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.

Placing Francis Cardinal George in God's Hands

This evening our local news stations reported that Francis Cardinal George, Roman Catholic Archbishop for Chicago, has once again begun aggressive chemotherapy for a return of cancer.

While His Eminence and I, are members of two of the various Catholic jurisdictions, he and I are both brother priests and sons of the same Father. Although he and I have not agreed on some pastoral and sacramental issues, I am called by faith and fraternity to hold him in prayer and to ask God to give him, along with all who struggle from life-threatening illness, comfort, hope and peace.

I invite all persons of good will to place His Eminence in God's hands.

Discipline of the Faithful v. Disciplining the Faithful

A long time ago we here at the office learned how important it is to check our in-boxes daily for emails, for we receive many.  A significant amount of email we receive, like most of us, tends to come under the category of spam.

Towards the end of January 2014 the office took note of a number of emails coming to us with written in the subject line, “Shameful Behavior,” “Meanness,” “Discipline Yourselves,” and several others with headings that one should not quote in the public forum.

The common objective of these emails was to take the Evangelical Catholic Church and our Bishops to task for our advocating that any gender common couples seeking marriage “should be disciplined like a child.”

After reviewing about 30 of these emails, I choose seven of the most angry and emotional emails and replied to them asking why the Evangelical Catholic Church was receiving such emails.  From the four who responded, I leaned that their indignation had been ignited by recent comments of Bishop Thomas Paprocki, Roman Catholic Bishop for the Diocese of Springfield Illinois, during a recent radio interview defending his obsession and opposition to equal rights for LGTB citizens.

Bishop Paprocki, one may remember, gained national notoriety in 2013 when he conducted an exorcism service on the day the Illinois Marriage Equality Bill was signed into law.  In attempting to justify his actions, Bishop Paprocki said he wasn’t being hateful — he was performing a “loving” act of discipline, like a parent correcting a child. And he has reiterated his belief same-sex marriage is “the work of the devil.”

Since the signing of the Marriage Equality Bill, Bishop Paprocki has remained obsessed in his opposition to Marriage Equality.  In a recent video interview with LifeSite News, Bishop Paprocki stated that “Any good parent will tell you that sometimes you have to discipline your children,” and also adding that "Sometimes you have to say ‘no,’" and "Sometimes you even have to punish.”

In his concluding remarks on LifeSite, Bishop Paprocki said “When a parent does those things, they’re not being hateful towards their children; they’re actually being very loving by correcting them and showing them the right way to do things.”

Upon realizing the genesis of the angry emails sent to us, our office responded with a clarifying disclaimer stating that the words and pastoral positions of Bishop Paprocki on marriage equality does not reflect the ecclesiology and pastoral theology of the Evangelical Catholic Church.

I fully understand the hurt expressed in these emails sent to the Evangelical Catholic Church.  I understand the fact that these are good people who are hurting as a result of their systematic marginalization by their Catholic jurisdiction and have incorrectly assumed that all Catholic jurisdictions shares Bishop Paprocki’s words, actions and attitudes tells me that much works needs to continue in order to education the general public of the fact that there does exist more than ONE Catholic jurisdiction in the world.

Let me emphasize my recognition and compliments to Bishop Paprocki for being a loyal member and bishop to the Catholic Church of Rome.  There is in my mind no doubt that Thomas

Paprocki embraces and supports the theological and ecclesial disciplines of his Catholic jurisdiction.

Today most of the Catholic Jurisdiction shares common views on many theological and ecclesial matters.  With regards to matters of equal rights and human rights, the Catholic Church of Rome and the Evangelical Catholic Church embraces opposing secular and theological views.  I am also prepared to state that when it comes to “disciplining” the laity which God has called us to serve, the views expressed by my brother Thomas and the pastoral theology of the Evangelical Catholic Church could not be more diverse.

I believe that the common liturgical, sacramental, ecclesial, spiritual and theological “disciplines” shared and celebrated by the various Catholic jurisdictions are those things which draw us together as communities of faith to deepen our intimacy and love of and with God.  These disciplines should appeal to the heart and spirituality of people and invite them unconditionally to become part of a jurisdiction and not be viewed as flypaper in disguise. 

Scripture continues to teach us that in the calling of the Twelve, Jesus extends to His chosen the simple, yet profound invitation to “Come, follow me.”  Jesus made his invitation unconditional and without putting anyone under any form of duress. 

The words and model of Church being used by my brother Thomas are top heavy with duress and absolutism – a model the theocratic rule to which all persons (Catholic or not) must submit.

