This is the first time that I have heard of this character, Fr. Jeremy. Good for Bishop Soto of Sacramento for excommunicating him, although in his letter, the good bishop says the priest excommunicated himself. No, the bishop did and he did it as a punishment and warning but no doors are shut to the priest to repent and be reconciled and publicly so by the bishop. That's what excommunication is for. I just wish it was used more frequently against those who are in error be they clergy or laity, like Catholic politicians, Joe Biden comes to mind, who support abortion on demand even until the moment of birth. While Fr. Jeremy's sin is grave and all the more so because he is a priest, Catholic politicians like Biden, Pelosi and others have just as much "moral" influence over those Catholics who support them and should be excommunicated for being in schism with the Church's teaching on abortion and participating in abortions by supporting these.
Of course, there is more to this story and it is all a bit sordid, but Fr. Jeremy has jumped the shark in this one and deserves what he gets from canon law which his bishop is following in this case.
Fr. Leatherby's parents have ten children, 30 grandchildren and 44 great-grandchildren. One of his sons, David Leatherby, is a deacon. He has two granddaughters who are nuns and one grandson, Fr. Jeremy Leatherby, is a priest.
You can read a Facebook post HERE, which will show you the contempt with which Fr. Jeremy holds Pope Francis. Independent of how this priest may have been poorly treated by his bishop for an accusation of sexual misconduct with a woman in his parish, which seems to be false but not conclusively decided and much too long in being decided, this priest has disavowed the reigning pope and has set himself up as a Neo-Gnostic with information about who the true pope is based upon his own intuitions and what he believes, independent of what the Church believes. In this he is being ridiculous and deserves excommunication.
But Bishop Soto should just flex his muscles and say "I excommunicated Fr. Jeremy..." and not say the priest excommunicated himself. Saying the priest did it is a bit weak to say the least.
Letter to the Faithful regarding Fr. Jeremy Leatherby
Dear Friends in Christ,
Fr. Jeremy Leatherby has placed himself and others in a state of schism with the Roman Catholic Church. By his words and actions, Fr. Leatherby has incurred a latae sententiae (automatic) excommunication. This means that by his own volition he has separated himself from communion with the Roman Pontiff, Pope Francis, and other members of the Catholic Church.
Fr. Leatherby has violated my instructions by offering Mass and teaching publicly to a number of the faithful. He has instructed them against the legitimacy of His Holiness, Pope Francis. He has substituted the Holy Father’s name with the name of his predecessor, and omitted my name during the recitation of the Eucharistic Prayer while offering Mass. After obstinately not responding to a number of my inquiries by telephone and correspondence, he has now confirmed his schismatic stance. Because of the grave scandal of these actions I have no recourse but to announce publicly the consequence of his decisions: He has brought upon himself an automatic latae sententiae excommunication.
Prior to these lamentable events, there has been an on-going canonical process concerning other alleged behaviors by Fr. Jeremy Leatherby in violation of priestly promises. This process admittedly has been long, is still continuing, and is in the hands of other ecclesiastical authorities. The events by which he has excommunicated himself are unrelated to these previous allegations and the ensuing investigation. These are two separate issues.
Both clergy and faithful are instructed to refrain from any further attempt by Fr. Leatherby to offer the Mass or other sacraments. Join me in praying for his reconciliation and return to full communion with the Roman Catholic Church.
May the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary help Fr. Leatherby to repent of the harm he has inflicted on the Church. With maternal solicitude, may she gather us together into the one communion of the Church, holy and purified by the blood of the Lamb, her Son, Jesus.
50 comments:
The vast majority of excommunications are 'latae sententiae', that is to say automatic. At least one respected canonist is of the opinion that the norm for excommunication should be 'ferendae sententiae', not least because 'latae sententiae' excommunications may not have been incurred at all. The excommunication of Marcel Lefebvre and the bishops he consecrated is a case in point.
For a priest to omit the name of the Pope from the Canon of the Mass is a deliberately schismatic act. Henry VIII's Church was clearly schismatic; so were the 'Old Catholics' after 1870; so are the sedevacantists of today. Unless Biden, Pelosi and others announce that they are no longer in communion with the Pope and the bishops in communion with him, they are by no stretch of the imagination schismatic. Defying Church teaching does not a schismatic make, although it might well a heretic make.
