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Appreciation of the Church's constant vigilance against Heresy and Schism in the second millennium

    Today we continue with our new series in the search to uncover the wonderful treasures of the Church contained in the great Deposit of Faith. We conclude our two part feature on the Church's vigilance against Heresy and Schism, assuring all of Christ's promise that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16: 18). For the forty-fifth installment, click on APPRECIATING THE PRECIOUS GIFT OF OUR FAITH

THE CHURCH'S VIGILANCE AGAINST SCHISM AND HERESY

    In the year 727, the Greek emperor Leo forbade all veneration to images on the ground that such veneration was idolatry. The heresy spread, and mobs entered churches to break images, to burn and destroy priceless works of art. Great harm was done to the people and their faith, before this heresy, called Iconoclasm (image-breaking), died out. The Council of Nicea in 787 defined the true doctrine of the Church.

    The great schism suffered by the Christian Church was that of the East, resulting in the establishment of the Orthodox Eastern Church. The Eastern emperors, desiring more power in the Church, tried to make the patriarchs of Constantinople independent of Rome. Finally, Photius, with the support of the emperor, held a council of Eastern bishops in the year 867, and broke from Rome.

    The cause of the schism was not doctrinal, but rather political and material - jealousy between the East and West. It has resulted in the separation from Rome of millions of people with valid priesthood and sacraments. In the United States there are a number of schismatical churches, among them the Greek Orthodox, and the Russian Church. After minor schisms and misunderstandings between East and West in 1054 there was a final break by Cerularius patriarch of Constantinople, continuing today.

    Today the Orthodox Eastern Church remains in schism, but does not spread. It is a withered branch, having cut itself off from the parent tree. The Orthodox Eastern Church denies the Catholic dogma that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. It also teaches that the souls of the just will not attain complete happiness till the end of the world, when they will be joined to their bodies; and that the souls of the wicked will not suffer complete torture in hell until that last day. These are heresies against the doctrines of the Church.

    Thus it can be seen that today the Orthodox Eastern Church is not merely schismatical, but truly heretical for it holds primary doctrines in a different light. But it has valid orders.

    In the 12th Century Albigensianism arose in southern France. It upheld dualism; two opposing creative principles, the good creating the spiritual world, and the evil creating the material world.

    The Albigenses went to excesses, recommending suicide, forbidding marriage, asserting that Our Lord did not have a human body, denying the resurrection of the body. The heresy was condemned by the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215.

    As an offshoot of Albigensianism, Waldensianism spread throughout Spain. Lombardy, Bohemia, and neighboring countries. The heresy continued until the outbreak of Protestantism, when it merged with this. The Waldenses denied the existence of Purgatory, combatted indulgences, asserted that laymen could preach and absolve, oaths were unlawful, sinful priests had no valid power of ministry, etc.

    But out of evil God has often drawn good. Each schism and heresy has led to profound study in the Church, study of scholars to discover the correct interpretation of doctrine under dispute. In this way light came from darkness. As wise Saint Augustine said: "Those who err in doctrine only serve to show forth more clearly the soundness of those who believe aright."

    In the fourteenth century, Wycliff in England taught that the Bible was the sole rule of faith, that there was no freedom of the will, that confession was useless, that the Pope had no primacy.

    Adopting the theories of Wycliff, Huss in Bohemia spread the errors. Political considerations complicated the heresy; fighting broke out, lasting years.

Tomorrow: Reformation and Reconciliation part one

   Today is the Feast of the Bishop Saint Charles Borromeo while tomorrow we commemorate the Thirty-first Friday in Ordinary Time and FIRST FRIDAY For the readings, liturgies, meditations, and profile on this saint, click on DAILY LITURGY.

Thursday November 4:
Feast of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop

White vestments

First Reading: Romans 14: 7-12
Psalms: Psalm 27: 1, 4, 13-14
Gospel Reading: Luke 15: 1-10

