TRAGIC ERRORS OF LEONARD FEENEY
by Fr. William Most
In the late 1940s Leonard Feeney, S. J. began to teach that there is
no salvation outside the Church. He was correct in saying that there
were official teachings, even definitions, on that score. But his
tragic error came when he adopted Protestant method, thinking that in
that way he would be one of the only true Catholics! We spoke of his
protestant method with good reason. First, he was excommunicated for
disobedience, refusing to go to Rome to explain his position.
Comment: Fr. Most agrees that he was excommunicated for disobedience and not heresy. This is progress!
Then the Holy Office, under Pius XII, sent a letter to the Archbishop of
Boston, condemning Feeney's error. (It is known that Pius XII
personally checked the English text of that letter). In the very
first paragraph pointed out what is obvious: we must avoid private
interpretation of Scripture -- for that is strictly Protestant.
Comment: This could also apply to the EWTN website. Fr. Most has an article on it The Church and Salvation.
But then the letter said we must also avoid private interpretation of the
official texts of the Church. To insist on our own private
interpretation, especially when the Church contradicts that, is pure
Protestant attitude.
What the disobedient Feeney said amounted to this: he insisted that
all who did not formally enter the Church would go to hell.
Comment: They would be oriented to Hell according to the dogma mentioned in the Letter of the Holy Office 1949.
The dogma is that de facto everybody needs to enter the Catholic Church to go to Heaven and avoid Hell. There are no exceptions.
This is why he was not excommunicated for heresy.
Hence he had to say, and he did say, that unbaptized babies go to hell.
Further, all adults who did not formally enter the Church - get their
names on a parish register - would also go to hell, even if they
never had a chance to hear there was a Church, e.g., those in the
western hemisphere during the long centuries before Columbus.
Therefore Feeney consigned literally millions upon millions to hell,
even though He gave them no chance.
Comment: Lumen Gentium 14, Vatican Council II says those who know about Jesus and the Church and yet do not enter will go to Hell. This means millions of educated people in are present times are oriented to Hell according to Vatican Council II.
Not just the documents of the Church as interpreted by the Church
should have kept him from this: merely common sense, and the
realization that God is not only not a monster, but is infinitely
good - that alone should have stopped him. We have, then, most ample
reason for calling his error tragic. Even the sexually immoral do not
deny that God is good. Feeney does worse than they.
Comment: Feeney was citing the dogma and Catholic text. His writings elsewhere shows that he affirmed the love of God.
I regard to the damnation of infants, tragically, Feeney cited a text
of Pius IX (quoted below) saying that no one goes to hell without
grave voluntary sin - babies of course have no voluntary sin. Feeney
actually ridiculed the text of Pius IX and charged Pius IX with the
heresy of Pelagianism, saying (in Thomas M. Sennott, They Fought the
Good Fight, Catholic Treasures, Monrovia CA. 1987, pp. 305-06): "To
say that God would never permit anyone to be punished eternally
unless he had incurred the guilt of voluntary sin is nothing short of
Pelagianism... . If God cannot punish eternally a human being who has
not incurred the guilt of voluntary sin, how then, for example can He
punish eternally babies who die unbaptized?"
There is another feature of sound theological method we need to
recall here. If we seem to have on hand two truths, which seem to
clash head on, and they are there even after we recheck our work, we
must not try to force one to fit with the other. No, we must
faithfully state both points, hoping that sometime someone will find
how to make them fit. The Fathers did very well on this matter. For
example, in dealing with the difficult texts of Lk 2:52 and Mk 13:32
on the human knowledge of Jesus, most of the Fathers made two kinds
of statements, one kind affirming ignorance, the other denying it.
Finally, on the Lucan text St. Athanasius found how to reconcile the
statements; later, Pope St. Gregory the great did the same for the
Markan text.
Comment: Fr. Feeney held the strict interpretation of the dogma which Fr. Most never affirms.Fr. Feeney was not excommunicated for heresy.
The same situation is found in regard to texts both of the Fathers
and of the Magisterium on membership in the Church. One set of texts
seems very severe, the other kind, very broad.
