| Defending Truth and Tradition in the Roman Catholic Church |
From the Aleteia website:
During the Mass, we have two important moments: the Consecration and Communion. There – during the Mass – is where we find our unity; that is where we join ourselves to Christ and in Christ, through the common priesthood of the faithful. Holding hands is…
Read more HERE
From the Sisters of Mercy website:
Sisters of Mercy Leadership Saddened by Dismissal of Father Roy Bourgeois
November 28, 2012 – The Institute Leadership Team of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas is saddened and disturbed by the recent action of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to dismiss Father Roy Bourgeois from the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers.
We have known and worked with Father Roy as an advocate for justice in both church and society, nationally and globally. Father Roy’s commitment regarding the role of women in the church [emphasis] reflects our own as Sisters of Mercy since our Institute founding in 1991 when we stated in our Direction Statement that we will commit our lives and resources to act in solidarity with women seeking fullness of life and equality in church and society. We have heard Father Roy speak with respect and love for his church and find this an extraordinary moment of deep loss for religious life which he loves and to which he has given faithful service.
Father Roy remains our brother and we thank him for his integrity and lifelong fidelity to the gospel of love, justice and peace.
Mr. Roy Bourgeois was excommunicated and recently dismissed from the Maryknoll Fathers for promoting the ordination of women to the priesthood, and for “concelebrating” the “ordination” of a fake priestess.
The LCWR orders seem unwilling to reform. In fact, they’re growing bolder in their dissent.
The Rev. Matthew Kawiak (right) poses with the parish committee chair at Holy Family Polish National Church
About a year ago, the parishes of the Northwest Planning Group (Nativity, St. John, St. Leo, St. Elizabeth, and SUNY Brockport) were forced to cut weekend Masses after the abrupt departure of Diocese of Rochester sexpert and part-time priest, Fr. Matthew Kawiak. At the time, it was said that the Rev. Kawiak was leaving our diocese to take up a position in Buffalo.
The Rev. Kawiak penned a disturbing blog post on Sunday that comes across as sexist, pro-women’s ordination, and unnecessarily pelvic-focused — he manages to squeeze in the words vagina, crotch, and butt among others. I was going to forward this to Bp. Malone of Buffalo when I learned that Kawiak is not a priest of the Diocese of Buffalo. In fact, he is no longer part of the Roman Catholic Church.
Various news articles printed over the summer describe how the Rev. Kawiak left the Roman Catholic Church for the schismatic “Polish National Catholic Church,” a sect that permits the use of birth control, has married priests, invites divorced persons to Communion, and denies papal infallibility. This group is in dialogue with the Catholic Church, but reunion is unlikely given their extreme positions on some issues. Catholics who leave for this denomination may incur excommunication.
Though I was never a fan of Fr. Kawiak as a priest, I’m saddened to see him leave behind the Roman Catholic Church. Please pray for this man and any other Diocese of Rochester priests who may be contemplating a similar move now that Bp. Clark’s “protective umbrella” is gone. Please also pray for the college students who worshiped at Brockport’s Newman community. I hope their faith was not endangered due to poor pastoral care.
One more time on the CTA conference that Fr. Spilly promotes and attends:
It’s absolutely disgraceful that any Catholic priest would be associated with Call to Action.
(Source)
In the previous post we explored Fr. Spilly’s promotion of the dissident Call to Action conference. Take a close look at the list of speakers Father was so kind to provide for us, specifically Patricia Fresen whom he references using the innocent sounding title “theologian”. Ms. Fresen was the keynote speaker at this year’s CTA. So, who is she? Apparently Fresen is a fake female bishop who helped establish the “Association of Roman Catholic Women-priests.”
The title of her address was “Less Pope, More Jesus.”
The bishopess Patricia Fresen
It makes Father’s attendance at, and endorsement of, CTA all the more disturbing.
UPDATE 11/12/12:
Here are some choice quotes from Ms. Fresen’s CTA speech.
1. “The present pope and the previous one are in schism … After all, a general council is the highest authority in the church, higher than the pope”
2. “The only way as I discovered in South Africa to bring about real systemic change is to do something against the system, and that’s what we’re doing [referencing the A.R.C.W.P.]. We claim equality and justice for women”
Evidently, the Rapture was for real. Count yourselves among the damned if you’re reading this.
Not literally, but you get the idea. Presbyterian Church USA held a vote on May 10th to decide whether or not to permit active homosexuals to become ministers in their church. As was anticipated, a majority of presbyters cast their vote in favor of letting homosexuals join the rank of ministers. Not only that, but the church also eliminated the requirement that unmarried leaders live chastely.
So much for the Bible’s condemnation of fornication and sodomy.
From the Catholic News Agency:
“The Presbyterian Church USA has voted to remove clergy requirements of marital fidelity or single chastity, thus allowing the ordination of ministers and lay leaders who are openly homosexual or living in unmarried relationships.
“This is a lonely day for Presbyterians who believe what the Bible and the Church have consistently taught: that God’s will is that we be faithful in marriage or chaste in singleness. Now we belong to a denomination that is no longer sure it believes that teaching,” said Allan Wisdom, a director of Presbyterian Action at the ecumenical D.C.-based Institution on Religion & Democracy.
