Padre Pio’s superiors put unjust restrictions on him, but he obeyed them. The mark of holiness is obedience. These nuns should have followed the example of Padre Pio, but instead they have chosen to break from Holy Mother Church like the SSPX have. Bishop Olson may well have been abusing his authority, but what these nuns are doing is ne…
Padre Pio’s superiors put unjust restrictions on him, but he obeyed them. The mark of holiness is obedience. These nuns should have followed the example of Padre Pio, but instead they have chosen to break from Holy Mother Church like the SSPX have. Bishop Olson may well have been abusing his authority, but what these nuns are doing is never legitimate or justified. We should pray for their repentance and their reconciliation with Holy Mother Church.
St. Damien of Molokai wasn't a shining example of obedience to his superiors. There were quite a few saints who didn't always comply eagerly with everything that was asked of them. But I think there is still a general trend of respect at least, if not mindless acquiescence to every order given.
To put it more clearly, I think there is a place for resistance and pushback, if it's justified and respectful--authority isn't ALWAYS right, and sometimes there are other spiritual goods to be considered, as in St. Damien's case where he had a duty as shepherd of the Molokai lepers--but this sort of flagrant disregard for the hierarchy in direct charge of them still looks pretty unreasonable.
Charity or love, not obedience, is held up as the highest of virtues in the New Testament. And when Christ was obedient to the point of death, that was ultimately to the Father's Will. The apostles gleefully disobeyed the Sanhedrin's injunction not to preach, didn't they?
Point taken. But a letter publicly stating their refusal to acknowledge a legitimate superior is still several steps beyond St. Damien having strong words with his superiors around allocating more resources to the lepars under his care.
Michael, with respect to you, my friend, is there no holiness in the Orthodox churches? Are they not replete with martyrs, mystics, and great saints of their own? Did not the 21 Coptic martyrs in Libya shed their blood for the word of God, despite being "disobedient" to the See of Rome? Has there not been a single holy Protestant? Holy Mother Church would not say or imply so, and neither should we?
There's a pretty big difference between those who "inherit" their schism, so to speak, and those who commit the act. And the catechism is very clear about that. Paragraph 818: "However, one cannot charge with the sin of separation those who at present are born into these communities [that resulted from such separation] and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers..."
The previous paragraph, meanwhile, refers to the act as damnable.
So I don't think we can point to holy Orthodox or Protestants and just say "see, schism is no big deal."
How is the Holy Mother Church able to invite our separated brothers and sisters back into the fold if we hold such strong feelings of animosity, implying that they know full well what they are doing by their separation resulting from their cultural heritage. It takes time to convince and persuade towards the truth, using reason in the faith. The virtue of humility should moderate those who profess to be righteous in their cause. Obedience to proper authority will be noted more mercifully than self assurance of righteousness on these matters such as the witnesses of Saint Thomas Aquinas and Saint Padre Pio as well as many many other pillars of the faith. Please consider praying for the virtues necessary for holiness in these matters for them and for us.
Padre Pio’s superiors put unjust restrictions on him, but he obeyed them. The mark of holiness is obedience. These nuns should have followed the example of Padre Pio, but instead they have chosen to break from Holy Mother Church like the SSPX have. Bishop Olson may well have been abusing his authority, but what these nuns are doing is never legitimate or justified. We should pray for their repentance and their reconciliation with Holy Mother Church.
St. Damien of Molokai wasn't a shining example of obedience to his superiors. There were quite a few saints who didn't always comply eagerly with everything that was asked of them. But I think there is still a general trend of respect at least, if not mindless acquiescence to every order given.
To put it more clearly, I think there is a place for resistance and pushback, if it's justified and respectful--authority isn't ALWAYS right, and sometimes there are other spiritual goods to be considered, as in St. Damien's case where he had a duty as shepherd of the Molokai lepers--but this sort of flagrant disregard for the hierarchy in direct charge of them still looks pretty unreasonable.
Charity or love, not obedience, is held up as the highest of virtues in the New Testament. And when Christ was obedient to the point of death, that was ultimately to the Father's Will. The apostles gleefully disobeyed the Sanhedrin's injunction not to preach, didn't they?
Point taken. But a letter publicly stating their refusal to acknowledge a legitimate superior is still several steps beyond St. Damien having strong words with his superiors around allocating more resources to the lepars under his care.
Oh, absolutely!
apostles were not disobeying the Sanhedrin’s authority (men), since their authority came from God himself -Jesus.
Michael, with respect to you, my friend, is there no holiness in the Orthodox churches? Are they not replete with martyrs, mystics, and great saints of their own? Did not the 21 Coptic martyrs in Libya shed their blood for the word of God, despite being "disobedient" to the See of Rome? Has there not been a single holy Protestant? Holy Mother Church would not say or imply so, and neither should we?
There's a pretty big difference between those who "inherit" their schism, so to speak, and those who commit the act. And the catechism is very clear about that. Paragraph 818: "However, one cannot charge with the sin of separation those who at present are born into these communities [that resulted from such separation] and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers..."
The previous paragraph, meanwhile, refers to the act as damnable.
So I don't think we can point to holy Orthodox or Protestants and just say "see, schism is no big deal."
Grace is a gift from God. If schism cut one off from the life of the Church, then holiness (a consequence of grace) could not follow.
How is the Holy Mother Church able to invite our separated brothers and sisters back into the fold if we hold such strong feelings of animosity, implying that they know full well what they are doing by their separation resulting from their cultural heritage. It takes time to convince and persuade towards the truth, using reason in the faith. The virtue of humility should moderate those who profess to be righteous in their cause. Obedience to proper authority will be noted more mercifully than self assurance of righteousness on these matters such as the witnesses of Saint Thomas Aquinas and Saint Padre Pio as well as many many other pillars of the faith. Please consider praying for the virtues necessary for holiness in these matters for them and for us.
Sadly, you're right.
But something is off on the Bishop's end.