For commentary on each text, please see. W. Most,
Plan>, Appendix.
a) Restrictive Tests of the Fathers
The Shepherd of Hermas,
and the teachers who preached the name of the Son of God, when they
fell asleep in the power and faith of the Son of God preached also to
those who had fallen asleep earlier, and they gave them the seal of
the preaching. They therefore went down into the water with them, and
came up again."
St. Irenaeus,
the Church apostles, prophets, doctors... those who are not partakers
of these, who do not run to the Church, deprive themselves of life
through evil opinions and wicked working."
Clement of Alexandria,
enter through the door... is a thief and a robber. Therefore it is
necessary for them to learn the truth through Christ and to be saved,
even if they happen on philosophy."(Clement also quotes verbatim the
above text of Shepherd of Hermas).
Origen,
St. Cyprian,
power of baptism cannot be greater or more powerful, can it, than
confession [of the faith], than suffering, such that someone who
confesses Christ before men, is baptized in his own blood. And yet,
neither does this baptism profit a heretic, even though after
confessing Christ, he is killed outside the Church."
Lactantius,
enter there [the Church] or whoever goes out from there, is foreign
to the hope of life and salvation."
St. Augustine,
which you want, that even infidels can have true virtues." [He is
speaking of gentiles in Rom. 2. 14-16, whom he thinks must mean
converted gentiles. Other gentiles could not have true virtues, and
so could not be saved].
St. Cyril of Alexandria,
St. Fulgentius of Ruspe,
ibid. 36.79: "Baptism can exist... even among heretics... but it
cannot be beneficial outside the Catholic Church."
Comment: Some of the above texts of the Church Fathers were the basis for the strict interpretation of the dogma. Fr. Feeney affirmed it. Fr. Most does not.
b)Restrictive Texts of the Magisterium
Pope Innocent III,
DS 792): "We believe in our heart and confess in our mouth that there
is one Church, not of heretics, but the Holy Roman Catholic apostolic
Church, outside of which we believe no one is saved."
Lateran Council IV (1215: DS 802): "There is one universal Church of
the faithful, outside of which no one at all is saved."
Pope Boniface VIII,
Thomas Aquinas, Contra errores Graecorum 36. #1125 where context shows the sense].
Pope Clement VI,
Council of Florence (1442: DS 1351): "It firmly believes, professes
and preaches, that none who are outside the Catholic Church, not only
pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can partake of eternal life, but they will go into eternal fire... unless before the end of life they will have been joined to it [the Church] and that the unity of the ecclesiastical body has such force that only for those who remain in it are the sacraments of the Church profitable for salvation; and fastings, alms, and other works of piety and exercises of the Christian soldiery bring forth eternal rewards [only] for them. 'No one, howsoever much almsgiving he has done, even if he sheds his blood for Christ, can be saved, unless he remains in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church. '" [Internal quote at end is from Fulgentius, as we saw above].
Comment: Fr. Most calls them ‘restrictive texts’ they are extraordinary statements of the Catholic Church it is from here that we get the dogma.
The strict interpretation of extra ecclesiam nulla salus Fr.Most avoids.
Broad Texts of the Magisterium
Pope Pius IX,
Comment: Here there is a reference to the extraordinary means of salvation. It is a de jure statement, in principle only.
But it is also a Catholic dogma, that no one outside the Catholic Church can be saved, and that those who are contumacious against the authority of the same Church [and] definitions and who are obstinately separated from the unity of this Church and from the Roman Pontiff, successor of Peter, to whom the custody of the vineyard was entrusted by the Savior, cannot obtain eternal salvation."[emphasis added].
Comment: Here we have the statement that de facto everyone needs to enter the Catholic Church, with no exception.
