Historia Brevis de Scriptura Sacra et Ecclesia Catholica

Amici, Americani, Compatriotae,

The following two essays on Scripture and the Church were written by Ken Litchfield in response to a question posed on Facebook, “Where in the Bible does it list the books which should be part of the Bible?” The Protestant position is clearly and irrefutably debunked.

The Short History of the Bible by Ken Litchfield

The Bible is the collection of writings that the Catholic Church decided were inspired and could be read at Mass. It is a collection of books written by different authors in different writing styles, over thousands of years, for different audiences. The Bible contains historical events, but it is not written like a history book. It is not a manual on how to run a religion or build a church. Those things already existed before the Bible was assembled. The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles called the Didache is the earliest manual on how to run a Church. In modern times the Catholic Church is governed by Canon Law and the Catechism which are based on Scripture.

At the time of Jesus, the Sadducees, that taught and worshiped at the Temple in Jerusalem, considered only the 5 books of Moses to be the word of God. The Pharisees and Rabbis that taught and worshiped in the Synagogues, considered the 5 books of Moses, the writings of the Prophets, the Psalms, and some of the historical writings as Scripture. They grouped these writings in sets of 22 or 24 books. The Essene Jews had another set of writings that they used in their community. The Jews of this time did not have a standardized Old Testament.

Jews living outside of Jerusalem used a Greek Translation of the Old Testament called the Septuagint. This translation has the 46 books of the Catholic Old Testament in it, and various others that did not make it into the Catholic Old Testament. The 7 books that are in the Catholic Old Testament but not the Protestant Old Testament are 1st and 2nd Maccabees, Wisdom, Baruch, Sirach, Tobit, and Judith.
The Early Christians considered the Greek Septuagint version of the Hebrew writings as Scripture. The New Testament quotes from the Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament more than 80% of the time. All the books that made it into the New Testament were written in the first century. This is a basic history of the Bible.

Around 90 AD a rabbinic school in Jamnia had a debate on which books were sacred and generally concluded that the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes were inspired texts.

Rabbi Akiba Ben Joseph started standardizing the writings that the Jews would use in their Synagogues between 100 and 130 AD. This collection is known as the Tanakh. He declared that the book of Sirach and all others written after that do not defile the hand which means they were not sacred texts that could not be touched after they were written. He established a canon of 22 or 24 books depending on how they were organized. The current Protestant Old Testament of 39 books is a reorganization of the 24 books. The Jews that rejected Jesus settled their Old Testament 100 years after Christianity had been started by Peter and the Apostles.

The Hebrew Masoretic Text commonly used today was developed between 500 and 900 AD. The Hebrew scholars took the consonant only Hebrew text and added vowels to make whole words as we have them in modern books.

The oldest list of the New Testament books is on incomplete scrap of parchment known as the Muratorian fragment from around 170 AD. It lists the Gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John, Acts of the Apostles, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Galatians, 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, Romans, Philemon, Titus, 1st and 2nd Timothy, Jude, 1st and 2nd John, Wisdom of Solomon, Revelation of John, and Revelation of Peter as scripture. This list does not include 1 and 2 Peter, James, 3 John and Hebrews.

In 180 AD Irenaeus writes that there are only 4 Gospels and lists their authors as Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

In 200 AD Origen considered the 4 Gospels, the Book of Acts, the 14 letters of Paul 1 Peter, Jude, 1 John and the Book of Revelation as Scripture. Origen expressed reservations concerning James, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John. Origen also considered Gospel of Peter, Gospel of the Hebrews, Acts of Paul, I Clement, Epistle of Barnabas, Didache, and Shepherd of Hermas as divinely inspired.

