Hi Carol, well, it isn't that I don't agree with them. In principle I think there is truth in some of what they declare, and much of what they declare is IMO on the face of it pretty self evident these days. They provided a lot of supporting notes behind their declarative statements which at first blush seem also to be examples and I am sure if asked they could provide many more. That leaves people to judge whether or not they are doing this in a spirit of truth. IMO the Bishop who excommunicated them decided that it could not go unanswered probably in an effort not to allow their position to propagate but it could have the opposite effect given the times we are in. I have not seen or read any statement he has made regarding it but I am curious what if anything transpired between he and the hermits before this action on their part. They are bound to seek his council beforehand one would think. I think also that the Bishop is not left much room but to see this action as nailing a sort of thesis to a virtual but public door by their declaration. They left him little option it seems. It would be nice to know more of the back story behind this decision of theirs. It is a very definitive action to take and one that is not easily reversed.
My brother was down town at St Patrick's over the Christmas Season. He saw a prominent pro abort Politician going up to receive communion. After mass on the way out my brother asked why the pro abort had been given communion? The PP replied that it had not been him but the Eucharistic Minister who had given the Sacrament. My brother asked the priest if the Politician would have come to him , would he have given the Sacrament? The Parish Priest hesitated and said he would not be, 'Comfortable ', with this. My brother said to him that instead of , 'Comfortable', did he not mean , 'Courageous'? I'd say it's the easiest thing in the world to ax three hermits on a windswept, desolate island at the edge of the world. A Bishop could be pretty, 'Comfortable', with that. The Liberal Media and politicians would be right behind him for starters.
There are another group of monks not far from there. It strikes me as a very, very harsh penitential life. I sometimes think of them with admiration.
Imo if all faithfull Catholics and Priests were to leave the Church then things would be far worse then they are now. The Good Lord really needs us on the inside and to work to restore all things in Christ.
It seems to me they are behind anyone and anything that harms the church first and foremost. Whether that be the sins of its shepherds made public or the protests of its members against them they support whatever is expedient to bring about public shame or despair. I'm not sure why more people don't see how incredibly biased they are.
In a sad strange kind of way it kinda reminds me of the Impeachment of President Trump. It it is a level playing field and folks are honest and do not have a fixed agenda; fine go ahead. But I am afraid level playings fields and people doing the fair and decent thing seem things of the past. I am afraid Fair Process appears to be out the window.
It seems to me that there was/is no due process for these hermit monks. No fair process or their justice denied. CC is very undemocratic church as everything must come from top down. Pope cannot be sacked in contrast to early days of the church where leader (aka pope) can be sacked by group of elder priests. There is truth in hermit monks declaration which was quite much or evidently clear of what we see now emanating from PF. No full statement from bishop in question re reason for excommunication. One thing I learned from institutional schools was that RCC don't like bad publicity or anything that affects their money arising from bad publicity or details of abuses leaked out to parents etc. I don't know what that bishop hope to achieve re his excommunication of hermit monks.
Is there any official church teaching that says this? On the contrary, in Casti Connubii, Pope Pius XI taught the following: 104. Wherefore, let the faithful also be on their guard against the overrated independence of private judgment and that false autonomy of human reason. For it is quite foreign to everyone bearing the name of a Christian to trust his own mental powers with such pride as to agree only with those things which he can examine from their inner nature, and to imagine that the Church, sent by God to teach and guide all nations, is not conversant with present affairs and circumstances; or even that they must obey only in those matters which she has decreed by solemn definition as though her other decisions might be presumed to be false or putting forward insufficient motive for truth and honesty. Quite to the contrary, a characteristic of all true followers of Christ, lettered or unlettered, is to suffer themselves to be guided and led in all things that touch upon faith or morals by the Holy Church of God through its Supreme Pastor the Roman Pontiff, who is himself guided by Jesus Christ Our Lord. +
The monks excommunicated themselves in a public declaration. The bishop had no choice in case others wanted to join them.