Pope Pius XII,
Comment: There can be those with an implicit wish who can be saved through the extraordinary means of salvation. Only God can judge them. However this is not the ordinary way of salvation, which is, Catholic Faith and the Baptism of water (Ad Gentes 7,Vatican Council II)
Holy Office, Aug 9, 1949, condemning doctrine of L. Feeney (DS 3870):
Comment: ‘Condemning doctrine’? The Letter supports Fr. Feeney on doctrine. It refers to the ‘infallible’ teaching and the ‘dogma’. We have the texts of the Church Councils and the popes. Fr. Feeney was in accord with them. Two of the communities he founded follow his teachings. They have been recognized officially today by the Catholic Church.
"It is not always required that one be actually incorporated as a member of the Church, but this at least is required: that one adhere to it in wish and desire. It is not always necessary that this be explicit... but when a man labors under invincible ignorance, God accepts even an implicit will, called by that name because it is contained in the good disposition of soul in which a man wills to conform his will to the will of God."
Comment: Redemptoris Missio 55 refers to the ordinary means of salvation which is the Catholic Church, so does Ad Gentes 7. Above is the extraordinary means of salvation, the exceptions. The exceptions are not the general means of salvation.
Vatican II,
Comment: Again the reference is to the extraordinary means of salvation.This is a de jure statement, something known in principle.
John Paul II,
It enables each person to attain salvation through his or her free
cooperation." [emphasis added].
Comment: There is the ordinary means of salvation (Catholic Faith which includes the Baptism of water) and the extraordinary means known only to God.
Broad Texts of the Fathers
Pope St. Clement I,
Jonah preached repentance to the Ninevites; those who repented for their sins appeased God in praying, and received salvation, even though they were aliens [allotrioi] of God."
St. Justin Martyr,
and foretold through the prophets the things that were to come, and taught these things in person after becoming like to us in feeling."
Shepherd of Hermas,
St. Irenaeus,
For the Son, assisting to His own creation from the beginning,reveals the Father to all to whom He wills." Ibid. 4. 22. 2: "Christ came not only for those who believed from the time of Tiberius Caesar, nor did the Father provide only for those who are now, but for absolutely all men from the beginning, who, according to their ability, feared and loved God and lived justly... and desired to see Christ and to hear His voice."
Clement of Alexandria,
Origen,
Homily on Numbers 16.1: (after 244 AD): "Since God wants grace to abound, He sees fit to be present... . He is present not to the [pagan] sacrifices, but to the one who comes to meet Him, and there He gives His word [Logos?]."
Hegemonius (?)
"From the creation of the world He has always been with just men... .
Were they not made just from the fact that they kept the law, 'Each one of them showing the work of the law on their hearts... ?'[cf. Rom 2.14-16] For when someone who does not have the law does by nature the things of the law, this one, not having the law, is a law for himself... . For if we judge that a man is made just without the works of the law... how much more will they attain justice who fulfilled the law containing those things which are expedient for men?"
Arnobius,
Put aside thee cares, and leave the questions you do not understand;
for royal mercy was imparted to them, and the divine benefits ran
equally through all. They were conserved, they were liberated, and
they put aside the sort and condition of mortality."
Eusebius of Caesarea,
St. Gregory of Nazianzus,
His way of living made him such. For just as many of ours are not with us, whose life makes them other from our body [the Church], so many of those outside belong to us, who by their way of life anticipate the faith and need [only] the name, having the reality."
St. John Chrysostom,
Conscience and reasoning suffice in place of the law. Through these things he showed again that God made man self-sufficient in regard to the choice of virtue and fleeing evil... . He shows that even in these early times and before the giving of the law, men enjoyed complete Providence. For 'what is knowable of God' was clear to them,and what was good and what was evil they knew."
Homilies on John 8.1: ( c. 389 AD): "Why, then, the gentiles accuse us saying: What was Christ doing in former times, not taking care...
? We will reply: Even before He was in the world, He took thought for
His works, and was known to all who were worthy."
St. Ambrose,
For the mercy of Christ is clearly proclaimed on all."