There is nothing "weak" in following canon law regarding latae sententiae excommunication. Bishop Soto has not failed to "flex his muscles," rather, he has, with the advice of expert canon lawyers, explained precisely what Fr. Leatherby did himself.
Fr. Leatherby is guilty of hubris. He has appointed himself to be the judge of all things theological and canonical, even to the point of declaring that his HIS judgment, the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI was invalid.
He is a foolish young man. I hope he will be humble enough to recognize his serious sin, his serious failures, and be reconciled with the CHurch.
Isn't it Ipso facto and then it has to be made official for the Community by the Bishop or Pope?
If so would that mean that Biden has already excommunicated himself and we are all waiting with baited breath for some brave Bishop or The Pope to make this official?
We were told by the Bishop of our Diocese that denying Communion to the Governor would not be " effective" after he signed a brutal abortion law. But didn't he excommunicate himself by doing this?
Good question!
There’s more to this than is in the Facebook post. He is getting bad mentoring from somewhere and/or he has some woman he wants to marry. There are dozens of bishops and hundreds of priests that are at odds with Pope Francis with whom he could discuss these issues. He could scrupulously teach the Catechism and Church Doctrine without comparison to any specific comment of the Pope and make his point without undermining the hierarchy. That has been done by saints and martyrs often. He almost certainly knows this. So I am skeptical of his public reasons and think he is not telling the whole story.
I guess he did not “say the black and do the red.” He sounds like a squirrel
Unless Biden, Pelosi and others announce that they are no longer in communion with the Pope and the bishops in communion with him, they are by no stretch of the imagination schismatic.
John Nolan,
But doesn't that work the same way as excommunication? Meaning that one excommunicates oneself? Even if they say they're in communion with the Pope but they're actions say otherwise? When Biden performed a so called 'homosexual marriage', supporting abortion along with Pelosi's well known support of abortion....doesn't that show they are not in communion with the Pope?
Bee here:
Ah, the wonders of the internet. Prior to the internet, if I didn't live in Sacramento I would probably never have heard this story.
But besides that, what bothers me about this is the selective imposition of the authority of a bishop to declare someone creating or promoting schism. I notice not one of the priests who "marry" homosexuals are declared schismatic, or declared excommunicated. Not one of those giving Holy Communion to divorced and remarried, to active homosexuals, to those not in communion with the Church, who profane the Blessed Sacrament by using common bread which scatters crumbs, and on and on, the list of liturgical and spiritual abuses is rampant in our parishes, but no one never hears a public declaration they are in schism, and excommunicated. Way back in the day, when Humanae Vitae was published, a good number of Catholic priests in the United States openly declared they would not follow it and openly encouraged Catholics not to follow it. (On July 30, 1968, under the title Against the Encyclical of Pope Paul, the New York Times issued an appeal signed by over 200 theologians who invited Catholics to disobey the encyclical of Paul VI.) To my knowledge, not one was excommunicated for it.
It's not that this priest should not have been censured and removed. What he was doing cannot be allowed to go on. But what of all the other "renegade" priests who decide for themselves to change the words of the various liturgies depending on their bend of mind, to insert Marxist ideology (liberation theology) into their homilies, and those professing Catholicism who bow and worship a earth goddess icon in a garden in Rome, or place the selfsame icon at a side altar of a Catholic church there, or hoist such an icon onto their shoulders in procession within St. Peter's Basilica in Rome itself?
To me, the ones creating schism are sitting in the bishop chairs.
God bless.
Bee
John Nolan,
Precisely!
johnnyc - No.
Refer to the authoritative note on Canon 1314 "Generally, a penalty is ferendae sententiae, so that it does not bind the guilty party until after it has been imposed; if the law or precept expressly establishes it, however, a penalty is latae sententiae, so that it is incurred ipso facto when the delict is committed."
The "law or precept" that establishes latae sententiae excommunication spells out clearly those crimes that constitute a violation that brings on LA excommunication. They are:
Apostasy, heresy, schism
Violation of the sacred species
Physical attack on the pope
Sacramentally absolving an accomplice in a sexual sin
Consecrating a bishop without authorization
Directly violating the seal of confession
Procuring an abortion
Biden, Pelosi, and others have not committed any of the acts that result in LS excommunication.
