roduction
Read the introductory post for this and all other "Communion in Hand" posts, in where I introduce this 13 part series.
NOTE: I am unable to post the video for this part of the 13 part series because it is only available to Premium Members subscribed to ChurchMilitant.com. To view the entire [06:54] length video click on thisPremium members link. Fortunately, ChurchMilitantTV allows the downloading of both audio and word-for-word-transcript of the video, which I have posted below. Also included are the videos clips featured in the video. I recommend reading and listening to he below if you do not wish to subscribe:
Read the introductory post for this and all other "Communion in Hand" posts, in where I introduce this 13 part series.
NOTE: I am unable to post the video for this part of the 13 part series because it is only available to Premium Members subscribed to ChurchMilitant.com. To view the entire [06:54] length video click on thisPremium members link. Fortunately, ChurchMilitantTV allows the downloading of both audio and word-for-word-transcript of the video, which I have posted below. Also included are the videos clips featured in the video. I recommend reading and listening to he below if you do not wish to subscribe:
Audio File (click below to play)
Transcript
Hello Everyone. Welcome to Sleight of Hand Reception Deception. I'm your host, Michael Voris.
The American bishops today are called theUnited States Conference Catholic of Bishops or USCCB. Before 2001 their group went under the collective title of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops or NCCB for short. We are going to be using the term NCCB a lot in this show. We want you to know that it is the old name for the USCCB.
The theme of our show, sleight of hand or a deception, alludes to the fact that certain leaders, running the NCCB in the 1970's, used deceptive tactics at their 1977 meeting in Chicago. This deception would exploit a very narrow exception granted by Pope Paul to a small number of European countries to distribute Holy Communion in the hand. That exception was never intended for the United States or any other countries.
The American Bishops were trying to get an indult (a type of written permission, an exception to the rule) from Rome which would legalize the practice of Communion in the hand in the U.S.
Up until this 1977 meeting, the law of the Church as applied in the United States said Holy Communion could only be distributed on the tongue of communicants. Why these particular bishops wanted the practice legalized, God only knows. It was not desired by the American laity nor by the majority of bishops as polls of the day show.
The small group of bishops had great influence on the actions of the NCCB and did orchestrate an ATTEMPT by the NCCB to get permission from Rome.
There are very strong reasons to believe that the NCCB, at their meeting in Chicago May 3, 1977, did not meet the necessary conditions set by Rome to ask Rome for permission to distribute Holy Communion in the hand.
And this document is the smoking gun exposing the all the chicanery and behind the scenes machinations used by liberal bishops to force the issue of Communion in the hand in America.
Very few Catholics know this history. And since decades have gone by where we have been told that receiving in the hand is perfectly fine, nobody is guilty of any sin in this regard.
However, once you know something is wrong you are morally obliged to correct your actions. Now that you know reception of Holy Communion in the hand began in a climate of sin and disobedience you should cease the practice immediately.But apparently people receiving Holy Communion in the hand was not a source of great sadness for the wildly liberal bishops who ruled the church in America with an iron fist in the 1970’s and 80’s.
This is proven by the minutes of the NCCB meeting of May 3-5, 1977 which ChurchMilitant.TV has obtained. As we said, this is THE smoking gun which proves that receiving Communion in the hand in America should never have come into practice.
We obtained the minutes of this meeting from the archives at Notre Dame where they were deeply buried for decades. ChurchMilitant.TV dug and dug and uncovered this document which was never really intended to be seen by the average Catholic. It is stamped confidential as you can see.
Due to privacy issues stated by Notre Dame Archives, direct quotes can not be made but our paraphrases will follow very closely those found in the minutes. In addition we are not even allowed to show someone this document in person if they came by the studio and asked to see it. We are not allowed to show any of the content up close on air. But if you would like to verify our findings you can obtain a copy of these same minutes from Notre Dame Archives for just a $ 9 fee.
The NCCB meeting starts with the presentation of the agenda shown on page five of the minutes. This is the third year in a row the issue of Communion in the hand comes up at the NCCB meeting for the bishops to discuss, and vote on their decision whether or not to petition Rome for permission to distribute Communion in the hand.
Hello Everyone. Welcome to Sleight of Hand Reception Deception. I'm your host, Michael Voris.
The American bishops today are called theUnited States Conference Catholic of Bishops or USCCB. Before 2001 their group went under the collective title of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops or NCCB for short. We are going to be using the term NCCB a lot in this show. We want you to know that it is the old name for the USCCB.
