Fr. Z's Blog | Catholic commentary by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Federal judge rules as unconstitutional Catholic pro-life provisions in Trafficking Victims Prevention Act

Posted on 30 March 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From CNA:

Pro-life provisions in US bishops’ grant ruled unconstitutional
By Kevin J. Jones

Washington D.C., Mar 28, 2012 / 04:08 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A federal judge sparked criticism after he ruled unconstitutional the government’s accommodation of pro-life beliefs in an anti-human trafficking contract with the U.S. bishops.

“The bishops are disappointed and probably will appeal. This is another assault on the free exercise clause of the First Amendment,” Sr. Mary Ann Walsh, spokeswoman for the U.S. bishops’ conference, told CNA March 27.

The bishops’ contract proposal for a major five-year grant was approved in 2006 under the Trafficking Victims Prevention Act. The proposal contained language ensuring that its victim services are not used to “refer or fund activities that would be contrary to our moral convictions and religious beliefs.”

It stated that subcontractors could not provide or refer for abortion services or contraceptive materials for its clients.

On March 23 U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns said that the government violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment “insofar as they delegated authority to a religious organization to impose religiously based restrictions on the expenditure of taxpayer funds, and thereby impliedly endorsed the religious beliefs of the USCCB and the Catholic Church.”

The District of Massachusetts judge said the case is not about government forcing a religious institution to act contrary to its fundamental beliefs, but about “the limits of the government’s ability to delegate to a religious institution the right to use taxpayer money to impose its beliefs on others (who may or may not share them).”

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Massachusetts had challenged the funding, which totaled $19 million and served over 2,700 trafficking victims.

Brigitte Amiri, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, praised the decision.

[…]

Read the rest there.

Posted in Dogs and Fleas, Our Catholic Identity, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice | Tagged ACLU, Federal Judge, Trafficking Victims Prevention Act
31 Comments

WDTPRS Friday 5th Week of Lent: “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle”

Posted on 30 March 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

In the pre-Conciliar Missale Romanum this prayer was the Collect of the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost.

COLLECT
Absolve, quaesumus,
Domine, tuorum delicta populorum,
ut a peccatorum nexibus,
quae pro nostra fragilitate contraximus,
tua benignitate liberemur.

In the ancient Veronese Sacramentary our prayer was found in the month of September, also a fasting time, but it was a bit different: Absolue, domine, quaesumus, tuorum delicta populorum, et quod mortalitatis contrahit fragilitate purifica; ut cuncta pericula mentis et corporis te propellente declinans, tua consolatione subsistat, tua graita promissae redemptionis perficiatur hereditas.

A nexus, from necto (“to bind, tie, fasten; to join, bind, or fasten together, connect”), is “a tying or binding together, a fastening, joining, an interlacing, entwining, clasping” and thence, “a personal obligation, an addiction or voluntary assignment of the person for debt, slavery for debt”. Nexus is used to indicate also “a legal obligation of any kind”. It is not uncommon to find somewhere near nexus the word absolvo, which is “to loosen from, to make loose, set free, detach, untie”. In juridical language it means “to absolve from a charge, to acquit, declare innocent”.

This is so cool… here is a truly fascinating bit about nexus from the mighty Lewis & Short Dictionary: “to bring a work to a close, to complete, finish (without denoting intrinsic excellence, like perficere; the fig. is prob. derived from detaching a finished web from the loom“.

Contraho in this context is “to bring about, carry into effect, accomplish, execute, get, contract, occasion, cause, produce, make”. Blaise/Dumas indicates that contraho means “to commit sin”.

LITERAL ATTEMPT:
Unloose, O Lord, we implore,
the transgressions of Your peoples,
so that in Your kindness we may be freed
from the bonds of the sins
which we committed on account of our weakness.

Sin is a web which we both weave and then get caught in. You know the old saying from Sir Walter Scott: “O what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” All sins are deceptions and the Enemy is the father of lies.

When our First Parents committed the Original Sin, they contracted (contraho) the guilt and effects for the whole human race. At that point our race was bound, tangled up by justice. To be “justified” again, and to be unbound from our guilt and set to right with God, reparation had to be made. Therefore, the New Adam was bound by His tormentors, and bound to the Cross. His soul was unbound from His Body and died, and in the binding and unbinding, we were unbound from our sins.