…
An amendment to the Presbyterian constitution was ratified on May 10 by a majority of the church’s 173 regional organizations known as presbyteries, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Since 1997 the church’s constitution required those seeking ordination to be living “in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness.” Now the constitution only requires church officials to examine “each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation and suitability for the responsibilities of office.”
Regional church bodies will still be able to decide whether or not to ordain open homosexuals. However, some presbyteries have already ordained homosexual clergy and lay leaders without approval.
…
He said he feared the vote would be “divisive for our denomination, which has, for the past 50-plus years, been losing membership.””
To any Presbyterians who might be unhappy with this decision: the Catholic Church is always ready to welcome you!
The 3rd and final week of Pastor Vince’s series “Understanding Roman Catholicism” was this past Palm Sunday. I debated whether or not to even write anything up about it because his claims are just so outrageous. He’s already proven in the first 2 weeks (week 1 here – week 2 here) that he is more inclined to anti-intellectual, anti-Catholic rhetoric than he is to actually investigating and pursuing true differences between Catholicism and Protestantism. If you’re wondering if such an investigation is even possible to do in a gentlemanly fashion, the answer is yes; quite so. A while back, I wrote about the group Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT) and posted links to their documents. Pastor Vince (PV from here on out) would do well to read up on some actual Protestant scholarship. This critique of PV’s “sermon” will be much more brief as I’m thinking it not worthwhile to do a point-by-point of each and every error. There are just too many to even count. Instead I’ll just respond to a few points I scribbled down as I listened.
PV set up his unmentioned conclusion in earlier weeks. Catholics don’t know the Bible. If only they did, they’d realize just how easily their doctrines are disproved. To that, I’d simply respond that the Church doctors, teachers, theologians, and great Saints who advanced and deepened Catholic theology over the years knew the Bible better than most of us could ever dream. Before just writing them off, one would be wise to at least read what a Catholic intellectual would have to say. To all of his biblical quotes where he supposedly disproves Catholicism, the Catholic response is, “yeah – so what. That doesn’t prove the point you’re trying to make.” The Bible has led more people into the Church than out of it.
Since I’m not going to address each and every issue, let me just say that if a protestant who stumbles across this series of posts truly wishes to delve deeper, feel free to contact me. There are responses to each issue. I’ve shown in the previous weeks that PV’s claims are not credible. I’ve shown that Catholicism is credible. To validate that claim – go back and read those posts (links above).
I’ll transcribe PV’s quotes in blue (these quotes are not exact – I scribbled down some notes on my commute; red lights only – not while driving) followed by my responses.
[podcast]http://ben.cleansingfire.org/audio/pv_damned_to_hell.mp3[/podcast]
PV: The Roman Catholic Church has condemned me to hell and condemned every member of LCC to hell.
youch! That’s quite the claim. This is perhaps the most important message to get across to PV and his flock, “the Church condemns no one to hell”. That would be grossly overstepping her bounds. In fact, we affirm that Evangelicals are our brothers and sisters in Christ.
and another:
[podcast]http://ben.cleansingfire.org/audio/pv_make_the_call.mp3[/podcast]
I’m sure LCC’s staff are incredible people. I’d love to talk with any of you (including PV). However, this presentation by PV is anything but objective. It’s pretty clear also that it is intellectually dishonest.
PV: anathema is the equivalent of damning someone to hell.
http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2000/0004chap.asp
PV: Roman Catholicism is a cancer
Nice – real nice 🙂
PV: popery started with Gregory
http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2009/06/antidote-to-john-calvins-institutes_25.html
http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2005/06/i-love-word-popish-steve-hays-and.html
PV: the Protestant response is…
PV says this multiple times throughout this session. #1 there is no one protestant response. #2 if you were to weld together all of the various protestant responses into one, it would sound much different that PV’s response.
PV: Catholics “need” Mary
hmmm – not really anymore than protestants would. How exactly did Jesus get here?
PV: If there’s one chapter in one book I’d like to destroy it’s 2 Maccabees 15 because there’s so much damnable content
Father, forgive him for he knows not what he says.
PV: He uses a pretty nasty voice when quoting a Catholic who said “there’s only one Cathechism”
I thought he wasn’t going to do any Catholic bashing. Sure, whoever said that was wrong. So what? We all make errors. And supposing this person was a jerk to him – that’s just one person. I know of at least a few people (myself included) who have sent very polite emails and received no response. But he choose to caricature us Catholics as whiny dimwits. Thanks, PV!
PV: merit means earned
He’s leaving out a major distinction between condign merit and congruent merit. From wikipedia:
Condign merit (meritum de condigno) is an aspect of Roman Catholic theology signifying a goodness that has bestowed because of the actions of that person. In opposition is congruent merit, a goodness bestowed on a person because of someone else, typically God.