St. Augustine,
came in the flesh, when the true religion, that already existed,
began to be called Christian."
the Word [Logos], through whom all things were made... under whose rule [was/is] every creature, spiritual and corporal... so those from the beginning of the human race who believed in Him and understood His somewhat [utcumque] and lived according to His precepts devoutly and justly, whenever and wherever they were, beyond doubt they were saved through Him... . And yet from the beginning of the human race thee were not lacking persons who believed in Him, from Adam up to Moses, both in the very people of Israel... and in other nations before He came in the flesh."
St. Prosper of Aquitaine,
AD): "... according to it [Scripture] ... we believe and devoutly confess that never was the care of divine providence lacking to the totality of men... . To these, however [who have not yet heard of Christ] that general measure of help, which is always given from above to all men, is not denied."
St. Nilus,
St. Cyril of Alexandria,
Theodoret of Cyrus,
2.14-16:(425-50 AD): "For they who, before the Mosaic law, adorned their life with devout reasonings and good actions, testify that the divine law called for action, and they became lawgivers for themselves... . He [St. Paul] shows that the law of nature was written on hearts... . According to this image, let us describe the future judgment and the conscience of those accepting the charge and proclaiming the justice of the decision."
Pope St. Leo the Great,
Pope St. Gregory the Great,
Primasius, Bishop of Hadrumetum,
"'By nature they do the things of the law... . ' He [Paul] speaks either of those who keep the law of nature, who do not do to others what they do not want to be done to themselves; or, that even the gentiles naturally praise the good and condemn the wicked, which is the work of the law; or, of those who even now, when they do anything good, profess that they have received from God the means of pleasing God... . 'And their thoughts in turn accusing or even defending, on the day when God will judge the hidden things of men.' He speaks of altercations of thought... . and according to these we are to be judged on the day of the Lord."
St. John Damascene,
Comment: The above texts say that Jesus is necessary for salvation and that the Church too His Mystical Body is necessary for salvation.
Conclusions from the Above Texts
1. Following proper theological method, the Fathers and the Magisterium saw two things: a)the Church is necessary for salvation;
Comment: This was reflected in the dogma with the strict interpretation of Fr. Leonard Feeney.
b)In some way God must make provision for those who do not find the
Church.
Comment: Yes but we cannot assume that we know who they are specifically.
This was already stated in Romans 3.29 by St. Paul. If He did not do that, He would act as though He were not their God- He would condemn millions to hell who never had a chance!. Such a God could not be a God at all, but a monster.
Comment: This is a personal interpretation of Fr. Most who cannot affirm the dogma.
2. In an effort to find how to fit the two together, most of them expressed a very broad concept of membership in the Church. Then one
can say that there is no salvation outside the Church, but that the concept of membership is very broad, and covers even those who do not
find the Church.
Comment: For them membership in the Church means Catholic Faith and the Baptism of water. Those who do not know the Church and are saved are known only to God.
3. The early Magisterium texts at first seem very stringent.
Comment: The strict interpretation of the dogma is ‘stringent’ for Fr. Most. He still has not shown where does the Letter ‘condemn’ Fr. Leonard Feeney.
It is likely they had in mind those who culpably reject the Church - the
words of Pius IX about those who are contumacious and obstinate fit
with this
Comment: Lumen Gentium 14 clarifies that they are oriented to Hell.
and did not apply to those who through no fault of their own do not find the Church. The words of Romans 3.29 call for this interpretation.
Comment: Lumen Gentium 16 indicates that they can be saved. Only God can judge who they are specifically.
Later Magisterium texts speak of those who pertain to the Church or are joined to the Church by even an unconscious desire, contained in the will to do what is right. John Paul II spoke of a mysterious grace.
Comment: This is the extraordinary way. The ordinary way is membership in the Catholic Church with Catholic Faith
Our proposal, expressed above in our comments on LG 5 do not contradict these things. Rather, they try to fill in, taking a lead from St. Justin that some in the past could have been Christians because they followed the Logos, who is in all. We attached the thought of St. Justin to Romans 2:14-16. This is not strained, for when we say the Logos, a Spirit is present, we really mean He is producing an effect: His presence is not spatial. What effect does He produce? He produces the effect of making known to them interiorly what the law requires, so that the law is written on their hearts, as Rom 2:15 said, following Jeremiah 31:33. (All actions done by the Three Divine Persons outside the Divine nature are common work to all
three. Cf. DS 800. Hence we may say God did it, or the Logos did it,or the Spirit of Christ - all mean the same).
