Note from Ville Hietanen (Jerome) of ProphecyFilm.com and Against-All-Heresies-And-Errors.blogspot.com: Currently, I (but not my brother of the “prophecyfilm12” mail) have updated many of my old believes to be more in line with Vatican II and I no longer adhere to the position that Vatican II or the Protestants, Muslims, Buddhists or various Traditionalists Groups and Peoples etc. or the various teachings, Saints and adherents to Vatican II (and other canonized by Vatican II) such as Saint Mother Theresa or Saint Pope John Paul II etc. was heretical or damned or not Catholic (or not the Pope) – or that they are unworthy of this title. I have also embraced the sexual views on marriage of Vatican II, and I no longer adhere to the strict interpretations as expressed on this website and on my other websites. To read more of my views, see these articles: Some corrections: Why I no longer condemn others or judge them as evil I did before. Why I no Longer Reject Vatican II and the Traditional Catholic Priests or Receiving Sacraments from Them (On Baptism of Desire, Baptism of Blood, Natural Family Planning, Una Cum etc.) Q&A: Damnation and Eternal Torments for Our Children and Beloved Ones is "True" and "Good" but Salvation for Everyone is "Evil" and a "Heresy"?

SSPV (Society of St. Pius V), Bishop Clarence Kelly and The Daughters Of Mary Beliefs, Heresies and Practices Exposed

The Society of St. Pius V (commonly known as the SSPV) also operating under the names Congregation of St. Pius V and Daughters of Mary, is a Traditionalist self-professed Catholic society of validly ordained priests based in Oyster Bay Cove, New York, founded in 1983 by nine priests in the United States expelled from the Society of St. Pius X by the so co-called Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre over a number of issues including using the liturgical reforms implemented under John XXIII. This group included many “Frs.” or priests – Fr. Clarence Kelly, Fr. Daniel Dolan, Fr. Anthony Cekada and others.

The main reasons for the split was because they opposed the SSPX using the Roman Missal of 1962 approved by Angelo Roncalli (John XXIII) and did not regard new ordinations in the Vatican II Church as valid.

The SSPV maintains that much of the hierarchy of the Vatican II Church no longer adheres to the Catholic faith but instead profess a new, or Conciliar religion. They regard the question of the legitimacy of the present hierarchy and the possibility that the Holy See is unoccupied to be unresolved. The SSPV does not impose sedevacantism as a morally binding teaching.

The Society is not in ecclesiastical communion with the Vatican II Church and is independent of the worldwide Vatican II churches, organisations and communities.

Bishop Clarence Kelly

Bishop Kelly is the present “spiritual” leader of the Society of St. Pius V, Congregation of St. Pius V as well as of the Congregation of the Daughters of Mary. He was ordained to the priesthood in Econe, Switzerland, by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre on April 14, 1973.

In 1984 he founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Mary, Mother of our Savior, whose Motherhouse is located in Round Top, New York. On October 19, 1993, he received episcopal consecration from Bishop Alfred Mendez, a retired self-professed Roman Catholic Bishop. In 1996 Bishop Kelly founded the Congregation of St. Pius V. Bishop Kelly's episcopal lineage can be traced back to St. Pius X.

“Bishop” Kelly holds that members of non-Catholic religions, such as Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Protestants, etc. can be saved without the Catholic Faith.

Bishop Kelly also believes that the head of the Vatican II Church is a doubtful so called pope while leaving his name out of the Te Igitur prayer of the Canon of the Mass (which means that he does not pray for him as the pope in the Canon of the Mass).

The SSPV is not officially sedevacantist (whether the chair of Peter is currently vacant). They don't condemn the belief (as the SSPX do) but they don't approve it either, which leads to a lot of people attending the SSPV who hold sedevacantist views.

History of the SSPV

Not long after founding SSPV, some of the original priests left to found various groups, including "Catholic Restoration". Fr. Kelly remained as the Superior of the SSPV. All of these groups are de facto sedevacantist organisations, holding that the Seat of St. Peter is presently vacant and there is no valid Roman Pope. Some of the former SSPV priests have since become Bishops through the line of Ngô Đình Thục, Archbishop of Huế in Vietnam. This includes Bishop Daniel Dolan and Bishop Donald Sandborn in 1993 and 2002 respectively.

Through Alfredo Méndez-Gonzalez, Bishop of Arecibo from Puerto Rico, the Superior of the SSPV was himself made Bishop Clarence Kelly in 1993. To date, Bishop Kelly has likewise only consecrated one bishop and that is Bishop Joseph Santay in 2007. The Society of St. Pius V only operates in the United States (it is particularly active in New York and Montana), it has around twenty five mass centers in various states where the Tridentine Mass can be heard. There is also a convent for women known as St. Joseph's Novitiate and the Immaculate Heart Seminary for priests.