OBSOLETE ICEL:
Lord,
grant us your forgiveness
and set us free from our enslavement to sin.

You decide.

CURRENT ICEL:
Pardon the offenses of your peoples, we pray, O Lord,
and in your goodness set us free
from the bonds of the sins
we have committed in our weakness.

The new, corrected translation isn’t perfect, but it sure is better.

I hear, woven into the vocabulary, the image of a loom.

I have in mind the passage from the Book of Job:

“My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and come to their end without hope. Remember that my life is a breath; my eye will never again see good.”

Our days are indeed like a shuttle. But in Christ we are never without hope. Christ is our hope.

Some years ago in Italy I met a women who wove cloth with a large loom. In her practiced hands, the shuttle lashed swiftly back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, while the loom packed the threads together. The cloth “grew” as it was woven, slowly, but surely. The shuttle snapped back and forth with increasing speed as she found her rhythm and settled into it.

Take a look at this short video of a loom in action. The clack you hear is the shuttle flying back and forth between the interlocking webs. You can just see the shuttle if you watch.

[wp_youtube]hb8ZRyNs38U[/wp_youtube]

So too are the days and the years of our lives. And as we get “better” at living with age, that shuttle goes faster and faster.

Clack… clack… clack… clack… clack… clack… clack… clack… clack… clack… clack… clack… clack… clack… clack… clack…

– snip.

My Jesus, mercy.

Posted in WDTPRS | Tagged deception, lies, loom, nexus, shuttle, Sir Walter Scott
10 Comments

REVIEW: Courageous

Posted on 29 March 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I just watched the movie Courageous, about some men who decide they will make a special commitment to be better men and good fathers.

The context is Georgia and the milieu is decidedly Baptist, though one of the main characters is Catholic. If you allow the movie those starting points you can readily transfer nearly every bit of this into a Catholic context as well.

It strikes me that this would be exactly the sort of movie that sophisticated critics or critic-wannabees would sneer at but which, once the sneering was concluded, they would want to watch again. Liberal males will envy the men in it and liberal women will secretly wish they knew one of these guys instead of the “SNAGs”* with which they surround themselves.

The acting in Courageous is a bit uneven, as there are quite a few non-actor volunteers involved.

There are some good moments involving loss and grief and moral challenges, ethical dilemmas.

I would like in particular to recommend this movie to seminarians and priests. We too need a message like this every bit as much as fathers of families.

As a matter of fact, at the point after the four friends collectively make their commitment to manhood and fatherhood, the preacher they have with them makes a little speech which could be one of the best admonitions you could ever hear from a bishop to the men he will ordain:

“I also have a warning for each of you. Now that you know what you are to do, and have committed to do it before God and these witnesses, you are doubly accountable. Let me also assure you, that you may have confidence in this resolution and your resolve now, because as you stand here there’s no challenge, no controversy, and no conflict. But I can assure you that challenges will arise, conflicts will arise, and controversy will arise. It is at that moment that, in order to live our this resolution, you will need courage… courage… courage.”

This is what we need from our fathers in the family and in the Faith.

Holy Church has spiritual fathers. By Holy Orders they are both priest and victim, the one who offers sacrifice and the one who is sacrificed. Holy Church teaches that the family home is the “domestic church”, and so there must be within the home that figure who also embodies one who sacrifices and is sacrificed. That person is the father. And every manner fatherhood has been and will be attacked by the father of lies so as to drag society down so that lost souls may be harvested for eternal separation from the Eternal Father.

The song at the end of the film sums up the principle point:

[wp_youtube]cTYSirKUiVw[/wp_youtube]

The trailer is HERE.

We’ve got to get men back into society and we start by getting them back into families.

As I said above, there are uneven spots in the movie and some moments veer sharply and nearly irretrievably into the corny. But once you give yourself over to the premise of the movie, you will probably want to own it and give it as gifts.

It’s sincere, and it nails the the issues squarely. Give it a try.

USA BlueRay+DVD HERE. Just DVD HERE.
UK DVD HERE. I think this will “translate” well because it deals with something that is simply human. This might be needed even more in the UK than in the USA.