    Born into the influential de Medici family in 1538 at the height of the Protestant Revolution, Saint Charles Borromeo went on to become one of Holy Mother Church's staunchest defenders and one of the authors of the last session of the Council of Trent. He is venerated today as the Patron Saint of Seminarians and Catechists for Charles was always interested in the formation of seminarians and the need for all youth to understand their faith. He spoke from first-hand experience for a vocation was planted early in Charles' life and he was given the Clerical Tonsure at only 12 years old, then sent to the Benedictine Abbey of Saints Gratian and Felinus in Arona, Italy to complete his studies before receiving his doctorate in canon and civil law at the early age of 21 from the prestigious University of Pavia in 1559. Three years later he was ordained a priest and immediately called to Rome by Pope Pius IV who was the brother of Charles' mother Margaret de Medici. There he helped oversee the last stages of the Council of Trent, drawing up documents and guidelines for the liturgy of the faith. Almost immediately Charles was appointed Cardinal and Archbishop of Milan by his uncle Pope Pius IV. Before taking possession of the Diocese, he finished overseeing the catechism, breviary and missal called for by the Council of Trent. He remained in Rome until Pius IV died in 1565 and then, with permission from the new pontiff Pope Saint Pius V, returned to Milan to serve as Head of that See for the next 18 years. In 1566 he instituted in the Diocese of Trent a model See for that episcopate had been without a residen bishop for over 80 years. This became the model for all dioceses throughout Italy and beyond. He went to great lengths to install guidelines to enhance devotion and reverence, while improving morals and manners of the clergy and laity alike for both branches of the Church had fallen into a rut and apathy and amoralism ruled. Charles streamlined Diocesan operations and established seminaries so the clergy would not only be well-educated, but properly formed. To help implement this, he invited the Jesuits back into his Diocese for they had been banished in the past. He then founded the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine for the religious instruction of children everywhere. CCD remains today the benchmark for educating the youth to the faith throughout the world. As if Charles wasn't busy enough, he increased the aid to the poor, earmarking more Diocesan funds to assist the needy as well as establishing hospitals and hospices to tend to those who had fallen victim to the plague in 1576. So enraptured was he with the Christ's Gospel of the poor that he gave away all he had, wearing only an old patched cloak instead of the rich robes of a Cardinal. He also lent episcopal encouragement and guidance to the English missionaries by sending learned men to the English college at Douay in bringing the Bible up to date, in particular the Old Testament in the proper translation of the Latin Vulgate into English. Today the Douay-Rheims Version remains the benchmark for all Biblical translations though, unfortunately, newer versions have swayed from the true meanings of the words conveyed in the Douay-Rheims Version. Charles held eleven diocesan synods and six provincial councils during his tenure as well as founding an order of secular priests in 1578 - the Oblates of St. Charles, as they are known today, though when he founded the society it was the Oblates of St. Augustine. In addition to all this, he spoke tirelessly and ceaselessly against the dangers of Protestantism and encouraged lapsed Catholics to return to the fold. Naturally, when one is striving to do God's Will, satan will do all he can to confuse and mess up the good works by attacking the subject. This happened to Charles and he aroused much enmity in the Milan Senate over his wide-wielding power throughout the city and region. Though the Spanish dominated Lombardy, Charles fended off all efforts to allow the Spanish Inquisition in Milan. At the same time Protestantism was making great inroads in England where the Catholic Restoration which Mary Tudor had installed was being eroded by Queen Elizabeth; in France and the Netherlands religious wars were breaking out. Meanwhile in Milan St. Charles ruled with a velvet glove, kind and loving, but firm on maintaining all the Catholic Church teaches. Still, his enemies pressed on. Often times attempts were made to imprison the Archbishop of Milan, but each time he was exonerated by the Holy Father and King Philip II. There was even an attempted assassination on his life by a fanatic Humiliati priest Jerome Donati Farina because Charles had insisted that the Humiliati Order be reformed. Despite political machinations within the Milan government, Charles held his ground, excommunicating those who refused to obey and was subsequently upheld by higher authorities. When the plague broke out in 1576 Charles commandeered the clergy and religious to care for the afflicted. Because of the long two-year epidemic and the many who had died, the Diocese ran up a tremendous debt that took centuries to make up. In 1583 Charles, as an apostolic visitor in Switzerland - heart of the Reformation - preached feverishly against Protestantism and the spread of of witchcraft and sorcery. Though Charles had great power and influence, he used it humbly as a servant of the Church instilling a great reverence for the Blessed Sacrament and a love for all Holy Mother Church taught in his life-long mission to reform his beloved Church of the evils and abuses that had ravaged the clergy for so many years and spawned the Protestant Revolution. Charles was often seen in public procession, clutching his Crucifix with a noose around his neck as a sign of public penance, emphasizing the fact to all that all men are sinners and only through the One, True Church Jesus Christ founded can we be saved. Though he was only 46, the burdens of his duties and the aftermath of the plague took its toll on this dynamic saint who had personally attempted to feed over 60,000 people daily. Thus, Charles passed on to his Heavenly reward on November 4, 1584 in Milan.

