'American Catholic Council' Rejects Bishop, Will Meet in Detroit on Pentecost
Throughout Christian history one of the greatest tributes which can be given to a Bishop is 'Defender of Orthodoxy'
We ask our readers around the globe to pray for Archbishop Allen Vigneron and the faithful in the Archdiocese of Detroit. Also, pray for the conversion of the leaders of the group calling itself "The American catholic Council". Finally, pray for the Catholic Church as she continues the redemptive mission of the Lord.
Detroits Archbishop Allen Vigneron contends for the faith against the group calling itself the 'American catholic Council'
PrintDETROIT, MI (Catholic Online) - Throughout Christian history one of the greatest tributes which can be given to a Bishop is "Defender of Orthodoxy". It was used in reference to such greats in our family history as Athanasius and Leo the Great. Bishops are the teachers of the Church, guardians of the deposit of faith. We are fortunate to have contemporary Bishops who deserve the label "Defender of Orthodoxy." One of them is Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit. He is a defender of the faith, of children in the womb, of marriage and family and of the truth.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church declares, "Just as the office which the Lord confided to Peter alone, as first of the apostles, destined to be transmitted to his successors, is a permanent one, so also endures the office, which the apostles received, of shepherding the Church, a charge destined to be exercised without interruption by the sacred order of bishops." Hence the Church teaches that "the bishops have by divine institution taken the place of the apostles as pastors of the Church, in such wise that whoever listens to them is listening to Christ and whoever despises them despises Christ and him who sent Christ."(CCC#862)
Our age is like the earliest centuries of the first Christian Millennium. Some of the same heresies are emerging once again. Pretending to be new, they have just dressed themselves in new language. Their threat to the health of Body of Christ is as serious as ever. Heresy is like poison; just a little can make the Body very ill. As the chief teachers of the Catholic Church, our Bishops are the ones who must expose, oppose and correct heresy.
The Catholic Church teaches what the early fathers, Saints and Councils throughout the ages have all affirmed, to belong to Jesus is to belong to His Body, the Church. Our membership in the Church is a participation in the life of God; what the Apostle Peter referred to as a "participation in the Divine nature". (2 Peter 1:4) The Church is not "Some - thing" but rather "Some - One", the Risen Body of the Lord Jesus Christ continuing His redemptive mission in the world until He returns. Through our Baptism the Church becomes our home, the privileged place in which we live our lives in Christ for the sake of the world. We are called to love the Church.
In its treatment of the Church the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "To reunite all his children, scattered and led astray by sin, the Father willed to call the whole of humanity together into his Son's Church. The Church is the place where humanity must rediscover its unity and salvation. The Church is "the world reconciled." She is that bark which "in the full sail of the Lord's cross, by the breath of the Holy Spirit, navigates safely in this world." According to another image dear to the Church Fathers, she is prefigured by Noah's ark, which alone saves from the flood." (CCC #845)
The Church is the means through which we participate in the life of God. To her has been entrusted the Sacraments and the Word, the gift of a teaching office and the means of salvation. The Church is not an optional "extra" that we add to our lives, she is our life. From the Lord's wounded side she was birthed at the tree of Calvary, the altar of the new world. She is the seed of the kingdom to come and makes that kingdom present in a world waiting to be reborn. She is God's plan for the salvation of the whole world. We are called to love the Church and live within her, drawing the world home.
In 2009, John Hushon, a "Voice of the Faithful" (VOTF) board member, announced the formation of an umbrella organization of dissenting Catholics calling itself the "American Catholic Council". The Council later announced its plan to hold a public gathering on June 10-11, 2011 (Pentecost), in Detroit, Michigan. Its approach to dealing with disagreements it holds with the Church does not demonstrate love for the Church or fidelity to her teaching office. Nor does it this group accurately present the teaching of the Second Vatican Council.