Comment: Vatican Council II is clear the Church is necessary for salvation.
It is not enough to believe in the Logos or to believe in Jesus but it is necessary to enter the Church for salvation through Jesus( Council of Florence, Letter of the Holy Office 1949, Dominus Iesus 21 etc).
Then, if, for example Socrates - explicitly mentioned by St. Justin -follows the law on his heart, Socrates does not know the source of that law. It is really the Spirit of Christ who writes it. In accepting it, Socrates objectively accepts the Spirit of Christ.
Since he accepts and follows that Spirit, he of course follows the Logos. But in Romans 8:9 we hear that "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him." So then, one who does have and follow that Spirit, does belong to Christ . But to belong to Christ in St. Paul's language means to be a member of Christ - which is a member of the Church, by substantial membership, even though without formal external adherence.
Comment: One needs to become a member by substantial membership (Ad Gentes 7,CCC 1257).However known to God there can be those saved without the Sacraments (CCC 1257, Lumen Gentium 16)
So people of this sort who follow the law on their hearts are members of the Church, and as such, can be saved. This fits especially well with the words of Vatican II in LG 16.
We are not saying, of course, that the Baptist church, for example, is a component part of the Catholic Church. No we merely say that some who are Baptists (or other types) can, if they fill the conditions given above, become substantially, not formally, members of the Catholic Church as individuals, and so can be saved.
Comment: Correct they are saved through the exceptional way this needs to be clarified by Fr. Most otherwise it is heresy on his part. If Fr. Most is saying that de facto some people ,whom we approach in personal contact, can be saved without entering the Church then this contradicts the dogma.
Fr. Most never ever affirms the dogma that de facto everyone needs to enter the Catholic Church, with no exceptions to go to Heaven and avoid Hell. This is salvation. And that de jure, in principle, there can be those saved with an implicit desire etc and who are known to God only.
When Feeney was old, some church authorities out of sorrow for him,let him be reconciled to the Church. As part of the unfortunate looseness we se so often today, they did not demand that he recant.
Comment: This is a personal interpretation.
There was no need for him to recant since as Fr. Most has said that he was not excommunicated for heresy but disobedience.
So he did not. As a result, some former followers of his came back to the Church. Others even today insist that the lack of demanding a
recantation meant Feeney had been right all along. Of course not. We
have proved that abundantly with official texts above and the texts
of the Fathers of the Church.
Comments: The Fathers of the Church and the Church Councils and Vatican Council II (Ad Gentes 7) are all consistent in accepting the strict interpretation of extra ecclesiam nulla salus.
Let us add one more thing. In the parable of the talents, the man who
hid his talent told the master he knew the master was a hard man. The
master replied that he would judge him out of his own mouth, and
condemned him. So when a Feenyite
Comment: What do you mean by a ‘Feenyite’?
Two of Fr. Leonard Feeney’s communities have been granted canonical status by the Catholic Church.
Fr. Leonard Feeney affirmed the dogma in its strict interpretation which Fr. Most was not able to do.
Fr. Leonard Feeney is in accord with Vatican Council II (Ad Gentes 7) and the Letter of the Holy Office 1949 which referred to the ‘infallible’ teaching and the ‘dogma’.
comes up for judgment, we pray that God may not follow the pattern given in the parable and say: You insisted I was a monster.
Comment: Fr. Feeney explains that God is not a monster He loves us and sent His Son to save us. However if, in the USA, where the people are educated and the country has good means of communication and who generally know that Christ is the Saviour, do not enter the Catholic Church then they are to blame and not God. This is a paraphrase of a statement of his from the book The Bread of Life.
Very good, I will be a monster to you. Hell is your place.
Comment: Let’s leave all judgments to God.
.svg%5B1%5D.png)
Posts
