Showing posts with label Richmond. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Richmond. Show all posts
Thursday, January 10, 2019
The Saint Benedict Center cult sanctioned by the Catholic Church
From The Union Leader:
RICHMOND — The radical-traditionalist Catholic group the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is now under sanction from the Roman Catholic Church for failing to follow Catholic teaching, according to documents released Monday.
The sanctions — which range from a ban on routine Catholic sacraments at their Richmond compound to a revision of IRS documents that describe them as Catholic — could be ratcheted up if the group does not comply with orders by church leaders, especially orders to stop preaching the doctrine that only Catholics go to heaven.
They must also stop describing themselves or presenting their teachings as Catholic, something the Vatican ordered them to do two years ago.
“They regularly use semantics to mislead people,” said Rev. Georges de Laire, the vicar for canonical affairs for the Diocese of Manchester.
The sanctions follow a report that an adult woman is being held against her will at the compound in Richmond, a town on the Massachusetts border south of Keene.
De Laire said the woman, who is in her early 20s, has taken supposed vows to eventually become a nun. Her out-of-state family, who are devout Catholics, contacted the diocese to report their daughter had joined the Slaves.
When the FBI interviewed the woman in August, she told them she is there of her own accord, and the FBI could do nothing more, de Laire said. The FBI would not comment.
Louis Villarrubia, who presents himself at Brother Andre Marie, the leader of the Richmond group, said his group was cleared by the investigation, which was sparked when someone lied about the Slaves.
“There isn’t anyone here held against their will,” Villarrubia said.
On Monday, Villarrubia said he had not yet seen the document detailing the sanctions and had no comment. Villarrubia hung up during a phone interview.
Richmond Selectman Doug Bersaw, a member of the Slaves who is known as Brother Anthony Mary, did not respond to requests for comment.
The Slaves are being sanctioned by the church for their stance on the Catholic teaching that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. The Slaves hold to a strict interpretation of that teaching, while the Vatican holds a more nuanced view.
In recent years, Manchester Bishop Peter Libasci has allowed a priest in good standing from another diocese to minister to the Slaves and their congregation, celebrating Mass in the traditional Latin rite, and administering other Catholic sacraments. According to a statement released Monday by the Diocese, the Slaves have used that allowance to imply they were an approved Catholic organization.
“They have never been recognized, and they have never been an official Catholic organization,” de Laire said. The diocese has always considered the Slaves as individual Catholics, and not its own congregation, he said.
The sanctions will remain in place until midnight on June 30. It is hoped the group will come back into compliance with church teaching, de Laire said. If not, he said, there could be more severe consequences for the group.
Such sanctions would be arranged by Libasci and the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. De Laire did not want to speculate on whether that would involve excommunication.
“The purpose of the church is to lead people to the means of salvation, not to kick people out,” he said.
The group also operates a number of websites, and publishes magazines and produces radio programs to push their version of Catholicism. All of that needs to stop for the group to come into compliance, the diocese said.
The Slaves have also been pegged as a hate group in recent years by the left-leaning Southern Poverty Law Center for statements members have made about Jewish people and homosexuals.
“I’m really proud of the Catholic Church’s decision here,” said Heidi Beirch of the Southern Poverty Law Center. “They’ve denounced them for years over their anti-semitism.”
In 2017, Villarrubia “categorically” rejected being labeled as a hate group.
The group, which moved in the 1980s to Richmond, a town of 1,155 according to the 2010 Census. It developed a compound that includes living quarters for monks and sisters, a chapel, and a school. De Laire said about four brothers and eight sisters live there, as well as couples and families. Fewer than 30 children attend an on-site school.
All of the organizations affiliated with this group are now under orders from the Vatican to stop calling themselves Catholic, and no sacraments are permitted on site, except for extreme emergencies.
“Catholics are not permitted, under any circumstances, to receive the sacraments of the church at the Saint Benedict Center, and its associated locations, nor should they participate in any activity provided by this group or school,” a statement released Monday by the diocese says.