The Daughters of Mary

The Daughters of Mary Mother of Our Savior is a congregation of self-professed traditional Catholic Sisters. The Congregation was founded in the summer of 1984. The motherhouse, St. Joseph's Novitiate, is located in upstate New York. At St. Joseph's Novitiate candidates for the religious life, aspiring to become Daughters of Mary, receive their training and spiritual formation. Throughout the years, the Congregation has grown steadily. As of 2012, there are sixty-one members in the community.

The SSPV's Heretical Beliefs and Practices Exposed (Society of St. Pius V)

This section contains content used from author: Brother Peter Dimond of Most Holy Family Monastery / mostholyfamilymonastery.com

All the priests of the SSPV (Bishop Kelly, Fr. Jenkins, Fr. Baumberger, and presumably all other priests of the Society of St. Pius V) believe that souls can be saved in false religions and they publicly denounce “Feeneyites” (i.e., those who believe the dogma that only baptized Catholics can be saved). Since they are notorious, known heretics, a Catholic must avoid these heretics’ Masses and not receive any sacraments from them.

See: The Whole Truth about Fr. Leonard Feeney, Feeneyism, Feeneyites and the Supposed Excommunication Explained and Exposed

The SSPV priests are notorious heretics because their sect denies the Salvation Dogma; hence all SSPV priests must be presumed to deny the dogma. If they did not deny this dogma, they would be kicked out of the SSPV. If they did not deny the dogma but kept their belief secret so as to remain in the SSPV, then this would also make them guilty of heresy because Catholics must not only believe a dogma in their heart but also profess it when the situation demands it. That is why the early Christians who denied the faith when tortured fell outside the Catholic Church. Although they believed in Christ in their hearts, they outwardly denied Him under torture and thus became guilty of apostasy with the added mortal sins of hypocrisy and scandal. These apostates were known as lapsed Christians (lapsi) and had to abjure to re-enter the Catholic Church. It is true that there might be a priest that is a material heretic somewhere in these churches, but it is also true that even protestant churches might have people that are material heretics (as long as they do not reject the essential mysteries or the natural law which one cannot be ignorant about), but these scenarios are very unlikely.

We have pointed out the unfortunate fact that the priests of the Society of St. Pius V hold to the heresy that non-Catholics can be saved without the Catholic Faith (as proven below). They adhere to the same heresy as expressed by “Archbishop” Lefebvre and the books of the SSPX, as well as the heresy articulated in the 1949 Protocol 122/49 against Fr. Leonard Feeney. This heretical letter was written in 1949 by a member of the Holy Office to the modernist “Archbishop” of Boston, Richard Cushing. It is not the teaching of the Catholic Church, and it was never published in the Acts of the Apostolic See. This letter teaches that souls who are ignorant of the Catholic Faith can be saved, which is heresy; it teaches that people who are not members of the Church can be saved, which is heresy; and it teaches that people who are not incorporated into the Church can be saved, which is heresy. This letter is a heretical denial of the dogma Outside the Church There is No Salvation.

The SSPV’s priests are also vigorous defenders of the false doctrine of baptism of desire. They consider baptism of desire to be a defined dogma. Fr. Baumberger of the Society of St. Pius V (SSPV) stated in the presence of the superior of the sedevacantist monastery “Most Holy Family Monastery” located in Fillmore, New York, that Buddhists can be united to the Catholic Church. This is what their priests obstinately hold and believe; it is unfortunate, yet undeniably true. And because of this, we have pointed out that no Catholic aware of their heresies can attend their masses, receive the sacraments from them, or financially contribute to them under pain of mortal sin.

We hear all the time from people who deny that their “traditionalist” priest denies the salvation dogma. “No, my priest doesn’t believe that,” they say about SSPV priests, CMRI priests, SSPX priests, etc. We try to tell them “yes, your priest does believe that.”