PV: earn what Christ has earned – very complex idea
Actually it’s not that complex. I’ll be honest in that I find the justification debate somewhat lame. The only issue I had w/ it when becoming Catholic was that I didn’t want it to be true. I had no issue believing intellectually that works are necessary. I didn’t want to believe it because that meant I had to change some things in my life. The best explanation I’ve heard is that both faith and works are responses to God’s grace. Neither are our own doing. Both kinds of faith and works required for salvation require God’s graces. The tired Protestant expression that “Catholics work their way to heaven” is just flat wrong. Catholics believe that man is required to respond to God’s grace by allowing Him to change our lives and turn away from sin is a much better way to put it.
PV: Catholics have no idea if a baby who dies w/out baptism goes to heaven. That child is at the mercy of God.
I didn’t hear PV say what was wrong about this. He must believe 1) the child is damned, 2) the child is saved, or 3) we don’t know if the child is saved or damned. I don’t believe he stated his position or if he gave any reason for his position.
PV: The rosary is 10 prayers to Mary for every one to God.
hmmm – he totally skips the most important part of the Rosary – the meditations on the life of Christ. Perhaps others understand it differently, but I’ll share my experience having gone from having never prayed the rosary to trying to pray it frequently. To me, rote pray (saying “Hail Mary, full of grace…” over and over again) is not an end, but a means to meditation. All the externals of Catholicism are meant to effect our constant interior conversion to Christ. If the externals are not doing that, then I’ll grant PV that they are all for naught. However, as someone who was mostly turned off by such externals most of my life (even after my initial conversion to Catholicism), I have become more and more astonished by the kind of effect these externals have on my interior life. This was especially surprising to me after my first few TLM experiences. The TLM was somewhat repulsive, yet so enticing. Afterwards, I felt like I understood the mysteries of Christ much more than I did before.
PV: Catholics believe that they can be saved by someone else
No – ultimately our salvation is up to us. Everyone either chooses heaven or chooses hell. Certainly other people help us make that choice; in some ways direct and other ways indirect. I’m sure PV wouldn’t disagree w/ that. He’s using bad logic. How would PV even know about Jesus Christ unless someone told him? Would his salvation not be dependent on that other person? Is that person not in some sense his savior?
PV: Catholic soteriology is based on obeying the law
Yes, there is legitimate disagreement among Catholics and Protestants about the involvement of good works in regard to our salvation. However, Catholic theology has never excluded the fact that God wants our hearts. He desires an intimate relationship with us. In fact, he knows us better than we know ourselves. We get to heaven by responding to his grace. PV’s description of the Catholic understanding of salvation is completely lacking in this dimension. This is another case of the Catholic both-and (as opposed to either-or; either faith or works in this case).
PV: Mary had brothers
http://www.catholic.com/library/Brethren_of_the_Lord.asp
http://www.catholic.com/library/Mary_Ever_Virgin.asp
PV: Mary w/out sin means she had no need of a savior
PV once again misrepresents the Catholic position. Mary needed Jesus for her salvation just like everyone else. What’s different is that Jesus saved her earlier in that she was able to lead a sinless life. I don’t remember where I head this analogy, but I’ll retell it the best I remember:
Human sin is like a tar pit which we can’t free ourselves from. We require a savior to reach down and pull us out of it. In Mary’s case, this savior kept her from falling into the pit in the first place. Without the assistance of the savior, she would’ve have fallen in just like everyone else.
PV: purgatory
The best response to a protestant I can mount about the existence of purgatory is, “CS Lewis believed in it”.
http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2010/06/c-s-lewis-belief-in-purgatory-and.html
I heard a scholar talking about Lewis (one of my favorite authors) on a radio program once. The host prodded with a question like, “do you think if Lewis had lived another 10 years he would’ve eventually become a Catholic?” The response was something like, “yes, but I don’t believe that was in God’s plan. I believe God purposely kept Lewis outside the Church. If he had entered, then he wouldn’t have become the giant of Protestant thought that he is today. They would write him off as one of those Catholic writers (much like Newman). Instead, by remaining an Anglican, he serves as a splendid bridge legitimizing so many Catholic beliefs into the Protestant mind.”
3 books that probably had the most profound effect on my eventual conversion:
Catholicism and Fundamentalism
And as always – be sure to recommend 1460 AM to one and all.
If you happen to encounter anyone with such anti-Catholic beliefs, be sure to be gentle. If they’re really open to hearing the Catholic point of view, there are plenty of resources that you can give them. If they aren’t open, then nothing you can say will convert them. Ultimately it’s all up to the Holy Spirit (but that doesn’t get us off the hook of doing our part).
The whole session is here:
[podcast]http://lakeshorechurch.org/musiclibrary/fileman/podcast/sunday/183/183-848.mp3[/podcast]
This is just bad logic.
From the Democrat & Chronicle letter’s to the editor section:
“Don’t omit LGBT community from justice talk
“God saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good” (Genesis 1:31). This is where it all begins. We value all that exists because it comes to us from the goodness of God. Nothing is to be excluded. Our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters share in this creative thrust from a generous and life-giving Creator. Here is where our conversation about justice for the LGBT community must begin. Nothing that is life giving is excluded from this original state of blessedness.
Over the course of my life, I have met and enjoyed the life-giving relationships of many gay friends. They have lived generously and faithfully in communities in which I have served as a priest of the church.