Letters are going out to surrounding parishes to inform Catholics about the status change. For Slaves who want to attend a Mass, the diocese is instituting a sanctioned Latin Mass for people to attend at St. Stanislaus Parish in Winchester.
As of Tuesday, however, the Slaves were still posting Mass times on their website.
____________________
Readers of this Blog know that I exposed this anti-Semitic cult for years. See here.
It seems the Church has finally had enough.
See my post on Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus here.
Sunday, June 05, 2011
The Latin Mass in Fitchburg and the wisdom of Gamaliel
Those of you who are regular readers of this Blog know full well that I prefer the Latin Mass and have done much to make the case for it. A few years ago, I wrote a couple of posts promoting what I thought would be an exciting development for Fitchburg, Massachusetts. See here for example. Now Todd Tabbaa, who writes for the Latin Mass Fitchburg Blog (as well as Ecce Agnus Dei), has announced that, "It is with sadness but not without hope for the future that it is announced that Mass in the Extraordinary Form at St. Joseph parish in Fitchburg will terminate on June 5th. The reasons are of simple practicality and a realistic evaluation of the fact that after almost one year of having the Traditional Latin Mass at this parish, the number of attendees has not increased and is not sufficient to maintain basic expenditures. The various considerations which affect growth, including Mass time, location, and proximity to other Traditional Latin Masses in the diocese may all be considered in our decisions for future directions. We will thus meet after our last Mass on June 5th downstairs in the parish hall (at our community potluck) for discussion and planning..." (See here).
Now the Latin Mass continues to attract young people from every region. I have said that the Latin Mass movement is largely a youth movement. One has only to attend the traditional Mass to see this. What is the problem then? Why did the Latin Mass fail to take off at Immaculate Conception and later Saint Joseph's Parish in Fitchburg.
I believe there are probably several reasons for this. But one reason which will probably not be acknowledged by those who were coordinating the effort in Fitchburg is that they had made the decision to associate themselves with the Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, New Hampshire, an organization which has engaged in anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. See here and here for example.
I attended the Latin Mass at Immaculate Conception until the subject of Father Leonard Feeney came up. After explaining my position regarding Father Leonard Feeney and the Saint Benedict Center (again, the one located in Richmond, New Hampshire) to Mr.Todd Tabbaa and his wife, I was shunned from that point on.
Two thousand years ago, Gamaliel, a Pharisee and celebrated doctor of the Law, exhorted his fellow Israelites to leave the Apostles alone (they were planning to scourge them). In doing so (read Acts 5: 38, 39), he explained that if an endeavor or activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. Another way of saying that "unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it." (Proverbs 14: 34).
How sad that there are some who insist that the Latin Mass movement has to be associated with the name and ideology of Father Leonard Feeney. See here.
Now the Latin Mass continues to attract young people from every region. I have said that the Latin Mass movement is largely a youth movement. One has only to attend the traditional Mass to see this. What is the problem then? Why did the Latin Mass fail to take off at Immaculate Conception and later Saint Joseph's Parish in Fitchburg.
I believe there are probably several reasons for this. But one reason which will probably not be acknowledged by those who were coordinating the effort in Fitchburg is that they had made the decision to associate themselves with the Saint Benedict Center in Richmond, New Hampshire, an organization which has engaged in anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. See here and here for example.
I attended the Latin Mass at Immaculate Conception until the subject of Father Leonard Feeney came up. After explaining my position regarding Father Leonard Feeney and the Saint Benedict Center (again, the one located in Richmond, New Hampshire) to Mr.Todd Tabbaa and his wife, I was shunned from that point on.
Two thousand years ago, Gamaliel, a Pharisee and celebrated doctor of the Law, exhorted his fellow Israelites to leave the Apostles alone (they were planning to scourge them). In doing so (read Acts 5: 38, 39), he explained that if an endeavor or activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. Another way of saying that "unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build it." (Proverbs 14: 34).