This weekend is Pentecost, 2011 and this dissident group calling itself Catholic while directly dissenting from the Magisterium of the Church has ignored every request from the Archbishop of Detroit concerning this conference. The Archdiocese offers an excellent explanation of the group, its errors and the confusion it compounds on the Archdiocesan web site here. Every parish in the Detroit Archdiocese has placed the following announcement in their bulletin.
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Archbishop Vigneron to priests, faithful: Concerns over ACC conference, liturgy
Local and religious news outlets may have coverage this Pentecost weekend regarding an organization called the American Catholic Council (ACC) and its three-day ...
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Dolores C. Donnelly
Could you please elaborate on how there is control and censorship going on? Give us some examples please?
Bless those who are persecuted.
Jesus plan for His Church was to have one head whose name is Peter and his successors. That hasn't changed. He also told us in Matthew 24:11 that there would be false prophets.Some of the responses talked about the Holy Spirit and where the Spirit leads. To accertain and test the spirit we have to ask ourselves does the message go against scripture. False prophets and false spirits. Jesus said they would come.
Let us pray for unity in the Church,
I think the Church is being too soft. These people should be warned of excommunication. There is more& more of this all the time happenning in the U.S.A. also Iwould like to know why nothing at all is being done about thiese grave situtions. Please I &many other Catholics would like toknow why nothing is being done?
If you send a representative from the diocese to the Council on June10_12, you may learn that those of us attending are committed Catholics who have studied the Vatican II documents which opened the doors to all of God" people. For too many years the Church was exclusive and did not display the openess of Christ , our Founder, who preached love as His prominent message. Since 2000 the HIERARCHY is once again promoting control and censorship. The church has seen this before and Vatican II hoped to eradicate such momarchial leadership and develop collegiality. How many parishes still have complete control without being directed by the Chancery and Vatican even in matters of administrative. structure. ?Our priests and parishioners are paying the price for the whims of the power-HUNGRY. hOLY sPIRIT GUIDE ALL YOUR PEOPLE THIS pENTECOST AND FOREVER AND EVER. aMEN
The Catholic Church needs to take a serious look at excommunicating this organization as a whole. Otherwise other organizations with similar agendas will try to dissuade and confuse the Catholic laity. The Church should not, can not, let these types of heresy to continue to be assumed as Catholic teaching. The message needs to be strong and clear. When I sin, I do not make excuses and try to convince myself, or others, that I’ve not really sinned…this kind of attitude only allows the sin to grow and pervert God’s true message of Charity. Jesus did NOT tell Mary Magellan to ‘Go and continue on sinning and you will be automatically forgiven’…He stated completely the opposite…’Go and sin NO more’. This teaching is NOT open to interpretation. I will pray for the Archbishop … he will need our support … and our protection. May God’s Love wrap in continued strength and character.
I support the Bishop. God Bless and pray for the dissenters. They know not what they do and quite frankly its bizzare under the circumstances of the true Magisterium teaching.
Why not take a similar stance to Bishop Bruskewitz and tell 'em that anyone who attends that "American Catholic Council" conference will be excommunicated, latae sententae (automatically). Kick 'em out till they repent. If they refuse, then their eternal fate is their own fault. Life is all about choices...and consequences. Eternal consequences.
Reminder: Heresy is the obstinate post-baptismal denial of a truth required to be believed with Catholic and Divine faith, or likewise, it is the obstinate doubt about the same.
Someone guilty of holding to a heresy is a heretic. The sentence for heretics is automatic excommunication.
While it is all good to oppose OPEN dissent such as the Call To Action conference, do not be deceived into thinking that things are good in Detroit. Call to Action proposes a hard line dissent. There are many many well-placed people in the Detroit Archdiocese who peddle a "soft dissent". It is probably more dangerous because it is much easier to swallow. The quiet ignoring of Church teaching on birth control and gay issues and the like. Give praise for the Archbishop doing his job this weekend and then pray that he is as direct with his own staff and priests all the rest of the time. From the looks of things in Detroit, it has a LONG way to go.