Charity and Discernment

Advice from Father James Lebar

piergiorgiofan — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 20:04:26 +0000

Father James Lebar worked for many years as an exorcist in the Archdiocese of New York, and was in charge of the archdiocesan Office of Cult Awareness. He was also knowledgeable about issues relating to “cult-like” movements that originated within the Catholic Church.

Here are some of his works for the lay public.

Cults, Sects, and the New Age (Out of print, but used copies are available at low cost.)

Teacher Lesson Plan (Article on EWTN.com. Sections III and IV are most relevant to groups within the Church)

Cults: The Devils Seduction & The Danger of Cults (Audio files of interviews from 1999 and 2000, originally aired on Catholic Answers Live)

Groups gone wrong, part II: “Popes” all around

piergiorgiofan — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:46:18 +0000

Here are some leaders that have taken their megalomania to its apparent conclusion, and have declared themselves (or their own candidate) to be the “rightful head” of the Catholic Church.

William Kamm, AKA the “Little Pebble”

Groups gone wrong, part I

piergiorgiofan — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 18:19:28 +0000

Here are just a few of the lay movements that have arisen within the Church, but have taken their members down the wrong road, and have been admonished by their bishops or the Vatican.

Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God

The Army of Mary

Love Holy Trinity Blessed Mission

All of the people who joined these groups believed that the leaders were men or women of God, and that the group was their path to salvation. Many are still involved in these movements, and believe that the Church authorities just don’t understand how right they are. Well, maybe not the first one; one would think that the suicides and killings of over 900 people might be kind of a wake-up call.

“Still, interviews with scores of present and past cult members, and relatives of victims, suggest at least some of the sect’s leaders sincerely believed the Catholic church was failing, and that a tiny clique of visionaries had found the path to God.”

May the Lord have mercy on them.

Some reference material

piergiorgiofan — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:48:16 +0000

Here are some articles from Wikipedia about lay movements in the Catholic Church. Of course, these aren’t guaranteed to be accurate, but they can be a good source of basic information (such as definitions), and can provide pointers to more reliable sources.

Roman Catholic lay ecclesial movements

Sodalities (Catholic Church)

Directory of International Associations of the Faithful

I’ve found it especially interesting to follow the links in the list of “international associations of the faithful,” and read about some of these groups.

Life in the “Wild West” of new movements

piergiorgiofan — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:44:46 +0000

Here’s a series of articles from Debra Murphy at Catholic Exchange, called “Patterns of Scandal In New Ecclesial Movements.” It gives a very good overview of the issues involved. If you’re involved with a Catholic group whose leaders are behaving in ways that seem abusive — or if former members or observers have described the group as “cult-like” – please, read this series.

Part One: Discerning a Pattern

Part Two: Appearance vs. Reality

Part Three: Conscience and Canon Law

Part Four: Q & A with Pete Vere

Charity and Discernment

piergiorgiofan — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:28:01 +0000

The purpose of this blog is to assist lay Catholics who are considering becoming involved with a controversial movement in the Church (whether formally constituted, or de facto), and are looking for some resources to help with their process of discernment. These resources will include:

- links to official Church teaching on lay movements, and relevant passages from Canon law

- various experts’ suggested lists of things to look for in a movement, as well as lists of “red flags”

- historical information on past lay movements: how they started, how they developed, and how they’ve turned out

- suggestions for further reading, including books and other web sites

In the interest of charity and unity, we will not be recommending or discouraging involvement in any current movement, apart from cases where the Church has already spoken. We will, however, attempt to address any confusion that may have arisen over specific ideas and practices that are said to be recommended by some of these groups.

We will take as our model Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, a young Italian layman and third order Dominican, “a joyful, enthusiastic apostle of Christ” (in the words of John Paul II), who was known for his dedicated and fruitful participation in associations of the Catholic faithful.