Thursday, January 24, 2013

BISHOP FREDERICK HENRY OF CALGARY,CANADA RESPONDS: SSPX

I sent this blog post to Bishop Frederick Henry of Calgary,Canada.
CALGARY BISHOP DECLARES SSPX AS 'NOT CATHOLICS'
http://eucharistandmission.blogspot.it/2013/01/calgary-archbishop-declares-sspx-as-not.html#links



He has responded :


Dear Lionel


You might find it helpful to re-read the church's teaching as explained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I have attached several of the
important texts.


Peace, Bishop Henry

845 To reunite all his children, scattered and led astray by sin, the Father willed to call the whole of humanity together into his Son's Church. The Church is the place where humanity must rediscover its unity and salvation. The Church is "the world reconciled." She is that bark which "in the full sail of the Lord's cross, by the breath of the Holy Spirit, navigates safely in this world." According to another image dear to the Church Fathers, she is prefigured by Noah's ark, which alone saves from the flood.334 (30, 953, 1219)


"Outside the Church there is no salvation"
846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers?335 Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body: (161, 1257)


Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.336

847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:
Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience-those too may achieve eternal salvation.337


848 "Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men."338 (1260)


VI. The Necessity of Baptism
1257 The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation.60 He also commands his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them.61 Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament.62 The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are "reborn of water and the Spirit." God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.
(1129, 161, 846)

1258 The Church has always held the firm conviction that those who suffer death for the sake of the faith without having received Baptism are baptized by their death for and with Christ. This Baptism of blood, like the desire for Baptism, brings about the fruits of Baptism without being a sacrament.(2473)


1259 For catechumens who die before their Baptism, their explicit desire to receive it, together with repentance for their sins, and charity, assures them the salvation that they were not able to receive through the sacrament.(1249)


1260 "Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery."63 Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity. (848)

1261 As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus' tenderness toward children which caused him to say: "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them,"64 allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church's call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism. (1257, 1250)

This is an enquiry e-mail via http://www.calgarydiocese.ca/ from:
Lionel Andrades


Tuesday, January 22, 2013
CALGARY BISHOP DECLARES SSPX AS 'NOT CATHOLICS'
I have been in communication with the Inter Religious Dialogue and Ecumenism representative in the diocese of Calgary,Canada.There is a new Director now.

She said that the baptism of desire and invincible ignorance are exceptions to the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus.

How can they be exceptions when we do not know a single such case in 2013.

She is rejecting the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus with alleged exceptions and of course the diocese of Calgary would consider itself Catholic!

According to Ad Gentes 7 all need faith and baptism for salvation.Protestants with whom there are ecumenical meetings in Alberta, Canada do not have Catholic Faith!

For her Vatican Council II (LG 16 on invincible ignorance ) would be a break with Tradition. A break with the dogma on salvation and the Syllabus of Errors. The Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has said that those who interpret the Council as a break with the past are heretical.This would also apply to the bishop of Calgary,Bishop Frederick Henry ?


Ad Gentes 7 says all need faith and baptism for salvation and the Diocese of Calgary policy on this issue is :No some do not. They are known to us with the baptism of desire, invincible ignorance etc.
-Lionel Andrades

Outdoor Way of the Cross by dmjarvey (Flickr)

_________________________________________
 
Dear Bishop Frederick.B Henry,


Praised be Jesus and Our Lady.


The quotations you have cited do not contradict the literal intrerpretation of the dogma extra ecclesiam nor Ad Gentes 7 which says all need faith and baptism for salvation.

845 To reunite all his children, scattered and led astray by sin, the Father willed to call the whole of humanity together into his Son's Church.


The Church is the place where humanity must rediscover its unity and salvation. The Church is "the world reconciled." She is that bark which "in the full sail of the Lord's cross, by the breath of the Holy Spirit, navigates safely in this world." According to another image dear to the Church Fathers, she is prefigured by Noah's ark, which alone saves from the flood.334 (30, 953, 1219)


"Outside the Church there is no salvation"
846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers?335 Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body: (161, 1257)


(Note : it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body. This does not contradict the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus since we do not know these cases personally .If they were known personally then we could assume that they are exceptions)

Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.336


847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:


(There can be non Catholics saved in invincible ignorance and these cases would be known only to God.So we cannot suggest that these cases are exceptions to every one needing to convert into the Church in 2013 for salvation).


Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and,moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience-those too may achieve eternal salvation.337


848 "Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men."338 (1260)

VI. The Necessity of Baptism


1257 The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation.60He also commands his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them.61 Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament.62 The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are "reborn of water and the Spirit." God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.(129, 161, 846)
(There could be a non Catholic saved without the Sacrament of baoptism and this would be known only to God.Since we do not know any such case in 2013 this is not an exception to the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus).


1258 The Church has always held the firm conviction that those who suffer death for the sake of the faith without having received Baptism are baptized by their death for and with Christ. This Baptism of blood, like the desire for Baptism, brings about the fruits of Baptism without being a sacrament.(2473)
(Similalry only Jesus can judge who has the baptism of desire who is really a martyr. So this cannot be an exception.)


1259 For catechumens who die before their Baptism, their explicit desire to receive it, together with repentance for their sins, and charity, assures them the salvation that they were not able to receive through the sacrament.(1249)
(The baptism of desire is irrelevant to the dogma. It is a possibility but it is not an exception to the dogma)


1260 "Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery."63 Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity. (848)
(A person can be saved in invincible ignorance. This is a possibility but it cannot be an exception. Otherwise it would be implying that we can see the dead-saved.)


1261 As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus' tenderness toward children which caused him to say: "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them,"64 allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church's call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism. (1257, 1250)
(We leave children to the mercy of God. We agree here).


