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![]() | This is not a Wikipedia article: This is a workpage, a collection of material and work in progress that may or may not be incorporated into Michael Cox (Catholic bishop). It should not necessarily be considered factual or authoritative. |
Michael Patrick O'Connor Cox (born 1945) is an Irish independent bishop. He is best known for ordaining the singer
Sinéad O'Connor.Cite error: A <ref>
tag is missing the closing </ref>
(see the
help page).
In May 1998, Cox ordained Patrick Buckley as a bishop, using the principle of apostolic succession. According to The Tablet magazine, it was said at that time that Buckley's consecration was viewed as "valid but illicit". In September 1998, the Catholic Media Office of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales "has now said that it doubts that the bishop's episcopal consecration is valid" within the Roman Catholic church. [1]
In April 1999, Cox ordained O'Connor as a priest. Her ordination ceremony, after six weeks of theological study, was held in a Lourdes hotel bedroom. O'Connor then assumed the name of "Mother Bernadette Mary". [2]
"the breakaway Latin Tridentine church" [2]
In 2001, Cox planned to convert a 75-foot (23 m) commercial
fishing trawler, called The Little Bishop, into "a mobile floating church, offering on-board marriages and baptisms to people around the British Isles."
[3]
Cox planned to protest against the ship being sailed into Ireland by the pro-choice feminist group
Women on Waves.
[3]
In 2004, Cox's 84-foot (26 m) trawler, called The Patriarch, caught fire while underway and sank – the sinking "destroyed what would have been Cox's latest effort to grab headlines" in 2004 by planning to shadow "the abortion ship, Aurora." [4] [5] Cox also planned to use The Patriarch as a church.
In 2011, Cox was a candidate in the
general election for the
Laois-Offaly constituency, coming last with 60 votes.
[6]
[7]
In 2013, a District Court judge requested that the Garda Síochána investigate a marriage conducted by Cox for a 17-year-old Traveller youth and his partner. [8]
Civil marriages in Ireland require that the participants are over 18, or have a Court Exemption Order if this is not the case. [9]
Cox does not solemnise legal valid marriages. [a]
Cox states that such weddings conducted by him are religious, not civil, and that there is no religious reason why somebody 16 years old should not get married. [12]
I recognise their [Irish Traveller] customs and appreciate them. Anyone who asks why I do what I do – I tell them that I make it clear the wedding ceremony is purely religious. I do not register marriage with the state.
— Michael Cox, Voice of Travellers [12]
Cox insists on parental consent and parents being present at the ceremony." [12]
Lynch points out that Cox "has different opinions on issues such as women priests and marriage age" than the Roman Catholic Church. [12]
"Travellers have specific customs surrounding marriage, and often get married much younger than settled couples." [12]
"In Ireland, the minimum age you can marry is 18 years unless you have a Court Exemption Order." [12] [b]
"Many Travellers get married younger than 18 and seek court exemption orders," according to Doorley and Lynch. [12]
According to David Lynch, in Voice of Travellers, Cox "plays a special role for some in the Travelling community. He is willing to marry young Travellers under the age of 18." [12] [c]
Cox "remains popular," according to Lynch, although Cox "makes clear that such weddings have no legal basis" and "are not recognised by the Roman Catholic Church." [12] [d]
Lynch wrote that "Cox maintains there is no religious reason why somebody 16 years old should not get married." [12]
"Cox also claims to have carried out high profile exorcisms and healing."
[12]
According to Lynch, Cox "first hit the tabloid headlines over a decade ago when he carried out exorcisms at a Dublin Radio Station and later in Marley Park." [12]
Cox "claims to be blessed with healing powers." [12]
"He lives near his isolated rural church some miles outside Birr." [12]
SMH2004-09-02
was invoked but never defined (see the
help page)."Although popular, the weddings have no legal standing and court exemption orders are required by the State." [1]
a 16-year-old future spouse was "not allowed get married in a Catholic church" because of her age. [1] [e]
Cox performs wedding ceremonies, which "have no legal standing," for spouses as young as 16, as long as their parents consent and are at the ceremony.
Circa 1999, Cox and Buckley founded, what some news articles call, the "Latin Tridentine Church."
[1]
Traveller practise child marriage.
[3]
In 2002, Buckley "defended his right to give blessings to teenagers as young as 14, after it was reported he performed a ceremony involving a 15-year-old Traveller." [4]
"We have had cases like this before whereby the children actually believe they are legally married and it has taken a lot of effort to unwrangle everything," according to Father Stephen Monaghan, a Travellers' parish priest. [4]
There is a common thread of some kind of ceremonies involving children who are under the impression that they are married when they are in fact not.
{{
cite news}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (
link)
Cox performed marriages of children below the legal age for marriage, which in Ireland is 18 years of age.