Around 315 AD Eucebius of Caesarea wrote about the Canon of Scripture based on what he learned from Origen’s library and the libraries in Alexandria and Jerusalem. He wrote that the universally recognized books are the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Book of Acts, the 14 Epistles of Paul (including Hebrews), 1 Epistle by Peter, 1 Epistle by John and the Revelation (Apocalypse) of John. Eusebius writes that these writings are accepted by some Churches but not all Churches: 2 Epistle of Peter, 2 and 3 Epistles of John, James and Jude. He writes that the Church in Rome rejects the book of Hebrews and many Churches read the Shepherd of Hermas during the Divine Liturgy. Eusebius writes that these books are non-Apostolic writings but useful for teaching: Acts of Paul, Shepherd of Hermas, Apocalypse of Peter, Epistle of Barnabas, Didache-Teaching of the 12 Apostles, Gospel of the Hebrews, and the Apocalypse of John.
Eucebius writes that these writings are heretical: Gospel of Peter, Gospel of Thomas, Gospel of Mathias, Acts of Andrew, and Acts of John. This shows that the New Testament list we have today was not finalized at this time.

Around 325 AD the Codex Vaticanus, the Codex Sinaicticus and the Codex Alexandria were assembled. They are likely from the 50 copies of Scripture in Greek commissioned by the Roman Emperor Constantine. Between these 3 ancient books we have the fully accepted 66 book Old Testament, the books of the Deuterocanon (aka the apocrypha) including 3 Esdras, Wisdom, Prologue to Ecclesiasticus, Ecclesiasticus, Esther (with additions), Judith, Tobit, Baruch, Epistle of Jeremiah, Daniel (with additions), and the 1-4 Maccabees. They contain the New Testament Four Gospels, Book of Acts, 1 and 2 Peter, 1,2 and 3 John, Jude, James, the Epistle to the Hebrews the 13 Pauline Epistles, and The Book of Revelation.

In 360 AD the Council of Laodicea listed a canon of scripture that had 26 of the 27 books of the New Testament leaving off the Book of Revelation.

In 367 AD Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria listed the 27 books of the New Testament in his Church Calendar letter sent to his Churches.

In 382 AD Pope Damasus at the Council of Rome listed the 27 books of the New Testament and 46 books of the Old Testament as the Canon of Scripture for use in Churches.

In 383 AD Pope Damasus commissioned St. Jerome to make a Latin translation of the New and Old Testament Scriptures. Jerome used the Hebrew Masoretic texts for his Old Testament translation and Greek writings for the New Testament translation. The Hebrew texts didn’t include the Old Testament books that were in the Greek Septuagint because the Jews had rejected them. Jerome made a Latin translation of these books after they were confirmed by the Councils of Hippo and Carthage.

In 386 AD the St. Augustine guided the Council of Hippo in North Africa which established the same list of 46 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books.

In 397AD the Council of Carthage under Augustine came up with the same list and sent it to Rome for approval after another council in 419AD.

In 405 AD Pope Innocent I listed the 27 books of the New Testament and 46 books of Old Testament in his Church Calendar letter to the Bishop of Lyon in France.

In 434 AD Vincent of Lerins “Since the canon of Scripture is complete, and sufficient for everything, what need is there to join with it the authority of the Church’s interpretation? Because all do not accept it in one and the same sense. One understands its words in one way, another in another way producing various interpretations. Therefore the right understanding should be in accordance with the standard of Ecclesiastical interpretation."

In 787 AD the Second Council of Nicaea accepted the decrees of previous smaller Councils. This included the Canon of Scripture determined in 397 by the Council of Carthage. 

In 1441 the Council of Florence approved the list of 46 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books accepted by the Councils of Rome, Hippo and Carthage.

In 1550 the list of 46 Old Testament books and 27 New Testament books were made official at the Council of Trent.

This is why there is a difference today between the Catholic and Protestant Bibles. It wasn't until the end of the 300s that list of Old and New Testament Scriptures were established.

The Didache, the Shepherd of Hermas, 1st Clement to the Corinthians, and the Epistle of Barnabas were read in many early Churches. The Book of Revelation, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, Jude, James and the Book of Hebrews were considered questionable by many.

