Feeneyism
Feeneyism is a Christian doctrine, associated with Leonard Feeney, which advocates an interpretation of the dogma extra Ecclesiam nulla salus ("outside the Church there is no salvation") which is that only Catholics can go to heaven and that only those baptised with water can go to heaven. Feeneyism opposes the doctrines of baptism of desire and baptism of blood as well as the view that non-Catholics can go to heaven.
Feeneyism is considered a heresy by the Catholic Church; some Catholics refer to Feeneyism as the Boston heresy.
Leonard Feeney
Feeney was a Roman Catholic priest and a member of the
Feeney co-founded the group known as the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary with Catherine Goddard Clarke.[citation needed]
Feeney reconciled with the Catholic Church in 1972 without any recantation from his part.[3][2]
Doctrine
The doctrine of Feeneyism is associated with the position of Leonard Feeney (1897–1978), a
Feeneyism is considered a heresy by the Catholic Church; some Catholics refer to Feeneyism as the Boston heresy.[4][5][6]
Feeney rejected what was the definition of the Catholic Church of baptism of desire at the time, i.e. the idea that people who openly affiliated with the Catholic Church as well as those spiritually linked to the Catholic Church through an implicit desire could be saved.[5][6]
Condemnation of Feeneyism
In a 1949 letter to
The same in its own degree must be asserted of the Church, in as far as She is the general help to
, Vol. 35, an. 1943, p. 193 ff.). For in this letter the Sovereign Pontiff clearly distinguishes between those who are actually incorporated into the Church as members, and those who are united to the Church only by desire.— Letter of the Holy Office
This letter is referenced in a footnote of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in its section "Outside the Church there is no salvation", paragraph 847,[10] as well as in a footnote in Lumen gentium.[11]
Feeneyite groups
- Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary located in Richmond, New Hampshire
- Most Holy Family Monastery
See also
References
- ^ The Holy See. "ACTA APOSTOLICAE SEDIS COMMENTARIUM OFFICIALE ANNUS XXXX V - SERIES II - VOL. XX" (PDF). vatican.va.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-26.
- ISBN 9781931709262.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8146-3188-1.
- ^ JSTOR 44195416.
- ^ JSTOR 25164314.
- ^ "Why is the Vatican taking action against the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary?". Catholic Herald. 2019-01-17. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
- ^ "Letter of the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office". August 8, 1949. Archived from the original on March 11, 2000.
- ^ "Archbishop Richard J. Cushing". 2019-04-03. Archived from the original on 2019-04-03. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
- ISBN 978-0-89870-451-8.
- ^ "Library : Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus: Father Feeney Makes a Comeback". www.catholicculture.org. Retrieved 2021-12-27.
Further reading
- Pepper, George B. (1988). The Boston Heresy Case in View of the Secularization of Religion: A Case Study in the Sociology of Religion. ISBN 978-0-88946-856-6.