Feeneyism
Encyclopedia
Feeneyism is a term for the Roman Catholic theology associated with Leonard Feeney
(1897–1978), a Jesuit priest and founder of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
. Fr. Feeney favoured a strict interpretation of the doctrine extra Ecclesiam nulla salus
("outside the Church there is no salvation").
) declared him excommunicated "on account of grave disobedience to Church Authority, being unmoved by repeated warnings". He was reconciled to the Church in 1972. Fr. Feeney co-founded the group known as the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
did, that those who are truly sincere will be led by God to the Catholic Church.
Father Feeney also accepted no form of baptism other than by water and only within the Catholic Church as opening the way to salvation, but he did say that this was an opinion. He denied the salvational efficacy of the mere wish alone, even the explicit wish to be baptized, and held that God must have provided those martyrs who apparently died for the faith without being baptized with a minister and water to baptize them before their death.
Father Feeney and his followers maintain that there is a contradiction between the Second Vatican Council
's document Lumen Gentium
and earlier authoritative statements that they interpret as saying that non-Catholics are indiscriminately damned.
Followers of Father Feeney interpret the Catholic Church's declarations that outside of the Church there is no salvation as excluding from salvation people like the American Indians
who lived between the times of Christ and Columbus
, because they could not have been baptized, except on the hypothesis that some Christian missionaries did manage to reach them and baptize them in the Catholic faith.
The branch of the Saint Benedict Center in Still River, Massachusetts
follows the Benedictine
Order. The community at Still River was reconciled with the Catholic Church and is listed on the website of the Diocese of Worcester
; it is the site of a regular celebration of the Mass according to the Tridentine form of the Roman Rite
.
The other branch, located in Richmond, New Hampshire
, had no official recognition from the Catholic Church before 2010, but professed to be in communion with the Pope
. In a move toward reconciliation, in October 2010, the Richmond community announced that Bishop John McCormack of the Diocese of Manchester
had granted permission for the group's chapel and appointed an official chaplain for it.
Paul Anthony Melanson, a Catholic lay philosopher and apologist, has characterized the Richmond group as a "cult
", its theology as flawed and its teachings as anti-Semitic
. The Southern Poverty Law Center
has listed the center in Richmond as an anti-Semitic hate group
. The center denies this characterisation, saying it does not hate Jews, but simply wants to convert them, and all other Americans, to Roman Catholicism.
Leonard Feeney
Father Leonard Feeney was a U.S. Jesuit priest who defended the strict interpretation of the Roman Catholic doctrine, extra Ecclesiam nulla salus , arguing that baptism of blood and baptism of desire are unavailing and that therefore no non-Catholics will be...
(1897–1978), a Jesuit priest and founder of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Immaculate Heart of Mary
The Immaculate Heart of Mary originally The Sacred Heart of Mary is a devotional name used to refer to the interior life of Mary, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love for God, her maternal love for her Son, Jesus, and her compassionate love for...
. Fr. Feeney favoured a strict interpretation of the doctrine extra Ecclesiam nulla salus
Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus
The Latin phrase Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus means: "Outside the Church there is no salvation". The most recent Catholic Catechism interpreted this to mean that "all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body."...
("outside the Church there is no salvation").
Fr. Leonard Feeney
Fr. Feeney had originally been a Roman Catholic priest and a member of the Jesuits. The Jesuit order dismissed Fr. Feeney in 1949 on account of disobedience, and on 4 February 1953 the Holy Office (now the Congregation for the Doctrine of the FaithCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition , and after 1904 called the Supreme...
) declared him excommunicated "on account of grave disobedience to Church Authority, being unmoved by repeated warnings". He was reconciled to the Church in 1972. Fr. Feeney co-founded the group known as the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Salvation and baptism
It is traditionally believed that sacramental baptism ("baptism of water") is the only way to be properly baptized. In addition, "the Church has always held the firm conviction that those who suffer death for the sake of the faith without having received Baptism are baptized by their death for and with Christ. This Baptism of blood, like the desire for Baptism, brings about the fruits of Baptism without being a sacrament." Fr. Feeney felt that, in the previous two centuries, some tended to broaden the notion of "baptism of desire" to cover the situation of all who try to live good lives, even to those who desired no relationship with the Catholic Church. Fr. Feeney argued, as Fr. Michael MüllerMichael Müller
Fr. Michael Müller C.Ss.R. was a prolific Catholic writer of the 19th century in the United States. Father Müller always submitted his works to two Redemptorist theologians and to his religious superiors before publication.-Life:Müller was born on December 18, 1825, in the village Brück in...
did, that those who are truly sincere will be led by God to the Catholic Church.