Bishop Clarence Kelly, The Case of Fr. Leonard Feeney, July 12, 1996: “Was Fr. Feeney a great defender of Catholic orthodoxy and a hero of the Faith? Or was he a man who deviated from sound Catholic doctrine? Clearly he was a man who deviated from sound Catholic doctrine. It is impossible therefore that he was a great defender of Catholic orthodoxy and a hero of the Faith. Fr. Feeney was a gifted writer and a zealous soul. But so was Martin Luther. And while they are not equivalent men, they did similar things. Luther sacrificed Catholic Truth on the altar of his own doctrine of salvation by Faith alone. Fr. Feeney sacrificed Catholic Truth on the altar of his doctrine of No Salvation Without Baptism of Water. For traditional Catholic people, however, Fr. Feeney is actually a greater danger than Martin Luther. For while Lutheranism poses no threat to the remnant of faithful Catholics; the teaching of Fr. Feeney certainly does as is evidenced by his growing popularity among traditionally minded Catholics. It is my belief that the rising popularity of Fr. Feeney and his teaching is little more than the latest assault of the devil on the remnant of faithful Catholics. First, there were the Modernists. Then came the dubious Thuc bishops and the Mount St. Michael sect imposing doubtful Sacraments and an unholy alliance on the faithful. Now it is Fr. Feeney and his doctrinal errors on Baptism, Justification and Grace.” (Delivered at The Roman Catholic Forum on Friday, July 12, 1996, and Saturday, July 13, 1996)

What an evil statement this is. Bishop Kelly actually compares Fr. Leonard Feeney, a staunch defender of the dogma Outside the Church There is No Salvation and No Salvation Without Baptism of Water, to be equivalent to the heresies begotten by Martin Luther, calling it “the latest assault of the devil on the remnant of faithful Catholics”! Kelly is preaching a new gospel directly contrary to Sacred Scripture and Infallible Dogma. This outstanding Heresy of the SSPV leader himself shows us again how literally all priests and bishops in the entire world deny the salvation dogma. It also shows how priests who deny the salvation dogma will make statements (often in the same speech) which make it seem as if they believe in it or are staunch defenders of the Catholic faith.

Pope Gregory XVI, Mirari Vos (# 13), Aug. 15, 1832: “With the admonition of the apostle, that ‘there is one God, one faith, one baptism’ (Eph. 4:5), may those fear who contrive the notion that the safe harbor of salvation is open to persons of any religion whatever. They should consider the testimony of Christ Himself that ‘those who are not with Christ are against Him,’ (Lk. 11:23) and that they disperse unhappily who do not gather with Him. Therefore, ‘without a doubt, they will perish forever, unless they hold the Catholic faith whole and inviolate (Athanasian Creed).”

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, The Athanasian Creed, Sess. 8, Nov. 22, 1439, ex cathedra: “Whoever wishes to be saved, needs above all to hold the Catholic faith; unless each one preserves this whole and inviolate, he will without a doubt perish in eternity.” (Decrees of the Ecumenical Councils, Vol. 1, pp. 550-553; Denzinger 39-40.)

Pope Gregory XVI, Summo Iugiter Studio (# 2), May 27, 1832: “Finally some of these misguided people attempt to persuade themselves and others that men are not saved only in the Catholic religion, but that even heretics may attain eternal life.”

Pope Pius IV, Council of Trent, Iniunctum nobis, Nov. 13, 1565, ex cathedra: “This true Catholic faith, outside of which no one can be saved… I now profess and truly hold…” (Denz. 1000)

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, “Cantate Domino,” 1441, ex cathedra: “The Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that all those who are outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans but also Jews or heretics and schismatics, cannot share in eternal life and will go into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless they are joined to the Church before the end of their lives; that the unity of this ecclesiastical body is of such importance that only for those who abide in it do the Church’s sacraments contribute to salvation and do fasts, almsgiving and other works of piety and practices of the Christian militia produce eternal rewards; and that nobody can be saved, no matter how much he has given away in alms and even if he has shed blood in the name of Christ, unless he has persevered in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church.”

The most dangerous non-Catholics who go by the name Catholic are all of the obstinate Traditionalists, who in many ways look and sound Catholic but are not. The Catholic Church has automatically (ipso facto) excommunicated them, also known as latae sententiae excommunication. Canon 2314§1 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law decrees that “All apostates from the Christian faith, and all heretics and schismatics: (1) are ipso facto excommunicated.” Therefore, even though these heretics and schismatics call themselves Catholics, they are nevertheless non-Catholics: “It has always been the custom of heretics and schismatics to call themselves Catholics,” warns Pope Pius IX, “and to proclaim their many excellences in order to lead peoples and princes into error.” (Quartus Supra, par. 4, January 6, 1873)

In the beginning some time in 2003 the priests of the SSPV consistently began making announcements before their traditional Masses (and it seems to be occurring at all of their chapels almost every week!) that no one who holds to the "errors of Fr. Feeney" should receive Holy Communion. They are referring to Fr. Feeney's belief, which is the infallible teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, that no one can be saved without the Sacrament of Baptism.