From what I have seen there is no threat to the well being of marriage by the extension of marital privileges to lesbian and gay women and men.
Justice demands that we treat all equally and I urge the New York State Senate to adopt the marriage equality bill that is before them.
—THE REV. PETER W. PETERS
ROCHESTER
He is interim canon for vocation discernment and congregational development, Episcopal Diocese of Rochester.”
The Episcopal church continues to move further and further from Christ.
My neighbors at Hope Lutheran Church have sent out their annual invitation to join them for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday services.
They apparently didn’t want anyone to feel threatened or uncomfortable at the mention of the name of Jesus, as they made no mention of him whatsoever in their flyer.
This past Sunday was the 2nd week of Lakeshore Community Church’s 3-week series titled “Understanding Roman Catholicism”. The first week dealt with agreements. This 2nd week and the upcoming 3rd week deal with disagreements.
[podcast]http://lakeshorechurch.org/musiclibrary/fileman/podcast/sunday/183/183-847.mp3[/podcast]
For brevity’s sake, I will be abbreviating Pastor Vince as PV. I’m sure he won’t mind since he abbreviates the V2 document Dei Verbum as DV.
At the beginning of this week’s session he reiterates the fact that he’s going to present the debate objectively and let you “make the call”. Again I’ll say that this presentation is not objective and you can’t make the call if you haven’t heard both sides of the story. Imagine in the next presidential debate having President Obama represent both sides and then letting the American people make the call. And who exactly is PV asking to make the call? I would assume that the people who regularly attend LCC have already “made the call”. With the corresponding brochure that was mailed out it’s obvious that Pastor Vince is expecting there to be Catholics in attendance who might be willing to leave their faith and begin attending his church. Notice also the timing of this series. Next week is Palm Sunday. I would imagine that the next (and final week) there will be an invitation. Something like, “If after hearing this objective presentation of Catholicism you would like to learn the Bible for yourself and let Jesus save you, please join us again next week for Easter. Your decision has eternal consequences.” Indeed it does. Some people might be up in arms that this is sheep stealing. Personally, I call it fair game. Well, not quite. He’s not playing the game fairly when he misrepresents our side, but the fact that he’s playing the game is fair. I actually have no problem with his attempt to “steal sheep”. He thinks he’s right. He thinks people are more likely to get to heaven if they come to his church. If that’s the case, then for him to really care about you and I is to try to bring us into his flock. We should actually believe the same thing, but in reverse. Do we? Are we brave enough to step out of our comfort zone? Do our diocesan leaders believe that their #1 mission is to get people to heaven? Do our priests yearn to get their parishioners into heaven? Do we go out and try to bring lost sheep into the fold? If the answer is no to any of those questions, then it’s obvious we have a major problem on our hands. Watered down Catholicism has no teeth.
Continuing on, I’ll follow the same template as my previous post and start with the main points and then follow with some additional commentary.
PV makes a special note that he wants to be notified if he has misquoted anything. I checked some of his quotes – they check out. That’s not the issue, though. The issue is taking quotes out of context and drawing false conclusions from them. Accuracy of quotes does not nullify the fact that you might misuse quotes to present misleading arguments.
1) “Apocryphal” works were added by Trent
Actually the deuterocanonicals were widely considered scripture (mostly undisputed) since the earliest Christian age. It was Martin Luther who wanted to get rid of certain doctrines, so he found a convenient way to do so by throwing the deuterocanonical books out of scripture. He also tried to throw out other books like James because of it’s “not by faith alone” text.
http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2004/05/historical-case-for-apocrypha.html
http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2010/10/catholic-resources-for-greek-septuagint.html
http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2000/0009sbs.asp
2) the Catholic Church suppressed the Bible
PV includes quotes that when not given the full context are extremely misleading. The reason the Church restricted reading and printing of certain Bibles was because they wanted to be sure of their accuracy. One can legitimately disagree whether the Church handled this correctly or not, but you can’t dispute the fact that there were reasons for the Catholic Church’s stance.
http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2006/08/was-catholic-church-avowed-enemy-of.html
I’d also note that the issue of common people owning Bibles was not the same issue in the 16th century that it is today. The idea of a commoner owning a book was a totally new concept in the 16th century (and probably not a common reality even then). The Protestant idea that equates being a Christian with owning a Bible doesn’t make sense historically. If owning a Bible and interpreting it for yourself is such a crucial part of Christian living, then how do we consider commoners prior to the printing press? No, I’m not saying that Christians today shouldn’t own and read Bibles. They most certainly should.
3) PV claims that the Catholic church has a higher regard for Islam than Evangelical Protestantism
This is obviously a misreading of the documents. V2 addresses Evangelical Christians and Muslims in separate documents. The names of the documents are enough to disprove PV’s assertion. Listen very closely, PV, “Evangelical Protestants are our brothers and sisters in Christ.” Perhaps the DOR’s ecumenism office might want to take note that one of our brothers feels slighted and focus some of their efforts on conservative Evangelicals and prove PV wrong (instead of denying truths of the Faith).
