The account of Our restarting Holy Orders in the Catholic Church which is recorded in the website: http://www.truecatholic.us/  has caused some sincere readers to ask for an explanation.  It is like asking how Noe, as one man in the whole human race, could restart the human race after he left the ark.  Only in God�s way can it be done. 

Most Catholics know very well that the Bishop is the ordinary minister of Holy Orders.  Hence, We go directly to the topic as it is found in the excellent manual of dogmatic Catholic theology, �Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma� by Dr. Ludwig Ott. It was translated from the German and has an imprimatur date of 7 October 1954 (four years before the death of Pope Pius XII).  We use the second printing, which is dated January 1958.  What is copied is from pages 458 to 459.  The book is for sale on the open market also. 
 

We shall skip a) and go right away to b) 

b) In regard to the sacramental Order grades of diaconate and presbyterate, most theologians, with St. Thomas, hold the opinion that a simple priest cannot validly administer these, even with plenary power from the Pope.  But there are grave historical difficulties with regard to this opinion: Pope Boniface IX, in agreement with the teachings of numerous medieval canonists (for example, Huguccio d. 1210), by the Bull �Sacrae religionis� on the 1st of February 1400, conferred on the Abbot of the Augustine Monastery of St. Osytha at Essex (Diocese of London) and his successors, the privilege of administering to those subject to them both the Minor Orders and those of the subdiaconate, diaconate and priesthood.  The privilege was withdrawn on 6th February, 1403, on the instance of the Bishop of London.  But the Orders conferred on the ground of the privilege were not declared invalid.  Pope Martin V, by the Bull �Gerentes ad vos� of 16th November, 1427, conferred the privilege on the Abbot of the Cistercian Monastery of Altzelle (Diocese of Meissen) of promoting all his monks and others subject to him for the term of five years, to the higher Orders also (Sub-diaconate, Diaconate, and Presbyterate).  Pope Innocent VIII, by the Bull �Exposcit tuae devotions� of 9th April, 1489,conferred on the four Proto-Abbots of the Cistercian Order and their successors the privilege of ordaining their subordinates to the Sub-diaconate and the Diaconate.  The Cistercian Abbots were still using this privilege in the 17th century without hindrance.  

Unless one wishes to assume that the Popes in question were victims of the erroneous theological opinions of their times (this does not touch the Papal infallibility, because an ex cathedra decision was not given), one must take it that a simple priest is an extraordinary dispenser of the Orders of Diaconate and Presbyterate, just as he is an extraordinary dispenser of Confirmation.  In this latter view, the requisite power of consecration is contained in the priestly power of consecration as �potestas ligata.� For the valid exercise of it a special exercise of the Papal power is, by Divine or Church ordinance, necessary.�  
(end of quotation)  

After reading the above, many of the readers, lacking in faith, admit that the Pope can give to the priest the added power to ordain priests, but they point out that there are no examples of his giving the added power to consecrate bishops.  We have two answers to that problem.  

On Okinawa in a clerical meeting, it was brought up that the Pope Pius XII appointed a Bishop in a Communist country.  Not being able to bring him out of the country and not being able to send a Bishop into the country, Pius XII gave the privilege of consecrating the Bishop to a priest in that country. Some say that they want the names and places of that action. Since it had to be top secret as to persons and places, all that came out was that it happened that way.  Most of the world was kept in the dark as to the details.   

Yet, people at times, have asked for proof that Pope Pius XII used the special powers of the papacy to continue ordinations in Communists countries.  The proof comes, of all places, from a recent �Novus Ordo� periodical.   (God works in mysterious ways.)  The National Catholic Reporter, February 25, 2000, gives a report by Jonathan Luxmoore about the Vatican demanding re-ordination (into the false Novus Ordo religion, of course) of secret Czech priests.  The excerpt which specifies the proof is: 

�The communist assault on religion was especially aggressive in the Czech regions of the former Czechoslovakia. Some 150 to 250 Catholic priests and a number of bishops were ordained clandestinely during 40 years of communist rule under special powers granted by Pope Pius XII.� 

National Catholic Reporter

(a  Novus Ordo weekly)

February 25, 2000

Our next argument from faith and reason is this: every Bishop can both ordain priests and consecrate Bishops.  That consecrating power is one unit of power, and it is in the priest as �potestas ligata.�  Our faith boggles at the possibility that the power to ordain priests rests in the priest as a �potestas ligata� without also the power to consecrate Bishops as a �potestas ligata.�  To postulate that proposition, one should be able to set forth at least one bishop in history who could ordain priests without being able at the same time to consecrate Bishops.  That would be so preposterous that only a fool would �believe� that such a Bishop ever existed.  

A look at Divine Providence is called for.  The Popes of history prepared the ground for Us.  They had Bishops everywhere who could do the ordinations that were done by the Abbots.  Their studies and actions were done by Divine Providence so that We, without that help, would be safe in restarting Holy Orders at this critical time in history.  The Bishops in the world today by their ignorance or malice neglected to do their duty in continuing Holy Orders in the Catholic Church.  We invited them to do so, but they all refused to cooperate.   The Cardinals of Pope Pius XII fooled the world by �electing� a Freemason to the �physical� chair of Peter.  The Bishops of the world refused to continue Holy Orders in the Church.  The devil with his earthly minions figured he had destroyed the Catholic Church once and for all.  However, God determined otherwise.  He knew from all eternity that His Church would continue to the end of time.  Fear not little flock.  God is with us. 

 
   Pius, pp. XIII 
   March 4, 2000 
 

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