Pope Paul III, The Council of Trent, canons on the Sacrament of Baptism, canon 5, ex cathedra: “If anyone says that baptism [the Sacrament] is optional, that is, not necessary for salvation (cf. Jn. 3:5): let him be anathema.”

Pope Eugene IV, The Council of Florence, “Exultate Deo,” Nov. 22, 1439, ex cathedra: “Holy baptism, which is the gateway to the spiritual life, holds the first place among all the sacraments; through it we are made members of Christ and of the body of the Church. And since death entered the universe through the first man, ‘unless we are born again of water and the Spirit, we cannot,’ as the Truth says, ‘enter into the kingdom of heaven’ [John 3:5]. The matter of this sacrament is real and natural water.”

Even the baptism of desire advocates will agree that baptism of desire or blood is not a sacrament, and that it is without water. So how then can this doctrine be reconciled with these dogmas? It can't. But the BOD/BOB'ers who have no faith in the Church dogmas don't care about that. Since they reject God and His teachings, this is manifested in their obstinate adherence to fallible men and the opinions of fallible men rather than God and His defined, infallible doctrines.

The SSPV is therefore publicly and notoriously announcing to everyone that if they believe in the above infallible dogma of the Catholic Faith that they are not Catholic and cannot receive Holy Communion. When priests or a society make known their heretical beliefs in any way, such as when priests make public announcements that are heretical, or they admit to their heresies in publications or when speaking to them, then a Catholic must not attend the Mass or receive Holy Communion from such a priest, or attend the Mass of such a heretical society. To do so would be a denial of the Catholic Faith. By receiving Communion from an SSPV priest (or any other heretical priest) or attend the Mass of a heretical society who has made such an announcement or made known their obstinate denial or doubt of a dogma, one would be tacitly (silently) indicating that he or she agrees with the priest's or the society's heretical position.

THE SSPV PUBLICATION

In the SSPV 2003 edition of their publication, on the introductory page of their issue, Fr. Jenkins of the SSPV writes:

The SSPV, The Roman Catholic, Fall, 2003, introductory page: “The controversy surrounds the Church’s teaching regarding ‘Baptism of Desire.’ The Brothers Grim [sedevacantists who uphold the Church’s salvation dogma] try to make it look as though traditional Catholic priests are denying the Catholic doctrine that outside of the Church there is no salvation, but no traditional Catholic priest is disputing the necessity of membership in the Church for salvation.”

Oh really? Remember that claim (“no traditional Catholic priest is disputing the necessity of membership in the Church for salvation”) dear reader. And remember how it has been pointed out that the thing which most characterizes the denial of Outside the Church There is No Salvation is dishonesty. Remember how we have seen that the heretics on this issue speak out of both sides of their mouth with a satanic double-tongue: one minute they tell you that the Church is necessary and the next they deny it; one minute they tell you that there is no salvation outside the Church and the next they explain it away. So now watch the heretics at work. Watch how the heretics of the SSPV teach on page 1 of their Fall, 2003 issue the exact thing they deny on the introductory page. On pages 1-8 of this same issue, the SSPV carries an article by Francis Fenton explaining what they consider the real meaning of Outside the Church There is No Salvation.

The SSPV, The Roman Catholic, Fenton Article, Fall, 2003, p. 1: “It is a doctrine of our faith that ‘outside the Church there is no salvation.’ This does not mean, however, either that an individual is assured eternal salvation simply because he is a member of the Roman Catholic Church or that he cannot be saved because he is not an actual member of the body of the Church.”

Did you get that? Outside the Church There is No Salvationdoes not mean… that he cannot be saved because he is not an actual member of the body of the Church.” But on the introductory page of this issue, Fr. Jenkins told us on behalf of the SSPV that no traditional priest “is disputing the necessity of membership in the Church for salvation”! They assert here the exact heresy – word for word – which they claimed to reject on the introductory page! The statement here on page 1 of their publication (that persons who are not members of the Church can be saved) thus proves that their statement on the introductory page (that no one is disputing the necessity of membership in the Church for salvation) was a complete lie! It confirms what has been said all along about these (and similar) dishonest heretics. The heretical Society of St. Pius V priests are so blinded by their denial of this truth that they cannot see that they are word for word contradicting themselves, in a matter of a few pages and in the very issue in which they purport to clarify their belief as in accord with Catholic teaching.

Thus, as I have said, it is a fact that the SSPV rejects the dogma Outside the Catholic Church There is No Salvation and they lie every time they say they uphold Catholic teaching on the necessity of Church membership for salvation. They indeed believe and obstinately hold that Buddhists, Jews, Hindus, etc. can be saved without the Catholic Faith. In fact, the same article in their Fall, 2003 issue proceeds to deny the dogma in bold fashion over and over again.