How sad that there are some who insist that the Latin Mass movement has to be associated with the name and ideology of Father Leonard Feeney. See here.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Report: Miami Bishop's retirement due to a "culture of sodomy and theological heterodoxy"
The Church must face this grand taboo.
This culture of sodomy has made extensive inroads into the Church. When Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz proposed "Amendment 27" to his brothers in the Episcopate - stipulating that the "current homosexual culture" was the root cause of the sex abuse crisis - his proposal was rejected on a voice vote. See here. Father Charles Fiore, a Catholic priest who has fought the homosexual subculture in the Church for years, once said, "the grand taboo in U.S. culture is to focus on homosexuality." See here. I can testify personally to the truth of such an assertion. I was once threatened by a radical homosexual activist who promised to use his rifle to silence me. I have been swamped at times with hateful comments from angry homosexual activists. Some years ago I wrote a Letter to the Editor of The Keene Sentinel in which I said:
"In an article titled “Catholic downsize: West Swanzey’s St. Anthony’s set to close” (May 22), The Sentinel reported that the Diocese of Manchester has formed a task force to examine the reasons behind the priest shortage.
But a task force isn’t needed to uncover what almost every serious Catholic already knows. Namely, that most seminaries are empty because vice has penetrated them, and those seminarians who refuse to accept or condone vice are excluded. True vocations are persecuted and, in most cases, rooted out and disqualified.
Many of those who hold positions of authority in the church refuse to acknowledge this truth. For them, it is much more convenient to lay the blame elsewhere. This would appear to be the case with our local Bishop.." (June 6, 2004 edition of The Keene Sentinel).
This is precisely what Rev. Fiore has said. That the subject of homosexuality in U.S. culture [and this includes the Church] is the "grand taboo." But I was immediately criticized by the leader of a cult based out of Richmond, New Hampshire - the Saint Benedict Center - for suggesting that true vocations are often rooted out and disqualified and that there is indeed a homosexual subculture within the Church.
But Archbishop Elden Curtis explained in an article entitled "Crisis in Vocations? What Crisis?" that: "There is much media hype these days about the present and projected shortage of priests and its effect on the sacramental life of the Church. It is time to pay close attention to the dioceses and religious communities reporting increasing numbers of candidates. There have to be reasons for these increases that bear objective analysis from which some conclusions can be drawn.
I personally think the vocation 'crisis' in this country is more artificial and contrived than many people realize. When dioceses and religious communities are unambiguous about ordained priesthood and vowed religious life as the Church defines these calls; when there is strong support for vocations, and a minimum of dissent about the male celibate priesthood and religious life loyal to the magisterium; when bishop, priests, Religious and lay people are united in vocation ministry—then there are documented increases in the numbers of candidates who respond to the call.
It seems to me that the vocation 'crisis' is precipitated and continued by people who want to change the Church's agenda, by people who do not support orthodox candidates loyal to the magisterial teaching of the Pope and bishops, and by people who actually discourage viable candidates from seeking priesthood and vowed religious life as the Church defines the ministries.
I am personally aware of certain vocation directors, vocation teams and evaluation boards who turn away candidates who do not support the possibility of ordaining women or who defend the Church's teaching about artificial birth control, or who exhibit a strong piety toward certain devotions, such as the Rosary.
When there is a determined effort to discourage orthodox candidates from priesthood and religious life, then the vocation shortage which results is caused not by a lack of vocations but by deliberate attitudes and policies that deter certain viable candidates.
And the same people who precipitate a decline in vocations by their negative actions call for the ordination of married men and women to replace the vocations they have discouraged. They have a death wish for ordained priesthood and vowed religious life as the Church defines them. They undermine the vocation ministry they are supposed to champion." (See here).
It is time for the Church to end the homosexual cover-up as the Catholic League has said. Those who refuse to acknowledge there is a problem are themselves part of the problem.
