08-13-02

 I have decided to write some more about Stephen Hand, and the 
Wanderer, and I may even comment about the current debate between
Robert Sungenis and James Likoudis, but for now I want to comment on
an article Hand wrote and posted earlier this month entitled, "When
the Pope's Friends Walk Away." I found the article to be typical Hand.

Here it is:

When The Pope's Friends Walk Away 
By Stephen Hand, 
editor TCRNews.com 

 A number of disturbing reports are heard lately that some of the Holy
Father's former friends are in danger of collapsing in the storms;
collapsing into the chaos of selective obedience, into the dangers of
private judgment's non sequiturs. Michael Rose is trucking with pope-
bashers and marketing his books through them, Robert Sungenis is
rashly attacking the Pope on Assisi, Patrick Madrid is selling his
books at a notorious pope-trashing website and giving "exclusive" 
excerpts to that site which also peddles the works of the worst
schismatics who publicly call for an official "suspension of
obedience" to the "Popes of Vatican II," and who gleefully and 
absurdly predict that JPII will be deposed for heresies. A group
called "Roman Catholic Faithful" is openly publishing the works of
these men too. Gerry Matatics, of course, has long shown aggressive
solidarity with all these. 

 COMMENT: Notice all the accusations without any substantiation?
For instance: "Michael Rose is trucking with pope-bashers and selling
his books through them". Well, I seem to recall that Hand never publi-
cly asked Michael Matt of The Remnant to remove 2 books he had written
before he went "conservative", they were still available from The
Remnant for several months afterwards. I also recall that Hand has
not publicly broken with The Wanderer, although this same "conserva-
tive Catholic" newspaper, which spent pages and pages back in 2000
condemning The Remnant and other "traditionalists", including an org-
anization known as ISOC for a video, "What We Have Lost". Well, in
the March and April issues of the Wanderer this year, is to be found
advertisements by the same ISOC, which the Wanderer was so desperate
to trash not 2 years ago. 
 "Robert Sungenis is rashly attacking the Pope on Assissi", gee, I
guess I forgot that the Pope is infallible in everything he says or
does, no matter what, and can never be criticized. Oh, that's right,
that's Hand's OPINION (along others of his ilk). Anyone who cares to
do just a little research can easily refute that position which has
no basis in Church teaching whatsoever. Read the Catholic Encyclopedia
article "Pope, The" for the real deal about the Pope and his powers.
Hand never linked to this article because he knows that it blows his
viewpoint straight to hell where it came from.
 I could continue on this vein, but the point had been made.


 At first one hopes there is a misunderstanding. Maybe it's just the
fact that a certain small percentage of converts or reverts will
inevitably go off the rails for a time; maybe they have not fully 
overcome their fundamentalist spirit and suspicions toward "Rome," or
their instinctive splitting into "remnants," and their 
personalistic "evangelism" wherein if they feel they are "called" to
go on the circuit preaching tour, then they infer they must be "sent"
by God, though this is contrary to all Catholic teaching, obedience
and humility.

 COMMENT: Mr. Hand seems to be quite the expert on other people. He 
speaks of converts and reverts feeling "called" and thinking they are
"sent", and how this is "contrary to all Catholic teaching, obedience
and humility." Well, Mr. Hand certainly knows all about that. Here is
a man who one day was going along, apparently living a good Catholic
life, and then BAM! the next day he wakes up and he is screaming about
"integrists" and condemning anyone who does not hold his personal
view about the Pope, citing various articles from the Catholic Encyc-
lopedia as though they were magisterial documents, while never once
producing a real magisterial document. In fact, "integrism" aka "inte-
gralism" is in fact condemned, but where is the condemnation to be
found? Ask Hand where, I bet he hasn't the slightest clue, and even
if he did, I doubt he would post it, because it is in an obscure pre-
Vatican II Papal Encyclical.
 He cites no binding Catholic teaching, he obeys no one but himself
and maybe his fellow "conservatives", and humility? I think even the
devil is flabbergasted.