The SSPV, The Roman Catholic, Fenton Article, Fall 2003, p. 5: “A non-Catholic, then, who, through no grave fault of his own, is not a formal member of the Church at the moment of death, is certainly not going to lose his soul on that score.”

The SSPV, The Roman Catholic, Fenton Article, Fall 2003, p. 6: “So, is it true and an article of faith that ‘outside the Church there is no salvation’? Yes, it is. Does this mean that a person, no matter how praiseworthy a life he may have led, will be eternally lost who, through no grave fault of his own, is not an actual member of the Church at the moment of death? No, it does not.

Here again they assert word for word the heresy they claimed to reject on the introductory page. It is most appropriate here, in view of this horribly heretical statement, to quote the teaching of Pope Gregory XVI in Mirari Vos to condemn this awful and widespread heresy.

Pope Gregory XVI, Mirari Vos (# 13), Aug. 15, 1832: “Now we consider another abundant source of the evils with which the Church is afflicted at present: indifferentism. This perverse opinion is spread on all sides by the fraud of the wicked who claim that it is possible to obtain the eternal salvation of the soul by the profession of any kind of religion, as long as morality is maintained. Surely, in so clear a matter, you will drive this deadly error far from the people committed to your care. With the admonition of the apostle, that ‘there is one God, one faith, one baptism’ (Eph. 4:5), may those fear who contrive the notion that the safe harbor of salvation is open to persons of any religion whatever. They should consider the testimony of Christ Himself that ‘those who are not with Christ are against Him,’ (Lk. 11:23) and that they disperse unhappily who do not gather with Him. Therefore, ‘without a doubt, they will perish forever, unless they hold the Catholic faith whole and inviolate (Athanasian Creed).”

Those who refuse to believe in the dogma Outside the Church There is No Salvation until they understand how there is justice in it are simply withholding their Faith in Christ’s revelation. Those with the true Faith in Christ (and His Church) accept His teaching first and understand the truth in it (i.e., why it is true) second. A Catholic does not withhold his belief in Christ’s revelation until he can understand it. That is the mentality of a faithless heretic who possesses insufferable pride. St. Anselm sums up the true Catholic outlook on this point.

St. Anselm, Doctor of the Church, Prosologion, Chap. 1: “For I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand. For this also I believe, that unless I believed, I should not understand.”

But the SSPV’s Fall, 2003 issue is not yet finished denying this dogma.

The SSPV, The Roman Catholic, Fenton Article, Fall 2003, p. 7: “With the strict, literal interpretation of this doctrine, however, I must take issue, for if I read and understand the strict interpreters correctly, nowhere is allowance made for invincible ignorance, conscience, or good faith on the part of those who are not actual or formal members of the Church at the moment of death. It is inconceivable to me that, of all the billions of non-Catholics who have died in the past nineteen and one-half centuries, none of them were in good faith in this matter and, if they were, I simply refuse to believe that hell is their eternal destiny.

This is brazen heresy against the dogma Outside the Church There is No Salvation.

Allow me to briefly summarize, therefore, their Fall 2003 issue on this point:

  • In response to the people warning about them, the SSPV asserts on the introductory page that they have been misrepresented and that no one is “disputing the necessity of Church membership for salvation,” while in the self-same issue of their magazine they run an article which proceeds to explicitly assert no less than 3 times that persons can be saved who are not members of the Catholic Church.

  • The SSPV, according to page 5 of the Fenton Article in their publication, holds that non-Catholics can be saved.

  • They find it “inconceivable” and “refuse to believe” that all who die as non-Catholics go to hell (p. 7), which is exactly what the Catholic Church has infallibly defined.

  • They “take issue” with the “strict, literal” interpretation of this dogma (p. 7), which is to say, they reject the dogma as holy Mother Church has declared it (Vatican I).

Pope Pius IX, First Vatican Council, Sess. 3, Chap. 2 on Revelation, 1870, ex cathedra: “Hence, also, that understanding of its sacred dogmas must be perpetually retained, which Holy Mother Church has once declared; and there must never be a recession from that meaning under the specious name of a deeper understanding.”

For these reasons only, we are glad that the SSPV attempted to respond to the charges of heresy against them; for in doing so they proved that the charges are 100% accurate and condemned themselves out of their own mouth.