This culture of sodomy has made extensive inroads into the Church. When Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz proposed "Amendment 27" to his brothers in the Episcopate - stipulating that the "current homosexual culture" was the root cause of the sex abuse crisis - his proposal was rejected on a voice vote. See here. Father Charles Fiore, a Catholic priest who has fought the homosexual subculture in the Church for years, once said, "the grand taboo in U.S. culture is to focus on homosexuality." See here. I can testify personally to the truth of such an assertion. I was once threatened by a radical homosexual activist who promised to use his rifle to silence me. I have been swamped at times with hateful comments from angry homosexual activists. Some years ago I wrote a Letter to the Editor of The Keene Sentinel in which I said:
"In an article titled “Catholic downsize: West Swanzey’s St. Anthony’s set to close” (May 22), The Sentinel reported that the Diocese of Manchester has formed a task force to examine the reasons behind the priest shortage.
But a task force isn’t needed to uncover what almost every serious Catholic already knows. Namely, that most seminaries are empty because vice has penetrated them, and those seminarians who refuse to accept or condone vice are excluded. True vocations are persecuted and, in most cases, rooted out and disqualified.
Many of those who hold positions of authority in the church refuse to acknowledge this truth. For them, it is much more convenient to lay the blame elsewhere. This would appear to be the case with our local Bishop.." (June 6, 2004 edition of The Keene Sentinel).
This is precisely what Rev. Fiore has said. That the subject of homosexuality in U.S. culture [and this includes the Church] is the "grand taboo." But I was immediately criticized by the leader of a cult based out of Richmond, New Hampshire - the Saint Benedict Center - for suggesting that true vocations are often rooted out and disqualified and that there is indeed a homosexual subculture within the Church.
But Archbishop Elden Curtis explained in an article entitled "Crisis in Vocations? What Crisis?" that: "There is much media hype these days about the present and projected shortage of priests and its effect on the sacramental life of the Church. It is time to pay close attention to the dioceses and religious communities reporting increasing numbers of candidates. There have to be reasons for these increases that bear objective analysis from which some conclusions can be drawn.
I personally think the vocation 'crisis' in this country is more artificial and contrived than many people realize. When dioceses and religious communities are unambiguous about ordained priesthood and vowed religious life as the Church defines these calls; when there is strong support for vocations, and a minimum of dissent about the male celibate priesthood and religious life loyal to the magisterium; when bishop, priests, Religious and lay people are united in vocation ministry—then there are documented increases in the numbers of candidates who respond to the call.
It seems to me that the vocation 'crisis' is precipitated and continued by people who want to change the Church's agenda, by people who do not support orthodox candidates loyal to the magisterial teaching of the Pope and bishops, and by people who actually discourage viable candidates from seeking priesthood and vowed religious life as the Church defines the ministries.
I am personally aware of certain vocation directors, vocation teams and evaluation boards who turn away candidates who do not support the possibility of ordaining women or who defend the Church's teaching about artificial birth control, or who exhibit a strong piety toward certain devotions, such as the Rosary.
When there is a determined effort to discourage orthodox candidates from priesthood and religious life, then the vocation shortage which results is caused not by a lack of vocations but by deliberate attitudes and policies that deter certain viable candidates.
And the same people who precipitate a decline in vocations by their negative actions call for the ordination of married men and women to replace the vocations they have discouraged. They have a death wish for ordained priesthood and vowed religious life as the Church defines them. They undermine the vocation ministry they are supposed to champion." (See here).
It is time for the Church to end the homosexual cover-up as the Catholic League has said. Those who refuse to acknowledge there is a problem are themselves part of the problem.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Does C. Joseph Doyle accept the teaching of Vatican II regarding Judaism and the Jewish People?
As I mentioned in my previous post, C. Joseph Doyle, Executive Director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, is scheduled to appear as a guest speaker at the 2009 Saint Benedict Center Conference to be held in Richmond, New Hampshire this October. This is disturbing because Mr. Doyle is such a prominent Catholic in the state of Massachusetts and the website of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference, the public-policy arm of the Massachusetts Bishops, links to Mr. Doyle's Catholic Action League.