The Catholic Church that teaches that baptism forgives sins, that Jesus is present in the Eucharist, and that the Bishop of Rome is the head of the Church, is the Church that decided which books are the divinely inspired words of God. The Early Church Synods of Rome, Hippo and Carthage are the first Church councils that established the list of divinely inspired books. This list was confirmed at the Ecumenical Councils of 2nd Nicaea and Florence. The Catholic Church hand copied the Bible for over 1000 years before moveable type was developed by Gutenberg. For the first 1500 years of Christianity the Bible was interpreted based on the Tradition handed on by the Apostles. This Tradition can be understood through the writings of the Early Church Fathers who had an overall majority understanding of their interpretation.

The Bible contains divinely inspired writings. But they need to be interpreted. The thousands of different Protestant churches have different interpretations of these divinely inspired writings. The Catholic Church has the oldest and original understanding of these writings. The Pope is the successor of the minister that Jesus left behind to feed His sheep and tend His flock. This same Jesus promised to be with His Church to the end of time (Matt28:20). Jesus didn't leave us a book as an authority; He left us a Church to teach us what He taught the Apostles. Catholics put their trust in the Church that Jesus founded not a man’s interpretation of the Bible that the Catholic Church assembled.

No Protestant church has a record of how they decided which books make up the New Testament; even Martin Luther said “What would we know of the Scriptures if it wasn’t for the papists (Catholic Church)”.

The Church That Jesus Left Behind to Carry on His Mission by Ken Litchfield

Many people assume that Jesus left us a book as an authority and not a teaching Church. The writings of the New Testament, that both Protestants and Catholics agree are Scripture, tell us that Jesus didn't leave us a book.

In Matthew chapter 16 we learn that Jesus said “You are Peter and on this Rock I will build my Church”. He gives Peter the keys to the kingdom indicating his authority in the kingdom and that it would be handed on to successors like ministers that served the Jewish kings (Isiah ch 22). This is a transfer of authority from the seat of Moses in the Old Covenant to the new seat of authority in the New Covenant, the Chair of Peter. Jesus gives Peter and the Apostles the power to bind and loose, showing that they had authority to make and discontinue laws and the fellowship of members of the Church. After His resurrection Jesus gives the Apostles the authority to forgive or retain sins (John ch 20).In Matthew chapter 28, before ascending into Heaven, Jesus tells the Apostles that all the authority that God gave Him, he passes onto the Apostles. Jesus also told the Apostles to go out and teach the world everything that He taught and to Baptize them in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus promises to be with them until the end of the age.

In John’s Gospel chapter 17 Jesus prays that we would all be one as He and the Father are one. This tells us that Jesus wants there to be unity in the Church, not thousands of conflicting denominations. The end of John's Gospel chapters 20 and 21 tells us that everything is not in what we now call the Bible because no book could hold it all. 

The Bible is the collection of books that the Catholic Church assembled and declared these are the inspired texts that can be read at Mass. This tells us that Jesus left a Church not a book.

In the Book of Acts chapter 1, Peter and the rest of the Apostles meet to replace Judas as one of the 12 Apostles. The King James Bible tells us that they referred to Judas’ office as a ‘Bishopric’. The understanding from the beginning is that the Apostles hold an office that has successors.

In the Book of Acts chapter 2 Peter preaches to the Jews and 3,000 are added to the Church through Baptism. This shows that the Church that Jesus left behind to carry on His mission existed before the New Testament was written. Jesus left a Church not a book.

The Book of Acts chapter 9 uses the Greek phrase, "ekklesia kath holos," which means "the Church throughout all". From this we derive the name Catholic Church meaning the whole group of called out people that believe the same universal thing.

