For those who have been following the growth and development of the Evangelical Catholic Church are aware that Father James Radloff has become our most recent candidate for Clerical Incardination into our Church and its Diocese of the Northwest. Jim Radloff comes to us via the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baker in Oregon after a prolonged period of episcopal marginalization by the Bishop of Baker, Bishop Liam Cary. The accounts of Jim's trials have been aptly reported by Dan Morris-Young of the National Catholic Reporter. One can read the Mr. Morris-Young's series of stories of Father Radloff's experiences by visiting http://ncronline.org/person/james-radloff
I would like to state for the record that when Fr. Radloff submitted his April 22, 2104 letter of resignation from the presbyterate of the Roman jurisdiction, he did so in accordance with their Code of Canon Law. In that same letter, Jim also ended his membership within the Roman jurisdiction and was announced that he was becoming a member of the Evangelical Catholic Church and would be making application for Clerical Incardination. Fr. Radloff executed his resignation with the highest of professional standards.
Jim, who is a native of Chicago, has indicated to me his desire to continue his sacramental ministry within the central region of Oregon and I am happy to support this for the primary reason that an overwhelming number of disenfranchised and marginalized Catholics from that region have petition me for permission to establish a new parish. Given the groundswell of support by the laity of the community of Bend Oregon, I have approved plans for the laity to begin the groundwork for the establishment of the Evangelical Catholic Church of the Holy Communion which I hope to see opened sometime this year.
I would like to take a moment to interject one of the policies of the Evangelical Catholic Church. Our Catholic jurisdiction shall not, in any way shape or form, attempt to engage in "pew stealing" - that is the overt attempt to steal members from another church to become members of our parishes. We have no desire to covet anyone who is perfectly happy in their community of faith.
In 2012 our Church was blessed when Father David Verhasselt chose to apply for Clerical Incardination with us. Father David came to us via the Roman jurisdiction after suffering insults and injustices from the Archbishop of Milwaukee, Jerome Listecki. Father David and a large group of the laity created Holy Name of Jesus Evangelical Catholic Church in the town of Ashippun Wisconsin that is growing monthly.
At the time of the creation of Holy Name of Jesus parish, we experienced the full wrath and furry of Archbishop Listecki and the Chancery of Milwaukee. Abp. Listecki threatened blanket Excommunications to any who attended Mass at HNJ and archdiocesan "observers" attended the parish's first Confirmation Mass and attempted to take videos and pictures of the Mass.
When one examines the reactions of Archbishop Listecki and his Chancery Staff over the creation of Holy Name of Jesus Evangelical Catholic Church - it all came down to one thing and one thing only. Their loss of laity and their wallets. Had there been no interests by the laity in the Ashippun area in Holy Name of Jesus, Archbishop Listecki and his Chancery Staff would not have given the mission a second thought.
Now it is time for Bishop Liam Cary and his Chancery Staff to follow the example of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to begin their attempts at spiritual fear mongering of those who have pledged their commitment to
Holy Communion Evangelical Catholic Church in Bend Oregon.
We all knew that this was coming.
Today I had forward to me a "pastoral letter" from Bishop Cary which was to be read at parishes in which Father Radloff had been associated with.during his 20 year tenure as a priest of the Diocese of Baker.
Bishop Cary's letter begin with, "With this letter I wish to clarify some essential points of Catholic identity in light of recent events here in Central Oregon." Cary also goes on to say that:
"At first hearing his (Jesus) teachings can be hard to take. When he spoke of his intention to give his Body as the Bread of life, many of his disciples reacted sharply: This is hard saying; who can listen to it? And many of them drew back and no longer walked with him." 'Will you also go away?' a disappointed Jesus asked his apostles. St. Peter voiced the response of the Church's faith from that day to this. 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.'