Thomas’ words and model of Church being expressed reminds me of a scene from the movie “Roots,” in which the slave Kunta Kinke is being whipped because of his refusal to accept his slave name of Toby.  Jesus invites us to follow him based on unconditional love, not via submission from torture. 

I have always used the image of Catholicism as a tree with many branches sharing the same trunk and roots.  I also believe that each of the Catholic jurisdictions much equally share in the many historic episodes of torture and pain inflicted upon those deemed in need of “discipline” by Holy Mother Church.  The blood of so many from ages past which continues to stains our hands most not be further stained by the emotional and spiritual blood of the marginalized of those of this generation.

While I must acknowledge Bishop Paprocki’s rights to advocate his strongest objections to marriage equality or any other secular matter which he feels threatens the Roman position of the Sacrament of Marriage, such as the secular right to divorce or the right to secure a prescription for birth control.  Maybe these are demographics which Thomas cannot financially afford to upset.

For myself, I simply wish to not have my Catholic jurisdiction clubbed over the head because of Thomas’ obsession.

TN State Senator Stacey Campfield: Reflections by the Uneducated

A few days ago TN State Senator Stacey Campfield engaged in some personal reflections which proves to me that the 1st Amendment providing free speech was a brilliant concept of the Founders - even when it causes society to shake their heads in disbelief.

Senator Campfield has been sharing the genesis of the AIDS virus:

"Most people realize that AIDS comes from the homosexual community - it was one guy screwing a monkey, if I recall correctly, and then having sex with men.  It was with a airline pilot, I recall.

It is my understanding that is it virtually impossible contract AIDS through heterosexual sex."

The power of the uneducated. 

Remembering Archbishop Mark Steven Shirilau

After all these years I have come to learn that phones calls between midnight and 6:00 AM most often are bad news - and in the middle of the night on January 12th, 2014 proved to be no different.

I don't even remember who the caller was.  All I remember hearing the words that "Mark died in Italy this morning."

Since that morning and up to the moment I've begun to write this (January 2 2014) I have had great difficulties digesting the fact that Mark Shirilau is gone at the age of only 58 from heart failure resulting from pneumonia.

Archbishop Mark Steven Shirilau was the founder and first Archbishop for the Ecumenical Catholic Church and he and Bishop Robert W. Martin were to play a significant role in encouraging me to re-embrace my vocation to the priesthood after my hellish experience as a candidate for the Roman Catholic Priesthood.

In 1995 the Holy Spirit arranged for a convergence between myself with the Ecumenical Catholic Church.  I was invited to attend one of their priesthood ordinations in Springfield Illinois and somehow Bishop Martin learned of my formational past and decided to make time to visit with me to discuss my considering to continue my vocation within the Ecumenical Catholic Church.  Despite my many gracious "no thanks" to Bishop Martin, I left Springfield back on the "formational hook" and within a few weeks accepted Bishop Martin's invitation to become a priest within the Ecumenical Catholic Church.

Shortly after my acceptance, Bishop Martin told me that I would be receiving a phone call from "the Archbishop."  After my Roman Catholic formation experiences, the idea of a chat with "The Archbishop" didn't especially impress me.  Nevertheless one night I was hosting a small party of friends and had enjoyed martinis, complimented with some fine wine with dinner and had just settled back with my guests and was having a B&B when the the phone rang.  After saying hello, the voice on the other end of the phone said, "Hi, this is Archbishop Shirilau."  I though it was one of my friends calling and joking, so I responded by saying, "and I'm the Duke of Windsor" and hung up.  Within the hour Bishop Martin phoned me to say that the Archbishop was trying to phone and was going to call back.  Marty's advice to me was "when the phone rings and the voice says this is the Archbishop - please give him the benefit of the doubt."

Mark called back and I followed Marty's advice and was ultimately ordained to the priesthood on May 25th, 1996 in Chicago.

Ironically my canonical relationship with Mark and the Ecumenical was destined to be brief.

The Ecumenical Catholic Church, which is part of the great Autocephalous Catholic Movement, became home and a refuge for many who had become pastorally and sacramentaly orphaned by the Roman Catholic Church.  Mark come to the ECC via the Episcopal and Lutheran Churches, whereas myself and a few other came to the ECC directly via the Roman Catholic Church.  As much as Mark loved us "Catholics," he was wise enough to recognize a possible conflict between our ecclesiology and the more Protestant ecclesiology of the ECC and very much wanted to avoid it.  In short, Mark suggested and with his blessings encouraged us to form a community in which our ecclesiology and sacramentology could be more fully celebrated and worked with us to create the Evangelical Catholic Church in July of 1997.