The theme of our show, sleight of hand or a deception, alludes to the fact that certain leaders, running the NCCB in the 1970's, used deceptive tactics at their 1977 meeting in Chicago. This deception would exploit a very narrow exception granted by Pope Paul to a small number of European countries to distribute Holy Communion in the hand. That exception was never intended for the United States or any other countries.
The American Bishops were trying to get an indult (a type of written permission, an exception to the rule) from Rome which would legalize the practice of Communion in the hand in the U.S.
Up until this 1977 meeting, the law of the Church as applied in the United States said Holy Communion could only be distributed on the tongue of communicants. Why these particular bishops wanted the practice legalized, God only knows. It was not desired by the American laity nor by the majority of bishops as polls of the day show.
The small group of bishops had great influence on the actions of the NCCB and did orchestrate an ATTEMPT by the NCCB to get permission from Rome.
There are very strong reasons to believe that the NCCB, at their meeting in Chicago May 3, 1977, did not meet the necessary conditions set by Rome to ask Rome for permission to distribute Holy Communion in the hand.
And this document is the smoking gun exposing the all the chicanery and behind the scenes machinations used by liberal bishops to force the issue of Communion in the hand in America.
Very few Catholics know this history. And since decades have gone by where we have been told that receiving in the hand is perfectly fine, nobody is guilty of any sin in this regard.
However, once you know something is wrong you are morally obliged to correct your actions. Now that you know reception of Holy Communion in the hand began in a climate of sin and disobedience you should cease the practice immediately.But apparently people receiving Holy Communion in the hand was not a source of great sadness for the wildly liberal bishops who ruled the church in America with an iron fist in the 1970’s and 80’s.
This is proven by the minutes of the NCCB meeting of May 3-5, 1977 which ChurchMilitant.TV has obtained. As we said, this is THE smoking gun which proves that receiving Communion in the hand in America should never have come into practice.
We obtained the minutes of this meeting from the archives at Notre Dame where they were deeply buried for decades. ChurchMilitant.TV dug and dug and uncovered this document which was never really intended to be seen by the average Catholic. It is stamped confidential as you can see.
Due to privacy issues stated by Notre Dame Archives, direct quotes can not be made but our paraphrases will follow very closely those found in the minutes. In addition we are not even allowed to show someone this document in person if they came by the studio and asked to see it. We are not allowed to show any of the content up close on air. But if you would like to verify our findings you can obtain a copy of these same minutes from Notre Dame Archives for just a $ 9 fee.
The NCCB meeting starts with the presentation of the agenda shown on page five of the minutes. This is the third year in a row the issue of Communion in the hand comes up at the NCCB meeting for the bishops to discuss, and vote on their decision whether or not to petition Rome for permission to distribute Communion in the hand.
Bishop Romeo Blanchette
On page five and six, the minutes show that Bishop Romeo Blanchette from Joliet Illinois tried to stop Communion in the hand from being on the agenda by acting quickly at the start of the meeting with five other bishops. He wrote up a proposed amendment and gave it to his fellow bishops.
He was asking for a written vote by his fellow bishops if Communion in the hand was a prevailing custom in America. This was one of the preconditions necessary for any nations bishops to ask for an exception.
Bishop Blanchette made the motion that this all be done by written ballot.
The Chairman said that would be done as there were five bishops who had seconded Blanchette’s motion. You will understand why Bishop Blanchette wanted everything in writing.
He’d done his homework. He knew Rome required that Communion in the hand must already be a prevailing custom as a condition before Rome would even consider granting permission.
As it was not a prevailing custom at that time in the U.S., and Blanchette had covered all legal bases at the meeting, then this should have been the end of the discussion.
He was asking for a written vote by his fellow bishops if Communion in the hand was a prevailing custom in America. This was one of the preconditions necessary for any nations bishops to ask for an exception.
Bishop Blanchette made the motion that this all be done by written ballot.
The Chairman said that would be done as there were five bishops who had seconded Blanchette’s motion. You will understand why Bishop Blanchette wanted everything in writing.
He’d done his homework. He knew Rome required that Communion in the hand must already be a prevailing custom as a condition before Rome would even consider granting permission.
As it was not a prevailing custom at that time in the U.S., and Blanchette had covered all legal bases at the meeting, then this should have been the end of the discussion.
Bishop William McManus
But now watch the Bernadine Machine roll over him and his motion effortlessly.