*“sensitive new age guys”

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Brick by Brick, Dogs and Fleas, Priests and Priesthood, REVIEWS, The future and our choices | Tagged broken homes, Catholic identity, Courageous, crime, domestic Church, dysfunctional families, families, fatherhood, fatherless homes, men, SNAGs, society
14 Comments

Bp. Morlino on the mission of lay people in the public HHS mandate battle. Wherein Fr Z rants.

Posted on 29 March 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Some music to accompany my preliminary rant. Read while listening.

[wp_youtube]TVjDP0vlem4[/wp_youtube]

I have seen sharp criticisms launched by lay people against bishops whom they accuse of being weak in the public debate about Pres. Obama’s attacks on the religious liberty of the Catholic Church and indeed on the 1st Amendment rights of all Americans.

I respond saying that bishops were issued big-boy underwear when they were consecrated. Criticisms and the inability to please everyone come with the hat and the stick. It has ever been so.

I have in my mind’s eye episodes in the ancient Church when people rioted in the streets when they were unhappy with bishops. For example, by 406 around Hippo things were pretty bad. Donatist thugs called circumcellions had staked out the diocese and were ambushing clergy on the road, beating them with clubs and blinding them with lye. In 428 when people found out that some of Augustine’s monks owned property they nearly rioted in the streets until Augustine conducted an investigation. And, a bit earlier, there was the lethal interlude of Diocletian.

Thus, I am inclined to think that bishops have it easy today. They aren’t being set upon with clubs… yet. Even the kerfuffle between Card. Wuerl and the irate Mr. Neumayr is t-ball compared to the hardball innings bishops played in the 3rd and 4th centuries. It’s big-boy underwear time for both of them too, by the way. But I digress.

Let’s keep something clear. My role as a priest, and the bishops’ role as bishops, is to form and support the laity for their proper role in the public square. It is the role of lay people to shape the world around them according to their vocations. I (or, even more, the bishops) will teach, give you the sacraments, and support you. The work of the public square is really your work, lay people, not mine. Remember that when you think bishops aren’t being strong enough in the public square. We clerics know that you lay people often face in your daily lives challenges that would make many of us roll up in a ball and hide under the covers. On the other hand, the Enemy of your soul hates priests and bishops with surpassing malice. We live every day knowing that we go to our judgment with Holy Orders upon our souls and to those to whom God has given much, more will be expected. As Augustine said, “I am a bishop for you, but I am a Christian with you.” Neither portion of God’s poor little servants should fall into the trap of thinking that the other has anything easy in life.

If you are p.o.’d that a bishop isn’t jumping around with his hair on fire in front of the White House, waving his arms, and telling you whom to vote for, then maybe you should be doing that according to what Holy Church has taught you and in keeping with your vocation. And if the priests and bishops in your life have not been stellar in their roles of teaching (read = they are human, they are sinners, they are … x, y, z….), then put on your own big-boy underwear and get to work anyway. Things will improve. Priests and bishops will find their way to the spines they need, or in some cases abandoned. And they will do it faster if you are with them rather than against them. Believe me: carping at priests doesn’t generally make them do things either faster or better. I know this by experiential knowledge and not merely by theoretical. Help them out by prayers and encouragement and example.

There is only so much the bishops can accomplish in the public square on their own: the rest is your job. Don’t shirk your role even if you think bishops and priests are being lazy or craven. Stand up and get to work right now, even if you are disappointed that bishops aren’t beaming lasers out of their eyes or issuing decrees of excommunication while they levitate to the strains of Verdi’s Dies Irae.

Thus endeth my rant.

To my point…

In the newspaper of the Diocese of Madison, His Excellency Most Rev. Robert Morlino, whom we have seen here before, made some comments about religious liberty and conscience.

He starts out by mentioning the rally for religious liberty at the capitol of Wisconsin (in Madison). He goes on to remind the reader the political sphere, the public square, concerns the mission of the laity. Note his distinction about liturgical roles! Kudos for that.

Bp. Morlino makes some other very good points in his piece, but I will focus on his discussion of the mission of lay people.

Religious freedom, freedom of conscience
Bishop’s Column
Thursday, Mar. 29, 201

[…]

That is the true role that the Church was trying to enliven in the laity through Vatican II — faithful people witnessing actively to today’s world, bringing the Church into the world of today (as opposed to the idea that the main way one can be an “active” Catholic is by performing different liturgical roles). [Do I hear an “Amen!”?]