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, “Cantate Domino,” 1441, ex cathedra: “The Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that all those who are outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans but also Jews or heretics and schismatics, cannot share in eternal life and will go into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless they are joined to the Church before the end of their lives; that the unity of this ecclesiastical body is of such importance that only those who abide in it do the Church’s sacraments contribute to salvation and do fasts, almsgiving and other works of piety and practices of the Christian militia productive of eternal rewards; and that nobody can be saved, no matter how much he has given away in alms and even if he has shed blood in the name of Christ, unless he has persevered in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church.”

All the people who die in cultures which have never been penetrated by the Gospel go to Hell for sins against the natural law and the other grave sins which they commit – which bad will and failure to cooperate with God’s grace is the reason He does not reveal the Gospel to them. The First Vatican Council defined infallibly, based on Romans 1, that the one true God can be known with certitude by the things which have been made, and by the natural light of human reason.

St. Paul, Romans 1:18-20: “For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of those men that detain the truth of God in injustice: Because that which is known of God is manifest in them. For God hath manifested it to them. For the invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made; his eternal power also, and divinity: so that they are inexcusable.”

Everyone can know with certainty that there is a supreme spiritual being, Who is the One True God and the Creator of the world and all that it contains. Everyone knows that God is not something that they have carved out of wood or jade or stone. They know that God is not the tree that they worship or the river they worship or the rock or the snake or the sacred tree frog. They know that these things aren’t the Creator of the universe. Every such person knows that he is worshipping a creature rather than the Creator. They are, as St. Paul says in verse 20, without excuse. St. Augustine explains this well in reference to persons who died ignorant of the Faith and without baptism.

St. Augustine (+428): “… God foreknew that if they had lived and the gospel had been preached to them, they would have heard it without belief.”

St. Thomas Aquinas, De Veritate, 14, A. 11, ad 1: “Objection: It is possible that someone may be brought up in the forest, or among wolves; such a man cannot explicitly know anything about the faith. St. Thomas replies: It is the characteristic of Divine Providence to provide every man with what is necessary for salvation… provided on his part there is no hindrance. In the case of a man who seeks good and shuns evil, by the leading of natural reason, God would either reveal to him through internal inspiration what had to be believed, or would send some preacher of the faith to him…”

St. Thomas Aquinas, Sent. II, 28, Q. 1, A. 4, ad 4: “If a man born among barbarian nations, does what he can, God Himself will show him what is necessary for salvation, either by inspiration or sending a teacher to him.”

St. Thomas Aquinas, Sent. III, 25, Q. 2, A. 2, solute. 2: “If a man should have no one to instruct him, God will show him, unless he culpably wishes to remain where he is.”

Bishop Kelly (the leader of the SSPV), who also holds that members of non-Catholic religions (Protestants, Buddhists, Jews, etc.) can be saved without the Catholic Faith, is so heretical, in fact, that he wrote the following to a person on Sept. 25, 2003.

Bishop Clarence Kelly of the SSPV, Letter to Tim Whalen, Sept. 25, 2003: “Contrary to what many think, the controversy stirred up by Fr. Feeney and now by the Diamonds (sic) is really not about the dogma that outside the Church there is no salvation. That is the cover for what they are really teaching which is their own dogma that outside Baptism of Water there is no Salvation.”

Bishop Kelly calls the Catholic Church’s dogma that one must be baptized with water for salvation “their own dogma”!

John 3:5,7 – “[Jesus saith] Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God… wonder not, that I said to thee, you must be born again.”

Bishop Kelly is such a heretic that he is refuted even by Dr. Ludwig Ott.

Dr. Ludwig Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, p. 354: “1. Necessity of Baptism for Salvation- Baptism by water (Baptismus Fluminis) is, since the promulgation of the Gospel, necessary for all men without exception, for salvation. (de fide.)”

Bishop Kelly is an abomination.

Pope Paul III, The Council of Trent, canons on the Sacrament of Baptism, canon 5, ex cathedra: “If anyone says that baptism [the sacrament] is optional, that is, not necessary for salvation (cf. Jn. 3:5): let him be anathema.”

Pope Eugene IV, The Council of Florence, “Exultate Deo,” Nov. 22, 1439, ex cathedra: “Holy baptism, which is the gateway to the spiritual life, holds the first place among all the sacraments; through it we are made members of Christ and of the body of the Church. And since death entered the universe through the first man, ‘unless we are born of water and the Spirit, we cannot,’ as the Truth says, ‘enter into the kingdom of heaven’ [John 3:5]. The matter of this sacrament is real and natural water.”

Since the SSPV priests are known heretics, no Catholic must receive any sacraments from them or attend their Masses at all (and of course no one can support them in any way under pain of grave sin). Please spread this message to all who may attend the SSPV Masses.

