,' a significant message for the journey of the Church," said the Pope. "This message comes to us from the encounter between the Word of God and the personal experience of the great bishop of Hippo. ... Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word, ... is the revelation of the face of God Love to all human beings as they travel along the paths of time towards eternity. ... This is the heart of the Gospel, the central nucleus of Christianity. The light of this love opened Augustine's eyes and brought him to encounter the 'beauty, ever ancient and ever new' in which alone the human heart finds peace."
"Here before the tomb of St. Augustine," the Pope continued, "I would like once again to consign ideally to the Church and to the World my first Encyclical, which contains this central message of the Gospel: 'Deus caritas est,' God is love," and which is "greatly indebted to the thought of St. Augustine who was enamoured of the Love of God."
"In the wake of the teachings of Vatican Council II and of my venerated predecessors, I am convinced ... that contemporary humanity has need of this essential message. ... Here everything must begin and here everything must lead, all pastoral activity and all theological treatises."
"Love is the heart of Church life and of her pastoral activity. ... Only those who have a personal experience of the Lord's love are able to exercise the task of guiding and accompanying others on the road of following Christ. ... Following Christ is above all a question of love."
The Holy Father went on: "May your membership of the Church and your apostolate always stand out for their freedom from any kind of personal interest and for their unreserved adhesion to Christ's love. Young people in particular need to receive the announcement of freedom and joy, the secret of which is in Christ. He is the most authentic response to the expectations of their hearts which are troubled by the many questions they carry within."
"Following the footsteps of St. Augustine, you too must be a Church that frankly announces the 'good news' of Christ. ... The Church is not simply an organization for collective expression nor, at the other extreme, is she the sum of individuals living a private religion. The Church is a community of people who believe in the God of Jesus Christ and commit themselves to living in the world the commandment of love that He left us."
"I encourage you," the Holy Father concluded, "to pursue the 'exalted degree' of Christian life which considers charity as the bond of perfection, and which must also be translated into a form of moral life inspired by the Gospel."
A the conclusion of Vespers, the Pope went to Pavia's "P. Fortunati" stadium whence he travelled by helicopter to the airport of Milan. There he boarded a plane that took him back to Rome where he landed shortly before 8.30 p.m.
VATICAN CITY, APR 22, 2007 (VIS) - After his meeting with representatives from the world of culture in the University of Pavia, Benedict XVI travelled to the basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro to celebrate Vespers. Before entering the basilica, the Holy Father paused on the patio of the convent of St. Augustine where he blessed the cornerstone of a new Augustinian cultural center, which the Order intends to dedicate to him.
Once inside the basilica, the Pope incensed the urn containing the relics of St. Augustine and, after greeting Bishop Giovanni Giudici of Pavia and Fr. Robert Francis Prevost, prior general of the Augustinian Order, pronounced his homily.
"In this moment of prayer I would like to gather here, at the tomb of the 'Doctor gratiae,' a significant message for the journey of the Church," said the Pope. "This message comes to us from the encounter between the Word of God and the personal experience of the great bishop of Hippo. ... Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word, ... is the revelation of the face of God Love to all human beings as they travel along the paths of time towards eternity. ... This is the heart of the Gospel, the central nucleus of Christianity. The light of this love opened Augustine's eyes and brought him to encounter the 'beauty, ever ancient and ever new' in which alone the human heart finds peace."
"Here before the tomb of St. Augustine," the Pope continued, "I would like once again to consign ideally to the Church and to the World my first Encyclical, which contains this central message of the Gospel: 'Deus caritas est,' God is love," and which is "greatly indebted to the thought of St. Augustine who was enamoured of the Love of God."
"In the wake of the teachings of Vatican Council II and of my venerated predecessors, I am convinced ... that contemporary humanity has need of this essential message. ... Here everything must begin and here everything must lead, all pastoral activity and all theological treatises."
"Love is the heart of Church life and of her pastoral activity. ... Only those who have a personal experience of the Lord's love are able to exercise the task of guiding and accompanying others on the road of following Christ. ... Following Christ is above all a question of love."
The Holy Father went on: "May your membership of the Church and your apostolate always stand out for their freedom from any kind of personal interest and for their unreserved adhesion to Christ's love. Young people in particular need to receive the announcement of freedom and joy, the secret of which is in Christ. He is the most authentic response to the expectations of their hearts which are troubled by the many questions they carry within."
"Following the footsteps of St. Augustine, you too must be a Church that frankly announces the 'good news' of Christ. ... The Church is not simply an organization for collective expression nor, at the other extreme, is she the sum of individuals living a private religion. The Church is a community of people who believe in the God of Jesus Christ and commit themselves to living in the world the commandment of love that He left us."
