Examining Frannie #5: A Response to Richard Hanifen

Extending Opportunity to Frannie Rose

On 4/1/2016 I had reached out to Frannie Rose through her website www.onesimplevoice.org as an attempt to give her and the ministry One Simple Voice an opportunity to publicly explain their teachings in a manner that is consistent with Catholic theology in order to address the concerns of many within the Diocese of Colorado Springs. Below is the text that I sent to her in that message. (Minor editing has been used to better incorporate it into a blog format.)

Frannie,

I have been approached by some in the Diocese of Colorado Springs who are concerned over certain elements in your teachings. After viewing several hours of video listening to you talk I have grown concerned as well. From what I can see you have been influenced by New Age thinking in the past and perhaps some of this has bled over into your ministry. Presently it is my plan to speak against your ministry and to create video presentations documenting things that you have said and evaluating them within the context of Catholic teaching. I hope that I am wrong in my conclusions but from what I have seen you appear to either maintain the following errors, or at least use language that makes it difficult to determine that you don't. What I would like to do, if you are willing, since I can work very hard to assist in exonerating you against specific claims is to provide you a list of questions as a written interview.

Presently my view is that you have carried over New Age thought into your spiritual journey:

• It appears that you reject the unique revelation of God in the sole incarnation of Christ by a) stating that 'getting it right' is not the point, and b) that we are to empty our minds of what we have been told about God through the Church, and c) you have referred to an old way, or traditional religion, as if you have something unique to offer that the Church does not. 
• It also appears that at some level, in some way, we are God, at least in a pantheistic manner. That your language that we are a “spark” of God is a way of conveying this. 
• That perhaps you reject the Church's teaching on original sin since you spoke of how this doctrine can be distorted on The Mystic Show, though I would be interested in what you think would be a distortion. 
• And that you seem to think that we are originally perfect at birth, though you speak nothing of the loss of sanctifying grace and the resulting effects.
• It seems as if you maintain an extreme apophaticism where you seem to be saying that we can not know anything about God or affirm anything concerning Him which runs contrary to Catholic teaching. 
• This seems to fit in your mind/heart conflict, a model, which has some merit such that "the carnal mind can not submit to God", as it relates to the unregenerate, but you seem to press it beyond these limits and apply it in a way that demonizes the mind, and think of the heart as pure even though it can be incredibly deceitful, and is the source of our sinfulness, whereas you seem to place the error in the mind as limitations we pick up during our life.
• You also seem to teach emptying the mind while engaging in prayer with God in a manner that is rejected by Vatican documents. 

Now, I don't want you to respond to this perspective at this time. If you are interested in a written interview then I will take the time to write up the questions and then you can take your time to lay out your responses in as much detail as you need to unequivocally convey your exact adherence to the Roman Catholic Church.

Thank you for your time and I hope that this message finds you well.

Response by Richard Hanifen

On 4/8/2016 I received an email from Sean S. Hennessy with a pdf image of a typed letter by Richard Hanifen. The text is reproduced below.

Dear Mr. Chambers

Frannie Rose has kept me informed of your public expressions of criticism of her work and writings. As the Executive Director of One Simple Voice I find such criticisms are directed as well to our work.

I must conclude that you and others with whom you agree are operating from the premise that her story and witness are false and that our ministry is based upon a falsehood.

In view of the fact that our premises are opposite to one another I see no further benefit to you or our ministry engaging in further conversation.

I ask that you discontinue any further effort to discredit Frannie Rose's reputation and the work of One Simple Voice.

I leave you with a passage from the Acts of the Apostles, 5:38, in which this advice was given to the Jewish leaders who operated from the false premise that the Apostles' teaching was dangerous and should be stopped.

“For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.”

+Richard C. Hanifen

Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Colorado Springs

Executive Director

A Call to Public Dialogue: A Response to Richard Hanifen

The purposes of my first letter was 1) to inform you that there are two different perspectives within the diocese, and 2) give Frannie Rose the opportunity to explain her teachings to those who are concerned.

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15a, b).

It is fair to expect a reasonable explanation for what she teaches, especially since we can clearly demonstrate her errors. If we are in error then she must demonstrate that her concepts and language is not New Age. Why wouldn't we expect this in light of the evidence?

That there are two different premises is precisely the reason why public dialogue must occur. We are not the Sanhedrin resisting men teaching the resurrection of Christ. We are the Church who have identified New Age teachings and are attempting to defend what Christ has entrusted to us.

“Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw disciples after them” (Acts 20:25).