The women, men, and children gathered in Madison last week were undertaking the lay mission of the Church, which is to witness to the sanctifying presence of God in the world and I’d encourage all of us to remember our call to that mission in our everyday lives, and as we look to the future of our nation.

[…]

Each of you has a mission — it is the lay mission of your Catholic faith — to think and speak clearly, remembering that faith and reason work together, and that faith and reason are on our side. But we have to be able to explain how faith and reason are on our side. This is something about which we need to read more, we need to think about more, and most importantly we need to pray about more.

[…]

So, let’s do what we need to do in terms of making clear that this regulation that takes away our freedom of conscience cannot and will not stand. Let’s do it in a way which is very charitable, which is very reasonable, and which carries with it a smile, because where there is no charity, we cannot expect the Resurrection power of Jesus Christ to be unleashed.

Let’s make sure we are charitable, but let’s make sure we are clear and we are heard. Sometimes we can be tempted wrongly to think that charity and reasonableness are excuses for acting like wimps.

We have to speak out clearly, charitably, reasonably, unmistakably, unambiguously, about freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. Let’s do all of that actively today, so that we can enjoy the glory of Easter tomorrow!

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Praised be Jesus Christ!

We are in this together, friends.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Dogs and Fleas, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, Religious Liberty, The Drill, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice, Wherein Fr. Z Rants | Tagged abortifacients, abortion, Bp. Morlino, contraception, D. Madison, health care, HHS, laity, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pres. Obama, religious liberty, vocation of the laity
38 Comments

Vespers, with a twist

Posted on 29 March 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Via the estimable Laudator comes this nice Chinese poem, which touches on themes of fishing, quiet, moonlight, common to many of the verses of the Tang dynasty scholars.

Wang Wei (699-759), To Subprefect Chang (tr. Irving Y. Lo):

In late years, I love only the stillness,
The world’s affairs no longer trouble my heart.
Looking at myself: no far-reaching plans;
All I know: to return to familiar woods—
The pine winds blow and loosen my sash;
The mountain moon shines upon me playing the lute.
You ask for reasons for failure or success—
Fisherman’s song enters the riverbanks deep.

A translation was set to music:

[wp_youtube]5ukGxdGyeLw[/wp_youtube]

That said, here is vespers with no frills from the Breviarium Romanum. You can follow HERE. Use the settings for “all” and “Rubrics 1960”.

Posted in Poetry | Tagged fishing, moonlight, old age, Tang dynasty, vespers, Wang Wei
4 Comments

QUAERITUR: Stations of the Cross during Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

Posted on 29 March 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

In recent days, I have heard it said a couple of times that praying the Stations of the Cross (in common) during Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is not allowed. Is that true? Where is such a directive given? Thanks.

The USCCB’s Committee on Divine Worship has an non-authoritative opinion piece about this in which the writer argues that Exposition is a liturgical worship of Christ while Stations is a devotion focused on the Lord’s Passion. She writes, “As commendable as such a devotion may be, it can never fulfill the purpose of eucharistic adoration, that is to draw us more deeply into the mystery of Christ’s presence in the Holy Eucharist. Therefore, neither the Stations of the Cross nor any other devotion should be prayed during exposition of the Eucharist.”

Not as bad as the Fishwrap’s Richard McBrien who ridicules Eucharistic adoration as “a doctrinal, theological, and spiritual step backward”.

The USCCB piece a clearly a personal opinion piece by some nameless person. Note that the last paragraph begins with the pronoun “I”, as in “I would strongly encourage…”.

I do not see any reason why, in a communal observance of the Stations of the Cross, or Via Crucis, the priest or deacon leading them turning to the Blessed Sacrament each time he moves to each Station and each time he says “We adore Thee, O Christ…”.

In any event, I haven’t found any authoritative document which states in a clear way that Stations may not be prayed in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed. When Stations is ended, there could be Benediction.

Is there some other document out there?

I am sure we could argue one way or another about this, but I think the argument against smacks of the same thinking by which people are assumed to be so thick that they will, in the presence of, say, more than one crucifix or more than one altar, or more than one statue of Mary, be struck by mental paralysis like Buridan’s Ass and maybe even fall to the floor racked by sobs of confusion.

