A Message to the People of Bend Oregon

Evangelical Catholic 
Diocese  of the Northwest

Post Office Box 170336   Chicago Illinois 60617-0336

Office:  773-721-5383     Fax:  773-721-2581   

Email:  diocesenw@evangelicalcatholicchurch.org

Office of the Bishop

May 20, 2014

To the Community of Bend Oregon:

At the risk of getting entangled in a “Letter War” with my brother Bishop from the Diocese of Baker, I feel it necessary to request your consideration to read and reflect upon the words I wish to share with you.  I promise that this will not be written with threats or bombast, but rather in the spirit of an extended hand of a new friend moving into your neighborhood.

I am looking forward to my upcoming visit to Bend during the weekend of June 6^th to meet all those who are considering continuing their Catholic journey in faith with the proposed Holy Communion Evangelical Catholic Church and to celebrate Mass on Sunday June 8^th for those who wish to attend.

In most cases whenever the Evangelical Catholic Diocese of the Northwest has opened a new mission parish, the local Roman Catholic Chancery and Bishop pay no attention to such an event.  However the creation of Holy Communion Evangelical Catholic Church, akin to the creation of Holy Name of Jesus Evangelical Catholic Church in Ashippun Wisconsin, has drawn the ire of the local Roman Chancery and Bishop because the pastors of these parishes were former priests of the local Roman dioceses and had been specifically marginalized and abused by their superiors before being forced into their resignations.  In both of these cases, Father David Verhasselt and Father James Radloff enjoyed the confidence and respect of the laity whom they had served with distinction and when each chose to continue their vocations to the priesthood within the Evangelical Catholic Church – many of the laity came with them – much to the anger of the local Roman officials.

The creation of Holy Communion Evangelical Catholic Church with Father James Radloff has angered and upset my episcopal brother, Liam Cary.  He is angry and upset over the fact that he might lose some of the “sheep of his flock” to the Evangelical Catholic Church.  I can also state that he and his Chancery are even more livid over the loss of revenue from those who will no longer attend local RC parishes. Thus, in order to keep his sheep penned in and their wallets safe, Bishop Cary has had letters prepared for him larded with ecclesial bombast from centuries past to scare people for visiting or attending Holy Communion.

Bishop Cary has essentially threatened anyone who chooses to attend Holy Communion with eternal damnation via his remarks that the promise of the Kingdom of God in Heaven is reserved for those “in communion” with the Bishop of Rome.  I suspect that in the coming days, Bishop Cary’s next threat will be of excommunication against anyone who visits or attends Mass at Holy Communion.

Bishop Cary’s threats of eternal damnation are the words of a very angry man.  His application of ecclesiology in this case is in error with the ecclesiology of the post Vatican II Roman Catholic Church.

Bishop Cary’s action reminds me of the thought process and justification used by the man in Cleveland who held three young women prisoners in his home for a decade.   Despite the hell he forced these women to endure, he kept telling them that they could not exist outside of his “care” for them.

As the Diocese of the Northwest and Holy Communion Evangelical Catholic Church begins its welcoming process, I want to state for the record several key points before any further fear mongering takes place.

·          We unconditionally welcome anyone who is interested in learning about how they can continue their Catholic journey in faith with us..  No symbolic guns will be used to force anyone to visit us or to prevent anyone from NOT walking through our doors.

·          The Evangelical Catholic Church does not engage in any form of pew stealing.  If you are a happy member of the Church to which you belong, we guarantee our respect for your choice.

·          Our presence in the community of Bend is not intended to disrupt or destroy the Roman Catholic presence in Oregon.  We are coming here to minister to those who have been pastorally or sacramentally orphaned and wish to belong to a catholic community that will welcome and respect them.

The advent of the missionary work of the Evangelical Catholic Church in the community of Bend is not, as some would have you believe, the work of the devil looking to steal souls from the Kingdom of God in Heaven.

There is no reason why two difference Catholic jurisdictions cannot coexist in Bend with respect for one another.