Anonymous Kavanaugh,
I see you are here defending the indefensible. If nothing you are predictable
https://www.patheos.com/blogs/labmind/2020/08/sacramento-bishop-excommunicates-priest.html
Holy priest and deacon father catch priests in gay cabal. Now, priest is stuck in prolongated canonical process. What he did is wrong, but this seem like the pink mafia in form.
Bee spot on. Your comment nailed the state of our church exactly.
Bee,
People like you, and not our bishops and priests, is why I remain Catholic. These “men” are a disgrace and an embarrassment
But Biden and Pelosi "aid" in procuring abortions which really amounts to the same thing. They along with GovenorCuomo should be at the very least denied Communion.
Maybe the priest was hoping to be part of something he saw as more orthodox, but knew if he requested release to do so, that it would be automatically denied, even for spite, and saw this as his best bet to play Br'er Rabbit and please don't throw me in that briar patch....or, maybe he just did not know where to draw the line in his public capacity.
In the near future in Church time, say 100-200yrs, the Church might deal with all the ambiguity and chaos unleashed by this pope by finding enough irregularity to declare he never was actually the Pope, or some/any other old excuse.
However, such a call is outside the competency of any individual priest in official capacity. He might even be correct, but the call is not his to make, and he painted a bullseye on his back, unsuprising was drilled dead center, and nullified his own chances of being a reformer from within.
He may show in the future to have been entirely correct and one of many true reformers excommunicated unjustly by the establishment of known weakness and rampant corruption of all manner as has happened throughout Church history. Or, he might be another Luther schismatic and heretic. Or, simply a fool.
The correct answer will be shown, but only in the future, and not now, as we are too close, too ignorant of true facts and thoughts, and can only know that it is surely is in the hands of the only just judge of the entire lot.
TJM - And you are nothing if not stupid.
". I notice not one of the priests who "marry" homosexuals are declared schismatic, or declared excommunicated."
Because the acts you describe are neither acts of schism nor excommunicable offenses. If you dont believe it, READ the definitions of these in canon law.
"Not one of those giving Holy Communion to divorced and remarried, to active homosexuals, to those not in communion with the Church, who profane the Blessed Sacrament by using common bread which scatters crumbs, and on and on, the list of liturgical and spiritual abuses is rampant in our parishes, but no one never hears a public declaration they are in schism, and excommunicated."
No, and for the same reasons.
Being a "renegade," whatever that means, is not an act of schism, apostasy or heresy.
You dont get to make up the church's rules.
Father has written a rambling letter with grammar poorer than some of my posts. You can read it here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bGHyF3HFTNi4a-C3RwROcbizVF-3nBnw/view
I would suspect this young priest is greatly conflicted and in need of some therapy and well as prayers rather than derision. As I read the letter, apart from feeling he compulsively wrote it and did not edit it and sent it as is, I wonder too if it wasn't written under the influence of alcohol or some thing else.
This priest is Roman trained at the North American College in Rome, went to Notre Dame and has some gifts and talents, but it does not appear he has a calling to the celibate lifestyle or obedience, the two promise he made at his ordination, both being flaunted under the veil of super orthodoxy which has led to his schism and excommunication. Pray for him.
In the case of a priest who 'blesses' a homosexual union, or abuses the liturgy without actually violating the sacred Species, he is not automatically excommunicated. However, his bishop has both the right and duty to impose penalties on him, including suspension 'a divinis', although the priest has the right of appeal to a higher tribunal.
Refusal of Holy Communion to someone who is 'manifestly in grave sin' is a separate issue. A politician or legislator who actively supports abortion would come into that category. But unless they have actively procured an abortion, they are not excommunicate.
Should a woman procure an abortion (and this would also apply to the medical staff who carried it out) she is excommunicated latae sententiae. But this is not reserved to the Holy See, so if she later repents the excommunication is lifted. As always, the older rite is more specific than the modern form. First of all, the confessor removes any impediment (my translation).