The Book of Acts chapter 15 tells us at the Council of Jerusalem, the Apostles, and those they had appointed called presbyters (bishops), held a Council that made a decision that went against what was then considered Scripture (the Old Testament required circumcision) and gave a binding decree on all Christians. This shows that the Apostles knew that they had authority from Jesus that could bind and loose the laws of the old covenant before there was a Bible. Their decree to the Church says that it seems good to the Holy Spirit and to us …. This shows that the Church had binding authority and was protected by the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised. They sent the decree out with Paul, Barnabas and other appointed messengers, showing how the authority came from the Apostles not a private interpretation of individuals.

When the Apostles went out and founded Churches, they would appoint successors that we now call Bishops by laying hands on them. In 1 Timothy chapter 3 Paul tells Timothy that the Church is the Pillar and Foundation of Truth not the Bible which was still being written. In chapter 4 Paul tells Timothy to be a good minister, to teach soundly and to not neglect the gift he was given through the laying on of his hands. Paul reminds him again in 2 Timothy 1:6 “Remember the gift you received with the laying on of my hands” referring to when he made Timothy a Bishop. Paul also warns Timothy to be careful about whom he lays hands on and be sure they know and follow the Faith before laying hands on them. This shows how the Faith was passed on through the teachers not just a book. In Ephesians chapter 4, Paul also lists the different positions in the Church like Prophets, teachers, readers etc. In Titus chapter 1, Paul reminds Titus that he left him in Crete to teach the people rightly and appoint presbyters in every town to properly hand on the Faith. Paul also tells Titus that the men he appoints should teach and appoint other men following the Tradition of Apostolic Succession. In 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and 11, Paul tells the Corinthians of the Church practices and that we have no other practices and neither do the Churches of God. Unity in practice was expected among the Christians then and now.

These Bible passages speak of the Unity that God desires for His Church.

Romans 12:4-5 “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another” 

1 Corinthians 1:10 “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”

Acts 4:32 “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.”

Hebrews 13:11 “Let brotherly love continue”

Ephesians 4:5-6 “One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. 

All of these verses speak about the unity that God wants for His Church.

In 90 AD the Church in Corinth had a dispute, so they wrote a letter to the Bishop of Rome. Pope Clement, Bishop of Rome wrote back that the Apostles received their authority from Jesus and the Bishops received their authority from the Apostles. We call this handing down of authority Apostolic Succession. When the Corinthians had a dispute they wrote to the Church in Rome and not Jerusalem, Antioch, another nearby major Church or the Apostle John, because they knew that Rome had the Authority.

In 107 AD Ignatius Bishop of Antioch writes that the teachings of the Church are passed on through the Bishops not a book. Ignatius also tells us that wherever the Bishop is, there is the catholic Church. In his letter to the Church in Rome, Ignatius writes that he doesn’t command them like Peter and Paul, but asks them not to try and rescue him when he gets there. This is early evidence that the Church in Rome had the teaching of Peter and Paul because this was the last place that they lived and taught.

In 150 AD the early Church historian Hegesippus took a trip from Jerusalem to Rome by land. He recorded that everywhere he traveled the Church taught the same thing. This shows that from the beginning there was unity in the Church teaching and practice not the ‘variety’ that some propose.

In 180 AD Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon in Gaul (France), wrote a 5 volume book against Heresies. Irenaeus learned the Faith from Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, who learned the Faith from the Apostle John. Irenaeus writes that if two Churches have a doctrinal dispute they need to see which Church can trace its history back to an Apostle. Or he says, all you have to do is find out what the Church in Rome teaches, because all Churches have to be in agreement with that Church because Peter and Paul taught there.

All of this tells us that the Church that Jesus left behind was known as the Catholic Church and was headquartered in Rome by the end of the first century. The Catholic Church has the Authority from Jesus and is protected from error, through the Holy Spirit, like Jesus said it would be (Matt ch 28). Unity can only be maintained through authority.

The Catholic Church offers the authority of the Chair of Peter, the Church Councils and the Bible to guide us as we grow in our Faith in Jesus Christ.