I wish to conclude with an apology for the threats being levied against the good people of Bend by my colleague Bishop Cary.  I would ask that all would join me in lifting Liam Cary in prayer and ask God to ease him of his anger and internal turmoil and to restore him as a spiritually healthy and emotionally focused priest at the altar of God.

And if I may – please keep Father Radloff and me in your prayers also.

I look forward to seeing you all in the coming weeks.

I am,Respectfully Yours in Christ,

 James Alan Wilkowski

Evangelical Catholic Bishop for the Diocese of the Northwest

“A Welcoming Community of Faith
Rooted in the Catholic Tradition”

The Spiritual Fear Mongering of Bishop Liam Cary of the Diocese of Baker

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.

Define Us By Who We Are, Not By Who We Are Not

Text of the Pastoral Letter

Congratulations Father David Verhasslet - Priest for the Evangelical Catholic Diocese of the Northwest

On Saturday, August 10th, 2013, I had the honor of celebrating the Rite of Clerical Incardination of Father David Verhasselt as a priest for the Evangelical Catholic Diocese of the Northwest at Holy Name of Jesus Evangelical Catholic Church in Ashippun Wisconsin.

Together with Fathers Peter Julian McGechie and Matthew Pozen, our concelebrated Mass was attended by a near over-flow crowd of Holy Name of Jesus parishioners, guests and members of the Verhasselt Family.

The road which brought Father David to the Evangelical Catholic Church was not a easy one and throughout this journey and transition, Father David never failed to witness his personal and priestly dignity and integrity.

Holy Names of Jesus is a catholic faith community that is strong and vibrant in spirit and faith.  I know that Father David will continue to lead and mentor this parish to its fullest potential.

The invaluable lessons to be learned from the Lennon Cihak case.

This past weekend has indeed witness the perfect sacramental and ecclesiastical storm.  

The name of this storm is Lennon Cihak, a young Catholic lad from Barnesville MN enjoying the fun of youth, living a private life and born with a conscience.  

As with the overwhelming majority of Americans, Lennon Cihak has a Facebook account.  Just before the November elections Lennon decided to exercise his constitutional right of free speech and thought by posting his support for marriage equality in our country. Mr. Cihak's support on this matter is just one of millions in this country who are supporting the very same cause.  In most cases, Lennon Cihak's support would be considered one in several million and his name would never emerge from the millions who also support this issue.

Wrong.

Lennon Cihak has been in preparation to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation at the Roman Catholic Church of the Assumption in Barnesville, MN - that was until the pastor of Assumption, the Reverend Gary LaMoine came across Lennon's Facebook page and saw Lennon supporting marriage equality and expelled Lennon from his confirmation preparations.  Father LaMoine informed Lennon that his support of marriage equality runs "contrary to Roman Catholic teachings that states that marriage can only take place between a man and a woman."  Father LaMoine also informed Lennon that if he would "stand before the congregation of Assumption and recant his heretical beliegs, he might be permitted to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.

Well.

The matter of Lennon Cihak has, of this date, become an international topic of conversation, thrusting a family from a small town in Minnesota into a media storm.  Father LaMoine is upset that this story is out in the open, if you will pardon the expression.  The Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Crookston has been officially "unavailable."

This story was forwarded to me by another of the bishops of the Evangelical Catholic Church, Bishop Joseph Ryan of Ireland and for the record I wish to state that I have reached out to the Cihak family to offer the Sacrament of Confirmation to their son, if they so desire.

But what I wish to attempt to discuss in this essay is the topics of rights, obligations and obediences of individuals and institutions.

The Roman Catholic Church, just like the Evangelical Catholic Church and all other institutions of faith has the unconditional right to enact any laws, regulations or norms binding ALL of its members to adherence. The Roman Catholic community has been and continues to be very clear regarding their theology on marriage.  When preparing candidates for the Confirmation, jurisdictions of faith make very clear to the candidates that the time for them to embrace the totality of their faith as adults has now come and when a candidate says "yes" to this responsibility - then their Church should count on their obedience to ALL aspects of the faith.  Obviously on the matter of marriage equality, young Lennon Cihak and the Roman Catholic Church holds two opposing opinions which gives the Roman Catholic Church the right to refuse the Sacrament to the young man.

