Richmond religious sect rejects 'hate group' label

http://www.unionleader.com/Richmond-religious-sect-rejects-hate-group-label

The head of a New Hampshire religious organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center lists as a "hate group" rejects that label and accuses the Alabama-based civil rights group of being "a threat to American liberties."

Brother Andre Marie, whose real name is Louis Villarrubia, is the prior of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Richmond. The group considers itself traditional Catholic; however, the Diocese of Manchester does not recognize it.

Brother Andre's group is listed under "radical traditional Catholicism" on the left-leaning Southern Poverty Law Center's "Hate Map" for 2016, released Feb. 15.

It describes the group's religious beliefs to include "anti-Semitism, angry opposition to homosexuality and a desire to convert others to their hard line views
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Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary also operates a school for about 35 to 40 students.

The organizations are not recognized by the Roman Catholic Church as a religious group, according to Thomas Bebbington, director of communications for the Diocese of Manchester. However, the Diocese since 2008 has allowed an ordained priest to say Mass and hear confessions there.

"It's definitely a conundrum," Bebbington said. "On the one hand, the Diocese does not want to give recognition to the group which is in direct conflict with Catholic teachings. On the other hand, do you deny the sacraments to individuals who want to be part of the church?"
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Slaves of the Immaculate Heart also has been accused of being Holocaust deniers.

In 2004, a member of the Richmond group, Brother Anthony Mary, whose real name is Douglas Bersaw, was quoted in the Boston Globe blaming Jews for the murder of Christ and denying the Holocaust.

"There's a misperception that Hitler had a position to kill all the Jews," he told the Globe. "It's all a fraud. Six million people ... it didn't occur."

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Brother Andre said his group is comprised of Catholics who adhere to traditional faith and celebrate the Mass in Latin. He describes Slaves of the Immaculate Heart as countercultural but committed to Catholicism, worshiping in the traditional way.

He denies they are anti-gay but says homosexual behavior is "objectively immoral." He cited the Bible as describing homosexuality as being wrong.

If homosexuals came to the center, he said the group would "help them overcome a sinful life."

The St. Benedict Center was founded by Father Leonard Edward Feeney, a Jesuit priest who advocated the strict doctrine of no salvation outside the Church. In 1949, Feeney and several other instructors were kicked out of Boston College for preaching their beliefs. Feeney was excommunicated in 1953, after he broke with Rome, but he was restored as a Catholic shortly before his death, Bebbington said.

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POor things, so oppressed....