Decessus Mei Senioris Ioannis McSweeney

Msg John McSweeney

Amici, Americani, Compatriotae,

Monsignor McSweeney, Pastor of St. Matthew’s Catholic Church in Charlotte, NC, is retiring. The following includes extracts from Charlotte Observer with commentary. While I am disappointed in many of the things which Msg. McSweeney says, I am NOT surprised in the least. This is typical for children of the smoke of Vatican Council II. This is what happens when one is first and primarily a businessman desirous of appealing to the popular culture so that the cash continues to flow into the parish from the rich folk living in the Ballantyne area. Nevertheless, let us proceed without further delay,

Let married men become priests, says pastor of America’s largest Catholic church

STATEMENT: His parting advice for Charlotte and its leaders: “Remember that it is a city for all people, not just a select few.”

COMMENT: Jesus had a different viewpoint.

For many are called, but few are chosen. Matthew 22:14

STATEMENT: During an interview with the Observer, he spoke candidly about a Catholic Church he thinks has often put the Book of Law before the Book of Love.

COMMENT: Jesus had a different viewpoint.

Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-20

If you love me, you will keep my commandments. John 14:15

STATEMENT: Echoing Pope Francis – the fifth pontiff to reign during McSweeney’s time as a priest – he’d like the church and the diocese to be more about hospitality and less about judgment. That means, he said, being more welcoming: Of divorced-and-remarried Catholics, of LGBTQ persons, and of others who have long felt excluded by the church.

COMMENT: Jesus specifically forbade divorce and remarriage, and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, St. Paul specifically proscribed sodomy and lesbianism.

He said to them, “For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman, commits adultery.” Matthew 19:8-9

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals (ουτε μαλακοι ουτε αρσενοκοιται – neither male receivers of male penetration nor male givers of male penetration), nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1st Corinthians 6:9-10

STATEMENT: With too few diocesan priests, including in Charlotte, where the Catholic population is booming, McSweeney said he’d also support the church re-opening the door to married priests by making celibacy optional – as it was the first 1,000 years of Roman Catholicism.

COMMENT: Marriage of clerics should be permitted because it is Scripturally allowed. However, the discipline of celibacy in the Latin rite also has a basis in Scripture.

Now a bishop must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, dignified, hospitable, an apt teacher…. Let deacons be the husband of one wife, and let them manage their children and their households well. 1st Timothy 3:2 & 12

I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own special gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain single as I do. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion. 1st Corinthians 7:7-9

I want to free you from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. 1st Corinthians 7:32-34

STATEMENT: The monsignor – a title for priests who have rendered valuable service to the church – said he’s been around many married Protestant ministers who are “doing great work.”

COMMENT: Protestants are heretics, having rejected the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

STATEMENT: “And many men I was in the (Catholic) seminary with would be great priests today except for one thing,” he added, that one thing being their desire to get married.

COMMENT: Divorce rate among Protestant clerics is similar to that among the general population. There is no indication that allowing Latin rite clerics to marry will not result in the same. There are also additional problems with financially supporting a priest with wife and children. Finally, if the inducement to the priesthood is the prospect of conjugal relations in marriage, then one ought not to be a priest in the first place.

STATEMENT: Revolt brewing?

COMMENT: It is not revolt to return to the Sacred Traditions of two thousand years of Church history.

STATEMENT: McSweeney said he’s also “very concerned” that many of the priests graduating from seminaries these days are too conservative and could spur a revolt by Catholics in the pews against the priests’ efforts to stifle the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Also known as Vatican II, this council in the 1960s embraced church reform, including expanding the role for lay Catholics and celebrating the Mass in the local language more so than in Latin.

COMMENT: Marginalizing and demeaning conservative clerics for holding onto the Tradition of the Fathers of the Church is unbecoming. If the introduction of such priests cause liberal parishioners to leave instead of repenting of their liberalism (see Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Libertas and Dr. Don Felix Sarda Y Salvany’s El Liberalismo es Pecado), then let them leave and join the Episcopalian Church instead of trying to turn the Catholic Church into an imitation of a heretical Protestant sect.