Father Feeney also accepted no form of baptism other than by water and only within the Catholic Church as opening the way to salvation, but he did say that this was an opinion. He denied the salvational efficacy of the mere wish alone, even the explicit wish to be baptized, and held that God must have provided those martyrs who apparently died for the faith without being baptized with a minister and water to baptize them before their death.
Father Feeney and his followers maintain that there is a contradiction between the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
's document Lumen Gentium
Lumen Gentium
Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. This dogmatic constitution was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on November 21, 1964, following approval by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,151 to 5...
and earlier authoritative statements that they interpret as saying that non-Catholics are indiscriminately damned.
Followers of Father Feeney interpret the Catholic Church's declarations that outside of the Church there is no salvation as excluding from salvation people like the American Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
who lived between the times of Christ and Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
, because they could not have been baptized, except on the hypothesis that some Christian missionaries did manage to reach them and baptize them in the Catholic faith.
Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
After Fr. Feeney's death, his spiritual descendants soon split into several groups due to various power struggles. The two most prominent both use the name Saint Benedict Center.The branch of the Saint Benedict Center in Still River, Massachusetts
Still River, Massachusetts
Still River is a village located on the west side of the town of Harvard, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States.Noted for its spectacular views of Mount Wachusett, Still River is home to Saint Benedict Abbey, St. Benedict Center, Willard Farm Stand, and rolling hills, meadows, and...
follows the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
Order. The community at Still River was reconciled with the Catholic Church and is listed on the website of the Diocese of Worcester
Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States. The geographic boundaries of the diocese are the same as those of Worcester County, Massachusetts, the geographically largest county of the...
; it is the site of a regular celebration of the Mass according to the Tridentine form of the Roman Rite
Tridentine Mass
The Tridentine Mass is the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. It was the most widely celebrated Mass liturgy in the world until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in December 1969...
.
The other branch, located in Richmond, New Hampshire
Richmond, New Hampshire
Richmond is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,155 at the 2010 census.-History:The town was first chartered in 1735 by Governor Jonathan Belcher of Massachusetts...
, had no official recognition from the Catholic Church before 2010, but professed to be in communion with the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
. In a move toward reconciliation, in October 2010, the Richmond community announced that Bishop John McCormack of the Diocese of Manchester
Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the region of New England in the United States comprising the entire state of New Hampshire...
had granted permission for the group's chapel and appointed an official chaplain for it.
Paul Anthony Melanson, a Catholic lay philosopher and apologist, has characterized the Richmond group as a "cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
", its theology as flawed and its teachings as anti-Semitic
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
. The Southern Poverty Law Center
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center is an American nonprofit civil rights organization noted for its legal victories against white supremacist groups; legal representation for victims of hate groups; monitoring of alleged hate groups, militias and extremist organizations; and educational programs that...
has listed the center in Richmond as an anti-Semitic hate group
Hate group
A hate group is an organized group or movement that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or other designated sector of society...
. The center denies this characterisation, saying it does not hate Jews, but simply wants to convert them, and all other Americans, to Roman Catholicism.
Against the Feeney view
- Can There Be Salvation For Non-Catholics?
- No Salvation Outside the Church by Fr. Ray Ryland. - Catholic AnswersCatholic AnswersCatholic Answers, based in El Cajon, California, is one of the largest lay-run apostolates of Catholic apologetics and evangelization in the United States. It publishes This Rock, a bimonthly magazine focusing on Catholic evangelism and apologetics...
- Summa Contra Feeney
- An examination of three de fide decrees on "No salvation outside the Church"
- Scripture, Fathers, Saints, and Magisterium regarding "Outside the Church there is no salvation"