"I encourage you," the Holy Father concluded, "to pursue the 'exalted degree' of Christian life which considers charity as the bond of perfection, and which must also be translated into a form of moral life inspired by the Gospel."
A the conclusion of Vespers, the Pope went to Pavia's "P. Fortunati" stadium whence he travelled by helicopter to the airport of Milan. There he boarded a plane that took him back to Rome where he landed shortly before 8.30 p.m.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
A call to action from JayG.....
I would also urge readers of this Blog to support JayG in his apostolate. His Blog is wonderful. It is always informative and reflects the Magisterial teaching of Christ's Church.
Paul.
Paul.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Ad Tuendam Fidem, given Motu Proprio
JOHN PAUL II
Apostolic Letter Motu Proprio AD TUENDAM FIDEM, by which certain norms are inserted into the Code of Canon Law and into the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches
TO PROTECT THE FAITH of the Catholic Church against errors arising from certain members of the Christian faithful, especially from among those dedicated to the various disciplines of sacred theology, we, whose principal duty is to confirm the brethren in the faith (Lk 22:32), consider it absolutely necessary to add to the existing texts of the Code of Canon Law and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, new norms which expressly impose the obligation of upholding truths proposed in a definitive way by the Magisterium of the Church, and which also establish related canonical sanctions.
1.From the first centuries to the present day, the Church has professed the truths of her faith in Christ and the mystery of his redemption. These truths were subsequently gathered into the Symbols of the faith, today known and proclaimed in common by the faithful in the solemn and festive celebration of Mass as the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.
This same Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed is contained in the Profession of faith developed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,(1) which must be made by specific members of the faithful when they receive an office, that is directly or indirectly related to deeper investigation into the truths of faith and morals, or is united to a particular power in the governance of the Church.(2)
2. The Profession of faith, which appropriately begins with the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, contains three propositions or paragraphs intended to describe the truths of the Catholic faith, which the Church, in the course of time and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit “who will teach the whole truth” (Jn 16:13), has ever more deeply explored and will continue to explore.(3)
The first paragraph states: “With firm faith, I also believe everything contained in the word of God, whether written or handed down in Tradition, which the Church either by a solemn judgment or by the ordinary and universal Magisterium sets forth to be believed as divinely revealed.”(4) This paragraph appropriately confirms and is provided for in the Church’s universal legislation, in canon 750 of the Code of Canon Law(5) and canon 598 of the Code of the Canons of the Eastern Churches.(6)
The third paragraph states: “Moreover I adhere with submission of will and intellect to the teachings which either the Roman Pontiff or the College of Bishops enunciate when they exercise their authentic Magisterium, even if they do not intend to proclaim these teachings by a definitive act.”(7) This paragraph has its corresponding legislative expression in canon 752 of the Code of Canon Law(8) and canon 599 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.(9)
3. The second paragraph, however, which states “I also firmly accept and hold each and everything definitively proposed by the Church regarding teaching on faith and morals,”(10) has no corresponding canon in the Codes of the Catholic Church. This second paragraph of the Profession of faith is of utmost importance since it refers to truths that are necessarily connected to divine revelation. These truths, in the investigation of Catholic doctrine, illustrate the Divine Spirit’s particular inspiration for the Church’s deeper understanding of a truth concerning faith and morals, with which they are connected either for historical reasons or by a logical relationship.
4. Moved therefore by this need, and after careful deliberation, we have decided to overcome this lacuna in the universal law in the following way:
A) Canon 750 of the Code of Canon Law will now consist of two paragraphs; the first will present the text of the existing canon; the second will contain a new text. Thus, canon 750, in its complete form, will read:
Canon 750 – § 1. Those things are to be believed by divine and catholic faith which are contained in the word of God as it has been written or handed down by tradition, that is, in the single deposit of faith entrusted to the Church, and which are at the same time proposed as divinely revealed either by the solemn Magisterium of the Church, or by its ordinary and universal Magisterium, which in fact is manifested by the common adherence of Christ’s faithful under the guidance of the sacred Magisterium. All are therefore bound to avoid any contrary doctrines.
§ 2. Furthermore, each and everything set forth definitively by the Magisterium of the Church regarding teaching on faith and morals must be firmly accepted and held; namely, those things required for the holy keeping and faithful exposition of the deposit of faith; therefore, anyone who rejects propositions which are to be held definitively sets himself against the teaching of the Catholic Church.
Canon 1371, n. 1 of the Code of Canon Law, consequently, will receive an appropriate reference to canon 750 § 2, so that it will now read:
Canon 1371 – The following are to be punished with a just penalty:
1° a person who, apart from the case mentioned in canon 1364 § 1, teaches a doctrine condemned by the Roman Pontiff, or by an Ecumenical Council, or obstinately rejects the teachings mentioned in canon 750 § 2 or in canon 752 and, when warned by the Apostolic See or by the Ordinary, does not retract;
2° a person who in any other way does not obey the lawful command or prohibition of the Apostolic See or the Ordinary or Superior and, after being warned, persists in disobedience.
