Open Letter to Bishop Williamson Regarding EC354 - Updated June 7, 2014

+

JMJ

Your Excellency,

An error in your understanding of Church Doctrine appears to have manifested itself.  I am writing this Open Letter to alert you and those who respect your judgement in these matters.

The following paragraph from  EC354 contains the core of the error:

Thus where Archbishop Lefebvre saw clearly that the Conciliar Church, by losing all four marks of the Catholic Church (one, holy, catholic, apostolic), was not the Catholic Church ... (Source)

Parsing the quoted statement we find that:

1. You believe that Archbishop Lefebvre believed that
2. The 'Conciliar Church', 
3. by losing all four marks of the Catholic Church 
4. was not the Catholic Church

First, you ascribe this belief to Archbishop Lefebvre instead of clearly stating that you hold this position.  So, at this point, it is an assumption on my part that you hold the error contained in the paragraph.

According to Church dogma, there is only one Church of Christ and there can never be two Churches that possess all four Marks of the Catholic Church.

Since a person can't lose something they don't possess,  your assertion that the "Conciliar Church" lost all four Marks of the Catholic Church supports the conclusion that prior to the supposed loss the "Conciliar Church" was in possession of all four Marks of the Catholic Church.  Following your logic, the "Conciliar Church" was the Catholic Church. 

Therefore the final assertion means that the Catholic Church has lost the Four Marks and is no longer the Catholic Church.  

This is manifestly false.

If a person held a superficial view of what constitutes the Four Marks of the Church, and imprinted this view on the words of Archbishop Lefebvre, it is entirely possible that they would arrive at and hold a similar opinion.

However, that would not change the fact that this opinion stands in contradiction to the Church Doctrine on Indefectibility which teaches that:

The Church is indefectible, that is, she remains and will remain the Institution of Salvation, founded by Christ, until the end of the world. (Sent. certa.) (Ott - Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma)

Assuming that you believe the Church of Christ to be indefectible, then in order to reconcile your thesis with Church teaching it is necessary to determine where the marks of the Catholic Church currently exist in their entirety.

Given that the First Vatican Council taught that the Our Lord Jesus Christ, "set blessed Peter over the rest of the apostles and instituted in him the permanent principle of both unities [ Faith and Government ] and their visible foundation",  the Vicar of Christ and the first mark of the Church (Unity of Faith and Government) are inseparable.  Hence the adage that wherever you find the Vicar of Christ, you have found the Church. 

Assuming that you accept Pope Francis as the successor of St. Peter and the present Vicar of Christ, it is clear as to which society is the Church of Christ. 

It is with this society that Bishop Fellay and Fr. Pfluger maintain relations because, as Bishop Fellay recently stated: "we will never cut all ties with Rome. Otherwise we would simply cease to be Catholic".

The remaining marks are easily demonstrated to remain affixed to the aforesaid society, when one searches for them with the understanding of the Church as found in the Catechism of the Council of Trent:

Apostolic:The Church of Christ can be recognized by its Apostolic origin, for "the Holy Ghost, who presides over the Church, governs her by no other ministers than those of Apostolic succession".

Catholic:The Catholic Church is Universal, "embraces ... all mankind" and includes "all the faithful who have existed from Adam to the present day, or who shall exist, in the profession of the true faith, to the end of time".  Finally, the Church is called Universal because "all who desire eternal salvation must cling to and embrace her". 

Holy:The Church is Holy for the following reasons: it is consecrated and dedicated to God; because the Church, as the Mystical Body of Christ, is united to its head: Our Lord Jesus Christ; and lastly the Church has the true worship of God.

Which of these marks are missing from the Church and how did the separation occur?  

The opinion that the consecration of 'modern' bishops is invalid, is held by the sedevacantists, yet as you profess to not be a sedevacantist, how has the mark of Apostolicity been lost?

The post-conciliar Popes have not changed any of the de fide teachings of the Church and the society united under Pope Francis remains that which "all who desire eternal salvation must cling to and embrace". How has the mark of Catholicity been lost?

The Church remains consecrated and dedicated to God, even if Her hierarchy are as remiss in their duty as in the time of the Arian heresy.  How has the mark of Holiness been lost?

The answer is simple, the Marks are all intact, obscured as they are in this crisis of the Church.  

The root of the error contained in EC354 is the inability to distinguish between the Church as identified by the Four Marks and the actions of individuals who, while still remaining within the Church, wreck such havoc. 

As written in the Catechism of the Council of Trent:

"... however wicked and evil they may be, it is certain that they still belong to the Church: Of this the faithful are frequently to be reminded, in order to be convinced that, were even the lives of her ministers debased by crime, they are still within the Church, and therefore lose nothing of their power ..."

Cordially,
Tradical

Reference: The Four Marks of the Church - A brief exposition of the Church Teaching on the Four Marks, and Visibility of the Church of Christ drawn from the documents of the First Vatican Council, The Catechism of the Councio of Trent and The Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma.

Update:
On May 13, 2014 I sent the following email to Bishop Williamson:

Dear Excellency,

After reading EC254,  I have concluded you have committed a serious error and this error is endangering the souls of those who rely upon your opinion. 

Please find attached below an open letter that details the error.

http://tradicat.blogspot.ca/2014/05/open-letter-to-bishop-williamson.html

In the Hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,

Tradical

P^3

Prayer

Penance

Patience

Update:
On June 7, 2014 Bishop Williamson posted another EC on the 'Conciliar Church' (#360).

Sadly, H.E. has not responded to my criticisms completely.

The process is not difficult to observe or to understand, but liberals at the head of the Society of St Pius X, seeking reconciliation with the Conciliarists in Rome, have done their best to confuse the question of the Conciliar church and the Catholic Church. For instance the Catholic Church is visible, they will say, and the Conciliar church is the visible church, so the Conciliar church is the Catholic Church, an argument dismissed years ago by Archbishop Lefebvre as “childish” (many churches are visible that are not Catholic). Equally childish is the argument that there is only one Church, so the Conciliar church and the Catholic Church must be one and the same (there are thousands of false churches)

What Bishop Williamson has done here is put into the mouths of his opponents his version of what 'they' would say.

Instead of providing actual proof (there is none) he has to fabricate it.

The understanding of the Visibility of the Church put forth by Bishop Williamson and the resistance is erroneous.

Christe Eleison.

Articles on this topic