In many ways Mark Shirilau and Marty Martin were instruments of the Holy Spirit to help the pastorally orphaned to find new avenues to reconnect with God.  In my nearly 20 years of ministry, I am just now coming to a fuller understand of how the Holy Spirit worked through Mark and how Mark, very much akin to the willingness of our Blessed Mother - accepted God's task and vocation on behalf of a greater good.

It is because Mark gave of himself unconditionally to God for the greater good for the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth that I was saddened to see how Mark was used by so many others to obtain valid ordinations to the priesthood and consecrations to the episcopacy.  Mark was willing to give anyone who petitioned for ordination a chance.  It was tragic to see over the years to numbers of those who Mark ordained only to turn around and stab him in the back and run out the back door. 

Over the past 15 years or so it was interesting to see how both Mark and I evolved.  I believe that it would be fair to say that Mark's ecclesiology and sacramentology was significantly left of center and that mine was significantly right of center.  In recent years both Mark and I had significantly moved into the center ecclesial and sacramental lane. Both Mark and I had come to the conclusion that the wider Autocephalous Catholic Movement in the United States was in a "hot mess" and needed reform and professionalism.

In 2013, the Evangelical Catholic Church and I inherited stewardship of the Saint John the Evangelist Seminary and I invited Mark and the Ecumenical Catholic Church to make the Seminary a consortium project and Mark immediately agreed.  Mark and I, along with Bishop Dermot Rodgers of the Communion of Independent Catholic Churches believed that this program of academic formation would help correct many of the problems which has plagued the Autocephalous Catholic Movement.  And I believe that in time we will succeed in doing so.

Last year Mark and I worked on how our two jurisdictions could work more closely together and we agreed on a Concordat of Recognition between our two jurisdictions.  The Evangelical Catholic Diocese of the Northwest and I elected to nominate Mark to received the Saint Joseph the Worker Award at the 2013 Bishop's Dinner and Awards Ceremony this past November.  Sadly Mark could not attend due to the death of his father Ken in October.  Mark suggested that since we would be all be gathered for a combined Retreat and Conference in May of 2014, he would sign the Concordat at that time. He further suggested that I present him with his Award at that time, so there would be a keepsake picture of us together with the Award.  I said fine, but went ahead and mailed him his award in December.  When he got it he phoned and was very emotional with gratitude.  I'm glad that I didn't wait until May of 2014.

Mark and I spend considerable time together in Chicago this past September and laid the framework for working together in the future.  Our time together made us both feel like young and vigorous newly ordained priests.

Had it not been for Mark Shirilau, Marty Martin and the Ecumenical Catholic Church - I would have never been ordained.

The best way for me to honor Mark's trust in me so many years ago is to simply continue to serving the People of God and to continue to work for the building of His kingdom on earth.

To learn more about the life of Mark Shirilau, please visit his memorial. 

An Autocephalous Catholic Synod

A Proposal for the Autocephalous Catholic Synod

In 1908 William C. “Billy” Durant was the force behind the creation of the General Motors Corporation in the United States.  GM was created as an umbrella company to support the weak and struggling Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac and later Cadillac automobiles companies.  In union within GM these nameplates were able to grow and survive in Detroit. Under the GM banner these automobiles were able to retain their charism and also avoid unnecessary competition with one another.

In many ways I view the serious jurisdictions within the Autocephalous Movement akin to Chevrolet, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Cadillac – jurisdictions with common and very unique charisms which could be supported and enhanced by a fraternal umbrella.

Therefore, I am embolden to propose a fraternal umbrella with the working name of The Autocephalous Catholic Synod to invite jurisdictions within the Autocephalous Catholic Movement to come together in association to advance the ultimate mission of the Autocephalous Catholic Movement – to provide Sacramental, Spiritual, Liturgical and Pastoral Care to the People of God with the highest of possible professional standards.

The key to this Synod will be the commitment of member jurisdictions to embrace and implement the highest of professional and ethical pastoral standards to counter the profound lack of such standards common within the ACM.

Membership within this Synod will not require member jurisdictions to abdicate their charisms.  On the contrary, this Synod will encourage member jurisdictions to discern, discover and design a potential new pathway for common Sacramental, Spiritual, Liturgical and Pastoral travel.

The prime prerequisite for membership within the Synod will be for candidate jurisdiction to demonstrate their pastoral pro-activity and fidelity to the core dogmas of the historic Catholic Faith.  Applications from play-acting “jurisdictions” or bishops lacking credentials will not be eligible for consideration.

Under the GM corporate umbrella, five nameplates were able to thrive and prosper within the automotive industry.  I believe that under the umbrella of the Autocephalous Catholic Synod, serious jurisdictions have a unique opportunity to enhance the potentiality of the ACM.

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

Text of the Pastoral Letter