As documented on page six of the minutes, Bishop William McManus of Fort Wayne - South Bend stood up and questioned whether Blanchette's motion was in order and if it was ruled in order, how could that ruling be overruled. And who did he ask? Non other than Archbishop Joseph Bernadine who was conveniently the chairman.
Archbishop Bernadine ruled the motion to be in order. But he quickly went on to explain how the assembled bishops could overrule him and thus prevent Blanchette’s motion from being voted on. In other words he coached the supporters of Holy Communion in the hand how to use a parliamentary procedure to vote down opposition.
As documented on page six of the minutes, Bishop William McManus of Fort Wayne - South Bend stood up and questioned whether Blanchette's motion was in order and if it was ruled in order, how could that ruling be overruled. And who did he ask? Non other than Archbishop Joseph Bernadine who was conveniently the chairman.
Archbishop Bernadine ruled the motion to be in order. But he quickly went on to explain how the assembled bishops could overrule him and thus prevent Blanchette’s motion from being voted on. In other words he coached the supporters of Holy Communion in the hand how to use a parliamentary procedure to vote down opposition.
Archbishop Joseph Bernadine
They followed his not so subtle cues and lead and with a voice vote, voted it down.
What this did, was clear the decks to petition Rome for permission to begin distributing Holy Communion in the hand in the United States by use of a clever trick to keep Rome from knowing that one of its requirements to make the request in the first place had not been fulfilled.
This is just one example of what people meant by the 'Bernadine Machine' and what Argentinian Bishop Rodolofo Laise meant by 'pressure mechanisms, which operate inside the Church'.
And you can also see why Bishop Blanchette did his homework and came prepared for battle. He knew he was up against the whole Bernadine Machine but he still lost.
Page thirty-one of the minutes pertains to the next day. They show Cardinal John Carberry of St. Louis standing up and saying that Rome had ordered in 1969 that Communion on the tongue be maintained and not changed.
What this did, was clear the decks to petition Rome for permission to begin distributing Holy Communion in the hand in the United States by use of a clever trick to keep Rome from knowing that one of its requirements to make the request in the first place had not been fulfilled.
This is just one example of what people meant by the 'Bernadine Machine' and what Argentinian Bishop Rodolofo Laise meant by 'pressure mechanisms, which operate inside the Church'.
And you can also see why Bishop Blanchette did his homework and came prepared for battle. He knew he was up against the whole Bernadine Machine but he still lost.
Page thirty-one of the minutes pertains to the next day. They show Cardinal John Carberry of St. Louis standing up and saying that Rome had ordered in 1969 that Communion on the tongue be maintained and not changed.
Cardinal John Carberry
He also brought up a picture in L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican’s newspaper, which people said was the Pope giving Communion in the hand but was really him just giving a rosary. We note that such false media reporting still goes on today. He went on in the minutes to say that with Communion in the hand there was great danger of irreverence.
More importantly, page thirty one of the minutes goes on to show that Cardinal John Carberry is on record saying there is an extraordinary amount of mail received by the bishops from people opposed to the introduction of Communion in the hand.
He said straight out there was no mandate from the laity for this practice. So... how is it a prevailing custom?
This is hard proof Communion in the hand was not a prevailing custom in the U.S as required by Rome in order to obtain the necessary permission.
More importantly, page thirty one of the minutes goes on to show that Cardinal John Carberry is on record saying there is an extraordinary amount of mail received by the bishops from people opposed to the introduction of Communion in the hand.
He said straight out there was no mandate from the laity for this practice. So... how is it a prevailing custom?
This is hard proof Communion in the hand was not a prevailing custom in the U.S as required by Rome in order to obtain the necessary permission.
Cardinal Krol
Finally on page thirty-three of the minutes it is revealed that Cardinal Krol of Philadelphia stood up and protested the previous day’s parliamentary maneuvering to side step the Vatican’s rules. According to the minutes, he was deeply concerned that a new approach was beginning whereby bishops could institutionalize abuse.
But most importantly page thirty-three of the minutes reveal that then Archbishop Bernadine admitted that he DID NOT get the two-thirds vote required by the Vatican to petition Rome to be able to distribute Communion in the hand.
But does that stop the Bernadine Machine? Heck No! Bernadine simply said the matter could not be concluded until the absent bishops were polled.
WHAT?? Polling absent bishops who were not part of the discussion? Who were they? Who would poll them? How would the questions to them be phrased? Who would count the votes?
