Blessed Mychal Judge OFM
Few realize that the heroic Franciscan Chaplain, who died in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers on 9/11 has been beatified. Fewer still knew his cause had been opened. Well, it hasn’t, at least as far as the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of the Saints is concerned. The “Reconciliation Catholic Church” has recently raised the friar to the honors of the altar.
Fr. Mychal was the chaplain of the NYC Fire Department. I know the province of Franciscans he hails from well, having lived in Boston. The same friars staff St. Anthony’s Shrine on Arch Street, where I went for spiritual direction when I lived there. Friends of Fr. Mychal were on staff there.
Fr. Mychal was “out” about his homosexual inclination, though celibate and faithful to his vows. He was very open about it and ministered to gay people, as well as faithfully fulfilling his duties as chaplain. Firefighters loved him, and when he went down with his men, he was revered by the entire nation. I admire him and esteem his heroic sacrifice in the execution of his duty, laying down his life for his men. God alone knows his soul.
However, my purpose here is to bring attention to this Reconciliation Catholic Church deal, not Fr. Mychal. Diogenes from Catholic World News brought the entire matter to my attention in his post on the “beatification”. The group is obviously gay friendly, if not gay. Diogenes refers to the sect as one of many ”autocephalous churchlets” in his piece titled, “Vineless Branches“. He also includes great pictures of an ordination that appears to take place in some one’s living room, or a parlor of a nursing home.
Evidently the church is a part of the unofficial, Byzantine Catholic Church, which has no status or connection to the authentic Byzantine Catholic or Roman Catholic churches, nor are they part of the Orthodox communion, as far as I know. Supposedly the bishop in charge is a real bishop who is willing to ordain just about anyone - check out the site I linked to. In fact, I’m fairly certain a local married and divorced deacon (now retired) from our Archdiocese was ordained by this guy in a mausoleum at a local cemetery in Minneapolis - although it may have been another “Old Catholic” bishop. (None of these ordinations, much less Fr. Mychal’s beatification would ever be recognized as valid in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church. They would be in the same class as the bogus ordinations of women priests that have taken place in the last few years. Although, I’ve been told I may be mistaken in that presumption.)
It’s weird isn’t it? These people just make this stuff up. They make up their own church and pretend to be priests. As the “Old Catholics” - they are schismatics. In Ramsey County there is an “Old Catholic” priest whose orders are not recognized by Rome, yet he represents himself as a Catholic priest. What if he were to give a dying Catholic last rites, without the person knowing he wasn’t really a priest? That is what is so deceptive about these nouveau groups; these guys look like a priest, dress like a priest, use the same rituals, etc. - but they are not Roman Catholic priests.
It’s kind of creepy. (You have to check out the links I highlighted, the photos are a hoot! Actually, double checking the links, I see they all seem to be part of the “Old Catholic” church.)
February 1st, 2007 at 8:02 pm
If the bishop performing the unauthorized ordinations is truly a bishop, wouldn’t his ordinations be effective, if he says the proper prayers and performs the proper actions? Seems to me this is an entirely different matter that when a bishop attempts to ordain a woman.
February 1st, 2007 at 8:17 pm
It’s a big “if” whether or not the bishop is legit. Check out their websites. As for womens ordination, seems to me it’s an apples and oranges thing when it comes to these guys.
Let me know if I’m wrong.
Thanks for your comments.
February 1st, 2007 at 9:05 pm
sort of reminds me of a book on exorcisms I read several years ago. A priests story of 5 modern day exorcisms… anyway one of the people being exorcised was a priest who went around purposely doing incorrect baptisms and confessions. It was very creepy & disturbing and I never finished that book. I threw it away. It takes alot for me to throw a book in the trash.
February 1st, 2007 at 10:30 pm
I’m certain that if a bishop ordains a man (and their faculties for doing so have not been revoked) then yes, they are truly ordained according to the Catholic Church. Thus, the four bishops of the SSPX *are* true bishops even though Marcel Lefebvre ordained them against the wishes of the Vatican.
That book is disturbing and I don’t recommend it for anyone short of a priest involved with such things. Those kind of manifestations are rare not the common hum drum that people think it is these days. Too many people (not saying anyone here) get caught up in crap like that whether it’s evil spirits or the politics of the Catholic Church. My answer is to just not deal with it anymore. Sheesh, no thanks. (:
February 2nd, 2007 at 9:02 am
RE: Making things up!
That’s why there are 30,000 - 50,000 Protestant denominations/sects.
(Debaters often are fast and loose with estimates: See Cathy of Alex’s “Debate” post at the Recovering Dissident Catholic blog).
February 2nd, 2007 at 12:50 pm
Very interesting debate. The “Old Catholics” (at least one branch of them) have been around for a long time, at least since Vatican I in the 19th century. They did not agree with papal infallibility.
Great blog, great posts as usual. I am adding it to my blogroll.
February 3rd, 2007 at 10:38 am
I understand that where there is valid apostolic succession of bishops, Rome recognizes the independent Catholic orders and sacraments as “valid but illicit”, ie: Divinely valid ordinations and sacraments, but illegal under Roman cannon law. This is much the same as Rome recognizes the Eastern Orthodox.
Most of the Old Catholic bishops (including Polish National) have valid apostolic succession from the 19th century RC bishops, when many northern European bishops chose to remain “old” Catholic (not going along with Pius IX’s declaration of papal infallibility).
Others are more recent, like the Catholic Apostolic churches, which derive their apostolic validity from RC Archbishop Carlos Duarte Costa (who was excommunicated around 1948 allegedly for refusing Vatican directives to help resettle Nazi war criminals). Costa took 3 million Brazilians with him.
Rome is friendlier to some of these “schismatic” churches (the Orthodox and recently the LaFervites) than to others. But their sacramental status is “valid though illicit”.