DECREE ON ECUMENISM
UNITATIS REDINTEGRATIOThe children who are born into these Communities and who grow up believing in Christ cannot be accused of the sin involved in the separation, and the Catholic Church embraces upon them as brothers, with respect and affection. For men who believe in Christ and have been truly baptized are in communion with the Catholic Church even though this communion is imperfect.
…It follows that the separated Churches(23) and Communities as such, though we believe them to be deficient in some respects, have been by no means deprived of significance and importance in the mystery of salvation. For the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as means of salvation which derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Church.DECLARATION ON THE RELATION OF THE CHURCH TO NON-CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS
NOSTRA AETATE3. 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.
He also uses a couple B16 quotes to prove that the Catholic Church holds Islam higher than Protestantism. It’s not even worth my time to address that because his misinterpretation is just so obvious.
3b) PV claims that the Catholic Church teaches that Evangelicals can’t be saved.
Another misunderstanding. Admittedly, it’s taken time to nail down what exactly “no salvation outside the Church means”, but V2 is pretty clear. See above quote from Unitatis Redintegratio.
1) Sola Scriptura
The following links provide much more substance than I can, but real quickly the obvious counter questions to Protestants are: How do you know what books should be in the Bible? What do you do when 2 people have 2 different interpretations of an essential doctrine? Who decides what are the essentials and what are the non-essentials? Where in the Bible is Sola Scriptura defined?
http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2006/06/are-all-biblical-books-self-attesting.html
http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2006/11/bible-church-tradition-canon-index.html
http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2008/12/introduction-from-my-book-xxx-biblical.html
http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2004/0409fea3.asp
One other note on Sola Scriptura and perspicuity… PV actually does a better job disproving the perspicuity of Scriptures (and the right of each individual to interpret scripture for themselves) than I could do. If you listen, you’ll find yourself disagreeing with many of his interpretations about some pretty big issues. If Scripture is so clear, then how come my interpretation of John 6 is so different than PV’s? And if I’m entitled to my own interpretation, than how can I be wrong to say that Scripture clearly points to the Eucharist and the institution of the Church?
2) no such thing as the priesthood in the New Testament
http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2006/05/biblical-evidence-for-priests.html
http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2005/09/eucharistic-sacrifice-witness-of_12.html
http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2005/0503fea4.asp
Yes, that’s right. I said protestant scholarship. Intellectually honest protestants know where and how to pick their battles. Most educated protestants will not argue the following points because they know they don’t have a leg to stand on.
Most protestant scholars don’t see this passage as a refutation for calling priests father.
http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2004/12/catholic-refutation-of-catholicism.html
http://www.catholic.com/library/Call_No_Man_Father.asp
2) interpretation of Matthew 16:18 – petros/petra
Obviously no protestants find the modern day papacy in this passage, but most protestant scholars have given up the petros/petra distinction.
http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2009/07/protestant-exegesis-profoundly-affected.html
http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2009/07/prominent-baptist-exegete-john-albert.html
http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2009/07/evangelical-nt-scholar-peter.html
3) “the Bible says that the body is made up of many churches”
I’ve actually never heard this one before. He’s using Paul’s body parts text to claim proof of the need to have many different churches. I’m not even sure how exactly to dispute this because it’s just so whack. I suppose Jesus’ dying wish is the most obvious refutation – John 17:21 “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me”
1) Mariology
2) Faith+Works
3) Eucharist
So that’s the biggies.
Today was the first session of Pastor Vince’s “Understanding Roman Catholicism” series at Lakeshore Community Church (as reported previously by Mike). Like most people, I was willing to give this effort the benefit of the doubt, although I was somewhat skeptical of the strategy. LCC releases their podcasts of the messages very quickly, so I was already able to listen to the first sermon in this series. The series is 3 weeks (the 1st week about agreements and the 2nd and 3rd about disagreements). I’ve included a link (and embedded player) of the mp3 so you can listen. I’ve also transcribed some of it, although I did so hastily, so please let me know if you find errors. I’m going to start out with what I believe easily discredits Pastor Vince’s claim to be simply objective and then continue on with some random notes on the rest of it. Pastor Vince also doesn’t stick to agreements during this first week. Here’s the full audio if you want to follow along (after the initial wow factor, the rest will be chronological if you wish to listen along with my notes). I will also be sending a link to this article onto LCC.
%CODE1%
1:45 Our approach is the most absolutely objective way I possibly could employ. And it’s simple. I’m going to use quotes of the Bible, quotes of the Popes, quotes of Roman Catholic councils… Roman Catholic Catechisms… so that’ll allow you to see everything just straight up, so you can decide for yourself. Let me say that last phrase again… so you can decide for yourself.
…
36:17 “these are all historical facts. You can’t question any of what I’m about to say. It’s verifiable and historical. In 1374, John Wycliffe denounced the sale of indulgences and denounced the pope. He also was denounced for his translation of the Bible into English. The very first translation of the Bible into English accomplished by John Wycliffe. The Roman Catholic Church who wanted to control distribution of the Bible… opposed him putting it into the language of the common people and Wycliffe was denounced and excommunicated from the Church.