'May Our Lord Jesus Christ absolve you, and by his authority I absolve you from every bond of excommunication, suspension and interdict, insofar as it is in my power, and you are in need of it.'
He then pronounces the words of Absolution:
'And so I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father + and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.'
'... in quantum possum et tu indiges.' Pope Francis made it clear that any priest with the faculties of hearing Confessions has the power. In practice, bishops would have delegated the power in any case.
I read Father Leatherby's letter in question.
In regard to Father Leatherby's having broken communion with our holy Pope Francis:
Father Leatherby cited last year's supposed blasphemous Our Lady of the Amazon event as among the reason's that "left me unable to consider myself in ecclesial communion with him."
Therefore, Father Leatherby has determined that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is Pope.
I have found it interesting that Father Leatherby, and those who have expressed outrage in regard to Pope Francis' relation to the Our Lady of the Amazon event, have tolerated the following:
In 2011 A.D., during Assisi III, Pope Benedict XVI permitted voodoo witch doctor Wande Abimbola to have chanted a prayer to the strange god Olokun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZrR6H4iwO0
At the 4:46 mark, the witch doctor prays to the strange god Olokun. At the 6:08 mark, the witch doctor shakes hands with Pope Benedict XVI.
Nevertheless, Pope Emeritus is the real Pope....100 percent orthodox.
But the Our Lady of the Amazon event in the Vatican Gardens marked Pope Francis as a false Pope.
Oh. Okay. Sure. :-)
Father Leatherby requires our prayers. May Father Leatherby end his mutiny against God.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Here's what I wrote about this on my blog: https://frmartinfox.blogspot.com/2020/08/emergency-and-schism.html
May YOU end you nonsense Mark Thomas. And stop calling that damn pagan statue by the name of " Our Lady". THAT is blasphemy.
MT....YOU should have been thrown into the Tiber with that pagan statue
Anonymous K at 10:16,
Stupid people engage in ad hominem. Congrats, you are a winner!
TJM - Of course, you NEVER make ad hominem attacks - Oh no!
"TJM said...
Bee, People like you, and not our bishops and priests, is why I remain Catholic. These “men” are a disgrace and an embarrassment."
No, you never do such a thing.....
Anonymous K,
Truth hurts, doesn’t it
I am a Catholic priest and am a college seminary classmate of Father Leatherby's. I had no idea that he harboured these views regarding Pope Francis and am genuinely saddened to see this.
I had emailed him after I learned of his suspension to see how he was holding up. The last time I heard from him, he seemed somewhat optimistic about his chances of prevailing in the canonical process.
I had no idea about any of this and had not heard from him in months. Nevertheless, I believe that with regard to Fr Jeremy's decision to regard Benedict XVI as the pope again and his omission of the bishop's name from the Eucharistic Prayer, Bishop Soto acted reasonably and did what he had to do.
It doesn't make it any easier to see this. Schism is always serious. Canon law tends to always be harsher on priests who go into schism than on laymen. All of us who are clerics have promised and have sworn on the Book of the Gospels that we would remain in communion with the Pope and those bishops in communion with him before we were ordained. I have a close friend who had gone into schism as a priest. He joined the Orthodox Church. Upon returning to the Catholic Church, he found that he was irregular for orders and has never fully been able to exercise ministry as a priest again. He has since become a monk and I believe that he is now able to celebrate Mass but only in the monastic community and nowhere else.
Let us pray for Father Leatherby's return to full communion with the Catholic Church. It is clear that his ministry as a priest is most likely over. However, I pray that he may come to realise the gravity of what he done and that he will reconcile with Christ and his Church.
TJM - The truth here is that you reprimand people for doing precisely what YOU do.
I know this will escape you, but it remains the truth.
This ping-pong between TJM and MJK is becoming tiresome. It is clear that neither has anything new to say. It would be preferable if they insulted each other via e-mail rather than in an open forum.
MT is another example of someone who has nothing original to say, and in his case repetitiveness is exacerbated by prolixity.
All three would find themselves barred from any decent pub; two of them for fighting and the third for boring all the other punters.
TJM reprimands people for ad hominem attacks, but here's a SMALL sample of TJM's posts:
"Your blog postings are drivel and no doubt your TDS has you still supporting..."
