America's Bishop, Joseph Strickland - Standing Firm in the Faith is Not Schismatic

Bishop Joseph Strickland has raised concerns about potential shifts in Catholic doctrine through the upcoming Synod on Synodality, suggesting that it could lead to alterations or "innovations" in established beliefs. He cautions that Catholics who uphold traditional teachings and resist novel changes might be branded as "schismatic."

Highlights

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
8/25/2023 (1 year ago)

Published in Living Faith

Keywords: Bishop Joseph Strickland, schism, letter, Synod, teaching, Deposit of Faith, Apostolic

Read the letter here: bit.ly

Undeterred by the recent apostolic visitation to his Diocese of Tyler, Bishop Joseph Strickland has conveyed a pastoral message in which he highlights potential threats to the faith within the framework of the Synod on Synodality. This synod is scheduled for an October gathering of bishops and laity.

"In these times of significant upheaval in both the Church and the world, I am compelled to address you from a paternal perspective, aiming to alert you to the perils that loom over us, and to reaffirm the joy and hope we eternally possess in our Lord Jesus Christ," Bishop Strickland began.

He identifies an "erroneous and deceptive message infiltrating the Church," which posits that "Jesus is merely one figure among numerous others," and that there's no imperative to share His message with all of humanity. Bishop Strickland unequivocally asserts that such a notion "must be vigorously rejected and contradicted."

In reference to St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, Bishop Strickland asserts that any attempts to distort the genuine Gospel message must be unreservedly repudiated as harmful to the Body of Christ and its individual members.

He outlines a set of seven enduring truths consistently taught by the Catholic Church:

1. Christ established One Church, the Catholic Church, and therefore only the Catholic Church provides the fullness of Christ's truth and the authentic path to His salvation for all of us. 

2. The Eucharist and all the sacraments are divinely instituted, not developed by man. The Eucharist is truly Christ's Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, and to receive Him in Communion unworthily (i.e., in a state of unrepentant sin) is a devastating sacrilege for the individual and for the Church. (1 Cor 11:27-29)

3. The Sacrament of Matrimony is instituted by God. Through Natural Law, God has established marriage as between one man and one woman faithful to each other for life and open to children. Humanity has no right or true ability to redefine marriage. 

4. Every human person is created in the image and likeness of God male or female, and all people should be helped to discover their true identities as children of God, and not supported in a disordered attempt to reject their undeniable biological and God-given identity. 

5. Sexual activity outside of marriage is always gravely sinful and cannot be condoned, blessed, or deemed permissible by any authority inside the Church. 

6. The belief that all men and women will be saved regardless of how they live their lives (a concept commonly referred to as universalism) is false and dangerous as it contradicts what Jesus us repeatedly in the Gospel. Jesus says we must "deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him." (Matt 16:24) He has given us the way, through His grace, to victory over sin and death through repentance and sacramental confession, every battle with temptation and sin can be a small victory that leads us to embrace the great victory that Christ has won for us.

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7. In order for us to follow Jesus Christ, we must willingly choose to take up our cross instead of attempt9ing to avoid the cross and suffering that Our Lord offers to each of us individually in our daily lives. The mystery of redemptive suffering, i.e. suffering that Our Lord allows us to experience and accept in this world and then offer back to Him in union with His suffering, humbles us, purifies us, and draws us deeper into the joy of a life lived in Christ, as we experience our daily sufferings we can find the hope and joy that exist amidst the suffering and persevere to the end in all our suffering. (cf. 2 Tim 4:6-8)

However, while presenting these steadfast Catholic truths, Bishop Strickland cautions that these truths "will be scrutinized as part of the Synod on Synodality." He doesn't directly suggest that the Synod aims to modify or challenge these teachings but rather advises Catholics to "adhere firmly to these truths and remain vigilant against any efforts to propose an alternative to the Gospel of Jesus Christ." He warns against attempts to promote a faith centered on dialogue and fraternity while diminishing the concept of God's paternal role.

The outspoken bishop also alerts that endeavors to "innovate upon the divine gifts bestowed upon us by God's abundant mercy" can lead to precarious grounds.

Bishop Strickland, after delineating the principles Catholics should uphold, predicts that proponents of change might target those who resist deviating from their faith:

"Unfortunately, there may arise those who brand as schismatic those who dissent from the suggested changes. Rest assured, however, that anyone unwaveringly anchored in the steadfast foundation of our Catholic faith is not a schismatic. We must proudly and authentically remain committed to our Catholic identity, regardless of the propositions presented."

He adds, "We must also recognize that standing firm against these proposed changes does not equate to leaving the Church." Conversely, the bishop characterizes those advocating change and innovation as "schismatics," asserting that those who endeavor to alter unalterable tenets are the true source of schism.

Coinciding with the bishop's admonition, a book is published on the same day, offering analogous warnings about the risks posed by the synodal process. Co-authored by researchers and theologians José Antonio Ureta and Julio Loredo de Izcue, the book includes a foreword by Cardinal Raymond Burke, who characterizes the terms "synodality" and "synodal" as catchphrases employed to reshape the Church's self-concept in accordance with a contemporary ideology that contradicts longstanding teachings and practices.

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Titled "The Synodal Process Is A Pandora's Box," the book serves as an urgent call to attention in response to the "heretical voices within the Catholic Church" advancing a "radical agenda" through the Synod on Synodality.

Notably, Bishop Strickland himself recently expressed concern that current efforts to curtail the use of the Church's ancient liturgy, particularly the Traditional Latin Mass, amount to an assault on the "Deposit of Faith."