Fr. Wiebe, I hope you'll not cry "Puritan aggression" when I speak your
oft-expressed hostility to that mighty turning point of Western
Civilization, the Reformation.  Till your last e-mail, I as an ignorant
Reformed Catholic (Protesant, if you please) had thought  the motto of
Protestantism you cited was "Every man his own PRIEST."  (In fact,  I was
preparing a  little something on Calvinism and its 20th Century exponent,
Karl Barth, when I opened your e-mail!)  Really, though, through the cloud
of words, I see  a "P" written on your forehead, to wit:    Citing
conscience, inter alia, you relate how you disobeyed, decried, and departed
from  your hierarchial superiors in the Episcopal Church--behavior certainly
not characteristic of an obedient Catholic who would rank the welfare of the
"organized church" above that of his  "fellow-man."  (I seem to remember
something in Scripture about that.  The late Bishops of Boston and Phoenix
also come to mind.)   Clearly, at the time, you must have thought PECUSA
"Catholic," enjoying legitimate apostolic succession, else how could you
have been part of it?  That so, how could an episcopate endowed with power
concomitant to such succession possibly err?   Failing patristic authority,
Rome  calls such theological innovation or creativity "received dogma,"
does it not?  (That's a rhetorical question, Fr. Wiebe.  I've read
Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre on that score and Rome's counterattack.)  Perhaps
you know that Mel Gibson and family are part of the Lefebvre movement,
claiming to be "Traditionalist Catholics."  Herewith a copy of a letter from
the RC Archbishop of Santa Fe repudiating such movements and succinctly
describing what  it takes to be really "Catholic!"

Archdiocese of Santa Fe
THE CATHOLIC CENTER
4000 SAINT JOSEPH'S PLACE, N.W.
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO 87120-1709
AREA CODE: 505-831-8100

May 4, 1999

Rev. Joel Garner, O.Praem.
Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary
5415 Fortuna Road N.W.
Albuquerque, NM 87105

Dear Father Garner:

You have brought to my attention again the difficulty of the church nearby
that some people are confusing with the Catholic Church. It is Our Lady of
the Rosary, 333 58th Street. It is clear that this church is not a Catholic
Church but belongs to the Lefebre movement. No church is considered to be a
truly Catholic Church unless it recognizes the Holy Father as the head of
the Church and the local bishop appointed by him. Clearly the small church
mentioned above does not fulfull the requirement to be considered a Catholic
Church. Catholics may not go there to fulfill their Sunday obligation for
Mass.

There are several other schismatic churches in the area as well. If they
don't recognize the Pope and Bishop, they are not Catholic and good
Catholics should clearly not be involved with them in any way.

I hope that this additional clarification helps and that you can inform your
parishioners so that there will be no misunderstanding.

Sincerely yours in the Risen Lord,



Most Rev. Michael J. Sheehan
Archbishop of Santa Fe


The Protestant churches called Reformed is distinguished from those
professing Luthran doctines., the theological system of John Calvin, has
been accepted with varying degrees of modification by most non-Lutheran
reformed churches. It holds certain doctrines characteristic of Lutheranism
as well as other elements unique to itself. Calvinism shares with
Lutheranism the doctrine of Scripture as the only rule of faith, of the
bondage of human free will through sin, and justification by grace through
faith. Calvinism differs by its more strict use of Scripture as a criterion
of church doctrine and practice., its stress upon predestiantion and divine
omnipotence, and the importance of salvation for the elect. Early Callvinism
differed from Luthranism in its rejection of con-substantiation regarding
the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, in its doctrine of preddestiantion, in
its notion of grace as irresistible and in its theocratic view of the state.
Luther believed in the political subordination of the church to the state,
while Calvinism produced the chaurch-dominated societies of Geneva and
Puritan New England. Where Lutehr drew a sharp distinction between Law and
Gospel, Calvin stressed the continuity between the Old Testament and the New
Testament, allowing the Law a continued role as a moral guide for believers.
Whereas the origins of Lutehranism were reural and territorial, Calvinism
gtraces its origins to highly developed urban communities, a factor
reflected in the latter's advanced political, economic, and social outlooks.
Although conceding a natural knowledge of God, Calvin insisted that the
Bible was the most reliable and authoritative source of knowledge of God and
of the moral and religious obligations of Christians. Calvin grounded the
authority of Scripture partly in its divine inspiration and partly
subjectively in the "internal testimony of the Holy Spirit," which persuades
believers of its authenticity. The characteristic Calvinist emphasis upon
the divine omnipotence is expressed in Calvinism, stressing the absolute
sovereignty of god's will, held that only those whom God specially elects
are saved, that this election is irresistible, and that individuals can do
nothing to effect this salvation. This strict Calvinism was challenged in
the Netherlands, by Jacobus Arminius , whose more moderate views were
adopted by the Methodists and Baptists. Calvinism challenged Lutheranism
throughout Europe, spread to Scotland, influence the Puritans of England,
and in the United States received its expression in the modified Calvinism
of Jonathan Edwards. Calvinism receded in the 18th and 19th Centuries under
the influence of rationalism, but in the 20th Century the Calvinist stress
on the sovereignty of god found new vitality in the theology of Carl Barth

CARL BARTH , 1886-1968, Swiss Protestant theologian, one of the leading
thinkers of 20th Century religious thought, helped found the Confessing
Church, and his thinking formed the theological framework for the Barmen
Declaration. He taught in Germany, where early on he opposed the Nazi
regime. In 1935, when he refused to take the oath of allegiance to Adolph
Hitler, , he was retired from his position at the University of Bonn and
deported to Switzerland. There he continued to expound his views, known as
dialectical theology, or theology of the word. Barth's primary objuect was
to lead theology back to the principles of the Reformation, called
neo-orthodoxy. For Barth, modern theology with its assent to science,
immanent philosophy, and general culture and withits stress on feeling, was
marked by indifference to the word of God and to the revelation of God in
Jesus, which he thought should be the central concern of theology. In the
confrontation between humanity and god, which was Bath's fundamental
concern, the word of god and God's revelation inJesus are the only means God
has for Self-revelation. Barth argued that people must listen in an attitude
of awe, trust, and obedience.





----- Original Message ----- 
From: "The Rev GDVWiebe SSC.,PhD" <gdvw@...>
To: <faithandlife@...>
Cc: <JADAgency@...>
Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 3:36 PM
Subject: [FaithandLife] Caring for all the Churches (Sort Of)



>
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,It
> will be,interesting to see what the final fallout,over +Nova
> Hamshiriensis is but I suspect Protestantism (everyone his own God just
> don't rock the boat) will win again.  ...Blessings. GDVW+
>
>                                                           proverbial