Peter's question confronts every Catholic who comes under pressure to go away and to depart from communion with the Catholic Church. If we too cease to walk with him in His Church on account of on account of one or another 'hard saying' of his, where else will be go to find Him who has promised to remain with His church forever? When we break communion with Peter and his apostles, what we are saying to the Jesus who entrusted his words and his sacraments to their care? Has his promise to be with His church to the end of the world would cease to be true?
After reading Bishop Cary's "letter" I was forced to look at my calendar to make sure that we are not living in the 12th century.
To understand Cary's application of ecclesiology within his letter, one has to understand two bedrock philosophies held by the Roman jurisdiction.
1. Rome continues with their historic premise that one's personal connection with Christ Resurrected and one's personal salvation can only be acquired within the scope of the Roman Catholic Church. Cary is asserting that anyone from any faith community outside of the 'graces' of Rome of is spirituality and sacramentally ineligible for welcoming into the Kingdom of God.
2. Rome views all who have been members of the Roman jurisdiction as members for life. I refer that this practice as the "Taiwan Principle." China has historically refused to recognize the independence of the island of Taiwan. It continues to view the land and its peoples as part of China. Rome refuses to acknowledge the fact that people do chose to leave the Roman jurisdiction for other destinations and refers to them a dissidents and/or heretics.
Just like Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Ashippun, it is most likely that Holy Communion Evangelical Catholic Church will have a sound and solid number of members for its birth. What is not said in the Cary letter or overtly implied is that fact that every person who chooses to attend Holy Communion Evangelical Catholic Church will not only be bring the gift of the presence, but also their wallets - which is ultimately the basis underlying the Cary's fear mongering letter.
It is very difficult for anyone to offer a response to Cary's letter based of faith, love and hope. But I shall make a sincere attempt:.
1. The Evangelical Catholic Church, which is a community of faith rooted in the Catholic tradition, knows and celebrates "to whom" we continue to remained turned towards. It is the words and unconditional love of the Resurrected Christ that we continue to embrace along with His Sacraments which continues to deepen our lives and love with Him. We believe that the modest pastoral and sacramental reforms we have been called to institute shall only deepen our relationship with Christ. Christ is truly present in each and every body of faith which commits itself to Him.
2. Luke 9:46-49. I invite you to read it.
I wish to extend my apologies to those parishes in which this letter was ordered to be read, for not only does it insult the intelligence of those parishioners, but it diminishes the professionalism of the office Bishop Cary holds. Had Bishop Cary simply sent a letter to these parishes stating that he "values the individual gifts and presence of his laity and hopes not to lose any of them," neither I or any other professional cleric could argue with such a statement.
I have been invited to visiting the community of Bend Oregon next month to introduce myself and to celebrate Mass of June 8th. I realize that between now and my upcoming visit, we will continue to see Bishop Cary and his Chancery make attempts to abort the establishment of Holy Communion Evangelical Catholic Church.
Each of us involved are personally and spiritually prepared.
At the time of the creation of Holy Name of Jesus parish, we experienced the full wrath and furry of Archbishop Listecki and the Chancery of Milwaukee. Abp. Listecki threatened blanket Excommunications to any who attended Mass at HNJ and archdiocesan "observers" attended the parish's first Confirmation Mass and attempted to take videos and pictures of the Mass.
When one examines the reactions of Archbishop Listecki and his Chancery Staff over the creation of Holy Name of Jesus Evangelical Catholic Church - it all came down to one thing and one thing only. Their loss of laity and their wallets. Had there been no interests by the laity in the Ashippun area in Holy Name of Jesus, Archbishop Listecki and his Chancery Staff would not have given the mission a second thought.
Now it is time for Bishop Liam Cary and his Chancery Staff to follow the example of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee to begin their attempts at spiritual fear mongering of those who have pledged their commitment to
Holy Communion Evangelical Catholic Church in Bend Oregon.
We all knew that this was coming.
Today I had forward to me a "pastoral letter" from Bishop Cary which was to be read at parishes in which Father Radloff had been associated with.during his 20 year tenure as a priest of the Diocese of Baker.
