army of mary

The Roman Catholic Church here announced Thursday it has excommunicated members of a Canadian group called the Army of Mary, led by an 86-year-old who claims to be a reincarnation of Jesus' mother.

The movement has been at odds with the Vatican for more than two decades, and at one time counted some 20,000 members, though the current number is believed to be much lower, according to Canadian media reports.

The excommunications apply to anyone from the group, also known as the "Lady of All Nations," who took part in a June 3 mass ordination ceremony despite strong warnings from the church officials forbidding them from doing so.

"Despite repeated warnings by the Bishops of Canada ... members of the Army of Mary earlier this year participated in ordinations forbidden by and not recognized by the Catholic Church," the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops said in a statement.

"The doctrine promoted by the movement ... is heretical," the Catholic church declared.

"Whoever knowingly and deliberately embraces this doctrine incurs an excommunication latea sententiae due to heresy."

Among the group's beliefs is the notion that rather than a holy trinity of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit there is a "quinternity," which includes Mary mother of Jesus and her divine incarnation on earth, Marie-Paule Giguere.

The list of those now forever barred from the church include Father Jean-Pierre Mastropietro, for having performed the ceremony, and several other individuals claiming to have been ordained by him as deacons and priests.

According to Roman Catholic canon law, only bishops may ordain priests.
tment.

Most lawmakers said she had eased earlier concerns about her qualifications. President Bush first installed Myers, a Johnson County native, nearly two years ago, while the Senate was in recess, after it became clear that she might not win confirmation. The only dissent came from Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, who said that Myers had not shown enough interest in tracking how many employers are prosecuted for hiring illegal immigrants.

Pacifier taped on baby

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. | A day-care center in this east Tennessee town was closed Wednesday after state inspectors found an infant with a pacifier taped into his mouth. Tennessee Department of Human Services workers went to the Noah's Ark Nursery and Preschool on Tuesday in response to an anonymous complaint.

SSix sisters from the Monastery of Our Lady of Charity and Refuge in Hot Springs were excommunicated by the Catholic Church for their involvement in a schismatic association based in Quebec, Canada.


It is believed to be the first time anyone in the Diocese of Little Rock has been formally excommunicated.


The excommunicated sisters are Mary Gerard Lalancette, Mary Thomas O'Keefe, Marietta Fecteau, Mary Anne Lalancette, Mary Theresa Dionne and Theresa Marie Lalancette.


The women have been long-time members of the Community of the Lady of All Nations, also known as the Army of Mary. On their own, the six sisters decided to join the association between 20 and 30 years ago and adopt the teachings of its founder, Marie-Paul Giguere, who believes she is the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary.


The association is no longer considered a Catholic organization because of its false teachings on the Trinity and Mary, a Vatican official said.


"The Army of Mary has clearly and publicly become a schismatic community and, as such, a non-Catholic association. Its particular teachings are false and its activities are not able to be frequented nor supported by Catholics," according to a formal declaration written July 11 by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.


The congregation released the declaration Sept. 12 and Msgr. J. Gaston Hebert, diocesan administrator, learned of the decision on Sept. 17.


On Sept. 18 Msgr. Hebert personally visited with the sisters and their chaplain, Father Erik Pohlmeier, also pastor of St. John and St. Mary churches in Hot Springs. After reading the declaration, Msgr. Hebert gave the eight sisters in attendance one week to prayerfully consider their decision. Msgr. Hebert said he gave them a week because he wanted the sisters to "knowingly and deliberately" make their choice between the Army of Mary and full communion with the Catholic Church.


He returned to the monastery the night of Sept. 25 and accepted the decisions of six of them to leave.


"It is a painfully historic moment in this Church," Msgr. Hebert said at a press conference Sept. 26 at St. John Center in Little Rock. "These are my friends. I have known them my whole life."


Church officials in Canada, Rome and Little Rock have talked with the association's priests, sisters and lay members for many years about their teachings, and they have failed to recant any errors. The final act happened June 3 when Father Jean-Pierre Mastropietro, an association priest, invalidly ordained six men in Canada.


Diocesan officials said Bishop J. Peter Sartain remained in dialogue with the sisters from 2001 to 2006 about their involvement in the Army of Mary, encouraging them to stop promoting the association among the laity.


Father Benedict Picard, a member of the Army of Mary, served as the order's chaplain in Hot Springs from 1998 until he returned to Canada in 2004.


"Bishop Sartain worked with Father Picard and the sisters to try to get them to disassociate with the movement," said Deacon Bo McAllister, diocesan chancellor for canonical affairs.


Three of the six sisters who chose Sept. 25 to continue their membership in the association are biological siblings. Sister Theresa Marie Lalancette, the superior, and her sisters, Mary Anne Lalancette and M. Gerard Lalancette, came to Arkansas from Quebec more than 50 years ago.


Sister Mary Thomas is director of the order's day care center and the only American-born sister to be excommunicated. She joined the order after attending St. Michael boarding school. Sisters Marietta and Mary Theresa, assistant superior, were both born in Canada.


Ten women religious are members of Our Lady of Charity and Refuge.