Jan Hus … followed Wycliffe and started preaching in English (based on Wycliffe’s translation). He was also branded a heretic and excommunicated… Ever hear of “burned at the stake?” This is what happened to Jan Huss. Why? For teaching the Bible to ordinary people. Girolamo Savonarola… tortured… tortured… tortured… These are absolutely historical facts.
Historical facts, eh? More like historical falsehoods. So where did he error? (it’s late and I’m tired, so I’m gonna resort to wikipedia for references. I hope to get better ones in the future.)
That is classic anti-Catholicism. I had hoped that LCC’s efforts would’ve been better than this. So Pastor Vince claims this series is going to be an objective view into Roman Catholicism? Looks like the answer to that is:
%CODE2%
Pastor Vince also builds the drama by dwelling on the cruelty of their deaths as if it were unique to the Catholic Church. Protestants ended up doing the exact same things (even worse). It’s just how things were done then. It was a different time. We can all agree now that burning people isn’t the best way to handle conflict. But pointing out that Catholics burned Protestants (or their predecessors) doesn’t validate your point. Sure – there was corruption in the Church, but if you want to compare stories (good and bad), the Catholic Church will wallop any other religious organization or secular institution. For one such hero story – check out Edmund_Campion. For a less than glorious look at one of the fathers of the Reformation, John Calvin, see this article.
Alright, so that’s the big shocker. I think that gives us a good idea of the tactics Pastor Vince will be using in the next 2 weeks. If that’s enough for you, now is the time to stop reading. If you’d like more commentary on Pastor Vince’s sermon, let’s continue. Here’s the 8 points that Pastor Vince works through during his talk that he claims unite us
Those are all fine, but I wish he would’ve included a few more.
“Bible believing, protestant, evangelical”
He has a hard time naming his belief system. He seems most comfortable with the term “Bible Believing”. I’ve never liked anyone who claims that name, though, because we all claim that. I am a Catholic – a Bible believing Christian. Past Vince acknowledges as much in his first point of agreement. This is why I love the name of John Martignoni’s organization – the Bible Christian Society. I read lots of books when I converted, but no other book convinced me more of Catholicism than the Bible itself. If all you need is the Bible, then why couldn’t Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin resolve their differences by merely going to scripture?
With that said, let’s do a chronological response (quotes w/out minutes:seconds means I forgot exactly where they fit in and might be out of order)
3:02″objective and no need to coerce…”
How can you make this claim w/out letting the other side speak for themselves? I hereby challenge Pastor Vince to a public debate (with the understanding that I can pick someone smarter than me to represent the Catholic side). How bout it, Pastor Vince? You have to admit that a one-sided presentation of a topic can’t possible be objective, don’t you?
He mentions some negative feedback he’s gotten from Catholics – as if that paints the whole picture. Does this border on Catholic bashing? He didn’t mention any of the polite emails he got (like the one I sent):
To whom it may concern,
I see you’re doing a series on Roman Catholicism… I’m a former Presbyterian (Calvinist) who became convinced of Catholicism and 4 years ago crossed the Tiber. If, by chance, you’d like to have a Catholic provide their own perspective, I’d be more than happy to provide that. Or if you’d just like a Catholic to review the presentation to make sure you’re accurately representing Catholic teaching – I’d be happy to help out with that as well.
God Bless,
Ben Anderson
I received no response.
He lists his credentials to cover this topic (honestly I don’t really need his credentials, but since he brought it up).
6:41 my best man converted from Evangelicalism to Catholicism and that it doesn’t happen as much.
I don’t know if it doesn’t happen as much, but this short NCRegister article sheds a little light on the issue. I’d also like to point to a site I discovered recently that is very interesting – http://www.calledtocommunion.com/. Many of the authors are from the denomination I was raised in (PCA – Presbyterian Church in America).
in the creed “Catholic” means merely universal, not a single, visible, communion separate from others
hmmm – I’m not convinced of that. Here’s 2 articles disputing that point. (What_Catholic_Means and What Does Catholic Mean?)
12:20 the Philadephia Confession of Faith.
I’m not positive, but I think he’s referring to this which states:
26.4. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the church, in whom, by the appointment of the Father, all power for the calling, institution, order or government of the church, is invested in a supreme and sovereign manner; neither can the Pope of Rome in any sense be head thereof, but is that antichrist, that man of sin, and son of perdition, that exalteth himself in the church against Christ.
continuing on…
20:44 All have fallen short
I’ll let Dave Armstrong (http://socrates58.blogspot.com/2007/03/all-have-sinned-mary.html) tackle that.
27:00 “we don’t celebrate a mass here, though some of you have congratulated me on delivering a nice homily at the mass.”
This gives a pretty good idea as to the understanding level of many of the “former Catholics” who now attend LCC.
27:40 “1 Peter 3:18 ‘for Christ died for sins once for all’. I had you remember ‘all have sinned’. I hope you remember ‘once for all’ because that’s gonna play out in the next two weeks…. Christ died how many times? four? He died once for all. All have sinned. These are going to be important phrases.”
You can see what he’s doing here. It’s pretty obvious. An honest inquirer wouldn’t focus so clearly on the shallowness of this debate. Obviously we believe in the same Scriptures. You don’t need to repeat it for effect and act like Catholics don’t have an answer.
