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Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen

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Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen
Congregatio Mariae Reginae Immaculatae
AbbreviationCMRI
Formation1967
TypeSedevacantist Catholic religious congregation
HeadquartersOmaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Superior General
Mark Pivarunas
Key people
Websitecmri.org
Our Mother of Perpetual Help Church: CMRI church in Sulphur Springs, Ohio, United States

The Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen (Latin: Congregatio Mariae Reginae Immaculatae; CMRI) is a sedevacantist traditionalist Catholic religious congregation.[1]

It is dedicated to promoting the message of Our Lady of Fátima and the devotion of the practice of Total Consecration to the Virgin Mary as taught by Saint Louis Marie de Montfort.[2]

History

Schuckardt period

Main article: Francis Schuckardt

The Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen was formed in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, United States, in 1967, by Francis Schuckardt,[1] with the assistance of Denis Chicoine. Schuckardt was a layman who gained considerable fame as a charismatic speaker for the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima and served as its International Secretary.

In 1969, with the approval of Bishop Sylvester William Treinen of the Diocese of Boise, Shuckardt formed the group into a religious congregation of sisters and brothers.

With the implementation of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, in about 1970, Schuckhardt and the CMRI came to believe that Pope Paul VI was not a valid pope (the theological position known today as sedevacantism), and therefore sought services from sympathetic Catholic priests who shared their views in this regard, among them Father Burton Fraser, S.J., a Jesuit from Colorado, United States, who became the congregation's spiritual advisor.[3] Other Catholic priests who became associated with the congregation include Father Lawrence Brey, Father George Kathrein C.Ss.R., Father Joseph Pinneau, and Rev. Clement C. Kubesh.[4]

In 1971, from 28 October to 1 November, Schuckhardt was tonsured, ordained to the four Minor Orders, ordained a subdeacon and deacon, ordained a priest, and consecrated a bishop by Bishop Daniel Q. Brown.[1] Brown was a Catholic layman who formed conclusions identical with Schuckhardt and out of desperation, had himself ordained a priest and consecrated a bishop in the Old Catholic Church, but after talking with some priests, who convinced him that he had made a great mistake, repented of his ordination and consecration from the Old Catholics and his involvement with them, renounced his ties with them, made a public abjuration and a profession of faith, went to confession,[5] and received absolution from a priest.[3] Soon after, however, Brown returned to the Old Catholic Church.[6]

In 1977, the congregation acquired the old Jesuit scholasticate Mount Saint Michael in Spokane, Washington, United States, moving there its headquarters from Idaho. Mt. St. Michael's was purchased by Pillar Investment Co.[7] Two members of Pillar Investment Co. were identified as Thomas "Tom" Drahman and Lawrence Urann[8]. Both were members of the Tridentine Latin Rite Catholic Church of Coeur d'Alene, ID. The Jesuits claimed of the shell company, "we had absolutely no idea they were anybody else than developers."

In 1984, Chicoine and other members of the CMRI expelled Schuckardt from the congregation on reports of sexual abuses done by Schuckardt.[1]

Group Names

Over the years, the group has used various names, including legal names for real estate purchased & other legal documents:

  • Fatima Crusade or Fatima Crusaders or Fatima Crusade Church
  • Oblates of Mary Immaculate Queen of the Universe
  • Tridentine Latin Rite Catholic Church
  • Christ the King Priory, Inc., an Idaho Corporation
  • Pillar Investment Co. (the legal entity used to purchase Mt. St. Michael in 1977)

Lawsuits

CMRI has been involved in numerous lawsuits beginning in the 1970s across numerous states. These lawsuits occurred both before & after the Schuckardt split. Notable cases include:

  • In 1974, two Toledo, OH brothers, Joseph A. Radecki and Henry M. Radecki, won a lawsuit[9] against the Tridentine Roman Catholics and Christ the King Priority, Inc. The lawsuit alleged that Joseph's wife Catherine and Henry's wife Emily were induced by the group and its teachings to desert and abandon their husbands. The judge awarded $48,000 to the two brothers. This judgement was overturned by the Court of Appeals of Ohio No. 7873 decided November 5, 1976. Today, Fr. Dominic Radecki and Fr. Francisco Radecki are priests and part of the core leadership of CMRI.
  • In 1976, a former member, John M. Tamplin, sued the CMRI for $14 million. Tamplin said he left his wife in 1975 to come to Coeur d'Alene "to be near Schuckardt's and Chicoine's Roman Catholic Church." The local newspaper reported that Tamplin had once parked his truck outside of Mt. St. Michael and "had signs on his truck alleging the Fatima Crusaders were a 'satanic, family-splitting cult' composed of 'vicious swindlers."
  • In 1984, Fr. Chicoine and the CMRI sued Francis Schuckardt (case no. 84-2-01445-2)[10] for church property. The CMRI was awarded $250,000
  • In 1987, the Supreme Court of Idaho heard a case involving a lawsuit of Jerry Bryant O'Neil against the Fatima Crusade Church itself for alienation of his wife's affections and for invasion of his wife's privacy.[11] Jerry O'Neil was the husband of Pauline Urban O'Neill (Bedrin)[12], who was the daughter of Alvina Urban, one of the core members of the Schuckardt group.
  • In 1995, Chicoine v. Bignall (Supreme Court of Idaho No. 21320), a case involving Bliss & Annette Bignall against Christ the King Priory, Inc.[13]
  • Numerous women have sought help from the family court system due to abuse within marriages. This abuse of husbands towards wives & children is given theological support by the CMRI priests. The priests shield abusers & side with those who support the CMRI, despite court documents that have shown abuse of the husbands.

CMRI Split & Abuse Accusations

Schuckardt split from the group on June 3, 1984. The following accusations of abuse have been made public since that time:

  • Francis Schuckardt was accused of sexually abusing young men[14]
  • Fr. Burton J. Fraser. S.J. was named publicly as accused by the Jesuits Central Province on its list December 7, 2019.[15]
  • Fr. Joseph Pineau was credibly accused of sexual misconduct in 2003.[16]
  • Sherri Schettler (daughter of Joseph Urann of Pillar Investment Co. who purchased Mt. St. Michael), a former CMRI nun, claims in a 2014 book that the Mother Superior at Mt. St. Michael boarding school at the time molested one girl (a current nun who later left) and that this was covered up by Bishop Pivarunas.[17]

Change in Positions in the Post-Schuckardt Period

A number of changes were made after 1984 after Schuckardt was removed:

  • Schuckardt had required anyone joining the CMRI from the Vatican II Church to make an abjuration of error. Bp. Sanborn has stated[18] that Bp. Schuckardt was the only sedevacantist bishop to require an abjuration of error when joining from the Vatican II Church. Today, the CMRI does not require this abjuration of error, nor does any sedevacantist bishop.
  • Newspapers had noted that Schuckardt taught that, "American is a Freemasonic Republic and that it is anti-Catholic to support the U.S. Government or honor the American flag." Today, the CMRI has the American flag posted in the sanctuary of the chapels and the lay membership is overwhelmingly in support of the U.S. Government, especially in support of President Donald Trump and the U.S. military.
  • Schuckardt had required men and women to sit on opposite sides of the church as per the 1917 Code of Canon Law. The CMRI no longer requires this of parishioners.

Core Leadership & Families

The following people are part of the core membership of the group:

  • Bishop Pivarunas was consecrated in 1991 and has led the group since. He runs the major seminary and operates the group out of Omaha, NE.
  • Rev. Fr. Carimir Puskorius, CMRI is the Pastor of Mt. St. Michael in Spokane, WA
  • The Hughes family moved from Ohio with their dairy farm business to join with Schuckardt prior to the 1984 split. The family has produced two CMRI priests: Fr. Mary Benedict Hughes & Fr. Brendan Hughes. Fr. Benedict Hughes is pastor of the parish at the original location at the City of Mary in Rathdrum, ID.
  • The Urban family was part of the core leadership with Francis Schuckardt and Denis Chicoine. Alvina Urban was involved with the CMRI since at least 1974 (according to court documents) in Coeur d'Alene, ID. Alvina ran a house for the boarding school. Notable figures in the family include Sister Mary Bernadette Janet Urban[19] and Alvina Urban[20] who were noted on legal paperwork along with Frater R. Denis Chicoine and "Christ the King Priory, Inc., an Idaho Corporation"
  • The Urann family was involved with the purchase of Mt. St. Michael and were involved with the convent. Notable figures include Joseph Urann and Sherri Schettler.
  • Brothers Fr. Dominic Radecki and Fr. Francisco Radecki joined CMRI in the Schuckardt days. Their mothers had abandoned their fathers and brought them to Schuckardt's compound. Their fathers had sued Schuckardt alleging that he had caused the women to abandon their husbands to move from Ohio to Schuckardt's group.
  • Notable CMRI families: the Freddi family is a large donor to the CMRI, living on Freddi Rd in Rathdrum ID, the Davis family (Fr. Philip Davis is a CMRI priest and his family runs a podcast[21]), and the Strain family is at the center of the leadership in North Idaho. Most of these families purchased large amounts of land on Church Rd near the City of Mary and near Mt. St. MIchael in the 1970s.