Friday November 5:
Thirty-first Friday in Ordinary Time
FIRST FRIDAY

Green vestments

First Reading: Romans 15: 14-21
Psalms: Psalm 98: 1-4
Gospel Reading: Luke 16: 1-8

The clarion sounds as a wake-up call to Catholics as we provide a review of all past articles on the Church today

    Like our other feature series, we present installments 1 through 105 of this series which is a set blueprint for Catholics everywhere to take up the banner of truth in defending Christ's One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church as we prepare for this glorious event - the second coming of Christ and the Reign of the Sacred Heart, the Second Pentecost, the Era of the Eucharistic Presence, the Advent of Peace. To read any of the over one-hundred previous installments in this long on-going series, click on the Archives ofWHERE IS HOLY MOTHER CHURCH HEADING AS WE NEAR THE MILLENNIUM?

Holy Father hammers home need to reduce and eliminate debts out of love for our fellow man during his Wednesday Papal Audience

    The Holy Father continued with his theme of love and compassion, reminding all of the necessity to either forgive debts or reduce them so that the burden is lightened in striving for reconciliation among all God's children. He made his comments before 12,000 at St. Peter's Square during his regular Wednesday Papal Audience reinforcing that to those who have been given much, much is expected and this includes compassion for the poor and erasing international debts that prohibit them from enjoying the rewards of human dignity. For more, click on Wednesday Papal Audience

    VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- At his weekly public audience for November 3, Pope John Paul II repeated and reinforced his call for a reduction in the burden of international debt.

    "In the globalized economy, the problem of debt requires real solidarity, if we are not to arrive at a general catastrophe," the Holy Father said to the 12,000 people who had gathered for his weekly appearance in St. Peter's Square.

    In his talk-- a continuation of his series on the Jubilee-- the Pontiff said that the Christian understanding of the Jubilee should lead lenders to recognize the value of forgiving loans, and that concerted action to reduce debt should be seen in the context of "the common good and the universal destination the goods of the earth."

    The "fundamental principles of ethics" should also help creditors to understand that borrowers "should not be put under unbearable pressure" by the loans, the Pope continued. And since an economic collapse on the indebted nations would in turn put new burdens on the lenders, the Pope explained that "an important reduction-- if not total erasure-- of international debt" is now an economic as well as moral requirement; the alternative is "general catastrophe."

    The Jubilee, the Pope concluded, affords an ideal occasion for the remission of debts. Such a move, he said, would signal "a new way of looking at wealth in service to the common good."

Foreign intrigue inside Vatican as documents reveal KGB plot to assassinate Pope and disrupt the Church

    It reads like a John LeCarre spy novel but the facts are that the KGB had infiltrated the Vatican, planting bugs to spy on the Holy See in an attempt to assassinate the Holy Father in retaliation for his instrumentation in bringing down the Iron Curtain and to throw the Church into disaray. Thank God it was foiled. For more, click on satan and the KGB.

    ROME (CWNews.com) - The Soviet Union's spy agency planned to kill Pope John Paul II and destabilize the Catholic Church, according to reports in Italian newspapers on Wednesday.

    The revelations come from a set of Czech documents sent to Italy's secret services and obtained by news media. A spokesman for a parliamentary committee that has seen the documents said the quotes in the newspapers sounded accurate.

    One of the quotes from the documents said: "There has been noted KGB activity to discredit the Catholic Church and the figure of the Pope with disinformation and provocation, not excluding his physical elimination." Pope John Paul II was instrumental in the overthrow of Communism in Poland during the 1980s, considered by many observers as the crack in the wall that led to the fall of Communism throughout Eastern Europe.

    The Czech documents also said the KGB had planted surveillance equipment in a statue in one of the rooms of the late Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, the former secretary of state.

Controversy erupts over need for a local inquiry regarding Mother Teresa's beatification process

    Accepting the holiness of Mother Teresa, a high-ranking faculty member of St. Francis Xavier High School in Calcutta raises the challenge to the Holy See, in the case of Mother, to forego the local diocesan level investigation and allow the Vatican to bypass this process for someone of her known holy credentials. While it makes sense in expediting the process, the current process for beatification provides a fail-safe method to assure that the person is worthy. Mother's successor Sister Nirmala refused to get embroiled in the controversy. For more, click on Debate over Expediting Mother Teresa's Beatification Process .