According to canon law the vote must be done by a secret ballot for validity.
As to the alleged private balloting conducted by Bernadine after the meeting of bishops who were not at the meeting, many canon lawyers agree that this type of activity doesn't pass muster when in regards to canon law.
So, what did Bernadine do? As chairman, he coached allied bishops how to kill a motion that would have prevented the vote from happening.
That cleared the way for the vote to happen. Failing the required two-thirds majority, that he knew he was not going to get, he pulled out his trump card and purported to have gotten the necessary votes to reach a two-thirds majority. In other words he stuffed the ballot box.
And these extra votes that supposedly came in, according to Fr. John Hardon, were gotten from retired bishops and bishops on their death beds. And remember these bishops were not at the meeting and were not part of the discussion. They didn’t have the option as required by canon law to cast their votes in secret.
Bernadine and his crony bishops sent their trumped up request to Rome and without realizing it was bogus, Rome granted permission. In short, Bernadine, with the help of other liberal bishops steam rolled through the process and imposed Holy Communion in the hand on the Church in the United States.
But most importantly page thirty-three of the minutes reveal that then Archbishop Bernadine admitted that he DID NOT get the two-thirds vote required by the Vatican to petition Rome to be able to distribute Communion in the hand.
But does that stop the Bernadine Machine? Heck No! Bernadine simply said the matter could not be concluded until the absent bishops were polled.
WHAT?? Polling absent bishops who were not part of the discussion? Who were they? Who would poll them? How would the questions to them be phrased? Who would count the votes?
According to canon law the vote must be done by a secret ballot for validity.
As to the alleged private balloting conducted by Bernadine after the meeting of bishops who were not at the meeting, many canon lawyers agree that this type of activity doesn't pass muster when in regards to canon law.
So, what did Bernadine do? As chairman, he coached allied bishops how to kill a motion that would have prevented the vote from happening.
That cleared the way for the vote to happen. Failing the required two-thirds majority, that he knew he was not going to get, he pulled out his trump card and purported to have gotten the necessary votes to reach a two-thirds majority. In other words he stuffed the ballot box.
And these extra votes that supposedly came in, according to Fr. John Hardon, were gotten from retired bishops and bishops on their death beds. And remember these bishops were not at the meeting and were not part of the discussion. They didn’t have the option as required by canon law to cast their votes in secret.
Bernadine and his crony bishops sent their trumped up request to Rome and without realizing it was bogus, Rome granted permission. In short, Bernadine, with the help of other liberal bishops steam rolled through the process and imposed Holy Communion in the hand on the Church in the United States.
Fr. John Hardon
And here is how this happened. A very narrow exception was granted by Rome if certain conditions were met. Here is the official wording that Rome required.
“Where contrary usage, that of placing holy Communion in the hand, ALREADY prevails... in THESE SPECIFIC CASES, the Episcopal Conferences after a prudent study... the decisions are to be made by a two-thirds majority and by a secret vote. They should present them to the Holy See for the necessary confirmation, accompanied by a careful explanation of the reasons by which they were led to making them. The Holy See will examine each case carefully....”Consider these three points for 1969.
So if that was the case in 1969, how was it that within a few years, the practice had become so wide spread in the United States?
One answer to that question comes from the insights of an Argentinean bishop Rodolpho Laise who fought this same battle with his fellow bishops in 1996. He spoke of what he called “pressure mechanisms that operate inside the Church which are capable of reversing papal decisions.”
This should not come as a surprise. An example of this tactic was presented in the novel and movie Man For All Seasons about St. Thomas More.
Now by way of just a little background detail…
In the mid 1970's one such “pressure mechanism” involving the Church in the United States was commonly called the “Bernadine Machine” named after Cardinal Bernadine who was president of the NCCB from 1974 to 1977.
During his tenure the decision to petition Rome for permission to distribute Communion in the hand was brought up and voted down each of these three years at their annual NCCB meeting including the third year that is the year these minutes are from.
Undeterred, Bernadine used devious tactics to railroad the process.
All of this raises the very troubling question that every Sunday millions of American Catholics go to mass and receive Holy Communion in their hands based on a lie.
As a final exclamation point to all this chicanery here is what you would have to believe. The meeting ended May 5th. Within a span of a little over a month Bernadine supposedly conducted all his illegal balloting at the death beds of dying bishops, got enough votes from them to tip the scales in his favor, collated all the non secret illegal ballots, prepared all the documentation, send it off to the Vatican, have it undergo all the necessary examinations and reviews through the various channels as required, have a final verdict rendered in Rome and then wait to receive that verdict all in the space of slightly over a month. All by June 17th, 1977, which is when, Communion in the hand officially came out of the closet in the U.S.