The Saint Benedict Center based out of Richmond, New Hampshire is an anti-Semitic cult which has absolutely no relationship with the Roman Catholic Church. The cult has described the Jewish People as an "anti-Christ people whose damnable nationalism and anti-messianic naturalism oppose the supernatural supranational aims of Christ and His Church" and as a "Faith-less people." Louis Villarrubia, the cult's leader who is also known as "Brother" Andre Marie (remember "Father" Divine?), has asserted that the Jewish People "undermine public morality" and has minimized the Holocaust. Another cult member, Douglas Bersaw, has openly denied the Holocaust, referring to this horrible crime against humanity as "a fraud."
This is not, of course, what authentic Catholics believe. It was Pope John Paul II who, while visiting a Jewish community of Rome back in 1986, spoke of the special relationship that exists between the Church and Judaism:
"The Church of Christ discovers her 'bond' with Judaism by 'searching into her own mystery' (Nostra Aetate, No. 4). The Jewish religion is not 'extrinsic' to us, but in a certain way is 'intrinsic' to our own religion. With Judaism, therefore, we have a relationship which we do not have with any other religion."
The teaching of Nostra Aetate is crystal clear:
"What happened in his [Christ's] 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....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." (No. 4).
What does C. Joseph Doyle believe? Does he share the anti-Semitic views of the Saint Benedict Center cult? Does he deny the Holocaust? If not, shouldn't he withdraw from any involvement with the Center? Especially since the local Bishop, The Most Reverend. John B. McCormack, has asked the faithful to avoid participating in any of the Center's spiritual activities?
If Mr. Doyle insists on speaking at the 2009 Saint Benedict Center Conference, shouldn't the Bishops of Massachusetts remove the link to his website from that of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference website?
Father William Most on the tragic errors of Father Leonard Feeney.
The Saint Benedict Center based out of Richmond, New Hampshire is an anti-Semitic cult which has absolutely no relationship with the Roman Catholic Church. The cult has described the Jewish People as an "anti-Christ people whose damnable nationalism and anti-messianic naturalism oppose the supernatural supranational aims of Christ and His Church" and as a "Faith-less people." Louis Villarrubia, the cult's leader who is also known as "Brother" Andre Marie (remember "Father" Divine?), has asserted that the Jewish People "undermine public morality" and has minimized the Holocaust. Another cult member, Douglas Bersaw, has openly denied the Holocaust, referring to this horrible crime against humanity as "a fraud."
This is not, of course, what authentic Catholics believe. It was Pope John Paul II who, while visiting a Jewish community of Rome back in 1986, spoke of the special relationship that exists between the Church and Judaism:
"The Church of Christ discovers her 'bond' with Judaism by 'searching into her own mystery' (Nostra Aetate, No. 4). The Jewish religion is not 'extrinsic' to us, but in a certain way is 'intrinsic' to our own religion. With Judaism, therefore, we have a relationship which we do not have with any other religion."
The teaching of Nostra Aetate is crystal clear:
"What happened in his [Christ's] 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....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." (No. 4).
What does C. Joseph Doyle believe? Does he share the anti-Semitic views of the Saint Benedict Center cult? Does he deny the Holocaust? If not, shouldn't he withdraw from any involvement with the Center? Especially since the local Bishop, The Most Reverend. John B. McCormack, has asked the faithful to avoid participating in any of the Center's spiritual activities?
If Mr. Doyle insists on speaking at the 2009 Saint Benedict Center Conference, shouldn't the Bishops of Massachusetts remove the link to his website from that of the Massachusetts Catholic Conference website?
Father William Most on the tragic errors of Father Leonard Feeney.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Vatican: Lefebvrites "do not exercise legitimate ministries in the Church."
