The Teaching Authority of the Church is Not Confided to the Laity: Fr. Louis Jouin, Society of Jesus (1877)
Yet once again I present to you additional proof that Frederick Michael Dimond and his Most Holy Family Monastery do NOT possess the authority nor have they been granted ecclesiastic permission (canonical provision) to go out into the world and teach / preach to Christ’s scattered flock.
I present to you the words of Fr. Louis Jouin, Priest of the Society of Jesus, written in 1877 for your consideration; words from the past which remain valid today.
Evidence of Religion:
Chapter IX: The Teaching Body Infallible
Section 3: Not Confided to the Faithful:
The power to govern the Church was not communicated to the faithful, but to the apostles and their lawfully appointed successors; for, to them alone Christ said: "All power is given to me in heaven and on earth: as the Father hath sent me, I also send you. Receive ye the Holy Ghost: going therefore, teach ye all nations," etc. (St Matthew 28:18-19; John 20:21-22) St. Paul tells us that the bishops have been placed by the Holy Ghost over their flocks in order to rule them (Acts 20:28), and that the apostles were instituted by Christ to maintain the unity of faith and to perfect the saints. (Ephesians 4:12-13)
Moreover, the powers exercised by the ministers of the Church are not mere natural or human powers; they belong to the supernatural order, and, consequently, no one can possess them unless they be communicated to him in a special manner by a special rite instituted by Christ: and this was to be done by the apostles and their lawful successors, on whom alone these powers were conferred. So that the body of the faithful do not participate in the government of the Church, but they are subject to it; their having been incorporated into the Church by the sacrament of baptism does not invest them with the powers of the priesthood, as Luther asserted; it makes them simply members of the Church, and gives them the right to participate in the spiritual blessings bestowed by Christ on His mystical body. It is not the faithful who make the Church; else, she would be only a human institution. Christ Himself is her maker, and she communicates to those who join her the privilege of membership. The government of the Church, therefore, is not democratic; it is not one in which the people delegate the ruling power to officials chosen by themselves, and whose authority they may restrict at pleasure.
The same appears also from the end Christ had in view in instituting the Church. This end is to enable mankind to glorify God. For this purpose the Church has to teach us to worship God; it has to impart to us the knowledge of those truths which we must know in order to reach our final destiny, and of the means we must use to secure it. The authority must therefore be vested in those only who have received from Christ a commission to teach; because all those who wish to be saved must submit to this teaching. But the commission to teach was given to the apostles and their lawfully appointed successors. They alone, therefore, are invested with authority in the Church.
The faithful, who enter the Church by the sacrament of baptism, come into her, not as teachers, but as learners; they are bound to submit to the teaching imparted to them, and hence are subject to the teaching body established by Christ.
Though the words of Father Louis Jouin were written in 1887 the truth associated with them remains valid today. Only those who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders possess the legitimacy and authority to teach / preach to the scattered flock.
So, if we take a look at the FACTs concerning the Most Holy Family Monastery (MHFM) in Fillmore, New York, we find:
Bro Michael Dimond is still a layman; NEVER becoming a professed religious.
Bro Michael Dimond NEVER received permission from a Benedictine Bishop to establish a monastery.
Bro Michael Dimond NEVER received “Holy Orders” (ordaination to the priesthood) and therefore has NO legitimate claim to the title of a Benedictine Superior nor the authority to teach / preach to the scattered flock.
Don't be deceived! Wearing the mail-order robes of a Benedictine monk does NOT make one a Benedictine. Neither does sincere "parroting" of Holy Scripture and Catholic dogma / doctrine make one a priest. There are strict ecclesiastic rules and procedures that are mandatory and MUST be adhered to in both instances.
It should be evident and clear to all that there is no such thing as the “Priesthood of Desire”; at least it does NOT exist within the Catholic Church; no matter what the Dimond Brothers and the followers of the MHFM choose to believe.
As Fr. Louis Jouin stated: “… the sacrament of baptism does not invest them with the powers of the priesthood, as Luther asserted; it makes them simply members of the Church ...”
Simply put ... The Dimond Brothers lack the authority required to validly / legitimately teach and preach to Christ's flock. The proof is clear ... The Dimond Brothers were NOT “sent” … they simply “went”.
It's still not too late to repent, Brother Michael.
Denzinger: Sources of Catholic Dogma: 967 Can. 7: “If anyone says that ... those who have been neither rightly ordained nor sent by ecclesiastical and canonical authority, but come from a different source, are lawful ministers of the word …: let him be anathema.” - [cf. n. 960]
The Holy Scripture warns us: “And how can men preach unless they are sent?” - Romans 10:15
Beware of false Prophets, and false Teachers, who serve ... the "Father of Lies"...
- Pax Tecum