In a 2013 case, Judge Patrick Durcan of the Children's Court in Ennis, Ireland, described Cox as "a man who calls himself a bishop" and commented that "anyone who masquerades as a clergy man and who takes money from young people and imbues in them a mistaken belief that he has married them, is in my view committing the most serious offence." [1]
In a different 2014 case, Durcan "told the court 'it is disgraceful that a young man like this is duped into believing that he is married by someone who parades around and calls himself a bishop, but is not a bishop'." According to Durcan, Cox "has no function" in regards to marriage. "This man is not a bishop. He is not entitled to marry you so he is Mr Cox, not Bishop Cox." [2]
Cox was an Irish soldier and a Dún Laoghaire harbour policeman. [1] [2]
contracted marriage in the 1970s.
[3]
annulled marriage pre 1997. [3]
divorced in 1999. [4]
His agent, freelance reporter Tom Higgins, discovered Cox at Dún Laoghaire in 1982 and began writing about him. [3]
Cox exorcised demons from a radio station. [3]
Cox said his notoriety "took off like a bat out of hell" in 1995 after he was the subject of an
RTÉ Television documentary.
[3]
Cox planned in 1997 to include "a well of healing" at Cree.
[3]
In April 1982, Cox organized the "Irish Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church,"[
clarify] as "his own religious order" according to Joe Humphreys of
The Irish Times.
[1]
"The church offered marriage annulments to people who became members."
[1]
Cox offered Tridentine Masses at Monkstown, County Dublin in mid-1980s. [1]
Since 1995, Cox's church is the "shell of St. Colman's Church of Ireland chapel" near Birr. [3]
As of 1997 [update] Cox lived in a mobile home. [3]
"Catholic laity may attend the Tridentine Mass, if allowed under the terms of the 1984 instruction (indult) of Pope John Paul II." [5]
According to Laighleis, none of Cox's Masses qualify as indult Masses.
[5]
According to Laighleis, the Society of Saint Pius X "has totally repudiated" Cox. [5]
Cox "appears to be operating on his own initiative, and seems to believe the adjective 'Tridentine' can be employed as an excuse for his completely irregular ministry." [5]
Cox, a self-described "traditionalist," [5]
Laighleis wrote that it seems to be "impossible to accommodate with Catholic tradition" "the agenda proffered by" Cox and Buckley. [5]
Cox's church is St Coleman's, in the townland of Cree, near Birr, County Offaly. [3] [1] [f]
Cox ministers to Irish Travellers. [7]
Cox started "a telephone confession service" in the 1990s. Callers "were charged £1 a minute" to use his premium-rate telephone number "and invited to leave details of any medical problems, for which a Latin Mass would be offered the following Sunday." [1]
The "healing and confession line" charged callers IR£1 per minute [8]
"Cox doesn't listen to many messages before they're erased, as he acknowledged in a midnight interview."
[3]
"I don't know how many people are phoning at the moment. I might have a better idea when the money starts coming in," said Cox. [3]
"I give a valid absolution to all those who phone in whether I physically hear them or not." [3]
Another "project developed by Higgins" was a
videotape titled "Heal Yourself, by the Miracle Bishop".
[3]
what are the two or three organizations called?
As of 1997
[update] Cox made an "effort to form a church in an abandoned chapel outside Birr and fund it by offering confessions, faith healing and prayers on a pay-per-call phone line."
[3]
As of 1997 [update] Cox "hasn't even made peace with the handful of other Tridentine priests in Ireland, who belong to the Society of St. Pius X." [3]
As of 1997 [update] "Cox recognizes no superiors and has no priests to command." [3]
In 1998 Cox describes himself as a "Tridentine" bishop. [9]
The ordination of Buckley as bishop by Cox in 1998 "can only be described as bizarre", Cantwell said. "It bypassed the [Latin] Church's law and was in fact carried out without any reference to the Catholic Church or indeed to any other Church." [9]
Cox "was ordained in 1987 by Roman Catholic clergy[
who?] who were followers of the Tridentine church."
[1]
[g]
"By this, he seems to mean that because he celebrates the Tridentine Mass, he must be a Tridentine Bishop." [5]
In 1999, Cox was "Ireland's most-famous member of the reactionary Tridentine wing of the Catholic Church."
[3]
According to the Associated Press in 2004, Cox "says he was ordained a priest by a Vietnamese Tridentine bishop in 1978, then consecrated to become Ireland's only bishop of the Tridentine sect, which rejects Vatican II reforms and the authority of Pope John Paul II." [2]
According to the Associated Press in 2004, Cox had "been recruiting followers to a new sect he calls the Irish Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church." [2]
In 2015, Cox is described as the "Tridentine Bishop [...] who set up the Irish Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church."