STATEMENT: “The population that is the worshiping Catholic community have no understanding or history of pre-Vatican II,” he said. “They weren’t born (yet). The same with these young priests.”

COMMENT: If the laity do not know the history of the Church, then the priests must ensure it is taught through Catechism classes, RCIA, and adult apologetic studies. Furthermore, priests must preach the unvarnished Gospel of conversion and repentance, righteousness and holiness instead of catering to the whims and fancies of the popular culture.

STATEMENT: McSweeney said Vatican II called for active lay participation in the liturgy, or Mass. “What I see happening (at some parishes) is that is not happening,” he said. “It’s being stopped.”

Lay people, particularly women, are not being permitted, for example, to dispense Communion as Eucharistic ministers. Altar boys are allowed, but not altar girls.

These young priests, McSweeney said, “are trying to reform the reform. ... I don’t endorse what they’re doing to God’s people.”

COMMENT: The rubrics of the liturgy must be obeyed. Laity participate to the extent permitted and required by those rubics in their worship of the Living God. Laity do NOT come to Church to be entertained, but to give worship to the Creator and Judge of all mankind.

Furthermore, St. Paul would not permit altar girls, having written the following:

Let a woman learn in silence with all submissiveness. I permit no woman to teach or to have authority over men; she is to keep silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet woman will be saved through bearing children, if she continues in faith and love and holiness, with modesty. 1 Timothy 2:11-15

STATEMENT: Recently, at a Catholic church in Waynesville, which is part of the Charlotte diocese, the pastor resigned after many from the congregation left to protest his insistence, for example, of replacing popular hymns with the ancient Gregorian chant.

McSweeney said such rebellion could also happen in some Charlotte parishes, adding only half jokingly, “I’ll lead it.”

COMMENT: The elevator music which substitutes for Sacred Hymns nowadays is an affront and a stench in the nostrils of God. If laity wish to leave when ancient Gregorian chant is sung, then let them leave and join their Protestant brethren. We are Catholic, and we are called to obey, NOT rebel. A priest is expected and require to an example par excellence of such obedience.

STATEMENT: Bishop Peter Jugis, who heads the Charlotte diocese, is a conservative who seems less in sync with Pope Francis than with former Pope John Paul II, who named him bishop in 2003. Last month, Jugis ordained five new priests for the diocese, four of whom he had sent to the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, a school with a reputation for graduating priests with traditionalist views.

COMMENT: Thank you, Lord Jesus, and thank you, Your Grace, Bishop Jugis. The old Vatican II guard is dying out and God is raising up true shepherds to rein in His flock before being snared by the devil.

STATEMENT: McSweeney, whose many jobs over the years included being vicar-general and chancellor, or CEO, of the diocese, said he’d like to see Charlotte area churches get priests from a broader pool of seminaries, the way they used to.

“In our history, we would have men in training in different seminaries so we’d get a broader aspect of the church,” he said. “And I think that’s what should be done now. Not just one place.”

COMMENT: Jesus would have a different viewpoint:

Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.

STATEMENT: To take over as pastor of St. Matthew, McSweeney convinced Jugis to appoint the Rev. Pat Hoare, who has most recently been pastor at St. John Neumann Catholic Church

“I had suggested very clearly to Bishop Jugis that (Hoare) might be my successor because of his sense of care of people and also because of his professional business background,” said McSweeney, who called Hoare a moderate.

Having a business background – Hoare has a master’s degree in business administration and was a commercial insurance underwriter at Liberty Mutual – can come in handy in running a megachurch. Before he became a priest, McSweeney worked in his family’s funeral and real estate businesses in Oneida, New York.

COMMENT: In the same fashion, is not Donald Trump a great President because he was first a business man and never a politician? Again, Jesus would have a different point of view about money changers in John 2:13-25, having whipped them out of the Temple. And St. Peter said:

I have no silver and gold, but I give you what I have; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. Acts 3:6.