Criticism & Reconciliation

There has been a movement among both former members & others within the Traditional Roman Catholic movement to expose the reality of the Schuckardt group, CMRI, and Traditional Roman Catholicism in general. This movement exists to expose the abuse, lies, history, pain, and financial ties of both former and current members. This exposure has been happening for decades, but has especially taken off since the early 2000s. This change mirrors the wider Roman Catholic Church that has been coming to terms with its history of abuse.

  • In 2016, "Bishop" Joseph Marie wrote a letter[22] to "Bishop" Mary Fidelis (Andrew Jacobs) arguing that their episcopal & priestly orders were invalid. Joseph Marie and Mary Fidelis were the two bishops consecrated by Francis Schuckardt in 2006 prior to Schuckardt's death. Joseph Marie runs a website[23] calling for the "old CMRI" (how he refers to those who remained with Chicoine after 1984) to reconcile with their past and to make amends for what they've done.
  • In 2020, a critical documentary, "Congregation of Mary Immaculate | The Cult Next Door Ep. #2" was released.[24]
  • The group has had a history of allowing one spouse to kidnap their children (as noted in lawsuits filed beginning in the 1970s) in order to join the CMRI and to get married to other CMRI members. This has led to numerous lawsuits and accusations that the CMRI is splitting up families. Accusations of child kidnapping and splitting up spouses has continued to the present. Other Traditional Catholic groups have distanced themselves from the CMRI due to their permissiveness regarding marriage annulments.[25]
  • The Traditional Catholic priests have given theological & financial support to husbands who abuse their wives and children. This abuse is justified by appealing to teachings of the Roman Catholic Church following Ephisians 5:23 "...for the husband is the head of the wife" allowing for abuse that is hidden from public view. Numerous women have gotten help through the family law system since they're unable to get help from Traditional Catholics.

Post-Schuckardt period

In 1984, after the ousting of Schuckardt, the CMRI sought out a sedevacantist bishop to ordain clergy for the congregation, and found Bishop George J. Musey of Galveston, Texas, United States, whose episcopal lineage, like that of most other sedevacantist bishops, traces to the Vietnamese sedevacantist Bishop Ngô Đình Thục.[3]

On 23 April 1985, three of the four remaining priests of the congregation formally and publicly took an "Abjuration of Error and Profession of Faith ad cautelam" before Musey in case, through their previous actions, they had incurred any ecclesiastical censures. Musey then conditionally ordained them.[3] He publicly stated that he had little reason to doubt the validity of their earlier ordinations, but he nevertheless decided that the most prudent course of action would be to bestow conditional ordination on them, as he believed that since the Holy See is vacant, an authoritative and binding decision on their orders cannot be made, and that the validity of their orders will always be doubtful in the minds of some.[5][a]

Other sedevacantist bishops who ordained priests for or assisted the congregation include Bishop Moisés Carmona[28] and Bishop Robert McKenna, bishops whose episcopal lineages also trace to Thục.

In 1986, the congregation held its first General Chapter, establishing a formal set of Rules and Constitutions. In the same year, the Rule was approved by McKenna.

In August 1989, Father Tarcisius Pivarunas (Mark Pivarunas) was elected as the Superior General of the congregation,[29] succeeding Father Chicoine.[3]

On 1 February 1991, Carmona expressed his desire to consecrate as bishop whomever the congregation chooses. On 3 April 1991, Pivarunas was elected to be consecrated a bishop. In accordance with Catholic practice, Pivarunas discontinued the use of his religious name, "Tarcisius", and in accordance with the CMRI Constitutions, resigned his post as the Superior General. He was succeeded by Father Casimir M. Puskorius. On 24 September 1991, in Mount Saint Michael, Pivarunas was consecrated a bishop by Carmona.[3][30][31]

In 1995, Pivarunas was re-elected as the Superior General of the congregation, succeeding Puskorius. He remains the Superior General to this day.

In June 2007, 15 sisters living at Mount Saint Michael in Spokane were expelled from the congregation because they had come to disagree with the congregation's stance of sedevacantism.[1] They joined the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spokane and formed the Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Church (SMMC) under the authority of William Skylstad, bishop of Spokane.[1]

Present day

The CMRI operates a major seminary, Mater Dei Seminary, in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, as well as a minor seminary, Saint Joseph's Minor Seminary, in Rathdrum, Idaho, United States, while the Sisters' motherhouse is located in Spokane, Washington, United States.