B) Canon 598 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches will now have two paragraphs: the first will present the text of the existing canon and the second will contain a new text. Thus canon 598, in its complete form, will read as follows:
Canon 598 – § 1. Those things are to be believed by divine and catholic faith which are contained in the word of God as it has been written or handed down by tradition, that is, in the single deposit of faith entrusted to the Church, and which are at the same time proposed as divinely revealed either by the solemn Magisterium of the Church, or by its ordinary and universal Magisterium, which in fact is manifested by the common adherence of Christ’s faithful under the guidance of the sacred Magisterium. All Christian faithful are therefore bound to avoid any contrary doctrines.
§ 2. Furthermore, each and everything set forth definitively by the Magisterium of the Church regarding teaching on faith and morals must be firmly accepted and held; namely, those things required for the holy keeping and faithful exposition of the deposit of faith; therefore, anyone who rejects propositions which are to be held definitively sets himself against the teaching of the Catholic Church.
Canon 1436 § 2 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, consequently, will receive an appropriate reference to canon 598 § 2, so that it will now read:
Canon 1436 – § 1. Whoever denies a truth which must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or who calls into doubt, or who totally repudiates the Christian faith, and does not retract after having been legitimately warned, is to be punished as a heretic or an apostate with a major excommunication; a cleric moreover can be punished with other penalties, not excluding deposition.
§ 2. In addition to these cases, whoever obstinately rejects a teaching that the Roman Pontiff or the College of Bishops, exercising the authentic Magisterium, have set forth to be held definitively, or who affirms what they have condemned as erroneous, and does not retract after having been legitimately warned, is to be punished with an appropriate penalty.
5. We order that everything decreed by us in this Apostolic Letter, given motu proprio, be established and ratified, and we prescribe that the insertions listed above be introduced into the universal legislation of the Catholic Church, that is, into the Code of Canon Law and into the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, all things to the contrary notwithstanding.
Given in Rome, at St Peter’s, on 18 May, in the year 1998, the twentieth of our Pontificate.
JOHN PAUL II
(1) CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity, (9 January 1989): AAS 81 (1989), 105.
(2) Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 833.
(3) Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 747 § 1; Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, Canon 595 § 1.
(4) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 25; Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum, 5; CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Instruction on the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian Donum veritatis (24 May 1990), 15: AAS 82 (1990), 1556.
(5) Code of Canon Law, Canon 750 – Those things are to be believed by divine and catholic faith which are contained in the word of God as it has been written or handed down by tradition, that is, in the single deposit of faith entrusted to the Church, and which are at the same time proposed as divinely revealed either by the solemn Magisterium of the Church, or by its ordinary and universal Magisterium, which in fact is manifested by the common adherence of Christ’s faithful under the guidance of the sacred Magisterium. All are therefore bound to avoid any contrary doctrines.
(6) Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, Canon 598 – Those things are to be believed by divine and catholic faith which are contained in the word of God as it has been written or handed down by tradition, that is, in the single deposit of faith entrusted to the Church, and which are at the same time proposed as divinely revealed either by the solemn Magisterium of the Church, or by its ordinary and universal Magisterium, which in fact is manifested by the common adherence of Christ’s faithful under the guidance of the sacred Magisterium. All Christian faithful are therefore bound to avoid any contrary doctrines.
(7) Cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Instruction on the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian Donum veritatis (24 May 1990), 17: AAS 82 (1990), 1557.
(8) Code of Canon Law, Canon 752 – While the assent of faith is not required, a religious submission of intellect and will is to be given to any doctrine which either the Supreme Pontiff or the College of Bishops, exercising their authentic Magisterium, declare upon a matter of faith and morals, even though they do not intend to proclaim that doctrine by definitive act. Christ’s faithful are therefore to ensure that they avoid whatever does not accord with that doctrine.
(9) Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, Canon 599 – While the assent of faith is not required, a religious submission of intellect and will is to be given to any doctrine which either the Supreme Pontiff or the College of Bishops, exercising their authentic Magisterium, declare upon a matter of faith and morals, even though they do not intend to proclaim that doctrine by definitive act. Christ’s faithful are therefore to ensure that they avoid whatever does not accord with that doctrine.
(10) Cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Instruction on the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian Donum veritatis (24 May 1990), 16: AAS 82 (1990), 1557.
Apostolic Letter Motu Proprio AD TUENDAM FIDEM, by which certain norms are inserted into the Code of Canon Law and into the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches
TO PROTECT THE FAITH of the Catholic Church against errors arising from certain members of the Christian faithful, especially from among those dedicated to the various disciplines of sacred theology, we, whose principal duty is to confirm the brethren in the faith (Lk 22:32), consider it absolutely necessary to add to the existing texts of the Code of Canon Law and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, new norms which expressly impose the obligation of upholding truths proposed in a definitive way by the Magisterium of the Church, and which also establish related canonical sanctions.
