Pete Vere: February 2008 Archives

This is just going to be rambles. I loved the man as much as I loved Pope John Paul II.

Fr. Arnaud Devillers alerted me this morning that Dom Gerard Calvet, the former abbot of Le Barroux, passed away yesterday. For those who are traditionalist in communion with Rome, Dom Gerard became our spiritual leader after the split with Archbishop Lefebvre in 1988. As founder of the traditionalist movement's Benedictine branch, Dom Calvet had been a close collaborator with Lefebvre up until the split, and always hoped and prayer that Lefebvre would die reconciled with Rome.

His book Demain la Chretiente was a blue-print for the traditionalist movement. And it was an honour to assist on the English translation. Most importantly, Calvet was a man of deep prayer.

Calvet was also a pro-life example. He was the source of riots in France after spending Christmas in jail one year, because he and his monks had walked into the local abortuary one morning and, with reinforced chains, chained themselves to the machine. It took firemen and police something like twelve hours to unchain them.

May Father Abbot's soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Actually, Rich, an excommunication can be administered in two ways:

- as a penalty after a judicial trial (ferendae sententiae)
- declared if incurred automatically by the individual's action (latae sententiae) if he or she violates a law that carries with it the penalty of excommunication.

Schism is one such action. Schism is failure to subject oneself to the Roman Pontiff, or to act in communion with those in communion with the Roman Pontiff. In this case, the bishop is stating that the mystic refuses to subject herself to him - he being the lawful bishop in communion with the Roman Pontiff. This carries an automatic excommunication for schism when the refusal is obstinate and on-going.

For more explanation on this topic, see my article published last summer in This Rock Magazine, "Strong Medicine: Canon Law and Excommunication". Or better yet (shameless plug alert) check out a copy of my new book with Michael Trueman, just recently released, Surprised by Canon Law, Volume 2.