Replies

Why would there be a Catholic Church that does not belong to the diocese? As a Roman Catholic, is it okay to attend one of these masses? Would anyone be able to explain exactly what is meant by "Independent". I am dubious and wary. I don't want to step into something that I'll regret. Thanks.

You are right to be 'dubious and wary'. In following the link posted above, I noticed references to "Ask Fr. Moderator" and "tradio.com". If you google "Fr. Moderator", you will learn that .....

“FR. MODERATOR”’S PEDIGREE

M.E. Morrison, "Fr. Moderator," founded the Traditio.com website in 1994. Morrison claims association with the "Society of St. John the Apostle," which runs the Fisherman's and Seaman's Memorial Chapel in San Francisco, California. The contact number for the Society is the same as Morrison's home phone number; the Society's e-mail address is ssja@traditio.com. There is no evidence of other members of the Society. Morrison also runs something he calls the "Confraternity of St. Michael," which has no juridical status in the Catholic Church. Over the years, because of his refusal to divulge his ecclesiastical pedigree, questions have been raised about the validity of his ordination. Here are three explanations from some who have looked into the matter:

From http://home.earthlink.net/~grossklas/morrison.htm:

"M.E. Morrison was 'ordained' in California in a Protestant church (Ebenezer Lutheran Church) by Thaddeus Alioto, a married man claiming to be a bishop (because he had been 'consecrated' a bishop by Wallace David de Ortega Maxey). [Alioto was supposedly a bishop of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in America, but their website, www.uaoc.org, shows no record of Alioto.]

"De Ortega Maxey had been 'consecrated' numerous times by various North American Old Catholic bishops (whom even the Old Catholic Churches in Europe deny have valid orders). De Ortega Maxey also *claimed* to have been consecrated by Antoine Aneed.

"Aneed's story is that he was consecrated a bishop by a RC Eastern Rite bishop in Syria and sent to America. Both the Vatican and the Syrian Patriarchate involved denounced the story as a fabrication."

From http://www.unitypublishing.com/NewReligiousMovements/KnightsWeb.html:

M.E. Morrison "was ordained by one Bishop Sebastian of the Society of Christ the King (SSCR) in California. [The Sacerdotal Society of Christ the King is 'sede vacantist'; in other words, it believes that John Paul II is not legitimately the Pope, and that the Holy See is vacant.] He was ordained and consecrated by Bishop John Simmons, who was ordained and consecrated by Harold Norwood, who was ordained and consecrated by Castillo-Mendez. Mendez was a Roman Catholic priest who was illicitly consecrated a bishop by Bishop Costa of Brazil, a Roman Catholic bishop. Costa was a modernist who was excommunicated by Pius XII! He consecrated Castillo-Mendez to help found a schismatic Brazilian church, which has spread to several other countries. This is the glorious line Fr. Morrison can boast of! His own bishop, Bishop Sebastian, 'made a formal abjuration of error and heresy, profession of faith and the oath against modernism' on 16 April 1999. He claims to have returned the line to the Church by this. He explicitly admitted that Simmons was a schismatic, hence the abjuration. Fr. Morrison is, without a doubt, a real priest."

From http://www.the-pope.com/church11.html:

M.E. Morrison "had always had the policy of never discussing personalities (other than public figures in the news) by name, neither members of his e-mail list nor anyone else. As a result he never mentioned the name of the bishop who had ordained him, and with time it emerged that this detail was not for public consumption. Eager to attack him, some clever rumor monger invented the fanciful claim that Fr. Morrison had been ordained by some shady Old Catholic bishop. Conveniently, some such Old Catholic bishop in the area had just passed away and so was therefore in no position to deny being the bishop who ordained him (as he doubtless would have, had he still been alive)."

As to those Masses listed as "Inde",

INDE indicates a Mass said by a priest professing traditional Roman Catholicism, not including Old Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy, and operating independently of any local diocesan bishop, but without being associated with one of the larger traditional organizations specifically broken out in these listings (viz., CMRI, SSPV, SSPX).

Again, great caution should be taken before attending any Mass said by an independent priest. Please note the following:

Priest, Lay Board At St. Louis Church Excommunicated

You would be better off following the link posted by Salvation to "Mass Times".

Merry Christmas