And the History of Saint Benedict Center
IV
Catholicism in Boston had become more and more conspicuous for its total lack of doctrinal affirmation. Most of the students who left the secular schools of prestige and enrolled in Catholic colleges were sorely disappointed. They were searching for the truth. But instead of receiving the clear, uncompromising message of the Gospel and the infallible teaching authority of the Church defining, defending and preaching the truth about salvation, they found themselves submerged in the vague, totally compromising message of Liberalism.
At Boston College, the Jesuit institution, where both faculty and students of Saint Benedict Center were active - one priest during a fundraising campaign made the amazing statement: “You know that Boston College is for all denominations. We do not proselytize here. Students come to Boston College from all religions, and nobody bothers them about their beliefs.” Loyolas and Cabots, p.90
Well-entrenched Liberalism had been perfecting and teaching its system of compromise for centuries. The most odious church teaching, in the mind of a Liberal, is the truth that only in the Catholic Church can salvation be found. Liberals, through a misdirected sense of compassion, by their own verdict have come to the conclusion that there must be salvation outside the Catholic Church. Notwithstanding the clear teaching of Sacred Scripture and the definitive teaching of the Church – according to some, there still have to be exceptions to the rule.
The necessity of the Church for salvation has been taught repeatedly in solemn definition:
Pope Innocent III - Lateran IV – 1215
“There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside of which no one at all can be saved.” Denz. #430
Boniface VIII - Unam Sanctam - 1302
“We are obliged by our faith to believe and to hold that the Church is one, holy, catholic, and also apostolic; We firmly believe in her, and we confess absolutely that outside of this church there is neither salvation nor the remission of sins… Furthermore, we declare, state, define and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.” Denz. #468,469
Eugene IV - Council of Florence – 1441
“The most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes, and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into the eternal fire ‘which was prepared for the devil and his angels,’ unless before death they are joined to Her…” Denz. #714
The only alternative to authoritative teaching is ultimately no authority at all. The mind that refuses assent to the things revealed by God is blown to and fro “by every wind of doctrine” – by opinions drawn for the most part from sheer human sentiment.
The extent to which the denial of the doctrine on salvation had plummeted, the extent to which opinion and sentiment had replaced revealed truth, was clearly demonstrated by the Jesuits at Boston College.
One priest made these remarkable statements in class:
* “It is possible for any man to be saved outside the Catholic Church.”
* “Any man who would say that there is no salvation outside the Church is a heretic.”
* “If you say that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church, you are a heretic and cannot save your soul.”
* “The Catholic Church never defined or even suggested that there is no salvation outside it. No Pope, no Council, no Doctor of the Church ever taught that no one can be saved outside the Catholic Church.”
* “Not only is it possible to be saved outside the Catholic Church, it is even possible to be saved while being an enemy of the Church and actively fighting against it.”
* “Saint Paul was not sinning while persecuting Christ and His Church.”
* “The teaching that there is no salvation outside the Church applies exclusively to Catholics who have personally left the Church.”
* “When a Pope or Council defines, or when a Doctor of the Church says that there is no salvation outside the Church, the meaning of this statement depends on what is meant by the Catholic Church.”
* “Baptism is not necessary for salvation.”
* “Many people who are totally ignorant of Christ and His Church can be saved because their ignorance excuses them and confers on them baptism of desire.”
How far the sons of St. Ignatius had strayed from the teachings of their own Doctor of the Church, St. Robert Bellarmine! In refuting the Protestant denial of the necessity of Baptism, Bellarmine wrote, “…those who imagine that there is another remedy besides baptism, openly contradict the Gospel, the Councils, the Fathers, and the consensus of the Universal Church.”
V
Just thirty years prior to the controversy in Boston, Pope Benedict XV (1914-1922) had emphasized the importance of teaching the truth without compromise. During World War I he stated:
“In the midst of the present upheavals, it is important to repeat to men that by her divine institution, the Catholic Church is the only ark of salvation for the human race... Accordingly, it is more reasonable than ever to teach that the truth which liberates, not only individuals, but societies, is supernatural truth in all its fullness and in all its purity, without attenuation, diminution or compromise in a word, exactly as Our Lord Jesus Christ delivered it to the world.” Kingship of Christ and Conversion of Jewish Nation, p.6
Teach the truth “exactly as Our Lord delivered it to the world” – this is just what Father Feeney and Saint Benedict Center were attempting to do in the 1940s. But it became painfully clear that the deterioration of Catholic doctrine and the undermining of authoritative Catholic teaching were to be aided by the policy of expediency.
Although already assigned to Saint Benedict Center, Father Feeney was suddenly ordered by his superiors to relinquish his position in August 1948, shortly before sessions for the new academic year were to begin.
Though the actual reason was never openly stated, Father Feeney was being ordered out of Saint Benedict Center — ordered out of the Archdiocese of Boston — precisely because the doctrine on salvation was too controversial for American pluralism.
For an entire year (Sept. 1948 - Sept. 1949), his Jesuit superiors refused to address the doctrinal issues raised by Father Feeney. “Legal process” -not the sacred dogmas of the Faith - “was to be the absolute rule of a priest’s conscience.” Loyolas and Cabots, p.279
Because the salvation of souls and the upholding of the Catholic faith are the first responsibilities of every Catholic priest, Father Feeney contested this unjust order calculated to destroy the work of the Center.
With much prayer, reflection and counsel, he concluded that the circumstances were serious enough to delay compliance. A doctrine of the faith was in question. Dogma always supersedes discipline in the law of the Church. Aquinas, moreover, had taught that to obey in matters that are not lawful constitutes “indiscreet obedience.”
Once the issues had been brought clearly to light, when he saw the faith under attack – Father Feeney simply could not leave Saint Benedict Center and abandon the defense of the dogma on salvation. Father Feeney and all who defend the dogma have the greatest certitude that what they hold is true. Dogmas are truths revealed by God and taught by the Church. They are not meant to be interpreted but believed.
There was no question here of personal preference but of sacred obligation. No one felt more keenly than Father Feeney the predicament of being apparently “disobedient.” As a member of the Society of Jesus, Father had always followed the path of that congregation’s great saints – its founder St. Ignatius, St. Francis Xavier, St. Robert Bellarmine, St. Peter Canisius and the like.
The Inquisition had vindicated St. Ignatius – Father Feeney was simply asking for a hearing and this was being denied him. The work of the Center was being done entirely for the love of God and the salvation of souls. It seemed a pathetic irony that the Center should be faced with opposition from the very Church it was seeking to defend, from the hierarchy entrusted with the task of upholding the faith.