[10]
High Court Justice Elizabeth Dunne "ruled that the marriage, performed by the former Dún Laoghaire Harbour policeman who styles himself as Bishop Michael Cox, was not valid." [11]
Two settled Irish Traveller "cousins [...] eloped four years ago when she was 18 and were married by [...] Cox. The marriage is now accepted as invalid." [12]
"following an 'invalid' wedding ceremony" [13]
"[...] 'married' [...] in a ceremony conducted by [...] Cox following an elopement." [13]
Justice Elizabeth Dunne "said the couple had gone through a ceremony of marriage which had clearly been accepted by both parties as not a valid marriage." [13]
It was reported in 1996 that Cox was ordained as a priest in 1987 and as bishop in 1992. [14]
It was reported in 1997 that Cox "was ordained a priest by a Vietnamese Tridentine bishop in Switzerland in 1978." [3]
It was reported in 1997 that Cox was "[consecrated as a bishop circa 1982] to become Ireland's only Tridentine Catholic bishop." [3]
Bishop Ciarán Broadbery consecrated Cox on xx April 1978. [15] [16]
Cox was consecrated as a bishop in 1992. [1]
Both the minister of consecration and Cox individually incurred a disciplinary latae sententiae excommunication for the schismatic act; [17]
Cox was formally excommunicated after his ordination as a bishop. [18]
According to Walsh, Cox "was wondering about the possibility of making his peace with Rome. That apparently didn't work out." [3]
Cox was formally reconciled with the Catholic Church in 1992. [18]
"four years later the Irish bishops declared publicly that Cox was 'not in harmony with the Catholic church' after it was discovered that he was granting sacramental absolution to penitents over the telephone." [18]
Cox consecrated Buckley in May 1998. [15] [16] [21] or June 1998. [1] [7] [22]
"Buckley, has excommunicated himself from the Roman Catholic Church by being consecrated as a bishop, a Hierarchy spokesman has said."
[21]
In June 1998, Jim Cantwell, director of the Catholic Press and Information Office, said that Cox consecration of Buckley was
valid but illicit.
[21]
Both Cox, the minister of consecration, and Buckley, the recipient of consecration, individually incurred a disciplinary latae sententiae excommunication for the schismatic act.
[21]
[17]
[h]
Cantwell "said the office of bishop 'is essential to the unity of the Catholic Church'. It breached that unity for a person to consecrate another bishop or to accept ordination on his own authority alone 'and without any mandate from the Holy See'." [21]
"Buckley and Cox are to found a society in which they will 'co-operate pastorally and which will welcome men and women of every persuasion'." [21]
"'We intend particularly looking at re-enacting the Holy Orders of those priests who have left and indeed we will examine the whole area of women's ministry in the church'," a 1998 statement from Cox said. [21]
In 2005 Buckley wrote that "simony invalidates [...] orders." [15]
"I did not wish to be overly identified with [...] Cox's perspective. As a result of this," he "felt it necessary to align [himself] with another valid bishop." [15]
As late as April 1999, the Cox consecration of Buckley was described as illicit by some.
[22]
But, Vincent Twomey, of St Patrick's College, Maynooth, wrote, in April 1999 that in his opinion, the consecration of Cox was not valid. [25]
"And yet the issues are undoubtedly serious, comparable to somebody setting himself or herself up as a judge of the Circuit or High Court. This would be seen as outrageous. The sad thing is that, due to the general collapse of our religious culture, almost anything in the realm of faith can be claimed by anybody – and be taken seriously by the public media. As a result, the issues themselves are inevitably, albeit unintentionally, trivialised." [25]
"Cox bases his claim to be a bishop on a succession that goes back to" Archbishop Ngô Đình Thục. [25] In January 1976, Thục "ordained several priests and bishops" at El Palmar de Troya, Spain, "acting, it would seem, on instructions from somebody claiming to be a visionary." [25]
In September 1976, Thục, and those he had ordained, were excommunicated. [25] [26]
In 1983, the
CDF reaffirmed the 1976 decree against Thục and those he ordained.
[25]
[19]
The 1983 CDF notification affirmed that the RCC "does not nor shall it recognize their ordination." [25] [19] [20]
The 1983 CDF notification also states that, the RCC "regards all juridical effects, it considers them in the state which each one had previously." [19] [20] "in other words as laymen or priests." [25] "Thus, in the eyes of the Church, we are dealing with [Mister] Cox, [...] Father [...] Buckley, [...] and, [Miss] O'Connor." [25]
The 1983
CDF notification "is one that is phrased in canonical terms" such as illicit and valid. "The former means that a public and solemn act of the Church, such as the administration of a sacrament, was carried out in contravention of the legal conditions set down by the Church."