So why did I stick my episcopal nose into the matter by offering to bestow upon the lad the Sacrament of Confirmation?  Because of conscious, faith and the Holy Spirit.

No matter which of the Catholic jurisdictions one belongs to, the expectations of the People of God is that their Church will take seriously its obligation to care for the souls of the faithful.  The actions of Father LaMoine and the Diocese of Crookston has abdicated their obligations to the soul of Lennon Cihak.  Because this young man has chosen to express his catholic faith inclusively, he paid the price of having the might weight and wrath of the institutional Roman Catholic Church pounce upon him.  One would think that young Mr. Cihak is the first and only Roman Catholic to hold a view that different from the institutional church.  Maybe the institutional Roman Catholic Church felt that they could make an example out of a 17 year old high school lad from Minnesota. I guess going after a 17 year old youth might not cause any blowback had the institutional Roman Catholic Church decided to excommunicate all adult women who hold active prescription for birth-control pills in their purses.  Is not the doctrine found in Humane Vitae just as important to uphold and police as their policies on marriage? Was isn't the Roman Catholic Church denying the Sacrament of Marriage to couples who have been living together for years or have elected not to have any children?  I guess it just comes down to the fact that a 17 year old lad is easier to go after.

Now that Lennon Cihak is now recognized as an adult with the gift of adult reasoning - I hope that this young adult might ask himself "is this jurisdiction of faith the one where I belong?"  Maybe this is a question that many of us should be asking ourselves.  

There is no question that the Roman Catholic Church has the right to enforce their laws.  They won the argument.  Too bad God and Lennon lost.

When Churches Stalk Ex-Members

It seems that the sin and illness of stalking and bullying have found a new home within some church denominations.

Permit me to begin with this theory: Membership within any Church body is a personal and private decision. There are no civil or church laws which states that individuals are bound to lifetime membership. Thus, if any individuals feels compelled to join another Church to continue their spiritual journey - they are free to do so.

Like any pastor, I rejoice when anyone joins the Evangelical Catholic Church and I am saddened when someone elects to go elsewhere and when someone chooses to move elsewhere I must respect their decision and wish them Godspeed.

Apparently, not all within the pastoral community seems to share this belief.

This past August, the Evangelical Catholic Diocese of the Northwest accepted a candiate for Clerical Incardination. This is when a priest from another jurisdiction desires to transfer their priesthood to us. In this particular case, Father David Verhasselt elected to come to the Evangelical Catholic Church from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee. After choosing to become a member of the Evangelical Catholic Church, the Diocese, after fully reviewing Father's records, according him the opportunity to begin the one-year process of incardination and granted him faculities to establish Holy Name of Jesus Evangelical Catholic Church is Wisconsin.

Let me state for the record that in transferring his personal membership to the Evangelical Catholic Church, Father David resigned as priest and member of the Roman Catholic Church and Archdiocese of Milwaukee before he was canonically received into our jurisdiction on August 4th, 2012. On August 10th, 2012, I sent a letter to Archbishop Jerome Listecki requesting a official copy of Father David's records.

Despite Father David's resignation from the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and my letter to Archbishop Listecki, one would surmise that the Archdiocese would accept facts and simply say goodbye to Father David and wish him Godspeed.

Sadly, the response and reaction of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has been one of stalking and bullying.

Prior to becoming a member of the Evangelical Catholic Diocese of the Northwest, Father David had been a profoundly sucessful priest and pastor. After announcing plans to establish Holy Name of Jesus Evangelical Catholic Church, Father David found over 100 families interested in coming and supporting this new parish. Once the address of our new parish was announced, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee had one of their highest ranking officials contact those who were willing to provide us worship space and ask them to resind their decision.

If that action wasn't regretable enough, a number of strange items began to appear in the media.