1.From the first centuries to the present day, the Church has professed the truths of her faith in Christ and the mystery of his redemption. These truths were subsequently gathered into the Symbols of the faith, today known and proclaimed in common by the faithful in the solemn and festive celebration of Mass as the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.
This same Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed is contained in the Profession of faith developed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,(1) which must be made by specific members of the faithful when they receive an office, that is directly or indirectly related to deeper investigation into the truths of faith and morals, or is united to a particular power in the governance of the Church.(2)
2. The Profession of faith, which appropriately begins with the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, contains three propositions or paragraphs intended to describe the truths of the Catholic faith, which the Church, in the course of time and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit “who will teach the whole truth” (Jn 16:13), has ever more deeply explored and will continue to explore.(3)
The first paragraph states: “With firm faith, I also believe everything contained in the word of God, whether written or handed down in Tradition, which the Church either by a solemn judgment or by the ordinary and universal Magisterium sets forth to be believed as divinely revealed.”(4) This paragraph appropriately confirms and is provided for in the Church’s universal legislation, in canon 750 of the Code of Canon Law(5) and canon 598 of the Code of the Canons of the Eastern Churches.(6)
The third paragraph states: “Moreover I adhere with submission of will and intellect to the teachings which either the Roman Pontiff or the College of Bishops enunciate when they exercise their authentic Magisterium, even if they do not intend to proclaim these teachings by a definitive act.”(7) This paragraph has its corresponding legislative expression in canon 752 of the Code of Canon Law(8) and canon 599 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.(9)
3. The second paragraph, however, which states “I also firmly accept and hold each and everything definitively proposed by the Church regarding teaching on faith and morals,”(10) has no corresponding canon in the Codes of the Catholic Church. This second paragraph of the Profession of faith is of utmost importance since it refers to truths that are necessarily connected to divine revelation. These truths, in the investigation of Catholic doctrine, illustrate the Divine Spirit’s particular inspiration for the Church’s deeper understanding of a truth concerning faith and morals, with which they are connected either for historical reasons or by a logical relationship.
4. Moved therefore by this need, and after careful deliberation, we have decided to overcome this lacuna in the universal law in the following way:
A) Canon 750 of the Code of Canon Law will now consist of two paragraphs; the first will present the text of the existing canon; the second will contain a new text. Thus, canon 750, in its complete form, will read:
Canon 750 – § 1. Those things are to be believed by divine and catholic faith which are contained in the word of God as it has been written or handed down by tradition, that is, in the single deposit of faith entrusted to the Church, and which are at the same time proposed as divinely revealed either by the solemn Magisterium of the Church, or by its ordinary and universal Magisterium, which in fact is manifested by the common adherence of Christ’s faithful under the guidance of the sacred Magisterium. All are therefore bound to avoid any contrary doctrines.
§ 2. Furthermore, each and everything set forth definitively by the Magisterium of the Church regarding teaching on faith and morals must be firmly accepted and held; namely, those things required for the holy keeping and faithful exposition of the deposit of faith; therefore, anyone who rejects propositions which are to be held definitively sets himself against the teaching of the Catholic Church.
Canon 1371, n. 1 of the Code of Canon Law, consequently, will receive an appropriate reference to canon 750 § 2, so that it will now read:
Canon 1371 – The following are to be punished with a just penalty:
1° a person who, apart from the case mentioned in canon 1364 § 1, teaches a doctrine condemned by the Roman Pontiff, or by an Ecumenical Council, or obstinately rejects the teachings mentioned in canon 750 § 2 or in canon 752 and, when warned by the Apostolic See or by the Ordinary, does not retract;
2° a person who in any other way does not obey the lawful command or prohibition of the Apostolic See or the Ordinary or Superior and, after being warned, persists in disobedience.
B) Canon 598 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches will now have two paragraphs: the first will present the text of the existing canon and the second will contain a new text. Thus canon 598, in its complete form, will read as follows:
Canon 598 – § 1. Those things are to be believed by divine and catholic faith which are contained in the word of God as it has been written or handed down by tradition, that is, in the single deposit of faith entrusted to the Church, and which are at the same time proposed as divinely revealed either by the solemn Magisterium of the Church, or by its ordinary and universal Magisterium, which in fact is manifested by the common adherence of Christ’s faithful under the guidance of the sacred Magisterium. All Christian faithful are therefore bound to avoid any contrary doctrines.