[25]
"Validity in this context belongs to the sphere of sacramental theology and affirms that a sacrament, though not executed in accordance with the legal conditions set down by the Church is nonetheless effective as a sacrament, that is, God's intended effect takes place." [25]
"An example would be a priest who has been suspended from exercise of the priesthood, yet gives absolution or celebrates Mass. His act would be gravely evil, in fact sacrilegious, but the unsuspecting faithful would still have received absolution or attended a valid Mass." [25]
The 1983 CDF notification "does mention the question of the validity of those ordained by [Thục] in an aside - effectively leaving it aside for further study. The Church is reluctant to deny the validity of any sacrament, irrespective of the circumstances, and generally takes its time before making an authoritative decision." [25]
"Central to the question of validity is the intention to do as Christ intended. It is unlikely that any sensible person could be persuaded that the antics of the Palmar de Troya cult could be seen to fulfil this condition," according to Twomey. [25]
By May 1999, "[t]he Holy See has confirmed," according to Martin Clarke the Director of Communications for the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference in irishtimes.com, that "there is no justification for considering as valid the 'Episcopal ordination' received by" Cox or Buckley. [27] [28]
"The Irish Bishops' Conference rejected that [Buckley was a valid bishop], however, claiming there was no justification for considering as valid the 'episcopal ordination' received by Buckley. The Vatican later confirmed this judgment [...]" [29]
The Los Angeles Times printed in 2000, that Cox's "title is not considered valid by the church, according to [Catholic Press Office spokesman Des] Cryan" in Dublin. [30]
According to Buckley, Buckley was conditionally consecrated by Peter Paul Brennan in February 1999. [32] [15] [i] Buckley wrote in 1999 that he was conditionally consecrated as a "precaution" because Buckley was "conscious" that Cox "was somewhat of a 'loose canon'" and "that the Church could get to" Broadbery. [32]
possible footnote and/or placed into other articles
In case a man, who is neither named nor expressly confirmed by the Apostolic See, is consecrated as a bishop, even if compelled by grave fear (1917 CIC c. 2229, § 3, 3 °), both the bishop, of any rite or dignity, and the recipient incur ipso facto excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See. [37]
The penal sanctions from the 1917 Code of Canon Law (1917 CIC) canons listed in 1983 notification are:
In 2004, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), replied to Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, archbishop of Westminster, about a request by Broadbery for declaration on the nullity of his ordination. Ratzinger wrote that the CDF decreed in the 1983 notification on "the illicit ordinations of El Palmar de Troya" and does not address "the particulars of individual ordinations." [20] Ratzinger requested that Murphy-O'Connor communicate a prescript to Broadbery from the 1983 notification. [20] The CDF prescript is:
Finally, as regards those who have already received ordination in this illicit manner, or who will perhaps receive ordination from them, whatever about the validity of the orders, the Church does not nor shall it recognize their ordination, and as regards all juridical effects, it considers them in the state which each one had previously, and the above-mentioned penal sanctions remain in force until repentance. [19] [20]
Edward N. Peters lay summary of Peter Vere's 2001 advisory opinion is: "Those confirmed under Abp. Thuc's 'lineage' should be conditionally re-confirmed." [44] [45]
Edward Yarnold wrote in 1994 that:
Few theologians would now wish to defend a narrow "pipe-line theory", which would base the bishop's authority on the historical succession of episcopal ordinations alone without reference to the succession maintained by the Churches themselves; few would attempt any theological justification for episcopi vagantes (clandestinely consecrated bishops without recognised sees). [46]
Fay, Liam (1997). Beyond belief: a mind-blowing pilgrimage through religious Ireland. Dublin: Hot Press Books.
ISBN
9780952494751. reviewed in
"No clerical errors". 1997-05-31.{{
cite news}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (
link)
Cox "maintains there is no reason in scripture why there cannot be women priests." [47]
O'Connor gave "as 'an act of charity' to set up a healing centre for Ireland's travelling community in County Offaly." [48]
According to BBC, Buckley, "called the donation 'disturbing' and said there was a question of whether simony - the act of purchasing a sacrament - had taken place." [48]
In an interview for Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) from Lourdes, O'Connor said: "It would be a lie to say I bought by priesthood. This man would not have ordained me for any money if he had not know I had a true vocation." [48]
O'Connor gave IR£150,000 to Cox who ordained her. [48]
"The £150,000 donation had originally been intended for a healing centre for Travellers in Bishop Cox's ministry in Birr, Co Offaly." [49]
Cox said that he would return the money to O'Connor. [49]
Cox "did not doubt" O'Connor's motives. [1]
Cox "offered his church" to O'Connor and "she has vowed to take over when I'm gone." [1]
Buckley wrote in 2005 that he "was unhappy about the circumstances surrounding Sinead's ordination." [15] "Cox later said that he returned the cheque to Sinead." [15] "I was very afraid of simony — the buying of holy orders." [15]
Cox said: "I would never prostitute my holy orders." [49]
about Thuc 1976 ordinations:
. News & views.
Commonweal. 104. New York: Calvert: 34. January 1977.
ISSN
0010-3330
https://books.google.com/books?id=Uz4dAQAAMAAJ. ... the Vatican declared that the consecration and ordinations by Thuc were null and void. In effect, the Vatican decree meant that the men involved are still lay persons.
{{
cite journal}}
: Missing or empty |title=
(
help)
timeline and a source for links:
Loughnan, F. John (2004-09-26). "Reply to Fr. Patrick Buckley a.k.a. Thucite Bishop Pat Buckley". jloughnan.tripod.com. Chirnside Park, Australia. Archived from the original on 2008-03-09. [ self-published source]
He was ordained a Tridentine priest in 1974 and became a bishop four years later.