Sister Maria Dinh, the convent's secretary, and Sister Mary Elizabeth Dinh are originally from Vietnam and have never been associated with the Army of Mary, Msgr. Hebert said. The two sisters, who are not related, will be moving to another convent, he said.


Msgr. Hebert said the other two sisters are living in a nursing home and could not "knowingly and deliberately" choose to remain with the Army of Mary. They are Sisters Mary Olive Cote, who at around 90 years old is the order's oldest member, and Sister M. Anthony Bessette.


During the press conference, Msgr. Hebert said the sisters' decisions mean the monastery will no longer be recognized by the diocese, and laity in Garland County should not financially support the order.


"They will no longer have any sacraments. We removed (the Blessed Sacrament) from the premises last night," he said.


Although they cannot receive Communion, they are encouraged to attend Mass, he said.


Msgr. Hebert, a Hot Springs native, was the order's chaplain in 2005 and witnessed first hand some of the sisters' beliefs.


"From my childhood I have known them. They are good, good women who love God and have served the community beautifully. They have served the poor, outcasts, abused women, children who could not afford to be educated. They have done all this over the years because they love God. But somewhere along the line they fell into this Army of Mary and became entranced and deluded with this doctrine that is heretical."


Our Lady of Charity and Refuge opened in Hot Springs Sept. 27, 1908, when five French-Canadian sisters arrived at the request of Bishop John B. Morris. At one point, there were 27 sisters living at the former "mansion" on 10 acres on Malvern Avenue. Between 1910 and 1968 the order operated a girls' boarding school, trade school and laundry.


Known locally as Good Shepherd Home, the sisters operated St. Michael School for children in pre-kindergarten to sixth grade until 2001. Since the school closing, the order continues to care for infants to pre-kindergarten students. Since 2004 St. Michael Day Care Center has been certified by the Arkansas Quality Approval Certification program and received an Arkansas Better Chance grant. It is seen in the community as a quality day care, especially for low-income families.


The sisters' connection to the Hot Springs Catholic community has been strong for nearly 100 years. The Catholic community's perpetual adoration chapel and the Hot Springs Catholic Youth Center were located on the grounds. The chapel and youth center will be relocated elsewhere in the community, Msgr. Hebert said.


It was common for parishioners in Hot Springs and Hot Springs Village to raise money for the day care and assist with projects around the grounds.


The future of the order and monastery has been questioned. The order owns the property on Malvern Avenue. The order was founded based on the teachings of St. Augustine and St. John Eudes, but it is an autonomous religious order and is not connected with any other monastery outside of Arkansas.


The sisters receive financial assistance through the community and operation of the day care.


"To pay utilities, food bills and maintenance, the sisters depend on donations and bequests from former students and Hot Springs citizens as well as fundraisers sponsored by the school's support organization," according to Sept. 30, 2006, article in Arkansas Catholic.


Msgr. Hebert said he hopes all Catholics in the diocese will continue to pray for the Monastery of Our Lady of Charity and Refuge and that some day the six women will reconcile with the Catholic Church.


"Christ never turns his back on anyone and neither do we," he said.

torm over insurance

WASHINGTON | Two federal efforts aimed at lowering the cost of homeowners insurance in coastal states are heading to the House floor.

They face opposition from the White House, some sectors of the insurance industry, and lawmakers from states not prone to hurricanes. The first bill would expand the nation's flood insurance program to include wind damage. The White House signaled Wednesday its intent to veto if the windstorm insurance is included.

Nuns excommunicated

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. | Six Catholic nuns have been excommunicated for heresy after refusing to give up membership in a Canadian sect whose founder claims to be the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary,

The Diocese of Little Rock announced the action Wednesday. The Rev. J. Gaston Hebert, the diocese administrator, said he notified the nuns of the decision Tuesday night after they refused to recant the teachings of the Community of the Lady of All Nations, also known as the Army of Mary.

'Hit' plan alleged

CHICAGO | A suspended Chicago police officer accused in a corruption case considered hiring members of a street gang to kill a former colleague and potential witness against him, a federal complaint alleges. Jerome Finnigan, 44, is quoted in an FBI agent's affidavit as telling a co-defendant he was looking for someone less risky than gang members but warning that the cost would go up for "professional painters" ― code for killers.

No driving, no test

LANSING, Mich. | A federal judge on Wednesday blocked a Michigan law that requires pedestrians under age 21 to submit to a breath test without a search warrant.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which had sued on behalf of four college students, said the law is the only one of its kind in the country. The judge ruled that it was unconstitutional to force nondrivers to submit to preliminary breath tests without a warrant.

That was no bomb in bank drive-through

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. | A device strapped to a bank employee's chest during a robbery was not a bomb, police said Wednesday. They were trying to determine whether the man was a participant in the crime or a victim. On Tuesday evening, the man was in the drive-through lane of the bank where he works. The device was strapped to him with duct tape.

Bill targets inmates

WASHINGTON | State and federal prisoners would be barred from using the mail to sell personal items under a bill introduced in the House by the man who caught the Green River Killer. Rep. Dave Reichert, a Washington Republican, is a former King County sheriff who spent nearly 20 years tracking Gary Ridgway, the killer.