    CALCUTTA, NOV 2 (ZENIT).- Is it necessary to carry out a diocesan process as a first step in a person's beatification? This is the issue being debated in India, occasioned by the endeavor to raise Mother Teresa of Calcutta to the glory of the altars.

    In face of the enthusiasm inspired by the figure of this deceased religious of Albanian origin, Jesuit Fr. Gaston Roberge, 64, director of the Communications Department of the St. Francis Xavier School in Calcutta, said he thinks "it is not necessary to initiate a diocesan process to proclaim a person a saint. It is the exercise of an absolute power of the Church. When we discover a person who is worthy of imitation, a communication from the Pope and the Bishops to the faithful would be sufficient."

    But, according to VID, the information service of the world's religious communities, Fr. Brian Kolodiejchuk of the Missionaries of Charity, postulator of Mother Teresa's cause, says that such procedures are necessary, because they allow "a morally certain judgment on the sanctity" of the person.

    For his part, Salesian Fr. Joseph Aymanathil has stated that a cause of canonization "is not an exercise of power." In fact, beginning from the diocesan level avoids imposition from the top. Thus, "the ecclesial authorities respond to a petition that comes from the Christian communities."

    Sister Nirmala Joshi, Mother Teresa's successor in the leadership of the Missionaries of Charity, did not wish to comment on this issue. ZE99110210

Church comes to the aid of storm victims in India as Pope sends his condolences on eve of his trip to India

    Just days away from his Papal Trip to India, the Holy Father extended his condolences to the storm victims in Oressi, India where a devastating storm has rendered over a million homeless and killed 10,000 people. So many times when one sees a lavish dinner prepared for many, the comment comes - think of how that money could help the poor. That is exactly what is happening this time as the Church in India is cancelling the planned dinner for 200 Asian bishops coming together in New Delhi for the Pope's visit. Instead the Church is turning over the money earmarked for the dinner to help the victims. For more, click on Putting money where their mouths would have been.

    VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- In a telegram addressed to the papal nuncio in India, Pope John Paul II has expressed his "profound sadness" at the news of a devastating storm in the eastern state of Orissa.

    The Pope's telegram-- signed in the Pontiff's name by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican Secretary of State-- assured the affected families of his prayers, and called for international help for the victims. An estimated 10,000 people have been killed by the storm, and as many as 1 million left homeless.

    To show their concern, the Catholic Church in India on Tuesday announced the cancellation of a dinner for the 200 bishops converging on New Delhi for the papal visit this week and has decided to contribute the money saved as a symbolic gesture to cyclone relief aid in eastern Orissa state.

    Conservative estimates put the death toll at 5,000 from the devastating cyclone that last week ravaged the coastal districts of Orissa on the Bay of Bengal, rendering millions homeless and without water, food, communication links, and electricity. This has forced the relief workers, led by the Indian army, to air drop food packets to marooned people.

    Besides appealing to international church charities to rush aid to boost the Church's relief work, Caritas India along with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Catholic Health Association of India have pooled their resources and launched massive relief work through the social action network of the Balasore and Cuttak-Bubhaneshwar dioceses in the region.

    Father Ivan Joseph, executive director Caritas India, said on Wednesday that Caritas India has already rushed assistance worth 15 million rupees (US$360,000) including blankets, medicines, and food items to the ravaged state. In addition, dozens of doctors from Catholic hospitals have also been dispatched for relief work.

    The Orissa government has even formally asked for Church help to dispose of decaying bodies scattered throughout the cyclone-hit region. Christian institutions in the state have been closed and even seminarians are being pressed into service to dispose of decaying bodies of both humans and animals, Father Joseph said.

   With the messages completed, you can now order the book that contains ALL the messages. This much-anticipated 224-page book of ALL the messages to the world imparted to the Hidden Flower of the Immaculate Heart from the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary is a lasting gift that will inspire you in your faith, and all God asks of us. You can acquire your own handsome, coffee-table top copy of "I SOLEMNLY TELL YOU..." containing all 632 messages or the THE HIDDEN WAY containing 100 inspirational Meditative Lessons from Our Lord and Our Lady on Church Doctrine by clicking on "I SOLEMNLY TELL YOU..." or THE HIDDEN WAY or both books at BOOKS

    Dear children! Do not forget: this is a time of grace; that is why, pray, pray, pray! Thank you for having responded to my call. For more on Medjugorje, click on MEDJUGORJE AND MORE

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November 4, 1999 volume 10, no. 209  DAILY CATHOLIC