Bishop Cary's letter begin with, "With this letter I wish to clarify some essential points of Catholic identity in light of recent events here in Central Oregon." Cary also goes on to say that:
"At first hearing his (Jesus) teachings can be hard to take. When he spoke of his intention to give his Body as the Bread of life, many of his disciples reacted sharply: This is hard saying; who can listen to it? And many of them drew back and no longer walked with him." 'Will you also go away?' a disappointed Jesus asked his apostles. St. Peter voiced the response of the Church's faith from that day to this. 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.'
Peter's question confronts every Catholic who comes under pressure to go away and to depart from communion with the Catholic Church. If we too cease to walk with him in His Church on account of on account of one or another 'hard saying' of his, where else will be go to find Him who has promised to remain with His church forever? When we break communion with Peter and his apostles, what we are saying to the Jesus who entrusted his words and his sacraments to their care? Has his promise to be with His church to the end of the world would cease to be true?
After reading Bishop Cary's "letter" I was forced to look at my calendar to make sure that we are not living in the 12th century.
To understand Cary's application of ecclesiology within his letter, one has to understand two bedrock philosophies held by the Roman jurisdiction.
1. Rome continues with their historic premise that one's personal connection with Christ Resurrected and one's personal salvation can only be acquired within the scope of the Roman Catholic Church. Cary is asserting that anyone from any faith community outside of the 'graces' of Rome of is spirituality and sacramentally ineligible for welcoming into the Kingdom of God.
2. Rome views all who have been members of the Roman jurisdiction as members for life. I refer that this practice as the "Taiwan Principle." China has historically refused to recognize the independence of the island of Taiwan. It continues to view the land and its peoples as part of China. Rome refuses to acknowledge the fact that people do chose to leave the Roman jurisdiction for other destinations and refers to them a dissidents and/or heretics.
Just like Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Ashippun, it is most likely that Holy Communion Evangelical Catholic Church will have a sound and solid number of members for its birth. What is not said in the Cary letter or overtly implied is that fact that every person who chooses to attend Holy Communion Evangelical Catholic Church will not only be bring the gift of the presence, but also their wallets - which is ultimately the basis underlying the Cary's fear mongering letter.
It is very difficult for anyone to offer a response to Cary's letter based of faith, love and hope. But I shall make a sincere attempt:.
1. The Evangelical Catholic Church, which is a community of faith rooted in the Catholic tradition, knows and celebrates "to whom" we continue to remained turned towards. It is the words and unconditional love of the Resurrected Christ that we continue to embrace along with His Sacraments which continues to deepen our lives and love with Him. We believe that the modest pastoral and sacramental reforms we have been called to institute shall only deepen our relationship with Christ. Christ is truly present in each and every body of faith which commits itself to Him.
2. Luke 9:46-49. I invite you to read it.
I wish to extend my apologies to those parishes in which this letter was ordered to be read, for not only does it insult the intelligence of those parishioners, but it diminishes the professionalism of the office Bishop Cary holds. Had Bishop Cary simply sent a letter to these parishes stating that he "values the individual gifts and presence of his laity and hopes not to lose any of them," neither I or any other professional cleric could argue with such a statement.
I have been invited to visiting the community of Bend Oregon next month to introduce myself and to celebrate Mass of June 8th. I realize that between now and my upcoming visit, we will continue to see Bishop Cary and his Chancery make attempts to abort the establishment of Holy Communion Evangelical Catholic Church.
Each of us involved are personally and spiritually prepared.
Bishop Cary, you are not at all what a Bishop stands for and if you have a reason for dismissing Father Radloff then why not say so? I am a born and raised Catholic; brought up in a very Religious family of nuns and priests. I along with many others have quit our St. Marys Church in Pendleton, Oregon because of our church being taken from us. Sad yet true. So, I feel I have said enough.
ReplyDeleteA truly reasoned answer and one that understands the power of words and good thoughts. Bishop Cary has yet to make a right decision at any step of this affair.
ReplyDelete