§ 2. Furthermore, each and everything set forth definitively by the Magisterium of the Church regarding teaching on faith and morals must be firmly accepted and held; namely, those things required for the holy keeping and faithful exposition of the deposit of faith; therefore, anyone who rejects propositions which are to be held definitively sets himself against the teaching of the Catholic Church.
Canon 1436 § 2 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, consequently, will receive an appropriate reference to canon 598 § 2, so that it will now read:
Canon 1436 – § 1. Whoever denies a truth which must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or who calls into doubt, or who totally repudiates the Christian faith, and does not retract after having been legitimately warned, is to be punished as a heretic or an apostate with a major excommunication; a cleric moreover can be punished with other penalties, not excluding deposition.
§ 2. In addition to these cases, whoever obstinately rejects a teaching that the Roman Pontiff or the College of Bishops, exercising the authentic Magisterium, have set forth to be held definitively, or who affirms what they have condemned as erroneous, and does not retract after having been legitimately warned, is to be punished with an appropriate penalty.
5. We order that everything decreed by us in this Apostolic Letter, given motu proprio, be established and ratified, and we prescribe that the insertions listed above be introduced into the universal legislation of the Catholic Church, that is, into the Code of Canon Law and into the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, all things to the contrary notwithstanding.
Given in Rome, at St Peter’s, on 18 May, in the year 1998, the twentieth of our Pontificate.
JOHN PAUL II
(1) CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Profession of Faith and Oath of Fidelity, (9 January 1989): AAS 81 (1989), 105.
(2) Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 833.
(3) Cf. Code of Canon Law, Canon 747 § 1; Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, Canon 595 § 1.
(4) Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 25; Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum, 5; CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Instruction on the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian Donum veritatis (24 May 1990), 15: AAS 82 (1990), 1556.
(5) Code of Canon Law, Canon 750 – Those things are to be believed by divine and catholic faith which are contained in the word of God as it has been written or handed down by tradition, that is, in the single deposit of faith entrusted to the Church, and which are at the same time proposed as divinely revealed either by the solemn Magisterium of the Church, or by its ordinary and universal Magisterium, which in fact is manifested by the common adherence of Christ’s faithful under the guidance of the sacred Magisterium. All are therefore bound to avoid any contrary doctrines.
(6) Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, Canon 598 – Those things are to be believed by divine and catholic faith which are contained in the word of God as it has been written or handed down by tradition, that is, in the single deposit of faith entrusted to the Church, and which are at the same time proposed as divinely revealed either by the solemn Magisterium of the Church, or by its ordinary and universal Magisterium, which in fact is manifested by the common adherence of Christ’s faithful under the guidance of the sacred Magisterium. All Christian faithful are therefore bound to avoid any contrary doctrines.
(7) Cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Instruction on the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian Donum veritatis (24 May 1990), 17: AAS 82 (1990), 1557.
(8) Code of Canon Law, Canon 752 – While the assent of faith is not required, a religious submission of intellect and will is to be given to any doctrine which either the Supreme Pontiff or the College of Bishops, exercising their authentic Magisterium, declare upon a matter of faith and morals, even though they do not intend to proclaim that doctrine by definitive act. Christ’s faithful are therefore to ensure that they avoid whatever does not accord with that doctrine.
(9) Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, Canon 599 – While the assent of faith is not required, a religious submission of intellect and will is to be given to any doctrine which either the Supreme Pontiff or the College of Bishops, exercising their authentic Magisterium, declare upon a matter of faith and morals, even though they do not intend to proclaim that doctrine by definitive act. Christ’s faithful are therefore to ensure that they avoid whatever does not accord with that doctrine.
(10) Cf. CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Instruction on the Ecclesial Vocation of the Theologian Donum veritatis (24 May 1990), 16: AAS 82 (1990), 1557.
Friday, April 20, 2007
On a related note, "Brother" Andre Marie of the Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, has been photographed wearing a biretta. As this article explains: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biretta, the biretta has traditionally been worn by members of the Catholic clergy or in some instances seminarians. Has "Brother" Andre Marie been passing himself off as a Roman Catholic priest or seminarian? Does this have anything to do with a previous announcement (made in the SBC's newsletter Mancipia) that the SBC intended to have "Brother" Andre Marie ordained without canonical permission - dimissorial letters?
A photograph (with "Brother" Andre Marie wearing what looks like a biretta) was taken at a schismatic "Catholic" church in Florida called Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church and located in Spring Hill. This photo may be found at this link: http://www.olfatima.com/friends.html
Pictured in the photograph are Sr Maria Philomena M.I.C.M., Sr Marie Thérèse M.I.C.M., Bro. Andre Marie M.I.C.M. & Bro. Louis Marie M.I.C.M. of the St Benedict Center, Winchester, New Hampshire February 2005. The "Bishop" is Terence Fulham, who serves as the "pastor" of this church.