On August 23rd, 2012, reporter Tracy Rusch of the Catholic Herald, the official newpaper of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee wrote an article "Former pastor allegedly leaves Roman Catholic Church." In her article, Ms. Rusch wrote that "Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki is investigating an allegation that Fr. David Verhasselt, former pastor of St. Catherine Parish in Mapleton, is leaving the Roman Catholic Church to become a priest in the Evangelical Catholic Church." Ms. Rusch also quoted Archbishp Listecki saying that “If true, Father’s choice to become a priest of the Evangelical Catholic Church separates him from the Roman Catholic Church, and would result in his immediate excommunication.”

Remembering my own studies of the Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church, I do not remember it ever stating that the Roman Church can excommuniate a former member.

I was further amazed when Ms. Rusch quoted Ms. Zabrina Decker, tribunal chancellor and canon lawyer for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Despite all of the communicatuion from Father David and my own letter to Archbishop Listecki, Ms. Decker stated that "a priest can’t resign from the presbyterate, so Fr. Verhasselt is still on administrative leave and his appeal is still pending in Rome."

Sounds like China's attitude and posture towards Taiwan.

In addition to that which appeared in the Catholic Herald, Ms. Julie Wolf of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee gave a more dramatic interview with EWTN reporter Hillary Senour. Ms. Senour's story was published under the headline "MILWAUKEE PRIEST & PARISHONERS FACE POSSIBLE EX-COMMUNICATION"

Permit me to share some of the points of Ms. Senour's story.

A Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee faces excommunication following reports of being named pastor at a non-Catholic church.

Father Dave Verhasselt has reportedly left the Catholic Church to become pastor at the Holy Name of Jesus Evangelical Catholic Church.

In an Aug. 9 e-mail to area clergy, Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki of Milwaukee said he was “saddened” to have to share the “difficult and painful” news of Fr. Verhasselt's dissent.

Julie Wolf, communication director for the Milwaukee archdiocese, told EWTN News Aug. 23 that Archbishop Listecki is obligated by canon law to investigate the reports that Fr. Verhasselt has left.

“If found to be true, Father’s choice to become a priest of the Evangelical Catholic Church separates him from the Roman Catholic Church, and would result in his immediate excommunication,” she said.

According to an Aug. 6 press release from the Evangelical Catholic Diocese of the Northwest, Fr. Verhasselt has become the pastor of a parish, Holy Name of Jesus in Ashippun, Wis.

Prior to leaving the Church, Fr. Verhasselt was at St. Catherine of Alexandria parish in Oconomowoc, Wis.

Fr. Verhasselt appealed Archbishop Listecki's decree to the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith in Rome and then wrote a letter informing the archbishop he was resigning from the presbyterate.

Wolf said the archdiocese has no “concrete information” on how many members of St. Catherine's parish have decided to also leave the Catholic Church with Fr. Verhasselt.

“We really have no way of knowing this,” she said.

Should parishioners choose to follow Fr. Verhasselt out of the Catholic Church, they would also face possible excommunication.

“If someone separates themselves from the practice of their Catholic faith by virtue of participation in another faith tradition, it would be our fervent prayer they someday reunite themselves with the faith tradition of their Baptism,” Wolf said.

I am profoundly saddened that the Archdiocese of Milwaukee would play the excommunication card against anyone who visits Holy Name of Jesus Parish. To me, it seems that the bottom line for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee isn't that Father David excardinated from them - it is that members of the laity are choosing to celebrate Mass at Holy Name of Jesus. I seriously doubt that 200 people visiting Holy Name of Jesus will bring about the end of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.

Stalking and bullying the laity is not what builds up the Kingdom of God on Earth.

The 2011 Bishop's Dinner and Awards Ceremony

For additional information visit the Bishop's Dinner and Awards Ceremony 2011 page or call the Diocese at (773) 721-5383.

The Evangelical Catholic Diocese of the Northwest is “A Welcoming Community of Faith Rooted in the Catholic Tradition”