OLMC et al.: Fr. Hewko, Fr. Poisson, Bp. Timlin and the Pope
Jul 28, 2019 23:54:06 GMT
Post by Admin on Jul 28, 2019 23:54:06 GMT
The below is a letter that was [adapted and] reproduced here from an email 'campaign' that was sent out in waves beginning Friday, July 26th and continuing through today to many members of the Catholic Resistance. We have heard from several people that they have no idea who the people are who sent it and are questioning where their email addresses were obtained. Please note that the first names of the authors that were included in the original letter/email were redacted here for their privacy's sake.
Without further ado:
Fr. Hewko, Fr. Poisson, Bishop Timlin and the Pope
Dear Friends in Christ,
Most of you know that Fr. Pfeiffer and Fr. Hewko were at one time together defending Catholic faith and Catholic Tradition, while based at Our Lady of Mount Carmel (OLMC), Boston, Kentucky.
About six months ago, Fr. Hewko left OLMC separating himself from Fr. Pfeiffer, Fr. Pancras and Fr. Poisson, who stayed back at OLMC. When Fr. Hewko departed from OLMC, he posted a 'Brief Statement" letter on Feb 13, 2019, where he cast doubt on the ordination of Fr. Poisson, a Catholic Priest tending to faithful at OLMC.
After Fr. Hewko’s departure, many of the faithful were pained and troubled, and decisions were taken to stay with OLMC, or go with Fr. Hewko, or leave OLMC and Fr. Hewko for newer pastures.
Even though the faithful of OLMC had hoped that Fr. Hewko would return to OLMC within the past six months, it seems that Fr. Hewko has moved on. This might come to a relief for the faithful with Fr. Hewko and/or Fr. Hewko himself.
However, during these past 6 months, through his public sermons, Fr. Hewko has continued to speak to the faithful about the doubtful ordination of Fr. Poisson. Had Fr. Hewko truly moved on from OLMC, the case of Fr. Poisson should not have caused angst in Fr. Hewko's mind, because Fr. Hewko is no longer at OLMC, and Fr. Poisson is not with Fr. Hewko but with OLMC.
Because Fr. Hewko continues to speak to the faithful the erroneous belief that Fr. Poisson's ordination is doubtful even after 6 months of departing from OLMC, in Christian charity, a response must be given.
Contrary to Fr. Hewko’s claim that Fr. Poisson’s ordination is in doubt, the fact of the matter is that Fr. Poisson's priestly ordination is not in doubt. To show why this is so, let us revisit a claim by Fr. Hewko in his 'Brief Statement' letter on Feb 13, 2019.
"Fr. Poisson had been previously ordained in 1996, by a bishop consecrated in the New Rite, making this first ordination doubtful".
For those who are unfamiliar with Fr. Poisson's first ordination, the following facts are helpful:
Fr. Poisson was ordained in the Old Rite (pre-Vatican II Latin Roman Rite) in 1996.
Fr. Poisson was ordained in St. Peter's Cathedral, Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA
Fr. Poisson was ordained by Bishop James Clifford Timlin.
If Fr. Hewko is so sure that Fr Poisson's Old Rite Priestly ordination is doubtful because it was performed by Bishop Timlin who was consecrated in the New Rite (after Vatican II), then here are some issues and questions that arise.
I. Bishop Timlin:
1) Bishop James Clifford Timlin was consecrated as Bishop on September 21, 1976.
a) If Fr. Hewko can state that Bishop Timlin was consecrated as Bishop in the New Rite and that is sufficient to cast doubt on Fr. Poisson's Priestly ordination, then can he explain the case of Pope Benedict XVI (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger), who was consecrated as Bishop on May 28, 1977; 8 months after Bishop Timlin?
b) Fr. Hewko says that he offers the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in union with the Pope. Since Pope Benedict XVI is a New Rite Bishop like Bishop Timlin, and New Rite ordinations are doubtful according to Fr. Hewko, can he explain to the faithful how is he sure that Pope Benedict XVI is a true Bishop and was a true Pope?
c) If Fr. Hewko has concerns with Bishop Timlin's consecration that was performed in 1976, surely he should have a concern with Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) who was consecrated as Bishop in 1977 in the New Rite.
d) If Fr. Hewko does believe that Cardinal Ratzinger was a Bishop and was the Pope, then he should explain to the faithful how he can reject the powers and rights granted to Bishop Timlin by Apostolic succession?
2) Since Fr. Hewko believes that all New Rite ordinations are doubtful, could he let the faithful know what are his views on Pope Francis?
a) How does Fr. Hewko answer the fact that he offers the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in union with the Pope who was ordained Priest and Bishop after Vatican II in the New Rite (Pope Francis was ordained as Priest in 1969, consecrated as Bishop in 1992, elevated as Cardinal in 2001 and elected as Pope in 2013)? Can Fr. Hewko explain to the faithful if this is the teaching of the SSPX or of Archbishop Lefebvre?
b) Can Fr. Hewko explain to the faithful how a doubtfully ordained Priest (Jorge Bergoglio) became a doubtfully consecrated Bishop Bergoglio who was elected Pope Francis?
c) According to Fr. Hewko, what are the powers and rights of Pope Francis?