They have expanded into Canada, South America, Europe, and Asia.[32][33] All in all, the congregation is responsible for over 90 churches and Mass centers throughout the world, at least 13 schools ranging from K-8 to K-12 in the United States,[34] several publications, and an online store, Mary Immaculate Queen Center.[35]

List of Superiors General

Notes

  1. ^ Canonists such as Beste[26] and Regatillo[27] concede the presumption of the validity of Holy Orders conferred by the Old Catholic bishops in Holland, Germany and Switzerland only.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Graves, Jim (October 19, 2012). "The Return to Rome, Five Years Later". The Catholic World Report. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
  2. ^ "CMRI's Marian Spirit: Total Consecration to the Blessed Virgin". Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen (CMRI). 10 August 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Rev. Anthony Cekada. "Mt. St. Michael & CMRI: Brief Overview". October 1993.
  4. ^ Rev. Daniel B. Ahern. "Mount Saint Michael - A Systematic Study".
  5. ^ a b Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "CMRI Conference in Cincinnati, 1991 (improved quality, complete)". sedevideos.
  6. ^ Ruby, Griff. "The Resurrection of the Roman Catholic Church", Chapter Nine, "The Advance of the Sedevacantists". 26 September 2002. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  7. ^ Congregation of Mary Immaculate | The Cult Next Door Ep. #2, retrieved 2022-07-30
  8. ^ "Joseph E. Urann Obituary (2011) Spokesman-Review". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  9. ^ Congregation of Mary Immaculate | The Cult Next Door Ep. #2, retrieved 2022-07-30
  10. ^ "Bishop Schuckardt, CMRI, Mount Saint Michaels". bishopjosephmarie.org. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  11. ^ "O'NEIL v. SCHUCKARDT | 733 P.2d 693 (1986) | p2d69311426 | Leagle.com". Leagle. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  12. ^ "Pauline F Urban Bedrin (1947-2010) - Find a Grave..." www.findagrave.com. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  13. ^ "CHICOINE v. BIGNALL | 899 P.2d 438 (1995) | p2d43811333 | Leagle.com". Leagle. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  14. ^ "Bishop Schuckardt, CMRI, Mount Saint Michaels". bishopjosephmarie.org. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  15. ^ "Fr. Burton J. Fraser - BishopAccountability.org". 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  16. ^ "Credible Accusation of Sexual Misconduct Leveled against Deceased Diocesan Priest, by Deacon Eric Meisfjord, Inland Register, DATA". www.bishop-accountability.org. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
  17. ^ "Spiritual Blackmail: My Journey Through A Catholic Cult Paperback – November 19, 2014".
  18. ^ Bishop Sanborn Replies to Bishop Dolan, retrieved 2022-07-30
  19. ^ Eyewitness to the Modernist Revolution in the Catholic Church: A Nun tells her Story, retrieved 2022-07-30
  20. ^ "Alvina URBAN Obituary (2013) Spokesman-Review". Legacy.com. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  21. ^ "The Catholic Wire – Ut In Omnibus Honorificetur Deus!". Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  22. ^ www.bishopjosephmarie.org http://www.bishopjosephmarie.org/doctrine/doubtfulordersfschuckardt.html. Retrieved 2022-07-30. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. ^ "Traditional Catholic Church, Traditional Catholicism". www.bishopjosephmarie.org. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  24. ^ Congregation of Mary Immaculate | The Cult Next Door Ep. #2, retrieved 2022-07-30
  25. ^ "What Serious Catholics Should Know About the CMRI". True Restoration. 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  26. ^ U. Beste, Introductio in Codicem (Collegeville MN: St. John’s 1946), 951.
  27. ^ Jus Sacramentarium, 878.
  28. ^ "Adsum (October 2016)" (PDF). Mater Dei Seminary. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  29. ^ "Superior General: Bishop Mark A. Pivarunas, CMRI". Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen (CMRI). Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  30. ^ "Adsum (September 2016)" (PDF). Mater Dei Seminary. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  31. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Episcopal Consecration of Bp. Mark Pivarunas, CMRI". sedevideos. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  32. ^ "CMRI Traditional Catholic Latin Mass churches, chapels, schools, seminaries, convents". Omaha, NE | Spokane, WA: CMRI. 10 August 2016. Archived from the original on 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2019-01-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  33. ^ "Links" (web sites of individual CMRI churches, chapels, schools, minor seminary). Spokane, WA: St. Michael's Traditional Catholic Parish. Archived from the original on 2018-04-22. Retrieved 2019-01-01.
  34. ^ "CMRI Schools, Seminary and Convents". Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen (CMRI). 17 August 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  35. ^ "CMRI: A Traditional Catholic Religious Congregation". Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen (CMRI). Retrieved 12 July 2021.

Bibliography

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