Open Letters

NOTE: The Open Letters published on this page represent a corporate opinion of the board members of Ss. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Mission. The letters submitted to our local bishop and to Rome were reviewed before publication by at least two traditional Catholic priests from a group of priests who support the work of the Mission. This group includes a former professor of Thomistic philosophy from a major Catholic university, a canon lawyer, and a priest holding advanced degrees in engineering, philosophy and business.

The Right of the Faithful to Appeal Directly to the Judgment of the Pope

The holy Roman Church holds the highest and complete primacy and spiritual power over the universal Catholic Church which she truly and humbly recognizes herself to have received with fullness of power from the Lord Himself in Blessed Peter, the chief or head of the Apostles whose successor is the Roman Pontiff.  And just as to defend the truth of Faith she is held before all other things, so if any questions shall arise regarding faith they ought to be defined by her judgment.  And to her anyone burdened with affairs pertaining to the ecclesiastical world can appeal; and in all cases looking forward to an ecclesiastical examination, recourse can be had to her judgment.

Second Council of Lyons, Denz. 466

And since the Roman Pontiff is at the head of the universal Church by the divine right of apostolic primacy, We teach and declare also that he is the supreme judge of the faithful, and that in all cases pertaining to ecclesiastical examination recourse can be had to his judgment.

First Vatican Council, Denz. 1830

This letter to Bishop Joseph P. McFadden is in reply to his letter of August 31, 2001. Once again the petitions of Ss. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Mission and our appeal to the formal judgment of Pope Benedict XVI regarding our doctrinal, liturgical, and moral positions are placed before him as a solemn obligation of his office. He is reminded again that the accusation of “schism” in the face of the denial of a canonical process is nothing more than the sin of calumny.

Letter to Bishop Joseph P. McFadden – September 3, 2011

This letter from Bishop Joseph P. McFadden is a defense of his unnamed “diocesan officials” who in a published York Daily Record article on July 29, 2011 described Ss. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Mission as “schismatic.” Bishop McFadden again begs the questions placed before him as our bishop, which he as a matter of duty must address, and appeals once again to the only argument used by Church functionaries against traditional Catholics over the last forty years, that is, the argument of authority and the necessity of the absolute, unqualified and unquestioned obedience that is due to him.

Letter from Bishop Joseph P. McFadden – August 31, 2011

This letter to Bishop McFadden addresses comments made by “diocesan officials” published in the York Daily Record on July 29, 2011 describing Ss. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Mission as “schismatic.” The calumny is denied and Bishop McFadden is asked to produce evidence for the claim in a formal canonical inquiry or, lacking that, offer a public apology.

Letter to Bishop Joseph P. McFadden – August 17, 2011

Our Letter sent to Bishop Joseph Patrick McFadden, Bishop of Harrisburg, on August 18, 2010, received no reply. This letter addresses Ss. Peter & Paul’s response to the publication by the PECD of Universae Ecclesiae, the instruction for Pope Benedict’s Motu Proprio, Summoum Pontificum which was published July 7, 2007. Once again a direct appeal is made through our local ordinary, as a matter of grave obligation of duty, to obtain for us an authoritative judgment from the Chair of St. Peter on the liturgical, doctrinal, moral and canonical claims of our Mission.

Letter to Bishop Joseph P. McFadden – July 29, 2011

Letter to E. Michael Jones, editor of Culture War Magazine, in reply to his September 2010 feature article, Traditionalism at the End of its Tether, in which he erroneously equates traditional Catholicism with the doctrinal and liturgical positions of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX). An edited version of this Open Letter was published in the November 2010 edition of Culture Wars Magazine. This unedited version is offered to further clarify the position of Ss. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Mission.

Letter to E. Michael Jones, Ph.D., editor of Culture Wars Magazine – September 15, 2010

Letter to Bishop Joseph Patrick McFadden, the new bishop of the Diocese of Harrisburg, making known to him our matters of conscience in regard to questions of Catholic doctrine and liturgical practice, asking for his help in obtaining a formal judgment from the Church on these matters.

Letter to Bishop Joseph P. McFadden – August 18, 2010

Letter to Mr. Michael Matt, editor of The Remnant, in defense of Ss. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Mission against remarks made by Mr. Matt published in The Remnant. The letter provides to Mr. Matt an essential definition of just what a Traditional Catholic is and addresses The Remnant’s editorial policy regarding the “reform of the reform” and the traditional Roman rite.

Letter to Mr. Michael Matt, editor of The Remnant – October 2, 2008

Letter to Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, in reply to his letter of December 15, 2007, once again requesting from him that he fulfill the obligations of his office as our local ordinary and render a formal judgment regarding the claims of Ss. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Mission - that we possess, by virtue of our baptism as Catholics, the inviolable right to the ecclesiastical traditions of the Roman Rite, particularly the right to the “received and approved” traditional Roman Rite of the Mass.