On the other hand, in my experience, people who are used to Exposition and used to the Stations seem to be able to put it all together and grasp – mirabile dictu – that the Jesus they adore on the altar under the appearance of bread in the monstrance, is the same Jesus who suffered and died for them, the story of which Passion being related all around them during the Stations.

If there is some definitive document from the Congregation for Divine Worship on this, I would like to be corrected. Otherwise, I think we are free to do this, whether we want to or not.

Posted in ASK FATHER Question Box, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged Benediction, Blessed Sacrament, devotion, Exposition, Stations of the Cross, Via Crucis
24 Comments

Voris video: where “action” is in Catholic communities. UPDATED with follow-up video!

Posted on 29 March 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

ORIGINAL POST: 28 March 2247 GMT:

Michael Voris has a new video about the use of the “Traditional Latin Mass”, the Extraordinary Form. After his travelogue, start paying attention about about 1:45.

He speaks about the young people who are attending the Extraordinary Form. This is obvious to most of us (who aren’t liberals… cough).

Mr. Voris hits the point I am constantly harping about: Catholic identity!

[wp_youtube]mSyN5TNOdZg[/wp_youtube]

UPDATE 29 March 138 GMT:

There is a follow up video posted today. They’ve been busy!

Voris takes up the theme he dealt with last time: Catholic identity and who is winning the battle over our identity. (Think: young people who are traditional)

He gets into the issues of masculine v. feminized liturgy and the difference between the older (spirit of Vatican II) and newer generations (JP 2 era).

Surprise! Mr. Voris has not cooled off his vocabulary.

[wp_youtube]bS-yhdCvIEk[/wp_youtube]

If you are not on offense, you are on defense.

UPDATE 1947 GMT:

On the very heels of my posting the update, I read on the blog of my friend Fr. Blake,who cites the first of the videos above:

I don’t always but here I agree with Michael Vorris.

Trad Mass produces vocations, two of the younger men who serve it are off this summer to try their vocations, sadly not with our diocese. Do pray for them.
Trad Mass attracts and produces parents dedicated to passing on the faith to their children, not that we have that many young families here.
Trad Mass inspires young people to deepen their prayer life and to seek to understand the theology and history of the Church.
Trad Mass appeals to men, especially young men.
Trad Mass is evangelical.

You decide.

While you are deciding, I will add that liberals demand that you deny the evidence of your senses and deny common sense. The older Mass is growing slowly in the numbers of places and priests who say it. It sure seems like a high number of vocations come from these traditional communities.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM, The Drill, The future and our choices |
69 Comments

FNC: Hemmer interviews Obama surrogate: hijinx and anti-Catholicism result

Posted on 29 March 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I saw on FNC Bill Hemmer’s interview of two talking heads, Monica Crowley (conservative pundette) and Christopher Hahn (former aide to Sen. Chuck Schumer D-NY). I hope they post the video of this surprising exchange.

The wonks were reacting to the interview with His Eminence Timothy Card. Dolan concerning Obama Administration’s attack on religious liberty. Crowley does a workman-like job of laying out the issues. Hahn stages a spittle-flecked nutty.

But in the midst of his nutty, he reveals the unvarnished position he, and those for whom he is shilling (read: Pres. Obama), really hold.

I share the audio (no video) of this because the Democrat surrogate says some really incredible things. He reveals the mindset of the Church’s liberal opponents in an exemplary way, saying that we know they think but rarely hear them say so openly.

Take note of Hahn’s starting point: sex is for recreation. Because of the economic hard times, Catholic Church should abandon the medieval stuff they just made up and stop fighting free distribution of contraception.

His statement left Bill Hemmer, with a shocked expression the audio can’t convey, but you can hear his exclamation of surprise. Hahn goes on to pour out his hatred and contempt for the Catholic Church, her teachings and the bishops.

I think Card. Dolan and the USCCB is making headway and the hysterical reaction of this Obama surrogate is the result.

Pres. Obama’s surrogates will more an more adopt this brutal tone of anti-Catholic bigotry while appealing to the American public’s base appetites and private parts.

Here is the audio of the exchange.

