Wednesday, June 27, 2012

MOTHER PRIORESS VIOLATES CANON LAW REQUIREMENT :COMMUNITY DOES NOT MEET CONDITIONS FOR RECEIVING THE EUCHARIST


The Benedictine Monastery of St.Gertrude in Cottonwood, Idaho,USA have a Spirituality and Arts Program,a Healing Center, Peace and Justice is one of the ministries, they have a Care of the Land program and Philosophy of Land Use, a Monastic Immersion Experience open to all faiths and in which they have faith sharing and they do not affirm the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus nor support the dogma on the infallibility of the pope ex cathedra. Sister Clarissa Goeckner, OSB is their Prioress.

Canon Law requires all Superiors to be Catholic .The Prioress is  Catholic when she can proclaim in public all the teachings of the Catholic Faith.
Like the many Religious Superiors of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR),USA she  rejects the dogmas on exclusive salvation and the infallibility of the pope ex cathedra.Their ecclesiology is not exclusive ecclesiocentrism.Perhaps she does so out of ignorance and no ill will is there.

They cannot affirm the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus since they believe there are known exceptions (baptism of desire etc), to the literal interpretation.For them  there are exceptions to the defined dogma on exclusive salvation, and the pope and the Councils were wrong when they pronounced the dogma , ex cathedra.

Though approved by the bishop, the Prioress violates Canon Law and has no right to be a Prioress. The Sisters here  also do not meet the requirements for receiving the Eucharist at Mass.

All Religious Superiors can affirm in public the literal interpretatiion of the dogma along with being saved in implicit invincible ignorance and the baptism of desrie. This would be in harmony with Ad Gentes 7 ,Vatican Council II.It is not contradicted by implicit Lumen Gentium 16 (invincible ignorance/ a good conscience).

It would be an offence for discerning Catholics to see so many religious , who cannot affirm a dogma in public.They are informed and they knowingly receive the Eucharist.
This Benedictine community is affiliated with the LCWR. According to Canon Law the Leadership Conference of Women Religious(LCWR),USA need to follow the teachings of the Catholic Church and affirm the dogma of the Faith, they need to affirm the Creed to remain as religious sisters. They are not doing this.

They have denied the dogma on exclusive salvation being there in only the Catholic Church and in denying an ex cathedra dogma, they have rejected the dogma on the infallibility of the pope ex cathedra.

According to Canon Law a religious sister in public office , a Superior of a congregation, cannot hold an office unless she is a Catholic. To be a Catholic one has to believe and affirm in public the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Since they are religious superiors they are ‘juridical persons’ according to Canon Law and they can be deprived of their positions of authority for denying the Catholic Faith.

Also religious who deny the Catholic Faith in public are not to receive the Eucharist. The LCWR sisters are in public manifest mortal sin and sacrilegeously receive the Eucharist.They need to publicly affirm the Catholic Faith and so remove the scandal.

Just affirming the Catholic Faith, by praying the Creed on Sunday is not enough they need to clarify that :

1) There is exclusive salvation in only the Catholic Church (Dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus)

2) Those saved in invincible ignorance, a good conscience (LG 16), baptism of desire etc are not explicit so they do not contradict the defined dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus. So they could affirm the dogma on the infallibility of the pope ex cathedra, and especially with reference to the thrice defined dogma on salvation.

3) Since Lumen Gentium 16 is always implicit it does not contradict Ad Gentes 7 which says all need Catholic Faith and the baptism of water.l So they must affirm Vatican Council II (AG 7).

The Canon Law and Eucharist requirement applies to the Prioress of the Benedictine community.

I have sent them some of this information but have not received any acknowledgement or comment-Lionel Andrades
    
Monastery of St. Gertrude, 465 Keuterville Road, Cottonwood, ID 83522,USA. Phone: 208-962-3224
 



Photos from the Monastery of St.Gertrude website.