Bishop Terence Fulham

OUR LADY OF FATIMA

CATHOLIC CHURCH

Letter from Julián Cardinal Herranz Casado
to all the world's diocesan bishops 2006

Essentially there are two documents:

1/ Cover letter from Bishop William Skylstad to the Bishops of the United States:

2/ The text itself from Cardinal Herranz Casado (the text on the Vatican website):

The significance of this document is absolutely enormous:

1/ The only way a baptized Catholic can formally defect from the Faith is (a) by writing a letter asking to leave the Church to either one's local bishop or one's proper pastor manifesting this desire in an external act and (b) by having the letter accepted by the competent authority.

2/ Neither an act of heresy or schism is sufficient alone to cause formal defection from the Faith.

3/ In the absence of the preceding requirements, every Catholic maintains the "Sacramental bond of belonging to the Mystical Body, that is the Church". Thus every Catholic remains a Catholic until they write a letter asking to formally defect from the Faith to their Bishop or Pastor and has this request formally accepted in return.

Canonical Conclusion in My Case...

Following Rome's 1995 decision I was validly received into the Catholic Church in 1989, I have never written any letter asking to be excluded from the Catholic Church...ergo...