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![]() | This is not a Wikipedia article: This is a workpage, a collection of material and work in progress that may or may not be incorporated into Michael Cox (Catholic bishop). It should not necessarily be considered factual or authoritative. |
Michael Patrick O'Connor Cox (born 1945) is an Irish independent bishop. He is best known for ordaining the singer
Sinéad O'Connor.Cite error: A <ref>
tag is missing the closing </ref>
(see the
help page).
In May 1998, Cox ordained Patrick Buckley as a bishop, using the principle of apostolic succession. According to The Tablet magazine, it was said at that time that Buckley's consecration was viewed as "valid but illicit". In September 1998, the Catholic Media Office of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales "has now said that it doubts that the bishop's episcopal consecration is valid" within the Roman Catholic church. [1]
In April 1999, Cox ordained O'Connor as a priest. Her ordination ceremony, after six weeks of theological study, was held in a Lourdes hotel bedroom. O'Connor then assumed the name of "Mother Bernadette Mary". [2]
"the breakaway Latin Tridentine church" [2]
In 2001, Cox planned to convert a 75-foot (23 m) commercial
fishing trawler, called The Little Bishop, into "a mobile floating church, offering on-board marriages and baptisms to people around the British Isles."
[3]
Cox planned to protest against the ship being sailed into Ireland by the pro-choice feminist group
Women on Waves.
[3]
In 2004, Cox's 84-foot (26 m) trawler, called The Patriarch, caught fire while underway and sank – the sinking "destroyed what would have been Cox's latest effort to grab headlines" in 2004 by planning to shadow "the abortion ship, Aurora." [4] [5] Cox also planned to use The Patriarch as a church.
In 2011, Cox was a candidate in the
general election for the
Laois-Offaly constituency, coming last with 60 votes.
[6]
[7]
In 2013, a District Court judge requested that the Garda Síochána investigate a marriage conducted by Cox for a 17-year-old Traveller youth and his partner. [8]
Civil marriages in Ireland require that the participants are over 18, or have a Court Exemption Order if this is not the case. [9]
Cox does not solemnise legal valid marriages. [a]
Cox states that such weddings conducted by him are religious, not civil, and that there is no religious reason why somebody 16 years old should not get married. [12]
I recognise their [Irish Traveller] customs and appreciate them. Anyone who asks why I do what I do – I tell them that I make it clear the wedding ceremony is purely religious. I do not register marriage with the state.
— Michael Cox, Voice of Travellers [12]
Cox insists on parental consent and parents being present at the ceremony." [12]
Lynch points out that Cox "has different opinions on issues such as women priests and marriage age" than the Roman Catholic Church. [12]
"Travellers have specific customs surrounding marriage, and often get married much younger than settled couples." [12]
"In Ireland, the minimum age you can marry is 18 years unless you have a Court Exemption Order." [12] [b]
"Many Travellers get married younger than 18 and seek court exemption orders," according to Doorley and Lynch. [12]
According to David Lynch, in Voice of Travellers, Cox "plays a special role for some in the Travelling community. He is willing to marry young Travellers under the age of 18." [12] [c]
Cox "remains popular," according to Lynch, although Cox "makes clear that such weddings have no legal basis" and "are not recognised by the Roman Catholic Church." [12] [d]
Lynch wrote that "Cox maintains there is no religious reason why somebody 16 years old should not get married." [12]
"Cox also claims to have carried out high profile exorcisms and healing."
[12]
According to Lynch, Cox "first hit the tabloid headlines over a decade ago when he carried out exorcisms at a Dublin Radio Station and later in Marley Park." [12]
Cox "claims to be blessed with healing powers." [12]
"He lives near his isolated rural church some miles outside Birr." [12]
SMH2004-09-02
was invoked but never defined (see the
help page)."Although popular, the weddings have no legal standing and court exemption orders are required by the State." [1]
a 16-year-old future spouse was "not allowed get married in a Catholic church" because of her age. [1] [e]
Cox performs wedding ceremonies, which "have no legal standing," for spouses as young as 16, as long as their parents consent and are at the ceremony.
Circa 1999, Cox and Buckley founded, what some news articles call, the "Latin Tridentine Church."
[1]
Traveller practise child marriage.
[3]
In 2002, Buckley "defended his right to give blessings to teenagers as young as 14, after it was reported he performed a ceremony involving a 15-year-old Traveller." [4]
"We have had cases like this before whereby the children actually believe they are legally married and it has taken a lot of effort to unwrangle everything," according to Father Stephen Monaghan, a Travellers' parish priest. [4]
There is a common thread of some kind of ceremonies involving children who are under the impression that they are married when they are in fact not.
{{
cite news}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (
link)
Cox performed marriages of children below the legal age for marriage, which in Ireland is 18 years of age.