More information on the schismatic "Bishop" Terence Fulham: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terence_Fulham
And for more information pertaining to his movement: http://www.answers.com/topic/orthodox-roman-catholic-movement
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), has included the Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, New Hampshire in its list of anti-Semitic hate groups: http://www.splcenter.org/
According to the SPLC (and this will come as no surprise to readers of this Blog who have followed my articles exposing the SBC's anti-Semitic ideology), in 2005, Broter Anthony Mary, M.I.C.M., Tert., told a conference that "the Jewish nation" is the "perpetual enemy of Christ." The SPLC also reports that Brother Anthony Mary referred to the Jews as the "synagogue of Satan."
Various residents of the town of Richmond, New Hampshire have expressed their concerns regarding the SBC Cult at The Keene Sentinel (Keene, NH newspaper) Talkback Forum. A friend of mine reports that one such resident (who shall remain nameless for safety reasons) emailed him and indicated that residents of Richmond have heard gunshots from handguns, rifles and even automatic weapons.
This situation calls for prayer.
Read the article: http://www.splcenter.org/intel/intelreport/article.jsp?pid=1301
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
PRAYER TO SAINT MICHAEL:
LONGER VERSION PRAYER AGAINST SATAN and THE REBELLIOUS ANGELS PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF H. H. POPE LEO XIII
The Holy Father exhorts priests to say this prayer as often as possible, as a simple exorcism to curb the power of the devil and prevent him from doing harm. The faithful also may say it in their own name, for the same purpose, as any approved prayer. Its use is recommended whenever action of the devil is suspected, causing malice in men, violent temptations and even storms and various calamities.
It could be used as a solemn exorcism (an official and public ceremony, in Latin), to expel the devil: It would then be said by a priest, in the name of the Church and only with the Bishop's permission.
In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
PRAYER TO SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL
Most glorious Prince of the Heavenly Armies, Saint Michael the Archangel. defend us in "our battle against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places" (Ephes. 6:12). Come to the assistance of men whom God has created to His likeness and whom He has redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil. Holy Church venerates thee as her guardian and protector; to thee, the Lord has entrusted the souls of the redeemed to be led into heaven. Pray therefore the God of Peace to crush Satan beneath our feet, that he may no longer retain men captive and do injury to the Church. Offer our prayers unto the Most High, that without delay they may draw His mercy down upon us; take hold of "the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan." Bind him and cast him into the bottomless pit "so that he may no longer seduce the nations" (Apoc. 20:2).
LONGER VERSION PRAYER AGAINST SATAN and THE REBELLIOUS ANGELS PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF H. H. POPE LEO XIII
The Holy Father exhorts priests to say this prayer as often as possible, as a simple exorcism to curb the power of the devil and prevent him from doing harm. The faithful also may say it in their own name, for the same purpose, as any approved prayer. Its use is recommended whenever action of the devil is suspected, causing malice in men, violent temptations and even storms and various calamities.
It could be used as a solemn exorcism (an official and public ceremony, in Latin), to expel the devil: It would then be said by a priest, in the name of the Church and only with the Bishop's permission.
In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
PRAYER TO SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL
Most glorious Prince of the Heavenly Armies, Saint Michael the Archangel. defend us in "our battle against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places" (Ephes. 6:12). Come to the assistance of men whom God has created to His likeness and whom He has redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil. Holy Church venerates thee as her guardian and protector; to thee, the Lord has entrusted the souls of the redeemed to be led into heaven. Pray therefore the God of Peace to crush Satan beneath our feet, that he may no longer retain men captive and do injury to the Church. Offer our prayers unto the Most High, that without delay they may draw His mercy down upon us; take hold of "the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan." Bind him and cast him into the bottomless pit "so that he may no longer seduce the nations" (Apoc. 20:2).
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Friday, April 13, 2007
Rosie O'Donnell challenged to defend her anti-Christian hate speech
By now, most of you know what happened to Don Imus after his hateful and insensitive remarks made on his program. The question is: will Rosie O'Donnell's anti-Christian hate speech now be addressed by ABC?
I'm not holding my breath.
I'm not holding my breath.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
From the La Salette Journey Archives...
Homosexuality and Catholic doctrine
While it is certainly true that homosexual persons "must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity" and that "every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided" (CCC, 2358), still, the premise that homosexuality is a God-given orientation which must be accepted and affirmed by society is erroneous.Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons, a Philadelphia area psychiatrist whose specialty is reparative therapy for those who suffer from same-sex attractions, has said that "..homosexuality is an attraction and not an orientation. In some ways homosexuality represents a false identity - a failure to develop that proper masculinity or femininity which God desires. Homosexuality is therefore considered to be an objective disorder."