Question: “Can a self-professed Protestant—assuming he is validly baptized—who never heard of Catholic dogmas ever be a heretic? If so, then explain how? If not, then you would have to admit that all self-professed Protestants who never heard of Catholic dogmas are actually Catholics, inside the Church, and thus can be saved. Do you agree with this last statement?”

Answer: All baptized infants are Catholics, even if they are baptized in a Methodist church-building, etc. This is de fide. The Catholic Church has always taught that anyone (including a layman or a non-Catholic) can validly baptize if he adheres to proper matter and form and if he has the intention of doing what the Church does.

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, “Exultate Deo,” 1439: “In case of necessity, however, not only a priest or a deacon, but even a layman or woman, yes even a pagan and a heretic can baptize, so long as he preserves the form of the Church and has the intention of doing what the Church does.” (Denzinger 696)

The Church has always taught that infants baptized in heretical and schismatic churches are made Catholics, members of the Church and subjects of the Roman Pontiff, even if the people who baptized them are heretics who are outside the Catholic Church. This is because the infant, being below the age of reason, cannot be a heretic or schismatic. He cannot have an impediment which would prevent Baptism from making him a member of the Church.

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Sess. 7, Can. 13 on the Sacrament of Baptism: “If anyone shall say that infants, because they have not actual faith, after having received baptism are not to be numbered among the faithful… let him be anathema.”

This means that all baptized infants wherever they are, even those baptized in heretical non-Catholic churches by heretical ministers, are made members of the Catholic Church. They are also made subject to the Roman Pontiff (if there is one). So, at what one point does this baptized Catholic infant become a non-Catholic – severing his membership in the Church and subjection to the Roman Pontiff? After the baptized infant reaches the age of reason, he or she becomes a heretic or a schismatic and severs his membership in the Church and severs subjection to the Roman Pontiff when he or she obstinately rejects any teaching of the Catholic Church or loses Faith in the essential mysteries of the Trinity and Incarnation.

Pope Clement VI, Super quibusdam, Sept. 20, 1351: “…We ask: In the first place whether you and the Church of the Armenians which is obedient to you, believe that all those who in baptism have received the same Catholic faith, and afterwards have withdrawn and will withdraw in the future from the communion of this same Roman Church, which one alone is Catholic, are schismatic and heretical, IF THEY REMAIN OBSTINATELY SEPARATED FROM THE FAITH of this Roman Church. In the second place, we ask whether you and the Armenians obedient to you believe that no man of the wayfarers outside the faith of this Church, and outside the obedience of the Pope of Rome, can finally be saved.”

So, one must be clear on these points: 1) The unbaptized (Jews, Muslims, pagans, etc.) must all join the Catholic Church by receiving Baptism and the Catholic Faith or they will all be lost, whether adults or children. 2) Among those who are baptized validly as infants, they are made Catholics, members of the Church and subjects of the Roman Pontiff by Baptism. They only sever that membership (which they already possess) when they obstinately reject any Catholic dogma or believe something contrary to the Natural Law or the essential mysteries of the Trinity and Incarnation. In the teaching of Pope Clement VI above, we see this second point clearly taught: all who receive the Catholic Faith in Baptism lose that Faith and become schismatic and heretical if they become “obstinately separated from the faith of this Roman Church.”

The fact is that all Protestants who obstinately reject the Catholic Church or its dogmas on the sacraments, the Papacy, etc. have separated from the Faith of the Roman Church and have therefore severed their membership in the Church of Christ. The same is true with the “Eastern Orthodox” who obstinately reject dogmas on the Papacy and Papal Infallibility. They need to be converted to the Catholic Faith for salvation.

Therefore, all baptized infants (Catholics), when they reach the age of reason in a Protestant or “Eastern Orthodox” building, if they hold the Trinity and the Incarnation (which are the two essential mysteries of the Catholic Faith) hold the absolutely essential mysteries of the Catholic Faith.

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, Athanasian Creed, Sess. 8, Nov. 22, 1439, ex cathedra: “Whoever wishes to be saved, needs above all to hold the Catholic faith; unless each one preserves this whole and inviolate, he will without a doubt perish in eternity.– But the Catholic faith is this, that we worship one God in the Trinity, and the Trinity in unity...

“But it is necessary for eternal salvation that he faithfully believe also in the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ... the Son of God is God and man... He suffered for our salvation and descended into hell. On the third day he rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty. Thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead. At his coming all shall rise again with their bodies, and shall give an account of their own deeds. Those who have done good shall go into eternal life, but those who have done evil shall go into eternal fire.

