Adsum ~ October 2014
LETTER FROM THE RECTOR
Ordination to the Diaconate
Dear Friends and Benefactors,
On the feast of St. Isaac Jogues and Companions, September 26, Rev. Timothy Geckle was ordained to the diaconate; his ordination comes in an important time as he can assist at the distribution of Holy Communion, especially at Sunday Masses and take care of sick calls to the infirm in our parish. This ordination was particularly a joyous occasion because he graduated from Mater Dei Academy and was ordained in the presence of the students. Having the seminary in close proximity to the academy and boarding facility has been a source of inspiration to our young men and boys and has planted the seeds for future vocations. The occasion of this ordination reminds us of Pope Pius XII’s Apostolic Constitution Sacramentum Ordinis in 1947, in which the Pope infallibly determined the matter and the form for the ordinations of deacons, priests and bishops. Although the Holy Father had at that time resolved a controversy among theologians, the Apostolic Constitution is providentially a great defense for the traditional movement today. After Vatican Council II, Paul VI had in 1968 altered the form for the consecration of bishops and replaced the form determined by Pope Pius XII with an ambiguous form similar to the invalid form used by the Protestant Anglican Church under Cranmer (which Pope Leo XIII in his Apostolic Constitution Apostolicae Curae in 1896 declared invalid).
When we consider the teachings of the last several true Popes prior to Vatican Council II, we find how God in His infinite wisdom has given us clear and concise Catholic doctrine to keep us from the Great Apostasy that has ravaged the Church. A few examples of these papal teachings are:
* Pope Pius IX’s
Syllabus of Errors
in 1864, which condemned the religious liberty promulgated at Vatican II in the decree Dignitatis Humanae of 1965.
* Pope Leo XIII’s
Libertas
in 1888 which also condemns the false teachings of Dignitatis Humanae and Satis Cognitum in 1896 which condemns the errors of Vatican II that the one true Church of Christ is not identified only with the Catholic Church.
* Pope St. Pius X’s
Pascendi and Lamentabili
in 1907 which condemned the various errors of the modernists which has so overwhelmingly effected the “hierarchy” of the Vatican II Church.
* Pope Benedict XV’s 1917 Code of Canon Law which legislates against communicatio in sacris, i.e. active participation in the worship of non-Catholics
(Canon 1258).
* Pope Pius XI’s
Mortalium Animos
in 1928 which condemns the false ecumenism of Vatican II and identifies those who practice it as guilty of apostasy from the true Faith.
* Pope Pius XII’s
Mediator Dei
which warned of the Bishop Davila and Bishop Pivarunas with our seminarians various innovations and alterations that were introduced with the promulgation of the Novus Ordo “Mass.” These are just a few examples of the stark difference between the Catholic Church prior to the Second Vatican Council and the new ecumenical religion that followed the Council. Once again, God in His providence has provided these clear teachings of the Popes to guide us in these confusing times.
With my prayers and blessing,
Most Rev. Mark A. Pivarunas, CMRI