Letter to Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades – January 2, 2008

Letter from Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades in response to seeing a copy of the letter sent to Mr. Robert Charlton

Letter from Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades – December 15, 2007

Letter sent to Mr. Robert Charlton, the coordinator for the indult community in Harrisburg, PA, in reply to his letter informing the members of Ss. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Mission of Bishop Rhoades’ establishing the Mater Dei Community, a parish for indult Catholics in the Diocese of Harrisburg.

Letter to Mr. Robert Charlton – November 25, 2007

Letter to Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades, July 31, 2007, in response both to the publication of the news article, Bishop hopes decree heals rift, in the York Daily Record July 26, 2007, in which the members of Ss. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Mission are referred to as being “schismatic,” and to the publication of the Motu Proprio of Pope Benedict XVI, Summorum Pontificum, which confirmed the correctness of our claim in everyone of the open letters that the traditional rite of the Mass is not illegal.

Letter to Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades – July 31, 2007

Reply from Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades to the letter dated December 20, 2006

Reply from Bishop Rhoades - December 27, 2006

Letter to Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades on December 20, 2006 requesting the sacrament of Confirmation in the traditional Roman Rite for the children of Ss. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Mission.

Letter to Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades – December 20, 2006

Letter to Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades in response to his November 18th letter.

Reply to Bishop Rhoades - December 19, 2005

Reply from Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades to the letter dated October 31, 2005

Reply from Bishop Rhoades - November 18, 2005

Letter to Bishop Kevin Rhoades clarifying our position and concerns of conscience.

Letter to Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades - October 31, 2005

Letter to Bishop-elect Kevin C Rhoades dated October 17, 2004, informing him of Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Mission and its purpose.

Letter to Bishop-elect Kevin C. Rhoades - October 17, 2004

Letter written to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in response to the March 12, 2004 letter from Msgr. Perl, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission of Ecclesia Dei, as a second appeal for a formal opinion regarding the charge of doctrinal errors by the members of SS. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Mission.

Second Letter to Cardinal Ratzinger - March 24, 2004

Letter from Rev. Msgr. Camille Perl, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission of Ecclesia Dei, to D. M. Drew and Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Mission in response to the February 7, 2004 letter to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

Msgr. Perl Letter - March 12, 2004

Letter to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, regarding the charges of heresy and schism made by Fr. William J. King and Bishop Dattilo.

Letter to Cardinal Ratzinger - February 7, 2004

Comments on the Court Pharisee, a response to the February 3, 2004 letter of Rev. William King.

Comments on the Court Pharisee - February 3, 2004

Personal Letter of Fr. William J. King to D. M. Drew February 3, 2004

Letter to D. M. Drew - February 3, 2004

Comments on a Canon Liar, a response to the publication of Rev. King.

Comments on a Canon Liar - January 2004

Letter to Bishop Dattilo, 1-12-04, offering him the opportunity to consecrate Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Chapel. Since Bishop Dattilo refused this invitation, the Chapel was exorcised, blessed and dedicated to the restoration and preservation of the Ecclesiastical Traditions of the Roman Rite by a Catholic priest.

Letter to Bishop Dattilo - January 12, 2004

Publication of Rev. William King in the diocesan newspaper, The Catholic Witness, and re-printed in many parish bulletins, charging Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Mission members as being heretics and schismatics, and claiming that the traditional Roman Rite, to be “legitimate or truly Catholic” must have “the required permission of the diocesan bishop.” January 9, 2004

Publication of Reverend King - January 9, 2004

Letter to Tracey Trott to answer the claims made by Rev. King's warning to her that the members of Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Mission were in schism and that attendance at the Masses did not fulfill the Sunday obligation. Our letter to Tracey Trott was to correct the statements made by Fr. William King.

Letter to Tracey Trott - July 10, 2003

Letter from Rev. William J. King, JCD, the judicial vicar for the Diocese of Harrisburg, was faxed to Tracey Trott in response to her inquiry regarding her son attending Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Mission.

Reverend William J. King Letter - June 16, 2003

Reply to a Conservative Canon Lawyer, A Defense of a Catholic’s Right to the Ecclesiastical Traditions of the Roman Rite. This is a reply to the arguments of Rev. John Huels, OSM, JCD that the traditional Roman Rite was illegal. This paper was written in November 2001. The arguments in this paper were submitted to Bishop Dattilo by Msgr. Mercurio Fregapane who requested a formal opinion of the Bishop regarding the doctrinal correctness of the paper. For this, Msgr. Fregapane was summarily retired. No response was ever made by Bishop Dattilo. Fr. John Huels was subsequently exposed as a homosexual predator and left the priesthood and his teaching position as assistant dean for canon law at St. Paul University in Ottawa.

Reply to a Conservative Canon Lawyer - 2001

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