And this is precisely the teaching of the Catholic Church: "The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial." (CCC, 2358).Homosexuality and lesbianism are both on the increase. This fact is highly significant. Dr. Abram Kardiner, distinguished physician, psychoanalyst and anthropologist, states that homosexuality reaches pestilential and plague proportions in morally rotting societies during the final stages of total collapse.According to Catholic doctrine, any disorderly tendency, above all to a vice contrary to nature, cannot have a right to citizenship in a person's thoughts. If someone in his mind makes a concession to this tendency, he sins. This is why in the Confiteor one asks forgiveness for thoughts, words and deeds.As for the act of sodomy, it constitutes a sin that cries out to Heaven and clamors to God for vengeance (See Gn 18:20; Gn 19:12-13; Lv 18:22; Lv 18"24-28; Lv 20:13; 1 Cor 6: 9-10; Rm 1: 24-27; 2 Pt 2:4-9; Jd 7:8).
It is an ominous fact that the "gay" movement is having its way of life (more accurately its way of death) redefined as a simple variant of normal sexuality and woven into the fabric of society. The movement to legitimize homosexuality runs contrary to the constant teaching of the Church. In fact, Saint Thomas Aquinas, writing about sins against nature, explains: "..they are called passions of ignominy because they are not worthy of being named, according to that passage in Ephesians (5:12): 'For the things that are done by them in secret, it is a shame even to speak of.' For if the sins of the flesh are commonly censurable because they lead man to that which is bestial in him, much more so is the sin against nature, by which man debases himself lower than even his animal nature." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Super Epistulas Sancti Pauli Ad Romanum, I, 26, pp. 27f).
Saint Catherine of Sienna, a religious mystic of the 14th century, relays words of Our Lord Jesus Christ about the vice against nature, which contaminated part of the clergy in her time. Referring to sacred ministers, He says: "They not only fail from resisting this frailty (of fallen human nature)...but do even worse as they commit the cursed sin against nature. Like the blind and stupid, having dimmed the light of their understanding, they do not recognize the disease and misery in which they find themselves. For this not only causes Me nausea, but displeases even the demons themselves, whom these miserable creatures have chosen as their lords. For Me, this sin against nature is so abominable that, for it alone, five cities were submersed, by virtue of the judgment of My divine justice, which could no longer bear them...It is disagreeable to the demons, not because evil displeases them and they find pleasure in good, but because their nature is angelic and thus is repulsed upon seeing such an enormous sin being committed. It is true that it is the demon who hits the sinner with the poisoned arrow of lust, but when a man carries out such a sinful act, the demon leaves." (St. Catherine of Sienna, El dialogo, in Obras de Santa Catarina de Siena, Madrid: BAC, 1991, p. 292).
Tertullian, the great apologist of the Church in the second century, writes: 'We condemn all those who give themselves over to the excesses of luxury contrary to natural law...and expel them from the bosom of the Church, for such acts are greater monstrosities than sins." (Tertullian, De pudicitia, IV, in J. McNeill, La Iglesia ante la homosexualidad, p. 134).
Saint Augustine is just as frank in his condemnation of sodomy and similar vices: "Sins against nature, therefore, like the sin of Sodom, are abominable and deserve punishment whenever and wherever they are committed...for our Maker did not prescribe that we should use each other in this way. In fact, the relationship that we ought to have with God is itself violated when our nature, of which He is Author, is desecrated by perverted lust." (St. Augustine, Confessions, New York: Penguin, 1967; Book III. Chap 8, p.65).
If the events of September 11th are a warning, and I believe that they are, then the clergy sex scandal is a judgment. For years, members of the Church's hierarchy have been ignoring the warnings of Our Lady that toleration (and even promotion of) false teaching would lead to a time of crisis.Many so-called "scripture scholars" and "moral theologians" have destroyed the faith and morality of millions. Many priests and religious "educators" in turn, influenced by these "scholars" and "theologians" have sown doubt about the scriptures and morality, thereby destroying the faith and morality of countless lay persons.
Their Destroyer is awake.
While it is certainly true that homosexual persons "must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity" and that "every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided" (CCC, 2358), still, the premise that homosexuality is a God-given orientation which must be accepted and affirmed by society is erroneous.Dr. Richard Fitzgibbons, a Philadelphia area psychiatrist whose specialty is reparative therapy for those who suffer from same-sex attractions, has said that "..homosexuality is an attraction and not an orientation. In some ways homosexuality represents a false identity - a failure to develop that proper masculinity or femininity which God desires. Homosexuality is therefore considered to be an objective disorder."