In Christ
  Lionel Andrades
Catholic Layman in Rome.

The Archbishop of Boston Richard Cushing was in heresy and the Letter of the Holy Office 1949 was addressed to him.


The Archbishop of Boston was in heresy for assuming that the dead are visible and so are exceptions to the dogma on salvation.While the Catholic world still assumes that Fr.Leonard Feeney was wrong since the baptism of desire and invincible ignorance are explicit and so exceptions to the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus.

How can what we cannot know personally, which we cannot see, be an exception to every one needing to enter the Catholic Church for salvation?

The Society of St.Pius X praises Archbishop Richard Cushing and condemns Fr.Leonard Feeney.Then they extend this error to Vatican Council II and assume that Lumen Gentium 16 (invincible ignorance) contradicts Tradition.


Implicit-to-us salvation in Vatican Council II the SSPX assumes is a break with the Syllabus of Errors and extra ecclesiam nulla salus. So they hold that Vatican Council II contradicts the traditional teaching on other religions.

The contradiction is not in Vatican Council II but with their implying the dead saved in invincible ignorance can be seen.So for them the Letter of the Holy Office excommunicated Fr.Leonard Feeney for heresy, even though the Letter mentions it was for disobedience.

The Letter was addressed to the Archbishop. The Archbishop and the Jesuits were in heresy for suggesting that there were defacto exceptions to the centuries old interpretation of the dogma on salvation.

If the cardinal who issued the Letter also assumed that the baptism of desire etc was an explicit exception to the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus then he too would have made an objective, factual error. We cannot see the dead.

The baptism of desire and invincible ignorance has nothing to do with the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus. This was the 'drama' of the Archbishop and the Jesuits at Boston.

When this error is acknowledged by the SSPX Vatican Council II would emerge traditional.Since Ad Gentes 7 (all need faith and baptism for salvation) agrees with the SSPX position on other religions and ecumenism.There are no known exceptions to Ad Gentes 7 as it is generally wrongly believed today.

Today Wikipedia assumes Fr.Leonard Feeney was in heresy and not Cardinal Richard Cushing, the Archbishop of Boston.So Wikipedia indicates that Lumen Gentium 16 contradicts extra ecclesiam nulla salus and Fr.Leonard Feeney.Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre said that there could be a Hindu in Tibet saved in his religion.It is assumed that this case is an exception to extra ecclesiam nulla salus. This Hindu would have to be known personally to be an exception.


Canonist Peter Vere writes that the St.Benedict Centers had a controversial view on the baptism of desire etc.He means the baptism of desire is explicit and known to us in personal cases and so it is an exception to the dogma and the St.Benedict Centers reject it.


He does not realize that the baptism of desire can be accepted only in principle. The communities of Fr.Leonard Feeney accept the baptism of desire in principle, with a condition.They reject any explicit-to-us baptism of desire which could be an exception to the dogma.

Here is the initial part of the Letter of the Holy Office which supports Fr.Leonard Feeney on doctrine.

Letter of the Holy Office 1949
Now, among those things which the Church has always preached and will never cease to preach is contained also that infallible statement by which we are taught that there is no salvation outside the Church.

Lionel:
The text of the 'infallible statement',defined three times does not mention the baptism of desire and invincible ignorance. So it supports Fr.Leonard Feeney here.

Letter of the Holy Office
However, this dogma must be understood in that sense in which the Church herself understands it. For, it was not to private judgments that Our Savior gave for explanation those things that are contained in the deposit of faith, but to the teaching authority of the Church.

Lionel:
The text of the 'dogma' supports Fr.Leonard Feeney's position.

Letter of the Holy Office.
Now, among the commandments of Christ, that one holds not the least place by which we are commanded to be incorporated by baptism into the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church, and to remain united to Christ and to His Vicar, through whom He Himself in a visible manner governs the Church on earth.

Therefore, no one will be saved who, knowing the Church to have been divinely established by Christ, nevertheless refuses to submit to the Church or withholds obedience from the Roman Pontiff, the Vicar of Christ on earth.

Lionel:
Those who know and do not enter cannot be saved. These cases would be judged by God. We cannot judge them. Since these cases are unknown to us they are irrelevant to Fr.Leonard Feeney's position.

In His infinite mercy God has willed that the effects, necessary for one to be saved, of those helps to salvation which are directed toward man's final end, not by intrinsic necessity, but only by divine institution, can also be obtained in certain circumstances when those helps are used only in desire and longing. This we see clearly stated in the Sacred Council of Trent, both in reference to the sacrament of regeneration and in reference to the sacrament of penance (, nn. 797, 807).

Lionel:
An in principle statement. Fine.

Letter of the Holy Office

The same in its own degree must be asserted of the Church, in as far as she is the general help to salvation. Therefore, that one may obtain eternal salvation, it is not always required that he be incorporated into the Church actually as a member, but it is necessary that at least he be united to her by desire and longing.

Lionel:
In principle we accept 'that it is not always required that he be incorporated into the Church actually as a member, but it is necessary that at least he be united to her by desire and longing. In reality we do not know any such case so it is not an exception to Fr.Leonard Feeney.

Still there is nothing which contradicts the literal interpretation of Fr.Leonrd Feeney and the popes and saints.

Letter of the Holy Office
However, this desire need not always be explicit, as it is in catechumens; but when a person is involved in invincible ignorance God accepts also an implicit desire, so called because it is included in that good disposition of soul whereby a person wishes his will to be conformed to the will of God.

Lionel:
 Implicit desire is not visible for us. We cannot meet anyone saved with implicit desire . So it is irrelevnt to Fr.Leonrd Feeney.
-Lionel Andrades