The Church is NOT a business. She is the Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ. Focusing on money in the Church is the same as what liberals accuse Republicans of doing: focusing on money in government.

STATEMENT: McSweeney’s advice to his successor: “Stay out of the way a little bit and let God’s people do what they’re called to do. I’ve been quoted and I mean it, that the star here is not a priest.” It’s Jesus, he said, and the church is like a jigsaw puzzle, with each person fitting in in some capacity.

COMMENT: Jesus is not a star. Jesus is the Logos, the eternal only begotten Son of the Living God. To call Jesus “the star here” is to demean Him. We go to Mass to worship Him and to eat His Body and drink His blood. That ought to put fear and trembling into us for we as sinful human beings are unworthy of His omnipotent and omniscient greatness.

STATEMENT: McSweeney also points to the front of St. Matthew’s weekly bulletin, which calls the church “a welcoming parish” no matter what your status is with the Catholic Church or your current marital situation or your sexual orientation – to name just a few of the examples listed.

COMMENT: All are welcome at a Catholic Church – welcome to repent and amend one’s life. If one is in a state of adultery (divorce and remarried) or is an active sodomite or lesbian, then one is welcome to repent. Failure to repent will result in the damnation of hell. And failure to tell people that their behavior will jeopardize their eternal soul is demonstrably unmerciful, unkind, and unjust.

STATEMENT: Some may question McSweeney’s record on inclusion. In 2013, for example, St. Matthew bowed out of hosting Mecklenburg Ministries’ annual interfaith Thanksgiving service rather than formally invite music director Steav Bates-Congdon to help organize the event. Bates-Congdon had been fired the year before by another Catholic church after he traveled to New York to marry his longtime male partner and then put the wedding photos on Facebook.

McSweeney, who participates in celebrating an annual Mass for gay and lesbian Catholics in the the diocese, said his issue with Mecklenburg Ministries was “you don’t tell me who to invite.” Also, at the time, Bishop Jugis had just championed a 2012 campaign to amend the N.C. Constitution to reaffirm the state’s ban on same-sex marriage. (That ban was later thrown out by federal courts.)

COMMENT: The Catechism of the Catholic Church is clear:

2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered." They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.

STATEMENT: McSweeney also said he “won’t go there” in taking a stand on whether women should be ordained priests in the Catholic Church. Recent popes, including Francis, have said it will never happen, even though several large mainline Protestant denominations have been ordaining women clergy for years.

But McSweeney does favor letting women become deacons, which would give them the authority to preach at Mass, baptize and perform weddings.

And the monsignor said about 95 percent of his 63 staffers at St. Matthew are women, including the church’s chief financial officer, its chief of facilities and most of its clinical counselors.

‘Never say no to Jesus’

COMMENT: Pope John Paul II in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis explains in detail the prohibition on woman’s ordination. Basically, a woman cannot be man under any circumstance, and as such cannot be a Father or (hence) priest. It is not her function. And in 1st Timothy 2:11-15 St. Paul forbade women to have authority over men. This means that women cannot be deacons (because Christ ordained no deaconettes), priests (because Christ ordained no priestesses), or bishops (because Christ consecrated no bishopresses). It is not that the Church says no to Jesus as implied, but that the Church says yes to Jesus when the Holy Spirit forbade through St. Paul women to have authority over men.

STATEMENT: This weekend, 1,400 volunteers at St. Matthew will do what they’ve done every year for 15 years: Pack 335,000 meals bound for local food banks and for Haiti and Jamaica – the two countries McSweeney is considering as his next home.

He plans to work with the Missionaries of the Poor, a Catholic group at work on the ground in both countries.

McSweeney feels called.

“I’ve had the privilege of being in many different roles in ministry. ... But I think I need now to to experience (poverty),” McSweeney said. “I have a little motto: ‘You never say no to Jesus.’ And he keeps talking to me.”

