Robert Schutzius writes: Let's judge for ourselves

Before we proceed to today's Letter to the Editor in the Post-Dispatch, let's see who this Schutzius fellow is. A brief description can be found at the Women for Faith & Family website here.

Robert Schutzius, an ex-priest and a founder of the radical dissident group Association for Rights of Catholics in the Church (ARCC), been pushing a radical agenda for "restructuring" the Catholic Church for 30 years.

ARCC's June 17 statement on the Dallas bishops' meeting published on its web site states its concern that the bishops' charter "[reduces] all sexual abuse to the same level. This kind of draconian implementation violated the basic Christian principle of forgiveness and will result in harm to good men who have sinned and reformed".

"We are concerned by the lack of debate concerning the annulment of ordination. We are concerned at the relatively minimal involvement of lay people in bodies called to establish policies and effect structural changes. These bodies must be independent of all hierarchical ties and have real authority." (emphasis added). http://arcc-catholic-rights.org/dallaspress.htm)

ARCC also proposes an 8-page "Constitution of the Catholic Church" on its web site (http://arcc-catholic-rights.org/constitution.htm). Extremely ambitious and sweeping in its objectives for "radical equality" in the Church, the 1994 "Constitution" proposes that the pope be elected for "a single ten-year term by Delegates ... chosen as representatively as possible, one third being bishops".

The "Charter of the Rights of Catholic in the Church", endorsed by a spectrum of dissenting groups, is also published on the ARCC web. Among the endorsing groups are Call to Action (CTA), homosexual advocacy groups Dignity-USA, and New Ways Ministry, the Women's Ordination Conference, and CORPUS, a national association for married priesthood.

Now that we have some background, let see what erudite opinions Robert wishes to share with St Louis Catholics...

Let's judge for ourselves

Regarding "Aquinas drops Phan lecture" (Jan. 10): Archbishop Raymond Burke is just doing his job. He is protecting us Catholic people from the likes of prominent Catholic theologian the Rev. Peter Phan, who writes about how God might be bigger than the Catholic Church. To expand our thinking that God might have ways of providing the means of salvation other than through the Catholic Church (Roman and the other versions) is risky, confusing and fearful and might lead us astray.

Even though Pope Benedict has accepted the invitation of 138 Islamic Imams to enter into dialogue, Archbishop Burke seems fearful that we in St. Louis are not adult enough to learn about the merits of interfaith dialogue. Notice that he did not take too well to the hospitality and expertise of Rabbi Susan Talve.

Fear of change and cooperation with other power structures seem typical to the St. Louis mentality. Maybe it is in the water. Do we not have the right to hear and judge for ourselves? Apparently not if you are a Catholic in St. Louis.

Robert Schutzius | Florissant
Secretary, Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church
Source: Post Dispatch Letters

We should hope and pray that Bob doesn't die being a frustrated, washed-up, inconsequential ex-priest whose movement is quickly passing into the annals of forgotten history. We pray that he might reconcile with the Church which he seems to despise so much...

As an added bonus, I had forgotten that WFF also had more information on Sister Louise Lears:

Sister Louise Lears, coordinator of the steering committee of "Faithful St. Louis" and of the conference, is a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati who teaches health-care ethics at St. Louis University. She is also coordinator of the recently combined St. Louis leftist groups, Center for Theology and Social Analysis and Catholic Action Network for Social Justice, whose address is the same as "Faithful St. Louis".

Sister Louise was among the "women's ordination" protesters during the papal visit to St. Louis in 1999. The radical Call to Action group publicizes this protest on its web site...

Check the WFF website for more...It's a pity this mess was left for Archbishop Burke to clean up. Dissenting groups and individuals have been active for years spreading their poisons with little, it seems, being done, heretofore, to correct it. Please keep Archbishop Burke in your prayers.