This is the Catholic faith; unless each one believes this faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved.”

If they don’t know about any other Catholic dogmas (other than the Trinity and Incarnation) then they are not heretics but Catholics [Christians], unless they hold a position that is incompatible with Faith in the Trinity and Incarnation or deny a truth that all know about God and the Natural Law or deny something that they know to be clearly taught in Scripture. For instance, if the baptized person described above claims to believe in the Trinity and Incarnation but holds that all religions are more or less good, then he is a heretic and does not have the Catholic Faith (even before he knows that such a position is condemned by the Church) because his belief is incompatible with true Faith in the Trinity as the one true God, which belief he must have to be said to have the Catholic Faith in its simplest components.

Pope Pius XI, Mortalium Animos (# 2), Jan. 6, 1928: “…that false opinion which considers all religions to be more or less good and praiseworthy... Not only are those who hold this opinion in error and deceived, but also in distorting the idea of true religion they reject it...”

Another example would be if the baptized person who believes in the Trinity and the Incarnation (which are the simplest components of the Catholic Faith) and has never heard of other Catholic dogmas holds that man does not have free will (which some Protestants teach). This person would become a heretic because he is rejecting a truth which all know to be true from the natural law, namely, that man has a free will. Thus, he is denying a truth all know about man from the natural law and he is a heretic.

Another example would be if the baptized person who believes in the Trinity and Incarnation (the Catholic Faith in its simplest components) and has never heard of other Catholic dogmas refuses to believe that God is a rewarder and a punisher. This person is a heretic because he rejects a truth he knows to be true from the natural law, that God is a rewarder and a punisher of our actions (see Heb. 11:6).

A large majority of Protestants today believe in the doctrines of “faith alone” and “eternal security.” These doctrines contradict both the natural law and reason which says that every man shall be rewarded or punished for his deeds. It also contradicts, word for word, the teaching of James 2 in scripture, which teach that faith without works is dead, and that man is not saved by faith alone. This person who believes in faith alone or eternal security is a heretic, even though he has never seen that his position is condemned by the Church and has never heard of other Catholic dogmas, because he rejects a truth he knows to be true from the natural law, that God is a rewarder and a punisher of our actions, and that faith alone does not justify a man only, but our deeds also.

Other common heresies or opinions against the natural law is, 1) to deny the existence of God, 2) to hold that birth control or natural family planning (also called NFP) is acceptable, 3) to hold that abortion is acceptable or a so called “human right”, 4) to hold that the consuming of mind altering drugs to the point where the conscience is impeded is acceptable, 5) or to hold that masturbation or any other shameful, perverted sexual act, such as foreplay, is acceptable.– To hold any or all of these positions as “acceptable” or “right to do” would all fall under the category of the mortal sin of heresy against the natural law, because he who is guilty of this sin is rejecting a truth which all know to be true from the natural law, namely, 1) that God exists, 2) that abortion is murder (of the most innocent too!), 3) that contraception, natural family planning or NFP deliberately frustrates the natural power to generate life, 4) that masturbation or any other shameful, perverted sexual act, such as foreplay is evil and contrary to procreation in addition to being inherently shameful, unnatural, unholy and perverse, and 4) that the consuming of mind altering drugs such as smoking marijuana is a mortal sin just like getting drunk is, because when “a man willingly and knowingly deprives himself of the use of reason, whereby he performs virtuous deeds and avoids sin... he sins mortally by running the risk of falling into sin. For [Saint] Ambrose says (De Patriarch. [De Abraham i.]): "We learn that we should shun drunkenness, which prevents us from avoiding grievous sins. For the things we avoid when sober, we unknowingly [or knowingly] commit through drunkenness.” Therefore drunkenness, properly speaking, is a mortal sin.” (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Second Part of the Second Part, Question 150, Article 2. Whether drunkenness is a mortal sin?)

Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis Christi (# 23), June 29, 1943: “For not every sin, however grave it may be, is such as of its own nature to sever a man from the Body of the Church, as does schism or heresy or apostasy.”

We can see that it’s the teaching of the Catholic Church that a man is severed from the Church and Salvation by heresy, schism or apostasy.

The baptized children who reach the age of reason in Protestant, Eastern Schismatic, etc. church buildings and believe in the Trinity and the Incarnation (the essential components of the Catholic Faith) and who don’t reject any Catholic dogma because they don’t know of any other than the Trinity and Incarnation, and who don’t embrace any of the positions like those described above, which are directly incompatible with Faith in God, Jesus Christ, the Trinity, the Natural Law or what they know to be clearly taught in Scripture, would be Catholics in a heretical church building.

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