And this is precisely the teaching of the Catholic Church: "The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial." (CCC, 2358).Homosexuality and lesbianism are both on the increase. This fact is highly significant. Dr. Abram Kardiner, distinguished physician, psychoanalyst and anthropologist, states that homosexuality reaches pestilential and plague proportions in morally rotting societies during the final stages of total collapse.According to Catholic doctrine, any disorderly tendency, above all to a vice contrary to nature, cannot have a right to citizenship in a person's thoughts. If someone in his mind makes a concession to this tendency, he sins. This is why in the Confiteor one asks forgiveness for thoughts, words and deeds.As for the act of sodomy, it constitutes a sin that cries out to Heaven and clamors to God for vengeance (See Gn 18:20; Gn 19:12-13; Lv 18:22; Lv 18"24-28; Lv 20:13; 1 Cor 6: 9-10; Rm 1: 24-27; 2 Pt 2:4-9; Jd 7:8).
It is an ominous fact that the "gay" movement is having its way of life (more accurately its way of death) redefined as a simple variant of normal sexuality and woven into the fabric of society. The movement to legitimize homosexuality runs contrary to the constant teaching of the Church. In fact, Saint Thomas Aquinas, writing about sins against nature, explains: "..they are called passions of ignominy because they are not worthy of being named, according to that passage in Ephesians (5:12): 'For the things that are done by them in secret, it is a shame even to speak of.' For if the sins of the flesh are commonly censurable because they lead man to that which is bestial in him, much more so is the sin against nature, by which man debases himself lower than even his animal nature." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Super Epistulas Sancti Pauli Ad Romanum, I, 26, pp. 27f).
Saint Catherine of Sienna, a religious mystic of the 14th century, relays words of Our Lord Jesus Christ about the vice against nature, which contaminated part of the clergy in her time. Referring to sacred ministers, He says: "They not only fail from resisting this frailty (of fallen human nature)...but do even worse as they commit the cursed sin against nature. Like the blind and stupid, having dimmed the light of their understanding, they do not recognize the disease and misery in which they find themselves. For this not only causes Me nausea, but displeases even the demons themselves, whom these miserable creatures have chosen as their lords. For Me, this sin against nature is so abominable that, for it alone, five cities were submersed, by virtue of the judgment of My divine justice, which could no longer bear them...It is disagreeable to the demons, not because evil displeases them and they find pleasure in good, but because their nature is angelic and thus is repulsed upon seeing such an enormous sin being committed. It is true that it is the demon who hits the sinner with the poisoned arrow of lust, but when a man carries out such a sinful act, the demon leaves." (St. Catherine of Sienna, El dialogo, in Obras de Santa Catarina de Siena, Madrid: BAC, 1991, p. 292).
Tertullian, the great apologist of the Church in the second century, writes: 'We condemn all those who give themselves over to the excesses of luxury contrary to natural law...and expel them from the bosom of the Church, for such acts are greater monstrosities than sins." (Tertullian, De pudicitia, IV, in J. McNeill, La Iglesia ante la homosexualidad, p. 134).
Saint Augustine is just as frank in his condemnation of sodomy and similar vices: "Sins against nature, therefore, like the sin of Sodom, are abominable and deserve punishment whenever and wherever they are committed...for our Maker did not prescribe that we should use each other in this way. In fact, the relationship that we ought to have with God is itself violated when our nature, of which He is Author, is desecrated by perverted lust." (St. Augustine, Confessions, New York: Penguin, 1967; Book III. Chap 8, p.65).
If the events of September 11th are a warning, and I believe that they are, then the clergy sex scandal is a judgment. For years, members of the Church's hierarchy have been ignoring the warnings of Our Lady that toleration (and even promotion of) false teaching would lead to a time of crisis.Many so-called "scripture scholars" and "moral theologians" have destroyed the faith and morality of millions. Many priests and religious "educators" in turn, influenced by these "scholars" and "theologians" have sown doubt about the scriptures and morality, thereby destroying the faith and morality of countless lay persons.
Their Destroyer is awake.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Persecution Watch: Bishop under attack
"Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say.
For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household!" (Matthew 10: 16-25).
For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household!" (Matthew 10: 16-25).
Monday, April 02, 2007
Sunday, April 01, 2007
The persecution intensifies:
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=9008
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=8995
I have said it so many times before and will say it again: the New Order, the New Church being created in the image and likeness of man, will not tolerate any dissent regarding the acceptance of homosexual acts. Those of us who take a stand against homosexual acts will eventually be imprisoned, forced to undergo "re-education" and "sensitivity training," or simply eliminated.
The New Order will not tolerate opposition to homosexual acts from orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims and others of good will who accept God's plan for humanity and His Commandments.
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=9008
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=8995
I have said it so many times before and will say it again: the New Order, the New Church being created in the image and likeness of man, will not tolerate any dissent regarding the acceptance of homosexual acts. Those of us who take a stand against homosexual acts will eventually be imprisoned, forced to undergo "re-education" and "sensitivity training," or simply eliminated.
The New Order will not tolerate opposition to homosexual acts from orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims and others of good will who accept God's plan for humanity and His Commandments.
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