COMMENT: Wonderful. Yet the command Jesus gave is NOT one of social justice but this:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you… Matthew 28:19-20

Nulla Ecclesia

Amici, Americani, Compatriotae,

I have not attended church for the past several weeks. I am disgusted with Pope Francis, the Argentinian Marxist Peronist. I am equally disgusted with Novus Ordo Masses being Protestantized. Further, I have attended a few Protestant services, but they are all invalid and invariably some heretical teaching is issued from the pulpit. And there are no Eastern Orthodox churches near where I live. And I can't go back to the Orthodox Anglican Church - too much bad history.

I am just disgusted and depressed. There is nowhere to go.

De Costa Adami et de Latere Christi

Amici, Americani, Compatriotae,

Over the last several days the daily Scripture readings from the Old Testament have been from the beginning of the Book of Genesis. Today's reading is from Genesis 2:18-25. Verses 21 and 22 struck my notice:

So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The LORD God then built the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman.....

The reason why these verses struck my notice is the similarity that exists with the account of the blood and water which flowed from Christ's side after his death on the Cross as recorded in John 19. Verses 33-34 state:

But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out.

Eve - the Bride of the First Man - was made from a rib taken out of Adam's side.

The Church - the Bride of Christ - was in a sense made from the Baptismal Water and the Eucharistic Blood which flowed from the pierced side of Christ.

I thought that comparison quite interesting. However, this is not an original thought. Article 766 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

The Church is born primarily of Christ's total self-giving for our salvation, anticipated in the institution of the Eucharist and fulfilled on the cross. "The origin and growth of the Church are symbolized by the blood and water which flowed from the open side of the crucified Jesus." "For it was from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth the 'wondrous sacrament of the whole Church.'" As Eve was formed from the sleeping Adam's side, so the Church was born from the pierced heart of Christ hanging dead on the cross.

This idea is an ancient one, as someone pointed out at a different forum:

Doctors of the Church and other Saints drew a beautiful correlation between the piercing of Jesus' side by the soldier, and the life of Eve coming from Adam’s side. We read in Genesis 2:22 that the life of Eve was made from one of Adam's ribs. In John 19:34 we read that once one of the soldiers pierced His side there immediately flowed out blood and water. The life of Eve came from Adam's side, but the true mother of all living, the Church, was born by the piercing of His side.

““There flowed from his side water and blood”. Beloved, do not pass over this mystery without thought; it has yet another hidden meaning, which I will explain to you. I said that water and blood symbolized baptism and the holy eucharist. From these two sacraments the Church is born: from baptism, “the cleansing water that gives rebirth and renewal through the Holy Spirit”, and from the holy eucharist. Since the symbols of baptism and the Eucharist flowed from his side, it was from his side that Christ fashioned the Church, as he had fashioned Eve from the side of Adam Moses gives a hint of this when he tells the story of the first man and makes him exclaim: “Bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh!” As God then took a rib from Adam’s side to fashion a woman, so Christ has given us blood and water from his side to fashion the Church. God took the rib when Adam was in a deep sleep, and in the same way Christ gave us the blood and the water after his own death.”

St. Athanasius commented:

“He was pierced in no other part but His side, whence flowed blood and water; that just as deception had come through the woman formed from the side of Adam, so from the side of the second Adam might come the redemption and cleansing of the first--redemption by blood, and cleansing by water.”

St. Cyprian commented:

“If Adam was a figure of Christ, the sleep of Adam was the death of Christ Who was to fall asleep in death; that in the injury of His side might be figured the Church, the true mother of the living”

St. Ambrose commented:

“There came forth water and blood, poured out for the life of the world. This life of the world is the rib of Christ, the rib of the second Adam. For the first Adam was made into a living soul, the last Adam into a life-giving spirit, the last Adam is Christ; the rib of Christ is the life of the Church. From His side water flowed and blood. . . Why from the side? Because whence came the fault, thence also comes grace, the fault came through woman, and grace through Our Lord Jesus Christ”

From Adam came Eve, and from Christ came the Church.