January 22, 2004
Karen M. Franz, Editor
Catholic Courier
1136 Buffalo Road
Rochester, NY 14624
Dear Editor,
Richard P. McBrien again shows his ability to distort
Catholic doctrine concerning the Church with his recent
column (1/15/04) falsely claiming Vatican II: "set aside
an earlier belief that the Catholic Church alone is the
‘one, true Church of Christ’... The Body of
Christ is larger than the Catholic Church". When the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith condemned Leonardo
Boff’s book "Church, Charisma and Power", it
took care to emphasize that Vatican II deliberately chose the
word "subsistit" in Lumen Gentium #8 to stress
in the strongest possible terms that there is only one social
body in this world in which the true Church has existence.
and identification. Outside its visible organization, there
exist only ecclesial elements which point towards and lead in
the direction of the Catholic Church. The possession of
"elements of the Church" such as validly ordained bishops and
genuine sacraments do not add up to that membership in the
true Church always characterized by unity of doctrine and
hierarchical communion with Peter’s successor in Rome.
Vatican II even refused to use the name "churches" for
Protestant communities lacking the Episcopate and a valid
Eucharist. Furthermore, in its Decree on the Catholic
Eastern Churches, Vatican II emphasized that: "The
holy Catholic Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ,
is made up of the faithful who are organically united in the
Holy Spirit by the same faith, the same sacraments and the
same government" (#2).
In today's column (1/22/04) stating: "there is no evidence
that Peter himself was the Bishop of Rome", McBrien is at
odds with the firmly-rooted conviction and belief of the
Catholic faithful from the earliest days of the Church. For
example, the ancient Byzantine Greek Liturgy reflects the
age-old conviction of the faithful in both East and West:
"Supreme foundation of the Apostles... thou didst also become
first Bishop of Rome." (Office of Feast of St. Peter’s
Chain).
I join with other readers to deplore the continued appearance
of this dissenter-theologian in the "Catholic Courier". When
the U.S. Bishops censured his book "Catholicism" in
1986 for being "bewildering and unsettling" and giving
"encouragement to dissent", they revealed Richard P.
McBrien’s incompetence as a theologian faithful to the
Magisterium.
Sincerely yours,
— James Likoudis,
P.O.Box 852,
Montour Falls, NY 14865
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