“In accord with the knowledge, competence, and preeminence which they possess, [lay people] have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and they have a right to make their opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward their pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons.”
-Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 907
Common questions about the mandate answered by Philip Gray.
OUR PRAYERS ARE BEING HEARD!
We have been educated by Philip Gray, a canon lawyer, that we, the laity, have rights (and, indeed, obligations) under Canon Law to take action and that there ARE procedures that the Church has given us which we can follow to seek recourse for the untenable situation in our diocese.
For those who were not able to attend the recent meeting, here is a summary from Philip Gray’s presentation along with the next steps for all who are interested:
• The process that Philip has educated us about is the process given to us BY THE CHURCH.
• We are doing this IN FULL CONFORMITY AND OBEDIENCE TO SACRED SCRIPTURE and the very process created by POPE FRANCIS, using the process identified by our Lord and His Vicar of Christ.
• There are already at least 9 different cases (NINE!) being pursued in our Diocese by 3 different canon lawyers on behalf of churches and priests.
• We feel it is our duty as laity to take this action in order to SAVE SOULS IN OUR DIOCESE.
• You CANNOT BE EXCOMMUNICATED for signing this mandate. If you are concerned about being harmed because you signed a mandate, please know that Mr. Gray will intervene to defend your rights, as you are appointing him to be your “procurator and advocate” (what we normally would call an attorney) by signing the mandate.
At this point you may be asking, “What exactly is this new strategy?” In short, the strategy is the utilization of a specific procedure in Rome that could ultimately result in the removal of Bishop Olson and those priests and laity who directly assist him in the harm to souls.
• There are a minimum of FIVE PUBLIC ROSARIES per day being said for healing in our Diocese.
• While none of us ever thought we would find ourselves in this position, as we have gone through this journey we have sadly become convinced that this is the proper action that we need to take. That is why hundreds of us have signed and returned our mandates already and we are committed to obtaining as many signed mandates as possible for this effort. As evidenced by the responses to ours and other groups’ efforts and previous petitions, there are a large number of people and parishes who are suffering as a result of the bishop’s actions. It is not just a “handful of disgruntled people.” If you have not already done so, we encourage you to read the comments submitted by people across the diocese attached to our most recent petition seeking an apostolic investigation into our diocese. These comments highlight many issues and that there is what we believe to be a grave diocese-wide problem. You can find the petition and comments on the petition here, and we encourage you to share this information with others who have an interest in our Diocese and who would be interested in setting things right.
• The goal is simple: to pursue the removal of Bishop Olson and those priests and laity who directly assist him in the harm to souls, in full accord with the Canon Law of the Catholic Church. Philip Gray is willing to be your advocate to represent and guard your interest in the judicial and administrative processes of the Catholic Church. Signing a mandate allows him to represent you in this matter. He will do so at absolutely no cost to you, relying, instead, solely on voluntary donations made to the St. Joseph Foundation of which he is CEO. To see an in-depth interview with Mr. Gray that aired on EWTN, click here — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waIfDlcL_3M. Many of us have had a chance to personally interact with Mr. Gray while he was in town and we are very encouraged that he has agreed to undertake this action.
If you want to participate in this new strategy, what should you do?
• Read the three documents attached to this post.
• Sign the mandate in front of two witnesses who sign on the back side of the mandate and return originals so that Philip Gray receives them.
• SHARE this information with your family, friends, colleagues, fellow parishioners and HELP SPREAD THE WORD
• Encourage others to sign and return original mandates. If they are hesitant, please urge them to reach out to us to provide them with any further explanation that they might need.
• Gather evidence as explained on the attachment.
• Reach out to us for assistance.
• Continue to pray and attend to the other Action Items on the attachment.
Regarding the signed mandate (found here):
• You must be at least 14 years of age to sign the mandate.
• Mr. Gray needs the ORIGINAL mailed back to the address on the form AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. (If you would like to have our members collect it locally and send them, we can arrange for drop off locations as well)
Philip C. L. Gray, JCL
85882 Water Works Rd.
Hopedale, OH 43976
• IT IS VERY IMPORTANT to print it onto ONE PAGE (front and back), so we only have one piece of paper per person
• It must be WITNESSED by two people, include their addresses.
• A mandate may be signed by ANYONE WHO HAS AN INTEREST in the Ft. Worth Diocese or who has been directly harmed by the actions of Bishop Michael Olson or his staff (see attached document for full explanation)
• We need ONE MANDATE PER PERSON who would like to be represented by Mr. Gray. If you would like your entire family to be represented, you need one signed page for each family member who is at least 14 years of age.
• By sending originals with witness signatures, this ensures they will not be rejected by Rome.
The goal is to collect at least 3,000 signed mandates no later than the end of June. While it cannot be guaranteed, it is highly unlikely these will be shared by Rome with the bishop (as explained in the attachment).
See the attached documents for more information and click here to download the mandate (PDF). If you do not have access to a printer or are not able to print front-to-back, we would be happy to get you extra copies if you will please just let us know.
As a side note, Mr. Gray does not encourage anyone to make comments to the media regarding the bishop. This process is a Church matter and it is appropriate for the church to be given the proper time to respond to the mandates. If the media reaches out any of our members, please refer them to Philip Gray’s office for comment.
Thank you all and May God Be Praised!
Do you want to submit evidence?
Please follow these instructions if you have evidence that you would like to gather and get to Philip Gray. Use either of the tow attached forms above.
If you are using the “witness statement” form, you will just need two witness signatures. Witnesses can be anyone over the age of 16.
If you use the “affidavit” form, you will need to have this document notarized before sending it.
Either document will work for submitting witness statements to Philip Gray for him to present to Rome. Typed or hand-written statements are both fine. If they are hand written, please make sure the writing is eligible.
If you need your name to be redacted from the witness statement, please note that in your statement and Philip’s team will be sure to redact your name prior to submitting it to Rome.
Once you have completed and signed your form, please mail it directly to Philip Gray’s office or turn it in to one of the core FRK Advocates core members and we will make sure he receives it.
Philip C. L. Gray, JCL
85882 Water Works Rd.
Hopedale, OH 43976
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