‘Brother Martin,’ Self-Described Monk with Large Twitter Following, Says He Won’t Heed Bishop's Warning
Joe Bukuras/CNANation May 20, 2022
Navarro, 31, has asked Bishop
Johnston to formally recognize a Traditional Latin Mass religious group he
started called the Oblates of St. Augustine.
Martin Navarro, a layman and founder of the group the Oblates of St. Augustine, is refusing to obey his bishop's demands that he no longer fundraise, identify himself as "brother," dress in a habit, and construct a chapel in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph
A social media-savvy layman, who uses the title “Brother” and wears a habit, will not obey his bishop’s orders to cease presenting himself as a religious brother or member of a religious community.
Nor will Martin Navarro
— whose “Br. Martin” Twitter account has more than 11,000 followers —
acquiesce to Bishop James Johnston’s demands to stop fundraising in the Diocese
of Kansas City-St. Joseph and cease building an unauthorized chapel.
“We‘re following the rules,
we’re following the guidelines, as well as being honest as who we are and what
our intentions are,” Navarro said in a YouTube video posted May 17.
As to his practice of wearing
a habit, he said, “it’s a free country, so to speak; you can wear whatever you
want.”
Navarro, 31, has asked Bishop
Johnston to formally recognize a Traditional Latin Mass religious group Navarro
started called the Oblates of St. Augustine.
Lionel: Bishop James Johnstone is interpreting Vatican Council II, with the
Irrational Premise, Cushingism, and the Red chart. The result is heresy and
schism. It is official and supported by the Congregation for the Doctrine of
the Faith and Pope Francis and Pope Benedict.
Bishop Johnston denied the
request. He also ordered the group to cease operating in the diocese.
Lionel: Bishop Johnstone wants
all the religious communities in the diocese to interpret Vatican Council II
with the irrationalitycreating a false break with Tradition and de fide
teachings of the Catholic Church. In other words they have to accept mortal
sins of faith and promote for canonical recognition.
______________
The bishop issued the demands
in a letter dated May 6 addressed to Navarro. Navarro made
the letter public in the same YouTube video from May 17.
“I have not given nor will
give approval or permission to explore, found, or establish the community about
which you have previously inquired,” Bishop Johnston stated in the letter.
“I further direct that you do
not use the religious title of ‘Brother Martin’ at any time nor dress in a
religious habit, since in justice and truth, your canonical status is not one
of membership within a religious community, such continued usage is both
disingenuous and dishonest,” he added.
Lionel: Bishop Johnstone must
interpret Vatican Council II with the Rational Premise, the Blue Chart,
Feeneyism and then he will in harmony with the pre-1949 Magisterium on EENS,
the Athanasius Creed the Syllabus of Errors etc.Presently he is changing the
interpretation of the Creeds with the False Premise. This is first class heresy
in the hierarchy of truths of Pope John Paul II (Ad Tuendem Fidem).
_____________
Bishop Johnston reiterated his
demands “in order to emphasize the seriousness of my warning and prohibitions”
at the end of the letter.
“I reiterate what I have made
eminently clear above: do not call yourself ‘Brother,’ do not continue to
present yourself within the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in any manner or
means, including by wearing a religious habit, as a Brother or as a member of a
religious community, do not ask for any funds or alms within the Diocese of
Kansas City-St. Joseph whether in person or on the Internet or other social
media formats, and do not utilize an unapproved chapel within the Diocese of
Kansas City St. Joseph,” he stated.
“Your request of me regarding
your proposed formation of Oblates of Saint Augustine is, therefore, denied.”
Church Law at Issue
Navarro told CNA on May 18
that he will not comply with Johnston's orders.
The Oblates of St. Augustine
community he leads is based in Weston, Missouri, a small town about a 40-minute
drive north of Kansas City. It’s unclear how many men are in the group.
Speaking to CNA, Navarro would only say that since founding the Oblates in
2020, “I’ve never been alone.”
The Oblates’ website describes the group as a “community of
Traditional Roman Catholic men, faithful to the Traditional Roman Rite, the
Holy Rule of St. Augustine, and the traditional formulations of the Catholic
religion.” The group says it is devoted to the Traditional Latin Mass and
breviary.
Navarro said the group is
currently living on property leased to them by Mike Parrott, the host of
a YouTube channel called Restoring the Faith Media. The group’s
chapel in a converted garage already is under construction on the property, and
nearing completion. Navarro told CNA the group has raised more than $161,000
for the monastery project. A separate funding drive accepts donations for the
group members' living expenses.
Navarro’s “Br. Martin” Twitter
account often tweets comments concerning an ongoing dispute between Parrot and
the Church Militant media outlet which began over Parrot’s fundraising efforts
on behalf of Father James Jackson, a priest of the Priestly Fraternity of St.
Peter who is facing federal child pornography charges in Rhode Island.
In his letter, Bishop Johnston
cited several canons, as well as Pope Francis’ 2020 motu proprio Authenticum
charismatis, to support his
authority over the group’s activities in his diocese.
Lionel: Every bishop must
affirm the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus with no exceptions and not project
invisible cases of the baptism of desire( LG 14) and invincible ignorance (LH
16) as being physically visible exceptions for EENS. Similarly they must not
accept the Syllabus of Errors (Ecumenism of return etc) by confusing what is
invisible and as being visible. Over the centuries the popes only used the
rational premise.Bishop James Johnstone does not affirm the Syllabus of Errors and the Athanasius Creed. He is not a Feeneyite on EENS.If he did not use the Fake Premise he would be Feeneyite on EENS.
___________
Bishop Johnston warned that “failure to observe these provisions … could result in further
disciplinary actions. Accordingly, this letter itself stands as due canonical
warning of the same.”
Navarro, for his part, says
Bishop Johnston is misinterpreting church law, and using it “to intimidate us
from praying.”
Asked to respond to Navarro’s
intention to defy Bishop Johnston, Ashlie Hand, communications director for the
Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese, issued a statement to CNA Thursday night.
“Bishop Johnston has
communicated appropriate guidance and next steps with Mr. Navarro regarding his
request to establish the Oblates of St. Augustine in the Diocese of Kansas
City-St. Joseph,“ Hand said. ”Bishop Johnston intends any further communication
to be private."
https://www.ncregister.com/cna/brother-martin-self-described-monk-with-large-twitter-following-says-he-won-t-heed-bishops-warning
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251299/bishop-warns-brother-martin-to-stop-operating-in-kansas-city-diocese
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