Lots of questions here: List of these below who should be excommunicated: Mc Carrick. All named sex abusers in RCC (priests/nuns/religious). Bishops who knowingly facilitated the sex abuse by moving from parish to parish thus increased the level of abused heaped on more and more victims in the process. Bishops/Cardinals who deny Jesus as true god. Bishops/Cardinals who all facilitated MC Carrick in any way shape or form since the start of Mc Carrick career. Any bishop/Cardinal promoted any homosexual priest to the rank of bishop thus facilitating and promoting & integration of homosexual priests into the church itself. That in turn could become a 'gay' church. Finally these monks who were just highlighting PF and compliant bishops to the whims of PF (hence silence of Bishops). They fought back today here : https://www.complicitclergy.com/2019/12/28/excommunicated-hermits-fight-back/ The three Westray hermits – Father Stephen de Kerdrel, Sister Colette Roberts and Brother Damon Kelly – reacted on December 28 to their Christmas “excommunication” by Argyll and Isles Bishop Brian McGee. They call it “heartless,” and stress that “it hardly shows the spirit of mercy so extolled by Pope Francis.” The three do not retract anything of their summer declaration through which they withdrew their obedience from Francis and severed communion with the Holy See. Now, they accuse McGee and his fellow bishops of throwing the flock to the wolves by not confronting Francis who encourages Communion for adulterers, preaches that the wicked are “annihilated,” and that God “wills all religions,” and allows Pachamama sacrifices.
Brave monks. To stand against the tidal wave of modernism takes courage. I may not agree with everything they state but I agree with a lot of it. We are in the boat of despair with this Pontificate. In the boat of despair that is sinking, taking on water from every side, on the verge of auto-destruction I look to the heavens to one bright star that illuminates the path - Stella Maris - our Lady, star of the sea guide me home safely.
They did indeed excommunicate themselves. Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, as FatimaPilgrim would say. We need some discernment. They now want to bash the Bishop. They now think they have the ecclesiastical authority to declare his ruling void. This is not Catholic, especially in the light that they excommunicated themselves. What’s up with that??!!
Yes truly. I have to believe these men of prayer prayed deeply unceasingly for guidance in this. As "watchmen on the wall" perhaps they saw this as a moral imperative. Why did Benedict flee the wolves? Did God direct him or did he buckle under the deadly pressure of diabolic men? We will never know. Only God can judge this but as faithful Catholics we have to stay in the boat and as you say keep our eyes on the Star of the Sea.
One of these hermits is a woman In my understanding, a hermit is a status conveyed in Catholicism. There is a hermit named Fr Maximilian Mary He is authorized by the Church to live as a hermit in Pennsylvania He offers the TLM I’ll have to post his info later today I think these “hermits” are questionable and I think they have created their own crisis We all know that the claims are true but they have overstepped and left the Barque and now are stirring up conflict Conflict is ftom the devil
I have to say it makes no sense to deliberately excise oneself from the Mystical Body of Christ. In fact it is terrifying. But we dont know their motives or their ecclesial status. Here is where the internet is dangerous. Things spread like a wild fire gathering narratives as they rage. What I do know is their Bishop has the charism of his office given by Christ to act in such situations. If he is wrong then Christ will deal with him but for the rest of us we have to stay inside the barque of Peter and hold on. These are not ordinary times. God help us.
The situation in the Catholic Church is unprecedented and is causing great confusion. In truth, it is Bergoglio who has departed from the Catholic Faith. He has taught heresy, allowed and encouraged idol worship, tells Catholics to stop preaching the Gospel and converting pagans, tells people to stop making the sign of the cross in public, has denied Christ’s divinity, blasphemed the Holy Trinity, refuses to genuflect in the presence of Christ but kisses pagans’ feet, betrayed the Catholics in China etc., etc., etc., The list is really way too long. In a strange way, these hermits, through their courage in stating the truth about Bergoglio, (which the successors of the apostles in the Church should have done long ago), have kind of ‘excommunicated’ Bergoglio. I know they do not have the authority to do so, but the Bishops have failed to do their duty. Even an atheist (Professor Marcello Pera) can see the great harm that has been inflicted on the Catholic Church by Bergoglio. How can the faithful honestly say that they are in communion with Bergoglio, when one has to disobey him in mostly everything he is propagating? I also ask again - is there any official Church teaching that says the laity may disobey the Pope in sin; (which would mean that the Church believes it is entirely possible for a Pope to teach error)? +
Exactly!!! Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Dangers of jumping to conclusions about something posted on the internet.. ... And the Bishop has the charism of deciding. No one is denying their claims, however, but their actions are not canonical.
