Peter Paul Brennan
Encyclopedia
Peter Paul Brennan is the bishop of the Ecumenical Catholic Diocese of the Americas (an "Independent Catholic Church"), a bishop of the African Orthodox Church
, the Primate of the Order of Corporate Reunion
, and the current President of Married Priests Now!
. Although Brennan had previously been ordained - and conditionally reordained - as a bishop in other independent Catholic churches, in 2006 he was again ordained as a bishop, with several other married men, by Emmanuel Milingo
, a Roman Catholic bishop. As these ordinations were done without Papal authority, Milingo was excommunicated and was eventually also laicized.
Brennan's ordination
by Milingo is not formally recognized by the Vatican. The Vatican Press Office declared, in a carefully worded statement that did not contest the validity of the orders, that: "While expressing hope for their conversion, the Church reaffirms what was declared on 26 September 2006, namely that she does not recognize these ordinations, nor does she intend to recognize them, or any subsequent ordinations based on them, in the future. Hence the canonical status of the supposed bishops remains as it was prior to the ordination conferred by Archbishop Milingo." This denial of canonical status simply means that he has no authority to exercise any ministry in the Roman Catholic Church.
However, the Reverend Ciro Benedettini of the Holy See Press Office, who was responsible for publicly issuing the press conference communique on Milingo, told reporters that any ordinations the excommunicated Milingo had performed prior to his laicization were "illicit but valid", while any subsequent ordinations would be invalid.
On June 11, 2011, the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts issued a statement about illicitly ordained bishops, pointing out the canons which provide for an automatic latae sententiae
excommunication for both the ordaining bishop and those ordained. Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, Secretary of the Council, explained that the statement applied to the bishops ordained by Milingo as well as to more recent cases (in the Chinese Patriotic Association).
African Orthodox Church
The African Orthodox Church is a primarily African-American denomination founded in the United States in 1921. It has approximately 15 parishes and 5,000 members, down significantly from the time of its greatest strength....
, the Primate of the Order of Corporate Reunion
Order of Corporate Reunion
The Order of Corporate Reunion is an ecumenical and interdenominational association of clergy and laity of Anglican origin, founded by Frederick George Lee, Thomas Mossman and Joseph Seccombe in London in 1874....
, and the current President of Married Priests Now!
Married Priests Now!
Married Priests Now! is an advocacy group headed by Emmanuel Milingo, a former Roman Catholic bishop from Zambia. MPN is a liberal Catholic organization calling for relaxing the rules concerning marriage in the Latin Rite Catholic priesthood...
. Although Brennan had previously been ordained - and conditionally reordained - as a bishop in other independent Catholic churches, in 2006 he was again ordained as a bishop, with several other married men, by Emmanuel Milingo
Emmanuel Milingo
Emmanuel Milingo is a former Roman Catholic archbishop from Zambia. In 1969, aged 39, Milingo was consecrated by Pope Paul VI as Bishop of the Archdiocese of Lusaka....
, a Roman Catholic bishop. As these ordinations were done without Papal authority, Milingo was excommunicated and was eventually also laicized.
Brennan's ordination
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
by Milingo is not formally recognized by the Vatican. The Vatican Press Office declared, in a carefully worded statement that did not contest the validity of the orders, that: "While expressing hope for their conversion, the Church reaffirms what was declared on 26 September 2006, namely that she does not recognize these ordinations, nor does she intend to recognize them, or any subsequent ordinations based on them, in the future. Hence the canonical status of the supposed bishops remains as it was prior to the ordination conferred by Archbishop Milingo." This denial of canonical status simply means that he has no authority to exercise any ministry in the Roman Catholic Church.
However, the Reverend Ciro Benedettini of the Holy See Press Office, who was responsible for publicly issuing the press conference communique on Milingo, told reporters that any ordinations the excommunicated Milingo had performed prior to his laicization were "illicit but valid", while any subsequent ordinations would be invalid.
On June 11, 2011, the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts issued a statement about illicitly ordained bishops, pointing out the canons which provide for an automatic latae sententiae
Latae sententiae
Latæ sententiæ is a Latin term used in the canon law of the Catholic Church meaning literally "given sentence".Officially, a latae sententiae penalty follows automatically, by force of the law itself, when the law is contravened....
excommunication for both the ordaining bishop and those ordained. Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, Secretary of the Council, explained that the statement applied to the bishops ordained by Milingo as well as to more recent cases (in the Chinese Patriotic Association).
External links
- Ind-Movement.org
- Married Priests USA
- Order of Corporate Reunion
- https://www.facebook.com/pages/Married-Priests-USA-Catholic-Prelature/157150380999292Married Priests USA
- https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Order-of-Corporate-Reunion-Church-Unity-and-Ecumenism/106627962698753?ref=ts Order of Corporate Reunion
- http://corpus.org/ CORPUS - A Renewed Faith Community
- http://www.federationofchristianministries.org/welcome.html FCM - Federation of Christian Ministries