To all concerned fellow Catholics:

 

    The latest development regarding Sacred Heart Church in Lawrence, MA, has received some local attention from the Archdiocese of Boston and local parishes in Lawrence and surrounding communities. We believe it is our duty to explain our position as traditional Roman Catholics due to the misleading statements that are being spread regarding Sacred Heart Church, our priests and our position . Statements have been made which question our stance as being true Catholics, and these accusations are simply unfounded. The Willing Shepherds of Jesus Christ believe in all dogmas and teachings of the Catholic Faith, which of course includes the Papacy.  Christ established His Church upon the papacy, and it will always be the foundation stone upon which rests the entire doctrinal system of our holy Catholic Church.

 

    The position “sedevacantism” simply means that out of good conscience, we view the Chair of Peter as if it were temporarily vacant.  However, due to the present circumstances of open heresy and modernism being taught throughout the world from "Catholic" clergymen and institutions -- without any correction but rather acceptance, even by the hierarchy in the Vatican -- we see no other option whereby we can remain true to our Catholic Faith as handed down by all the Popes and Councils through the centuries.  The last forty years in the Catholic Church have seen the rise of Modernism (which is condemned by the Catholic Church - see encyclical of Pope St. Pius X "Pascendi Dominici Gregis") and all forms of abuses and heresies growing and destroying the souls of the faithful. As Catholics, we can not accept and believe things contrary to the Catholic Faith and the teachings of Jesus Christ. This Catholic conviction (i.e., one cannot obey when it is an obvious matter of sin, of which heresy is the greatest!) thus  leads us into the position we currently hold.

 

    We are all very concerned and only hope and pray for the restoration of the true Catholic Church, the Faith of our Fathers which we do in fact believe will be through the Pope, maybe not today, but in fact, one day in God's own time it will.  Church history and approved Doctors and theologians of the Catholic Church have shown us and taught that this can and indeed did  happen in the past, not in such a universal manner, but it indeed happened. We must imitate the Saints, as Saint Athanasius showed us in his wonderful example, to reject error and to keep the faith.

 

    As sincere and conscientious followers of Jesus Christ,  simply trying to be devout and faithful Catholics, we ask you respectfully to hold back any judgment from these deceiving labels and negative epithets that are being flung at us,  For instance, we are NOT schismatic, as some would lightly claim. This is not a small accusation, and we are definitely not in that category.   A schismatic is one who denies the authority of the papacy and of the Pope, and we, on the contrary, are firmly united with the teachings of the Church, and Her authority, as handed down by all the popes from St. Peter to the end of time.   When modernism and heresy are taught and practiced from the very heart of Rome, we must take an approved theological position until the confusion is rectified for the sake of our souls. Again, we believe in all the Church has taught for two thousand years.

   

    Regarding The Second Vatican Council and its followers,  even their own  clergy and laity cannot tell us if this council was binding on conscience or not: was it doctrinal or pastoral? They cannot  even answer themselves without confusion and dysfunction. The documents provided by the Second Vatican Council have obvious heresy and clearly contradict scripture and Catholic teaching, for example Pope Pius XI's Encyclical Mortalium Animos and Pope Pius IX's Syllabus of Errors. There has  been a multitude of bad fruits over the last forty years since Vatican II as a result of the confusing and destructive changes.

 

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." Matthew 7 15-17

 

    We must not be blind and be fooled, we must recognize that the last forty years have only brought disaster for the Catholic Church. In addition to this, we must not ignore Our Lady herself , who has warned us of these times (Our Lady of La Salette, Our Lady of Good Success), councils of the church, theologians and doctors of the church have instructed us about these times and of course the saints have seen these days coming and we must respond accordingly.

 

    There will always be people who will cast aspersions on others in order to justify themselves and veil the truth.  These destructive changes are very apparent -- one only needs to look about  to see that the lines at the confessionals are gone, pews are empty, religious orders are dying,  reverence toward and belief in the Blessed Sacrament has greatly diminished. Many  other Catholic doctrines are not being professed, teachings are gone. Even among the clergy, doctrine has been pushed by the wayside and replaced with humanism and other modernist  ideas and the list could go on and on.

   

    The Willing Shepherds of Jesus Christ Chapter is simply a community of third order Dominicans devoted to preserving the Catholic faith and practices.  We are members of an ever growing contingent of traditional minded Catholics throughout the world who have taken a similar position within the Church today.  We wish to remain free from any influence of modernism, or departure from the traditional teachings of the Church.  The recent attacks of our integrity as Roman Catholics are unfounded and misguided. We ardently desire to be instruments of true peace and unity in Christ's One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, and  we pray that we all can come together and move forward with the guidance of Jesus Christ and his Holy Mother, Mary.

 

If you would like more information, please feel free to contact us.

 

In Jesus, Mary & Joseph,

The Third Order of Penance of St. Dominic

Willing Shepherds of Jesus Christ Chapter