I enjoyed this next clip so much that I want you to hear it.
%CODE3%
AMEN! (and I love the voice!) We have the same problem with “liberal” Catholics.
30:55 “by the way, where did Paul receive that from? Peter? nope – Jesus Christ himself.”
ummm – is he trying to imply that Catholics believe otherwise? It seems like he’s falsely setting up the Catholic side of the debate so he can more easily knock it down.
31:05 he explains that the Catholic church he group up in replaced a cruficix with a risen Lord cross.
I don’t have time to look that up, but I thought that was illicit.
35:30 he defines a heretic.
I could be wrong, but I think he has heretic mixed up with apostate.
Here’s another article from Dave Armstrong on Luther:
Alright, that’s all for now – I’m up much too late. I’m not sure if I’ll have the energy to respond to the next 2 sessions (or if they’re even going to be worth responding to). I hope our diocese can organize some sort of counter program to not only try to keep Catholics from leaving, but try to bring back those who have already left (LCC is made up of 50% “former Catholics”). And while we’re at it, why not also make a serious effort to bring in those who have never been in a Catholic Church? You’re probably getting sick of hearing me harp on this – but we need to emphasize the importance of teaching the faith.
A large postcard from the Lakeshore Community Church (LCC) showed up in yesterday’s mail. On the front is a photo that appears to have been taken inside Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, along with the phrase “Understanding Roman Catholicism,” with the latter two words much larger than the first and in a font that seems to have been chosen to evoke feelings of shabbiness, disorder or decay.
On the back is a large banner that asks …
So You Want To Understand Roman Catholicism?
… and beneath the banner is this message from LCC …
If you have ever wanted to understand Roman Catholic teaching in light of the Bible, you’re not alone. Many people wrestle with what it all means and how much it applies to their life today.
At Lakeshore, we’re taking a careful look at Roman Catholic teaching from history, councils, quotes of leaders, and official catechisms and will compare them to the appropriate verses in the Bible. We think you’ll be intrigued by the comparison and learn more about both in the process.
Our promise? No Catholic bashing because we believe people matter to God. Our request? Check us out with an open mind and then reach your own informed conclusions.
On nothing more than a whim I googled the phrase “Understanding Roman Catholicism” (with the quotes) and a very interesting resource popped up. It is a book by that name written some 16 years ago by Rick Jones. According to Amazon.com,
Rick was born and raised a Roman Catholic which laid the foundation for his third book, “Understanding Roman Catholicism”. Being saved out of Catholicism caused him to experience the dramatic difference between the emptiness of religion and a fulfilling personal relationship with Jesus Christ. In addition, in 1987 God led Rick to Chick Publications, where he has worked for the last twenty years. It was there that he began an extensive study of official Catholic beliefs and learned the stark differences between Catholicism and the Bible. Not wanting a single Catholic to miss heaven, this book was written to offer Catholics true Biblical salvation, which they will never find in their religion.
Chick Publications has conveniently posted a version of this book online so it is possible to get some idea of what Jones means by “the stark difference Catholicism and the Bible.” I am not,however, going to spend any time critiquing Jones’ arguments as they are really quite sophomoric. You can check them out for yourself or take a quick look at this thread from Catholic Answers Forums where several people say essentially the same thing.
While Jones’ book contains elements drawn from “history, councils, quotes of leaders, and official catechisms” and bears the same name as LCC’s series of talks, I don’t know for sure that LCC plans to base its presentations on this particular resource. Even if it doesn’t, though, I expect LCC will rely on something similar.
I doubt that LCC will pick up any new members from among those Catholics who actually know their faith. The problem is that, in this diocese anyway, there are thousands who don’t – both practicing and non-practicing.
As one of the members of the Catholic Answers Forum wrote,
The problem is that as practicing Catholics, we know to avoid Chick publications – Protestants and non-practicing Catholics don’t. We know how to knock down his arguments – non-practicing Catholics don’t.
And people wonder why mainline Protestantism is dying a swift and unstoppable death . . .
http://communityoftravelers.blogspot.com/2011/03/gaga-mass_07.html
Chava Redonnent, one of the Spiritus Christi fake priestesses, will be holding a grand opening service for the Oscar Romero inclusive catholic church at the St. Joseph House of Hospitality.
It is long overdue that the Diocese of Rochester end its affiliation with this organization, whether this affiliation is official or not. Several diocesan priests continue to offer “ecumenical services” at the St. Joseph House.
This from the January-February issue of the New Oxford Review:
WHY LITURGICAL LESSONS AREN’T BEING LEARNED
By Michael A. Beauregard
I have taught in Catholic schools for many years. For the past ten, I have had the pleasure of teaching sixth-grade religion classes in a school that is unwaveringly faithful to the Magisterium. The religious curriculum in the sixth grade includes the sacraments, the theology of the Mass, and Church history. In previous grades, the students thoroughly study the faith with the help of textbooks that are faithful to the Church, and teachers who are devout, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable.
