Motivated out of the loving bond of brotherhood between
all men in Holy Orders, the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy (a national
association of 500 priests and deacons) invokes fraternal correction on the 157
American priests who recently and imprudently signed a statement supporting
Father Bourgeois’s “right to speak his conscience”. We charitably remind our
brethren that this priest blatantly attended and participated in the invalid
pseudo-ordination of a woman. Such actions risk the canonical penalty of
excommunication and are injurious to the common good of the Mystical Body of
Christ. We also admonish the dissident priests and deacons in Austria who
signed the infamous "Call to Disobedience" and urge them to repent
and recant.
Every deacon and priest takes the Oath of Fidelity before
he is ordained and during the sacrament of Holy Orders he makes a solemn
promise of obedience and respect to his bishop. Obedience to the Magisterium on
doctrinal matters and obedience to the Hierarchy on disciplinary matters is not
an option but an essential component of ordained ministry. As Catholic Clergy
we are all commissioned by Christ to teach only what the Church teaches and to
obey our lawful superiors in humility and fraternal charity. Espousing
heretical teachings and/or defying legitimate ecclesiastical authority causes
harm to the unity and welfare of the Bride of Christ. As brothers in Holy
Orders, we pray for all deacons, priests and bishops that all of us can renew
our promise of obedience and our oath of fidelity to better serve the Christian
faithful who deserve nothing less from us.
(Members
of the CCC profess their total allegiance to the Roman Pontiff and seek to
promote ongoing spiritual, theological, pastoral formation in a fraternal
setting. This week some of their members are meeting in Mundelein, IL, for an
annual conference)