Neither does the "Saint Benedict Center" in Richmond, New Hampshire. In a letter written by Fr. Edward Arsenault, Moderator of the Curia for the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire, to Mrs. Terri O'Rorke, Father Arsenault makes this clear:
"I write to you in reply to your letter dated May 24, 2007. I share your concern about the ongoing controversy and difficulties with the Saint Benedict Center. As you know, the Saint Benedict Center has no permission or authority to exercise any Ministry on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church in New Hampshire. Bishop McCormack has and will continue to do all that he can to encourage people to refrain from participating in any of the spiritual exercises at the Saint Benedict Center.
For my part, I will continue to make it clear that Saint Benedict Center has no affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church in any way. Please know that I will continue to pray for you and all those who are affected by difficulties that have been created by the Saint Benedict Center."
Related reading here, here and here.
"I write to you in reply to your letter dated May 24, 2007. I share your concern about the ongoing controversy and difficulties with the Saint Benedict Center. As you know, the Saint Benedict Center has no permission or authority to exercise any Ministry on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church in New Hampshire. Bishop McCormack has and will continue to do all that he can to encourage people to refrain from participating in any of the spiritual exercises at the Saint Benedict Center.
For my part, I will continue to make it clear that Saint Benedict Center has no affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church in any way. Please know that I will continue to pray for you and all those who are affected by difficulties that have been created by the Saint Benedict Center."
Related reading here, here and here.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
The Holocaust denial of the Saint Benedict Center - Richmond, New Hampshire
The Church takes Holocaust denial very seriously. Read here for example. And yet, Douglas Bersaw of the Saint Benedict Center cult [Richmond, New Hampshire] has said that, "There's a lot of controversy among people who study the so-called Holocaust..There's a misperception that Hitler had a position to kill all the Jews. It's all a fraud. Six million people..it didn't occur." (Cherishing an Older Catholicism, The Boston Globe). And what does Louis Villarrubia ("Brother" Andre Marie, the "Prior" of the Saint Benedict Center) believe about the Holocaust? Read here.
One has to wonder why Catholic author Philip Lawler would attend the Saint Benedict Center Conference as a guest speaker. Two relevant posts here and here. Pope Benedict XVI has said that any minimization of the Holocaust is "unacceptable" (see here). This is one reason why the Saint Benedict Center cult is "unacceptable." Does Mr. Lawler believe differently?
Since any minimization of the Holocaust is "unacceptable" according to Our Holy Father, what course of action should be taken against Louis Villarrubia ("Brother" Andre Marie)? Readers of this Blog (and Russell Provosts Blog SBC Watch) will recall that when "Brother" Andre Marie was asked by Mary Richardson of the television program Chronicle whether or not 6 million Jews died during the Holocaust, he replied "I don't know, I'm not a historian." What is this but an attitude of "minimization" regarding the Holocaust? While he acknowledged that some Jews died "during the Second World War," his attitude was absolutely chilling as he spoke of the "subtleties of the Holocaust."
One has to wonder why Catholic author Philip Lawler would attend the Saint Benedict Center Conference as a guest speaker. Two relevant posts here and here. Pope Benedict XVI has said that any minimization of the Holocaust is "unacceptable" (see here). This is one reason why the Saint Benedict Center cult is "unacceptable." Does Mr. Lawler believe differently?
Since any minimization of the Holocaust is "unacceptable" according to Our Holy Father, what course of action should be taken against Louis Villarrubia ("Brother" Andre Marie)? Readers of this Blog (and Russell Provosts Blog SBC Watch) will recall that when "Brother" Andre Marie was asked by Mary Richardson of the television program Chronicle whether or not 6 million Jews died during the Holocaust, he replied "I don't know, I'm not a historian." What is this but an attitude of "minimization" regarding the Holocaust? While he acknowledged that some Jews died "during the Second World War," his attitude was absolutely chilling as he spoke of the "subtleties of the Holocaust."
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