Nevertheless, year after year I am surprised by what my students know — and do not know — at the beginning of their sixth-grade year. Students are typically baffled and sometimes even stunned to learn that the Blessed Sacrament is Christ physically present in His body, blood, soul, and divinity, and not just in a spiritual or symbolic sense. More often than not, these students have incorrectly acquired the notion that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is just a Communion service memorializing the Last Supper with the priest acting as presider…
…Irrespective of what is being taught, if the Mass and liturgies do not reflect the realities and truths of our Catholic faith, the teachings of the Church will be taught in vain. It is of the utmost importance that the Holy Mass model and emphasize what we want our students (and adults) to understand and embrace. The rubrics, gestures, and symbols that are employed serve a fundamental and very useful purpose in that they reveal and give witness to the faith we profess.
To illustrate a common example, I ask students at the beginning of their sixth-grade year what they…
This is an excellent article. Do take the time to read the whole thing.
____________________________________________
Michael A. Beauregard is Headmaster of St. Michael’s School in West Memphis, Arkansas. He is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Memphis and has written extensively on the classical curriculum in elementary schools.
Click here to Subscribe to the New Oxford Review (NOR)
Bribery!
The following ad for a non-denominational church in Rochester was sent in to us by a reader:
Yes, this is real.
I’m sure some of you have experienced “Taizé Prayer”. For those of you who have not, it is described as the following on the website for St. Mary’s in Canandaigua:
Taizé Prayer is an ecumenical meditative service, where one invites God’s presence to penetrate one’s innermost being. This form of prayer comes from the Christian monastic community of Taizé, located in the heart of the Burgundy region in France. Through the repetition of musical phrases over and over, your body and your mind slow down enough to be able to listen to the voice of God that is planted deep within you.
Alright. But isn’t the Mass “where one invites God’s presence to penetrate one’s innermost being”?
I am all for ecumenism. Don’t get me wrong. I believe there should be one Church, not a myriad of dissenting voices. What would this Church be called? The Catholic Church. The Church exists to move the world, not to be moved by it – the Church of Rome is principal in every way. This being said, I dislike it when Protestant influences, even “monastic” ones, take precedence over Catholic traditions. Why have Taizé chant when one can have Gregorian chant? Are we that hostile to our own history and heritage that we cringe when we hear something Catholic, but smile and sway when we hear something Protestant?
And get this: much of Taizé prayer is in (any guesses, anyone?) . . . Latin. Yes. Ubi Caritas et Amor. Veni Sancte Spiritus. Et cetera ad infinitem. I am baffled.
Remember – there’s a fine line between being open to other faiths, as in “being respectful”, and becoming supportive of their errors. While I do see the good in Taizé prayer, I fail to see why it occupies a principal place in some Catholic church services, be they Mass, Vespers, or (often-illicit) communal Penance services.
On a side note, the monk who founded the Protestant monastic community at Taizé was stabbed to death during one of his ecumenical services. I leave you to draw your own conclusions/make macabre liturgy jokes.
(For your own edification, compare the following two versions of “Veni Sancte Spiritus”.)
It’s not only the Catholic Church who is clustering parishes. Two local Lutheran churches in the town of Webster will also be sharing a single pastor:
“Two suburban Lutheran churches have agreed to share a pastor and work together on several programs.
Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 1767 Plank Road, Penfield, and St. Martin Lutheran Church, 813 Bay Road, Webster, held a worship celebration at 2 p.m. Sunday at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 131 W. Main St., Webster, where a covenant agreement was signed.
…
Both congregations will continue as separate entities, but, in addition to sharing a pastor, will cooperate on programs, services and projects.
The Bethlehem congregation is currently served by part-time pastor the Rev. Richard Klafehn, while the Rev. Dwight Wascom, also a part-time pastor, serves St. Martin.
Each church now has about 100 members. [Just think… if this were the DoR, these churches would have been closed years ago. Last week, the Diocese “closed” down a church in St. Thomas the Apostle that was drawing almost 500 people per weekend]“
Source: Democrat & Chronicle
Mass at an Anglican church (not a Catholic church with Anglican Usage, but a straight, full-blooded, Anglican church)
I recently had a conversation with a local poet, a very entertaining woman whose only perceivable flaw is a sort of jaggedness in her tone whenever Roman Catholicism comes up in conversation. There’s never anything malicious – the most she’s ever said is that some Catholics can be “melodramatic.” I actually thought she may be an Agnostic or maybe even an Atheist, but today she told me that she is actually an Episcopalian. My first thought was “Great. What kind of hippie-dippie nonsense is she going to come out with now?” But God gave me a little verbal smack-down. This is what she said:
A Roman Catholic Mass
“I was raised Episcopalian. When I was a little girl, my parish even did things in Latin, with all that wonderful High-Church stuff. Great theatrics! Swinging that incense around and, oh my God, those vestments! Nothing was like it! So I decided to try out a Catholic parish when I was a little older, and when I got there, I just couldn’t get past the lunacy! I mean, really? Shaking hands and chatting up your friends before communion? That’s kind of sick . . . And all that guitar-strumming hymn-singing bull-s***. Come on! But yeah. The Catholics I talked to in the 60’s and 70’s were insane, and that’s why I’m an Episcopalian.”
Liberal Catholics – losing souls to the Protestants since 1969.