"I don't comment on the internal affairs of England because I lack YOUR hubris and arrogance."
"He has no substantive response to my points so he has reverted to whining."
"You are an insufferable berk."
Yes, John, TJM's foolishness is triesome, and possibly indicative of some neurological disorder.
Those of you who don’t read Fr. Fox’s blog or haven’t read his most recent post, please do. It is one of his best thus far, and he’s authored so many good ones over the years. He offers such wisdom, and his homilies are a Godsend in this sometimes dark, lonely landscape we travel. I know rcg reads him and values him as well as I.
I've known this family for a long time. I guess Karma is real
"TJM - And you are nothing if not stupid."
This is the language of a parish priest, "Father" Kavanaugh." He has also insulted our lovely Bee. There is definitely something wrong with him. Not pastoral in the least. And he has the annoying habit of having to have the last word, always.
Anonymous Kavanaugh,
I learned the word "berk" from John Nolan when he applied it to you.
'Yes, John, TJM's foolishness is tiresome and possibly indicative of some neurological disorder.'
That's not what I said. It is the tit-for-tat exchange of insults between the two of you which is tiresome and demeaning. As the Irish say 'it's shit calling shite'.
JN! ??🙊
TJM asks for more:
TJM said, "The pablum dispenser [Pope Francis] does not dare utter our Lord's words: Go and sin no more."
TJM said, "I blame the hierarchy for this situation more than the person in the pew because so many of them are pusillanimous nothings."
TJM said, "And the liberals must include a lot of priests and bishops, who have, de facto, abandoned the Catholic Faith."
TJM said, "Are you on the sauce or just lack reading comprehension skills?"
TJM said, "Since you are an academic I realize you must subscribe to group think, otherwise you will no longer be welcome in the faculty lounge, that bastion of reality and tolerance.”
TJM thinks he has the moral standing to reprimand others for making ad hominem attacks. Yet, as these examples show, he practices that devious little tactic here more than anyone else.
As to having the last word, I will remind you they are YOUR words....
Anonymous, recently outed, I wish you would come back with something interesting to say. If not, Foxtrot Oscar Oscar Oscar India.
In other words, sling yer 'ook.
❓❓❓❓
John - If wishes were horses then beggars would ride.
Push off, yerself.
I must say, these recent comments are anything but edifying. May I suggest, in a fraternal spirit, that those who are hurling insults and nasty comments, to step back and think about whether any of this is truly justified, and truly becoming of you as Christians and (presumably) adults?
Finally a voice of reason! 👏
Fr. Fox - Where was your concern about the lack of edification when TJM was hurling these ad hominem attacks in the first place? Had you no desire to see a more "fraternal spirit" when he launched them initially? Your recent conversion to seeking what is justified and to avoid what is not might lead some to think, "Hmmmm….?"
Father Fox,
Your comments are always edifying and useful. A priest posted the comment at 4:14. I recall you had a run in with him once or twice.
I'd be curious to know why the moderator of this blog is allowing these posts to begin with.
To Anonymous at 7:02PM:
It is not Father Foxes responsibility to be the Baby sitter" of bad behavior on this blog, and although there is no doubt he can speak for himself, your subtle yet obvious questioning of his motives is just plain wrong.
Please stop the nonsense.
Anonymous 8:46 - Fr. Fox decided to take on the role on August 12, 2020 at 4:45 PM.
I agree the nonsense should be stopped. However, the blog owner seems to be happy to see it continue. Although he overstates his capabilities by a country mile: "I am a blogger who is opinionated and allows a diversity of opinions to be posted in the comment section. I mean to be provocative and ironically comical with a cynicism matched by few others," Fr. McDonald posts what he wants to post.
The best way to stop the nonsense is for the blog owner to stop posting comments that are frequently nothing but ad hominem attacks by TJM against those who disagree with him. If you are a regular reader of this blog you know FULL WELL that TJM is the source of 95% of the nasty, uncharitable comments found here.
So, I agree with you. Fr. McDonald should put a stop to it.
No response is one that speaks volumes....
Stentorian silence
I see no power.....only cowardice, and an obvious relishing of people demeaning each other.
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