God love you,
I’m Michael Voris
Note: If you would like to obtain your own copy of the NCCB minutes mentioned in this segment email archives@nd.edu and request a copy of: Minutes of the Nineteenth General Meeting of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops May 3-5, 1977. In short they will email you a link and a order code to use to make the purchase. Or, go tohttp://archives.nd.edu/order.html , enter order code; jrs/NCCB and total cost enter $9, and the click the I agree button.
“Where contrary usage, that of placing holy Communion in the hand, ALREADY prevails... in THESE SPECIFIC CASES, the Episcopal Conferences after a prudent study... the decisions are to be made by a two-thirds majority and by a secret vote. They should present them to the Holy See for the necessary confirmation, accompanied by a careful explanation of the reasons by which they were led to making them. The Holy See will examine each case carefully....”Consider these three points for 1969.
- One. Polls show almost no one wanted communion in the hand.
- Two. No one was doing it.
- Three. The Vatican had just issued a document that year saying don’t do it.
So if that was the case in 1969, how was it that within a few years, the practice had become so wide spread in the United States?
One answer to that question comes from the insights of an Argentinean bishop Rodolpho Laise who fought this same battle with his fellow bishops in 1996. He spoke of what he called “pressure mechanisms that operate inside the Church which are capable of reversing papal decisions.”
This should not come as a surprise. An example of this tactic was presented in the novel and movie Man For All Seasons about St. Thomas More.
Now by way of just a little background detail…
In the mid 1970's one such “pressure mechanism” involving the Church in the United States was commonly called the “Bernadine Machine” named after Cardinal Bernadine who was president of the NCCB from 1974 to 1977.
During his tenure the decision to petition Rome for permission to distribute Communion in the hand was brought up and voted down each of these three years at their annual NCCB meeting including the third year that is the year these minutes are from.
Undeterred, Bernadine used devious tactics to railroad the process.
All of this raises the very troubling question that every Sunday millions of American Catholics go to mass and receive Holy Communion in their hands based on a lie.
As a final exclamation point to all this chicanery here is what you would have to believe. The meeting ended May 5th. Within a span of a little over a month Bernadine supposedly conducted all his illegal balloting at the death beds of dying bishops, got enough votes from them to tip the scales in his favor, collated all the non secret illegal ballots, prepared all the documentation, send it off to the Vatican, have it undergo all the necessary examinations and reviews through the various channels as required, have a final verdict rendered in Rome and then wait to receive that verdict all in the space of slightly over a month. All by June 17th, 1977, which is when, Communion in the hand officially came out of the closet in the U.S.
God love you,
I’m Michael Voris
Note: If you would like to obtain your own copy of the NCCB minutes mentioned in this segment email archives@nd.edu and request a copy of: Minutes of the Nineteenth General Meeting of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops May 3-5, 1977. In short they will email you a link and a order code to use to make the purchase. Or, go tohttp://archives.nd.edu/order.html , enter order code; jrs/NCCB and total cost enter $9, and the click the I agree button.
Other Segments of "Communion in Hand":
Segment Video Trailer
- Don't Blame Vatican II (When did the Church begin allowing Our Lord to be received in the hand of lay people?)
- Papal Preference: Pt. 1 (What does Pope Francis and previous Popes prefer?)
- Papal Preference: Pt. 2 (Was this Peter's Idea?)
- Mysterium Fedei (The document Mysterium Fidei, an Apostolic Exhortation, is of great importance.)
- Where Faith Goes Actions Soon Follow (What knock-on effect happens when we receive in the hand? And is this a good thing?)
- Communion in the Hand Begins: Pt. 1 (Learn the history behind this practice.)
- Communion in the Hand Begins: Pt. 2_ (Learn the history behind this practice.)
- Memoriale Domini: Pt. 1 (How did Pope Paul VI try to stop communion in the hand?)
- Memoriale Domini: Pt. 2_ (How did Pope Paul VI try to stop communion in the hand?)
- Conditions for Permission (If communion in the hand is allowed, when is it allowed?)
- Every Particle is Precious (Every particle is Christ and needs to be protected against profanation)
- Bishop Athanasius Schneider (A true champion of Eucharistic reverence!)
Segment Video Trailer
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