Skip to main content

Is Dogma Important? Part II - Kinda

+
JMJ

As a follow up to part 1 and the theme of hybridization of Catholics, the following appeared on the Catholic Diocese Pittsburgh in January 2014.

Bishop David A. Zubik
Bishop of Pittsburgh
An ecumenical group of pastors and laity has been preparing for the Three Rivers Festival of Hope, sponsored by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association on Aug. 15-17, 2014, at the Consol Energy Center. The three-day event will include stirring music from Christian artists and personal testimonies of people from various walks of life who are dedicated to following Jesus Christ.
 I have appointed Father David Poecking, pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Carnegie, and Helene Paharik, associate general secretary of the diocese, to serve as my representatives on the festival committee.
 The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association isn't a Catholic organization. But we do share a common hope of helping Christians return to the practice of their faith and of bringing the Gospel to every person in our city, nation and world. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has a record of working cooperatively with Catholic dioceses. If there are folks at the Three Rivers Festival of Hope who want to return to the Catholic Church, we surely want to be there to welcome them back with open arms.
 For that reason I appreciate this opportunity for the Diocese of Pittsburgh to participate in this work of evangelization. As I stated in my pastoral letter, "The Church Alive!," I can remember as a youngster watching on television the Rev. Dr. Billy Graham. I marveled at the way he was able to touch people's hearts.
 May the Three Rivers Festival of Hope so touch people's hearts with the love of God that they are fired up to follow his Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ. May our prayerful presence at the festival enable former Catholics to come home. May the experience of Christian unity at the festival inspire our region to continue to build bridges of reconciliation in service to the common good.

The confusing part is the "... share a common hope of helping Christians return to the practice of their faith ...".

The non-hybridized version would read: '... the practice of the Catholic faith ...' because there is only one Church of Christ and frankly Billy Graham's church isn't it!

P^3
Prayer
Penance
Patience

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Rome and SSPX - Version 2026 Part 2

 + JMJ Part 2 Detailed Synopsis and Timeline (ChatGPT) At this point, I took the shortcut of uploading all of my previous links and the latest SSPX and Rome links to ChatGPT. This way we’ll see how ChatGPT interprets the world as presented on the internet. P^3 Briefing Memo Subject: Rome–SSPX Relations and Planned Episcopal Consecrations (July 1, 2026) Prepared for: Ecclesial / Academic / Media Briefing Date: February 2026 Issue Overview The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) has announced its intention to consecrate new bishops on July 1, 2026 , potentially without a papal mandate . The Holy See has acknowledged ongoing talks with the SSPX and stated its desire to avoid rupture, but has not granted approval nor outlined canonical consequences. The situation revives unresolved tensions dating to 1988 and raises questions about schism, authority, and doctrinal continuity. Background Founded in 1970 by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the SSPX seeks to preserve pre-Vat...

Schism

There is some question as to whether the Pope can be in actual schism as per the Cardinal Torquemada: Citing the doctrine of Pope Innocent III, Torquemada further teaches:  "Thus it is that Pope Innocent III states [De Consuetudine] that, it is necessary to obey the Pope in all things as long as he, himself, does not go against the universal customs of the Church, but should he go against the universal customs of the Church, 'he need not be followed' . . . " [Cited from A Theological Vindication of Roman Catholic Traditionalism, Father Paul Kramer, B.Ph., S.T.D., M. Div. (2nd edition, St. Francis Press, India) p. 29. The full quotation from Cardinal Torquemada reads, "By disobedience, the Pope can separate himself from Christ despite the fact that he is head of the Church, for above all, the unity of the Church is dependent on its relationship with Christ. The Pope can separate himself from Christ either by disobeying the law of Christ, or by commanding som...

SSPX / DICI: Communiqué of the General House of the Society of St. Pius X concerning the episcopal consecration of Fr. Jean-Michel Faure.

+ JMJ The following is the communiqué of the SSPX regarding the Bishop Williamson's consecration of Fr. Faure. As a follow-up to this article ,  I would like to highlight the rationale for denouncing the consecration. Communiqué of the General House of the Society of St. Pius X concerning the episcopal consecration of Fr. Jean-Michel Faure. On March 19, 2015, Bishop Richard Williamson performed the episcopal consecration of Fr. Jean-Michel Faure at the Benedictine Monastery of the Holy Cross in Nova Friburgo, Brazil. Bishop Williamson and Fr. Faure have not been members of the Society of St. Pius X since 2012 and 2014, respectively, because of their violent criticisms of any relations with the Roman authorities. According to them, such contacts were incompatible with the apostolic work of Archbishop Lefebvre.(1) The Society of St. Pius X regrets sincerely that this spirit of opposition has led to an episcopal consecration. In 1988 Archbishop Lefebvre had c...

Bishop Huonder, SSPX in Schism? - Nope, Consecration of Holy Oils - Update 1

 + JMJ  So Bishop Huonder is in the news for two reasons.  First, his 'Testimony' concerning Pope Francis etc. This was received as a nice reinforcement by Trads (SSPX and others).  Of course, there are those that now are demanding an apostolic investigation.  Yawn, been here before.  This was predictable as other bishops who have followed the same path came to the same conclusions.  It is the way. Second, he celebrated the Chrism Mass and blessed the Holy Oils for use in the SSPX's European chapels and ceremonies.  This caused a stir amongst some Trads who are locked in one or the other statements made by either Archbishop Lefebvre or others. I received two versions of a question regarding this event: Hi Tradical Do you have any comments about doubtful oils in SSPX europe by +Huonder (NO Bishop not conditionally consecrated)? God Bless Hi Tradical Any thoughts on Huonder oil, not conditionally ordained and consecrated by SSPX bishops? God Bless M...