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St. Paul Minneapolis Bishop Accuses Priests Faithful to Catholic Teaching of Operating "Parallel Church"

MINNEAPOLIS- ST. PAUL, December 20, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - While Bishop Harry Flynn's welcoming of militant homosexual activists into his cathedral continues to embarrass the Catholic Church, the Archbishop of Minneapolis-St. Paul has gone one step further and issued a letter banning priests faithful to the teaching of the Church from working in the archdiocese.

In a letter to parishes, Flynn banned the activities of the Legionaries of Christ, a group of priests with full Vatican approval, dedicated to implementing Pope John Paul II's call for a 'new evangelization'. Flynn wrote, "The Legionaries of Christ are not to be active in any way in the diocese of Minneapolis and St. Paul."

In his letter to Fr. Anthony Bannon, the local head of the Legionaries of Christ, Archbishop Flynn says that since their activities "operate outside the normal structures of the Catholic Church…there is no opportunity for me to exercise appropriate vigilance in their regard." Flynn then said that the activities of the Legionaries and the affiliated group, Regnum Christi "must be completely separate from all activities of the parishes and the archdiocese."

Flynn has not taken such action, however, against homosexual activists such as the notorious 'gay' parish, St. Joan of Arc, whose promotion of homosexuality has been directly censured by the Vatican. Archbishop Flynn has also welcomed the "Rainbow Sash Movement," a group whose publicly staged anti-Catholic protests have seen them barred from participating in Catholic services even in Cardinal McCarrick's Washington diocese.

Pope John Paul II, however, recently praised the Legionaries and Regnum Christi for their "intrepid witness" and charged them to continue their "evangelizing mission." The Pope, speaking on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Legionaries founding, extended a "special apostolic blessing" to all members of the Legionaries and Regnum Christi movement. In addition, such Catholic luminaries as author, George Weigel, Harvard law professor, Mary Anne Glendon, and editor of "First Things" magazine, Richard John Neuhaus have praised and endorsed the activities of the Legionaries in their efforts to restore Catholic faith and practice.

In Flynn's letter to Fr. Bannon, he said, "I feel very strongly that any group that ministers within this local Church needs to do so in a way that promotes unity and cooperation. Rather than experiencing such a spirit, our pastors continue to sense that 'a parallel Church' is being encouraged."

Previous LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Minneapolis Archbishop Claims Vatican Okay with Communion for Homosexual Activists
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/dec/04121502.html
Minnesota Bishop Welcomed Homosexual Activists to Come to Communion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/nov/04112407.html
Gay-Friendly U.S. Bishops Outed by Homosexual Activist 'Catholic' Group
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/nov/04111108.html

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