On Monday, May 16, the Bishop met with the Sons of Mary to hand them a “Commitment of Fidelity to the Doctrine of the Catholic Church over Certain Points Cast into Doubt by Mr. Marc Bosquart”, which he asked them to sign within six days. Here are some excerpts from this message.
The Sons of Mary and the Army of Mary
Bishop Durocher stated that he wanted, “by means of this pastoral letter, to take stock” of the situation of the Sons of Mary about whom he says:
“I continue to find the Sons of Mary here quite sympathetic. Furthermore, I was able to see their zeal in the ministry, their love of Christ, their spirit of generosity, their intense life of prayer, their desire to collaborate with me in the service of our diocesan church.”
The Bishop explains in these words the action of the Pontifical Commissioners imposed upon the Sons of Mary:
“Most Reverend Terrence Prendergast, Archbishop of Halifax, replaced Bishop Gilles Cazabon as Apostolic Commissioner for the Sons of Mary. The Apostolic Commissioner, as the title suggests, is appointed directly by the Pope to direct the life of a group of religious. Although the Sons of Mary have not been canonically instituted as a religious community, the Holy See thought it best to use this approach to attempt to find a solution to the canonical problems and the doctrinal ambiguities concerning them.”
Bishop Durocher states that the place of the Sons of Mary in Cornwall, as he had mentioned it at the beginning of his episcopal mandate in the diocese three years earlier, “was to be taken ‘within the unity of the Catholic faith’ ”. He went on to say: “It is with regard to this unity of the faith that my concerns remain.” And he targets “the problems [!] concerning the Sons of Mary”.
“The Sons of Mary are associated with the Army of Mary, founded by Mrs. Marie-Paule Giguère and inspired from her mystical experiences. It is not up to me to make a judgment regarding the origins of these experiences, but the interpretations that were made of them and the theories extrapolated from them are sometimes more difficult to reconcile with Catholic dogma. These interpretations and theories are circulating freely within the Army of Mary through their paper “Le Royaume”. That is one of the reasons why the bishops of Canada issued a Doctrinal Note in 2001, declaring that the Army of Mary could not be considered a Catholic association....
“I hereby wish to affirm publicly my personal support for the Doctrinal Note of the Canadian bishops. I would also like to give a few examples of the doctrinal ambiguities which continue to circulate in the Army of Mary and which can be a threat to the unity of the Catholic faith. I am taking this action in the hope of furthering a process whereby the elements at stake may be clarified and the Sons of Mary fully integrated within the canonical structures and the doctrinal harmony of the Catholic Church.”
This was followed by the three-page text which Archbishop Prendergast handed to the Sons of Mary on April 8 (a text that will be repeated almost word for word in the letter that Archbishop Prendergast wrote to Marc Bosquart on May 13, 2005 [numbers 1 to 4], a letter that can also be found under the same section with Marc’s reply).
In order to clarify Marc’s writings, Bishop Durocher states that it is important that “there be a dialogue as quickly as possible between those in charge of the Army of Mary and the representatives of the Church in order to clarify the teachings and to express them in a less ambiguous manner”, unless “authorized representatives of the Army of Mary publicly speak up to undertake a critique of and set straight those statements”. Then he urged “all the members of the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall to follow the directives of the bishops of Canada in their Doctrinal Note:
“ ‘The Bishops of Canada declare, and hereby inform all the Catholic faithful, that the Army of Mary, regardless of its claims to the contrary, is not a Catholic association.... The Bishops of Canada thus invite pastors and faithful alike to a serious spiritual discernment and to preserve intact their Catholic faith.... With pastoral charity, we remind all Catholics in Canada to make the revealed Word of God and the teachings of the Church the basis for their life of faith and the central focus of their Christian spirituality.’ ”
Bishop Durocher ends his pastoral message with these words:
“I urge you to pray that the directors of the Army of Mary may soon engage in the process that will lead to the clarification of these doctrinal ambiguities and open the door to a canonical solution as far as the status of the Sons of Mary is concerned.
“I urge you also to pray for the Sons of Mary working here. May the Lord continue to bless their ministry and keep them faithful to His will while waiting for this problematic situation to be resolved in the peace and unity of the faith.”
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First group of Sons of Mary
on retreat at Spiri-Maria from January 9 to 14, 2005.
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Second group on retreat from February 6 to 11, 2005.
(Some missionnary Sons of Mary do not figure on this picture.)
– COMMITMENT OF FIDELITY TO BE SIGNED...
[text handed to the Sons of Mary working in Cornwall by
Bishop Durocher
who asked them to sign it within six days]
– REPLY OF THE SONS OF MARY
TO THE COMMITMENT OF FIDELITY TO BE SIGNED
(May 19, 2005)
– SYLVIE PAYEUR-RAYNAULD’S COMMENTS
(May 22, 2005)
HIS EXC. BISHOP PAUL-ANDRÉ DUROCHER'S PASTORAL LETTER
CONCERNING THE SONS OF MARY
(May 25, 2005)
– COMMENTS FOLLOWING THE PASTORAL LETTER
OF BISHOP PAUL-ANDRÉ DUROCHER REGARDING
THE SONS OF MARY
(June 4, 2005)
– “NON POSSUMUS!” (We Cannot!)
(Dominique Poulin, June 22, 2005)