3) Since Fr. Hewko is certain that Bishop Timlin’s being a New Rite Bishop is sufficient to cast doubt on Fr. Poisson's Priestly ordination, it must mean that Fr. Hewko believes that Bishop Timlin’s, all the other New Rite Bishops including Cardinal Ratzinger's ordinations, consecrations, co-consecrations are doubtful. Thus, Fr. Hewko will have to explain to the faithful how Cardinal Ratzinger, Pope Francis or any of the New Rite Bishops are Apostolic successors.
a) If Fr. Hewko has truly taken the position that the current New Rite Pope is not a true Priest/Bishop/Pope, then as a Priest, in Christian charity, Fr. Hewko should inform the faithful (who attend his Masses) as well as the faithful of OLMC (who attended his Masses) as to when his position changed.
b) In Christian charity, Fr. Hewko must provide irrefutable evidence to show the cases of doubtful ordinations or consecrations by Bishop Timlin as he claims that:
i) the consecration of Bishop Timlin is in doubt,
ii) or even if the consecration of Bishop Timlin (New Rite Bishop) is not in doubt.
II. Fr. Peter Scott’s article:
4) Fr. Peter Scott in the September 2007 Angelus Press article "Ought Priests of the Conciliar Church to Be "Re-ordained" When They Come to Tradition?" concludes by saying the following
a) "Just as the superiors take seriously their duty of guaranteeing the moral certitude of the Holy Orders of their priests"
"Just as the superiors take seriously their duty of guaranteeing the moral certitude of the Holy Orders of their priests, whether by means of conditional ordination or careful investigation (when possible), so also must priests who join the Society accept conditional ordination in case of even slight positive doubt, and so also must the faithful recognize that each case is different and accept the decision of those who alone are in a position to perform the necessary investigations".
i) If Fr. Hewko was Fr. Poisson's superior, can he present documentation that shows Fr. Poisson's priesthood is doubtful?
ii) And if Fr Hewko was not Fr Poisson's superior, can he let the faithful know on what evidence did he cast doubt on Fr. Poisson Priestly ordination?
b) Fr. Peter Scott informs the faithful that "priests who join the Society accept conditional ordination in case of even slight positive doubt"
i) This implies that if Fr. Poisson or any Priest has slight positive doubt regarding their own Priesthood, and wish to join the Society, they must provide evidence for the slight positive doubt and accept conditional ordination.
ii) If another Priest (e.g. Fr. Hewko) has a slight positive doubt regarding the ceremony or the Rite of ordination of a Priest like Fr. Poisson, Fr. Hewko must provide evidence for this slight positive doubt prior to asking Fr. Poisson to be conditionally ordained.
c) Fr. Peter Scott states that the "faithful must accept the decision of those who are in a position to perform the necessary investigations".
i) Since Fr. Hewko has claimed that Fr. Poisson's Priesthood is doubtful, can Fr. Hewko show the procedure and findings of his diligent inquiry and investigation report on Fr. Poisson's ordination?
ii) If Fr. Hewko did not perform the necessary investigations and alleged that Fr. Poisson's Priesthood is doubtful, did he inform the faithful who go his masses about this fact?
iii) If the faithful who attend Fr. Hewko's masses as well as faithful who go to masses at OLMC were not made aware that necessary investigations were not performed by Fr. Hewko, wasn't it wrong that he cast Fr. Poisson’s Priesthood in doubt?
5) In a sermon given to the faithful on July 13, 2019 in Detroit, Michigan, Fr. Hewko states
"... Cause he (Fr. Poisson) himself does not doubt his own validity. But he should at least question it. ..."
a) Could Fr. Hewko let the faithful know on what authoritative teachings and laws of the Church he is imposing a requirement that a Priest who is certain about his own ordination must question his own ordination?
b) Can Fr. Hewko show a pre-Vatican II Catholic Church ecclesiastical procedure that imposed that a Priest who is certain of his ordination must question it? c) If Fr. Hewko cannot provide a pre-Vatican II ecclesiastical procedure, then can he tell the faithful if this imposition is an individual's or a specific group's personal requirement?
Hopefully Fr. Hewko will read this letter and acknowledge that Fr. Poisson is a fellow Priest. If he doesn't read this letter, hopefully one of the faithful who are with Fr. Hewko or with OLMC or a fellow Catholic will pass this letter to him, so that he can recognize why his continual reminding and casting of doubt on Fr. Poisson's ordination causes grave harm to himself, the faithful, and Holy Mother Church.
We pray for our Pope to restore Holy Mother Church back to Catholic Tradition, for those in the Ecclesiastical hierarchy who have turned away from Tradition, and for Bishops, Priests, Religious and Laity who are fighting the good fight to save Holy Mother Church founded by Our Lord.
Pax Christi,
[redacted]
July 26, 2019
References:
- Brief Statement of Fr. David Hewko, February 2019 - thecatacombs.org/thread/1794/briefstatement-david-hewko-february?page=1&scrollTo=4283
- Pope Francis - www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bbergj.html
- Ought Priests of the Conciliar Church to Be "Re-Ordained" When They Come to Tradition? by Fr. Peter Scott - www.rore-sanctifica.org/etudes/2008/conditional_ordination.pdf
This really leaves one speechless. While many things are 'amiss' here, one of the glaring issues is the lack of any reference to how Archbishop Lefebvre approached the problem of New Rite ordinations and consecrations. Is he no longer the voice OLMC and it's parishioners listen to? Is the SSPX [ by way of Fr. Scott] now the authority on how to approach this decades old situation? The Archbishop spoke over and over and over, warning about the doubtfulness of anything that was spawned from Vatican II.
To be continued...
