His hand will be against all men, and all men's hands against him. Genesis
The Reader has been overwhelmed by e-mail inquiries about the origin of the sobriquet “One- Hand” Dan for the errant wandering bishop. We thought others might be curious as well. Accordingly, here’s the back-story in brief. It reveals quite a bit about the history behind the ugly SGG-MHT "association." It's also a good insight into the interpersonal relationships among this band of clerical brothers.
At "One-Hand's" ordination to the priesthood, Archbishop Lefebvre imposed only one hand, not both hands. Pope Pius XII had decreed, in the 1947 Apostolic Constitution Sacramentum Ordinis, that the matter of the sacrament consists in the first imposition of the bishop’s hands. In a letter dated September 21, 1990, nine priests then belonging the Society of St. Pius V, including the rector, cautioned Wee Dan as follows (emphasis in red ours):
In the course of the research which was being done in reference to ordinations and episcopal consecration, it was discovered that sacerdotal ordinations done with one hand are dubious…
Since your ordination was done with one hand, we must hold your ordination to be dubious, unless evidence can be brought forth that the one-handed ordination is certainly valid.
We therefore urge you ad cautelam to stop saying Mass, hearing confessions and administering the sacrament of Extreme Unction until this problem is resolved.
Please understand that our position in this matter is based purely on the dictates of Moral Theology, and has absolutely nothing to do with the disputes which exist between us.
Soon, in several rectories, the clergy began to use the moniker "One-Hand" Dan as an expression of derision, contempt, and disesteem. The nickname has stuck until this very day. It may all be harmless fun for some, but there do remain some serious considerations behind all the smirking ridicule and whispering.
In closing their 1990 letter, the signatories advised “One Hand” to do further research and report to them. The Blunderer did the research and issued an apologia, which is available here. While many have been satisfied with the findings, the Reader notes that there are several of the usual problems with the Blunderer’s understanding of Latin and his translations therefrom.
In a short 2005 note, one of our correspondents drew the problems to the Blunderer’s attention. As usual, the Blunderer dismissed the correction and offered a hasty and flimsy defense. His correspondent then sent a detailed, complete refutation. Given the complexity of the textual argument, Pistrina posts the full critique, “Lost in Translation,” on a separate page for anyone interested.*
Whatever your own conclusion is, it’s clear that traditional Catholics should avoid such men and the clergy who associate with them. They are definitely not “best in class.” Their influence is at an end. Their record speaks for itself. Too many doubts surround them. All that remains is for good and decent Catholics to
STARVE THE BEAST.
*Those ordained by “One Hand” might want to study the Blunderer's article carefully to determine whether his argument still holds in view of the corrected understanding of the Latin text of the constitution. If any priest is in doubt about validity, he may wish consult his conscience to decide whether or not to seek private conditional ordination from another bishop. Upcoming completers might wish to consider refusing orders from "One Hand."
You are unnecessarily scaring folks whose clergy have been ordained by Dolan. At this point, so what if Dolan's priestly ordination was invalid? He was thereafter consecrated a bishop, thereby receiving the fullness of the priesthood. Consecration as a bishop automatically confers all of the powers of the lesser office of priest. I despise Dolan as much as anyone does, but please don't throw up an alarming red flag about his ordinations unnecessarily. Things are tough enough as it is!
ReplyDeleteSeveral years ago, a traditional Catholic priest and bishop looked into the proposition whether the episcopacy's "fullness of the priesthood" would cure an invalidating defect in the conferral of priestly orders. The conclusion was in the negative: one must be a validly ordained priest before episcopal consecration can be validly conferred.
ReplyDeleteNote that we did not assert absolutely that "One-Hand" is invalid. Our point was that the Blunderer's poor scholarship did not resolve the question if anyone has any doubts.
However, if you can cite authoritative sources in support of your assertion, we would welcome them, and we promise to publish them in a special post. Please note, however, that our promise is conditioned upon the cites coming from approved Catholic authors of the pre-Vatican II era, preferably Latin authors.