In a 2013 case, Judge Patrick Durcan of the Children's Court in Ennis, Ireland, described Cox as "a man who calls himself a bishop" and commented that "anyone who masquerades as a clergy man and who takes money from young people and imbues in them a mistaken belief that he has married them, is in my view committing the most serious offence." [1]
In a different 2014 case, Durcan "told the court 'it is disgraceful that a young man like this is duped into believing that he is married by someone who parades around and calls himself a bishop, but is not a bishop'." According to Durcan, Cox "has no function" in regards to marriage. "This man is not a bishop. He is not entitled to marry you so he is Mr Cox, not Bishop Cox." [2]
Cox was an Irish soldier and a Dún Laoghaire harbour policeman. [1] [2]
contracted marriage in the 1970s.
[3]
annulled marriage pre 1997. [3]
divorced in 1999. [4]
His agent, freelance reporter Tom Higgins, discovered Cox at Dún Laoghaire in 1982 and began writing about him. [3]
Cox exorcised demons from a radio station. [3]
Cox said his notoriety "took off like a bat out of hell" in 1995 after he was the subject of an
RTÉ Television documentary.
[3]
Cox planned in 1997 to include "a well of healing" at Cree.
[3]
In April 1982, Cox organized the "Irish Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church,"[
clarify] as "his own religious order" according to Joe Humphreys of
The Irish Times.
[1]
"The church offered marriage annulments to people who became members."
[1]
Cox offered Tridentine Masses at Monkstown, County Dublin in mid-1980s. [1]
Since 1995, Cox's church is the "shell of St. Colman's Church of Ireland chapel" near Birr. [3]
As of 1997 [update] Cox lived in a mobile home. [3]
"Catholic laity may attend the Tridentine Mass, if allowed under the terms of the 1984 instruction (indult) of Pope John Paul II." [5]
According to Laighleis, none of Cox's Masses qualify as indult Masses.
[5]
According to Laighleis, the Society of Saint Pius X "has totally repudiated" Cox. [5]
Cox "appears to be operating on his own initiative, and seems to believe the adjective 'Tridentine' can be employed as an excuse for his completely irregular ministry." [5]
Cox, a self-described "traditionalist," [5]
Laighleis wrote that it seems to be "impossible to accommodate with Catholic tradition" "the agenda proffered by" Cox and Buckley. [5]
Cox's church is St Coleman's, in the townland of Cree, near Birr, County Offaly. [3] [1] [f]
Cox ministers to Irish Travellers. [7]
Cox started "a telephone confession service" in the 1990s. Callers "were charged £1 a minute" to use his premium-rate telephone number "and invited to leave details of any medical problems, for which a Latin Mass would be offered the following Sunday." [1]
The "healing and confession line" charged callers IR£1 per minute [8]
"Cox doesn't listen to many messages before they're erased, as he acknowledged in a midnight interview."
[3]
"I don't know how many people are phoning at the moment. I might have a better idea when the money starts coming in," said Cox. [3]
"I give a valid absolution to all those who phone in whether I physically hear them or not." [3]
Another "project developed by Higgins" was a
videotape titled "Heal Yourself, by the Miracle Bishop".
[3]
what are the two or three organizations called?
As of 1997
[update] Cox made an "effort to form a church in an abandoned chapel outside Birr and fund it by offering confessions, faith healing and prayers on a pay-per-call phone line."
[3]
As of 1997 [update] Cox "hasn't even made peace with the handful of other Tridentine priests in Ireland, who belong to the Society of St. Pius X." [3]
As of 1997 [update] "Cox recognizes no superiors and has no priests to command." [3]
In 1998 Cox describes himself as a "Tridentine" bishop. [9]
The ordination of Buckley as bishop by Cox in 1998 "can only be described as bizarre", Cantwell said. "It bypassed the [Latin] Church's law and was in fact carried out without any reference to the Catholic Church or indeed to any other Church." [9]
Cox "was ordained in 1987 by Roman Catholic clergy[
who?] who were followers of the Tridentine church."
[1]
[g]
"By this, he seems to mean that because he celebrates the Tridentine Mass, he must be a Tridentine Bishop." [5]
In 1999, Cox was "Ireland's most-famous member of the reactionary Tridentine wing of the Catholic Church."
[3]
According to the Associated Press in 2004, Cox "says he was ordained a priest by a Vietnamese Tridentine bishop in 1978, then consecrated to become Ireland's only bishop of the Tridentine sect, which rejects Vatican II reforms and the authority of Pope John Paul II." [2]
According to the Associated Press in 2004, Cox had "been recruiting followers to a new sect he calls the Irish Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church." [2]
In 2015, Cox is described as the "Tridentine Bishop [...] who set up the Irish Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church."
