Bishop
Louis Vezelis
Some are
familiar with Louis Vezelis, who claims to be a traditional Catholic bishop.
1. We want to warn people that Louis Vezelis is
not a truly Catholic bishop because he
denies the dogma Outside the Church There is No Salvation. On his website, he quotes Protocol 122/49,
which teaches that non-Catholics can be saved.
As explained in the section on Protocol 122/49 in our book, 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. For all of the quotes from Protocol 122/49,
see the section dealing with it in our book.
Since Louis V. promotes this
letter, he denies the dogma Outside the Church There is No Salvation.
2. Bishop Louis V.’s priest Father Giles told
Bro. Peter Dimond in a telephone conversation that certain non-Catholics can be
saved who are “outside” the Church.
Then, after noting that his terminology contradicts the dogma Outside the
Church There is No Salvation, Fr. Giles said “they are not really outside the
Church.” Fr. Giles was admitting his
heretical belief that certain non-Catholics can be saved who don’t have the
Faith.
3. Bishop
Louis Vezelis teaches that people who believe in only one baptism of water and
who hold that water baptism is necessary for salvation (as defined by the
Catholic Church) are heretics. He is
therefore a schismatic and a heretic.
Pope
Paul III, The Council of Trent, Sess. 7, Can. 5 on the Sacrament
of Baptism, 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.”
4.
Bishop Louis Vezelis claims authority and a de facto ordinary jurisdiction over people.
He is therefore schismatic. In a
crisis such as this, a bishop could consecrate (i.e., ordain as a bishop) a
priest who is worthy and fully Catholic, so that such a newly consecrated bishop
could in turn ordain people to the priesthood in the Traditional Rite. But such a consecration as a bishop only
gives the new bishop the power of the fullness of the priesthood and a supplied
jurisdiction to operate for the needs of the faithful. It does not give him territorial
authority over a diocese or an office in which he can command other priests or
other souls. Such jurisdiction, which is
called ordinary jurisdiction - the jurisdiction attached to an office with
authority to rule – is conferred by a pope.
Pope
Pius XII, Mystici Corporis Christi
(#42), June 29, 1943: “… Bishops
must be considered as the more illustrious members of the Universal Church… Yet
in exercising this office they are not altogether independent, but are
subordinate to the lawful authority of the Roman Pontiff, although enjoying the ordinary power of jurisdiction which they
receive directly from the same Supreme Pontiff.”
As we can see,
ordinary jurisdiction to rule a territory or souls as a bishop is obtained from
a Supreme Pontiff. Since there is no
true Catholic pope at this time (the Chair of Peter is vacant), bishops
consecrated in this crisis do not receive ordinary jurisdiction, but
only a supplied jurisdiction to operate for the needs of the faithful. If they inherited ordinary jurisdiction, then
any priest could get ordained/consecrated and then could start commanding
people. But that is obviously absurd and
false. Yet, Bishop V. thinks that he
possesses authority to rule other independent priests and Bishops; in fact, he
even sent a paper to other priests and bishops telling them to come and report
to him! Vezelis is a schismatic and a heretic who should not be followed or
supported.
And because of
the unfortunate fact that Bishop V. is a heretic who denounces as heretical those
who believe in one baptism of water, no one could even approach him or his
priests for the sacraments.
Also, Louis
Vezelis is quite adamant that anyone who was ordained by Bishop Lefebvre is
doubtfully ordained because Bishop Lefebvre was ordained to the priesthood by
Achille Lienart. Louis Vezelis believes
that Lienart (who ordained Lefebvre) was a Freemason, although there is no
documented proof of this. Question 19 in
our current Questions,
Answers and Comments section of our website deals
with this issue and shows why Louis Vezelis is wrong. Ironically, Louis Vezelis himself was
apparently ordained by the totally heretically apostate
“Card.” Paul Émile Léger. Why
can’t we doubt the intention of the radical apostate “Cardinal” Paul Émile
Leger? According to his Vezelis’ own
argument, his own ordination would have to be considered at least suspect.