UPDATE:

Posted in Dogs and Fleas, Emanations from Penumbras, Our Catholic Identity, Religious Liberty, The Drill, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice, Throwing a Nutty | Tagged Bill Hemmer, Christopher Hahn, contraception, FNC, HHS, Monica Crowley, Pres. Obama, religious liberty, Sen. Schumer, sex
22 Comments

CDF: Declaration on break away Greek “Catholic” group, excommunications

Posted on 29 March 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From VIS and Vatican Radio (Bolletino in Italian):

CDF issues declaration on canonical status of “so-called Greek-Catholic bishops of Pidhirci”

Given below is the text of a declaration issued today by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith concerning the canonical status of the “so-called Greek-Catholic bishops of Pidhirci”: Fr. Elias A. Dohnal O.S.B.M., Fr. Markian V. Hitiuk O.S.B.M., Fr. Metodej R. Spirik O.S.B.M., and Fr. Robert Oberhauser. The text is dated 22 February and bears the signatures of Cardinal William Joseph Levada and Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer S.J., respectively prefect and secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

(1) The Holy See has followed with great concern the activities of Fr. Elias A. Dohnal O.S.B.M., Fr. Markian V. Hitiuk O.S.B.M., Fr. Metodej R. Spirik O.S.B.M., and Fr. Robert Oberhauser who, having been expelled from the Basilian Order of St. Josaphat, subsequently proclaimed themselves as bishops of the Greek-Catholic Ukrainian Church. With their disobedience, these priests continue to challenge ecclesiastical authority, causing moral and spiritual damage, not only to the Basilian Order of St. Josaphat and the Greek-Catholic Ukrainian Church, but also to this Apostolic See and the Catholic Church as a whole. All this provokes division and bewilderment among the faithful. The aforementioned priests, having established a group of “bishops” of Pidhirci, have recently sought to have that group recognised and registered by the competent State authorities as the “Ukrainian Orthodox Greek-Catholic Church”.
(2) Since the beginning of this painful episode, Church representatives of various ranks have sought to dissuade them from continuing a conduct which, among other things, could deceive the faithful, as has already happened in a number of cases.
(3) The Holy See, concerned to protect the unity and peace of Christ’s flock, had hoped in the repentance and subsequent return of the aforementioned priests to full communion with the Catholic Church. Unfortunately the most recent developments – such as the unsuccessful attempt to acquire State registration for the “Pidhirci” group under the name of the “Ukrainian Orthodox Greek-Catholic Church” – demonstrates their continuing disobedience.
(4) Therefore, to safeguard the common good of the Church and the “salus animarum”, and given that the so-called “bishops” of Pidhirci show no sign of repentance but continue to create confusion and disarray in the community of faithful, in particular by calumniating representatives of the Holy See and of the local Church, and asserting that the supreme authority of the Church is in possession of documentation testifying to the full validity of their episcopal ordination, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, accepting the request presented by the ecclesiastical authorities of the Greek-Catholic Ukrainian Church, and by other dicasteries of the Holy See, has decided, by this declaration, to inform the faithful, especially in the countries of origin of the so-called “bishops”, about their current canonical status.
(5) This Congregation, disassociating itself entirely from the actions of the so-called “bishops” aforementioned, and from their aforesaid declarations, formally declares that it does not recognise the validity of their episcopal ordinations, or of any and all ordinations that have derived, or will derive therefrom. Moreover, the canonical status of the four so-called “bishops” is that of excommunication, pursuant to canon 1459 para. 1 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO), in view of the fact that an appeal sentence of the ordinary tribunal of the Major Archiepiscopal Ukrainian Church, issued on 10 September 2008, recognised them as guilty of offences under canons 1462, 1447 and 1452 of the CCEO; i.e., the offences of illegitimate usurpation of office, inciting sedition and hatred towards certain hierarchs, provoking subjects to disobedience, and harming a third party’s good name by calumny.
(6) Furthermore, the use of the name “Catholic” by groups which are not recognised by the competent ecclesiastical authority is to be considered as illegitimate, pursuant to canon 19 of the CCEO.
(7) The faithful are, then, enjoined not to adhere to the aforementioned group as, to all canonical effects, it is outside ecclesiastical communion. The faithful are invited to pray for the members of the group, that they may repent and return to full communion with the Catholic Church. (VIS)