[10]
High Court Justice Elizabeth Dunne "ruled that the marriage, performed by the former Dún Laoghaire Harbour policeman who styles himself as Bishop Michael Cox, was not valid." [11]
Two settled Irish Traveller "cousins [...] eloped four years ago when she was 18 and were married by [...] Cox. The marriage is now accepted as invalid." [12]
"following an 'invalid' wedding ceremony" [13]
"[...] 'married' [...] in a ceremony conducted by [...] Cox following an elopement." [13]
Justice Elizabeth Dunne "said the couple had gone through a ceremony of marriage which had clearly been accepted by both parties as not a valid marriage." [13]
It was reported in 1996 that Cox was ordained as a priest in 1987 and as bishop in 1992. [14]
It was reported in 1997 that Cox "was ordained a priest by a Vietnamese Tridentine bishop in Switzerland in 1978." [3]
It was reported in 1997 that Cox was "[consecrated as a bishop circa 1982] to become Ireland's only Tridentine Catholic bishop." [3]
Bishop Ciarán Broadbery consecrated Cox on xx April 1978. [15] [16]
Cox was consecrated as a bishop in 1992. [1]
Both the minister of consecration and Cox individually incurred a disciplinary latae sententiae excommunication for the schismatic act; [17]
Cox was formally excommunicated after his ordination as a bishop. [18]
According to Walsh, Cox "was wondering about the possibility of making his peace with Rome. That apparently didn't work out." [3]
Cox was formally reconciled with the Catholic Church in 1992. [18]
"four years later the Irish bishops declared publicly that Cox was 'not in harmony with the Catholic church' after it was discovered that he was granting sacramental absolution to penitents over the telephone." [18]
Cox consecrated Buckley in May 1998. [15] [16] [21] or June 1998. [1] [7] [22]
"Buckley, has excommunicated himself from the Roman Catholic Church by being consecrated as a bishop, a Hierarchy spokesman has said."
[21]
In June 1998, Jim Cantwell, director of the Catholic Press and Information Office, said that Cox consecration of Buckley was
valid but illicit.
[21]
Both Cox, the minister of consecration, and Buckley, the recipient of consecration, individually incurred a disciplinary latae sententiae excommunication for the schismatic act.
[21]
[17]
[h]
Cantwell "said the office of bishop 'is essential to the unity of the Catholic Church'. It breached that unity for a person to consecrate another bishop or to accept ordination on his own authority alone 'and without any mandate from the Holy See'." [21]
"Buckley and Cox are to found a society in which they will 'co-operate pastorally and which will welcome men and women of every persuasion'." [21]
"'We intend particularly looking at re-enacting the Holy Orders of those priests who have left and indeed we will examine the whole area of women's ministry in the church'," a 1998 statement from Cox said. [21]
In 2005 Buckley wrote that "simony invalidates [...] orders." [15]
"I did not wish to be overly identified with [...] Cox's perspective. As a result of this," he "felt it necessary to align [himself] with another valid bishop." [15]
As late as April 1999, the Cox consecration of Buckley was described as illicit by some.
[22]
But, Vincent Twomey, of St Patrick's College, Maynooth, wrote, in April 1999 that in his opinion, the consecration of Cox was not valid. [25]
"And yet the issues are undoubtedly serious, comparable to somebody setting himself or herself up as a judge of the Circuit or High Court. This would be seen as outrageous. The sad thing is that, due to the general collapse of our religious culture, almost anything in the realm of faith can be claimed by anybody – and be taken seriously by the public media. As a result, the issues themselves are inevitably, albeit unintentionally, trivialised." [25]
"Cox bases his claim to be a bishop on a succession that goes back to" Archbishop Ngô Đình Thục. [25] In January 1976, Thục "ordained several priests and bishops" at El Palmar de Troya, Spain, "acting, it would seem, on instructions from somebody claiming to be a visionary." [25]
In September 1976, Thục, and those he had ordained, were excommunicated. [25] [26]
In 1983, the
CDF reaffirmed the 1976 decree against Thục and those he ordained.
[25]
[19]
The 1983 CDF notification affirmed that the RCC "does not nor shall it recognize their ordination." [25] [19] [20]
The 1983 CDF notification also states that, the RCC "regards all juridical effects, it considers them in the state which each one had previously." [19] [20] "in other words as laymen or priests." [25] "Thus, in the eyes of the Church, we are dealing with [Mister] Cox, [...] Father [...] Buckley, [...] and, [Miss] O'Connor." [25]
The 1983
CDF notification "is one that is phrased in canonical terms" such as illicit and valid. "The former means that a public and solemn act of the Church, such as the administration of a sacrament, was carried out in contravention of the legal conditions set down by the Church."
[25]
"Validity in this context belongs to the sphere of sacramental theology and affirms that a sacrament, though not executed in accordance with the legal conditions set down by the Church is nonetheless effective as a sacrament, that is, God's intended effect takes place." [25]
"An example would be a priest who has been suspended from exercise of the priesthood, yet gives absolution or celebrates Mass. His act would be gravely evil, in fact sacrilegious, but the unsuspecting faithful would still have received absolution or attended a valid Mass." [25]
The 1983 CDF notification "does mention the question of the validity of those ordained by [Thục] in an aside - effectively leaving it aside for further study. The Church is reluctant to deny the validity of any sacrament, irrespective of the circumstances, and generally takes its time before making an authoritative decision." [25]
"Central to the question of validity is the intention to do as Christ intended. It is unlikely that any sensible person could be persuaded that the antics of the Palmar de Troya cult could be seen to fulfil this condition," according to Twomey. [25]
By May 1999, "[t]he Holy See has confirmed," according to Martin Clarke the Director of Communications for the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference in irishtimes.com, that "there is no justification for considering as valid the 'Episcopal ordination' received by" Cox or Buckley. [27] [28]
"The Irish Bishops' Conference rejected that [Buckley was a valid bishop], however, claiming there was no justification for considering as valid the 'episcopal ordination' received by Buckley. The Vatican later confirmed this judgment [...]" [29]
The Los Angeles Times printed in 2000, that Cox's "title is not considered valid by the church, according to [Catholic Press Office spokesman Des] Cryan" in Dublin. [30]
According to Buckley, Buckley was conditionally consecrated by Peter Paul Brennan in February 1999. [32] [15] [i] Buckley wrote in 1999 that he was conditionally consecrated as a "precaution" because Buckley was "conscious" that Cox "was somewhat of a 'loose canon'" and "that the Church could get to" Broadbery. [32]
possible footnote and/or placed into other articles
In case a man, who is neither named nor expressly confirmed by the Apostolic See, is consecrated as a bishop, even if compelled by grave fear (1917 CIC c. 2229, § 3, 3 °), both the bishop, of any rite or dignity, and the recipient incur ipso facto excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See. [37]
The penal sanctions from the 1917 Code of Canon Law (1917 CIC) canons listed in 1983 notification are:
In 2004, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), replied to Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, archbishop of Westminster, about a request by Broadbery for declaration on the nullity of his ordination. Ratzinger wrote that the CDF decreed in the 1983 notification on "the illicit ordinations of El Palmar de Troya" and does not address "the particulars of individual ordinations." [20] Ratzinger requested that Murphy-O'Connor communicate a prescript to Broadbery from the 1983 notification. [20] The CDF prescript is:
Finally, as regards those who have already received ordination in this illicit manner, or who will perhaps receive ordination from them, whatever about the validity of the orders, the Church does not nor shall it recognize their ordination, and as regards all juridical effects, it considers them in the state which each one had previously, and the above-mentioned penal sanctions remain in force until repentance. [19] [20]
Edward N. Peters lay summary of Peter Vere's 2001 advisory opinion is: "Those confirmed under Abp. Thuc's 'lineage' should be conditionally re-confirmed." [44] [45]
Edward Yarnold wrote in 1994 that:
Few theologians would now wish to defend a narrow "pipe-line theory", which would base the bishop's authority on the historical succession of episcopal ordinations alone without reference to the succession maintained by the Churches themselves; few would attempt any theological justification for episcopi vagantes (clandestinely consecrated bishops without recognised sees). [46]
Fay, Liam (1997). Beyond belief: a mind-blowing pilgrimage through religious Ireland. Dublin: Hot Press Books.
ISBN
9780952494751. reviewed in
"No clerical errors". 1997-05-31.{{
cite news}}
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Cox "maintains there is no reason in scripture why there cannot be women priests." [47]
O'Connor gave "as 'an act of charity' to set up a healing centre for Ireland's travelling community in County Offaly." [48]
According to BBC, Buckley, "called the donation 'disturbing' and said there was a question of whether simony - the act of purchasing a sacrament - had taken place." [48]
In an interview for Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) from Lourdes, O'Connor said: "It would be a lie to say I bought by priesthood. This man would not have ordained me for any money if he had not know I had a true vocation." [48]
O'Connor gave IR£150,000 to Cox who ordained her. [48]
"The £150,000 donation had originally been intended for a healing centre for Travellers in Bishop Cox's ministry in Birr, Co Offaly." [49]
Cox said that he would return the money to O'Connor. [49]
Cox "did not doubt" O'Connor's motives. [1]
Cox "offered his church" to O'Connor and "she has vowed to take over when I'm gone." [1]
Buckley wrote in 2005 that he "was unhappy about the circumstances surrounding Sinead's ordination." [15] "Cox later said that he returned the cheque to Sinead." [15] "I was very afraid of simony — the buying of holy orders." [15]
Cox said: "I would never prostitute my holy orders." [49]
about Thuc 1976 ordinations:
. News & views.
Commonweal. 104. New York: Calvert: 34. January 1977.
ISSN
0010-3330
https://books.google.com/books?id=Uz4dAQAAMAAJ. ... the Vatican declared that the consecration and ordinations by Thuc were null and void. In effect, the Vatican decree meant that the men involved are still lay persons.
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timeline and a source for links:
Loughnan, F. John (2004-09-26). "Reply to Fr. Patrick Buckley a.k.a. Thucite Bishop Pat Buckley". jloughnan.tripod.com. Chirnside Park, Australia. Archived from the original on 2008-03-09. [ self-published source]
He was ordained a Tridentine priest in 1974 and became a bishop four years later.
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