As a result of her teachings, controversy has broken out within the diocese between those who can not discern the New Age influence and those who have definitively demonstrated the errors in her teachings, both in the concepts and the language used. The dissension within the diocese has been created by the seeds of her dissent from Catholic teaching. We have simply identified the errors and are calling for public action. False teachings have no place within the Catholic Church. The Faithful in the Diocese of Colorado Springs must be warned of these errors. This can only occur if we are all properly catechized in the theology of the Church, and the New Age distinctives within the teachings of Franne Rose exposed.

“I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10 ).

In order to follow Paul's advice we must publicly address the growing divisions between those who follow the teachings of Frannie Rose and those who are faithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church. As long as her teachings can not be demonstrated to be without error then they must be publicly resisted by the Catholic faithful and censured by the Church.

Presently we are not “perfectly united in mind and thought” concerning the teachings of Frannie Rose. We must have an action plan on how we are going to address these errors in the most charitable manner possible which achieves complete resolution of the situation.

As a former bishop you must understand that it is the responsibility of the bishop to properly shepherd the flock of Christ within the diocese faithfully according to Catholic theology. There are Catholic faithful who are greatly disturbed by the teachings of Frannie Rose and none of us will be placated by mere assertions by you or Frannie Rose that your teachings are not influenced by New Age spirituality. Nor will we be impressed if her teachings are effective in leading people into a subjective experience. Merely stating propositions is not a proper demonstration of truth. Nor does a positive experience determine the truthfulness of the context. I can simple assert: The teachings of Frannie Rose are consistent with New Age thought. However, this would be an inappropriate response to public concern. This is why we have gone to great lengths to publicly demonstrate our concerns. You can no longer hide behind your previous reputation as a former bishop, you can no longer rely on your historical influence upon the Catholic faithful within the diocese. I call for a public response that thoroughly and responsibly addresses the concerns of the Catholic faithful until we are perfectly satisfied.

What is there to lose? If you are correct, then Frannie's teachings are better understood and we are silenced. If we are correct, then there is great risk to you personally and your reputation for allowing yourself to naively be deceived by New Age thought, and have actively taught it to others. Positively, people will be better catechized by Catholic teaching, and better informed on how to identify New Age influence within the Church.

“The Church, 'the pillar and bulwark of the truth,' faithfully guards 'the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.'” CCC 171

It is the responsibility of the Catholic faithful to be able to demonstrate our faithfulness to the Magisterium whenever we are being asked about what we teach. It is by this dialogue that we succeed in contending for the faith. We must address the New Age errors within the Diocese of Colorado Springs. If adherents to One Simple Voice are unwilling or incapable of demonstrating the orthodoxy of Frannie's teachings then this ministry should be censured.

Personally I would prefer that Frannie, and others influenced by One Simple Voice, would recant the errors you have taught, and infuse the ministry with real Catholic content that is immersed in the language of Eastern Catholic spirituality. The purpose of my future blog posts will assist One Simple Voice in ridding itself of New Age influence and infusing its purpose with a theology and language that is authentically Christian. As it is, I have definitively demonstrated that the present condition of One Simple Voice is not acceptable and utilizes concepts and language from New Age spirituality. This is absolutely undeniable. If Frannie does not know the difference then it will only assist her on her spiritual journey in the Catholic Church and cleanse herself of her previous religious commitments. If Frannie does know the difference but insists in attempting to push these concepts and language upon us in an attempt to legitimize them then these efforts will be exposed for what they are and will continue to be resisted within the diocese.

"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons" (1 Timothy 4:1).

Therefore we must be able to properly discern what we think is the voice of God in order to avoid deception. We are not dealing with mere human effort in this regard. New Age spirituality grows not because it is from God but because it is more than a human enterprise. New Age ministries grow, and succeed in their infiltration of the Church, because of a spiritual influence that is subtle and deceptive. The first level of influence is extremely difficult to detect by those who are not familiar with this phenomenon. The initial deception is not going to be overt enough for everyone to recognize it. It will be extremely subtle in working its concepts and language into what is generally acceptable, even though it is contrary to the faith. This is the nature of deception. It is the responsibility of the Catholic faithful who can identify these errors to speak out against them and to inform others so they can see the discrepancies as well. And this is precisely what I determine to do.

Of those who are concerned, we are not uneducated, nor uninformed concerning New Age spirituality. We are highly educated and intimately familiar with the differences between New Age spirituality and Catholic theology to a degree which has allowed us to discern what we are seeing with One Simple Voice. And we implore you to listen to our concerns and to take them seriously. This is not the time to disregard our expertise and sweep our concerns under the rug, but to allow other members of the Church to assist you out of a New Age deception. By the grace of Christ this will be possible.

Well respected Catholics have made attempts to better inform the Church concerning these tactics. People like Fr. Mitch Pacwa (author of Catholics and the New Age), Moira Noonan (former New Ager and author of Ransomed from Darkness: The New Age, Christian Faith and the Battle for Souls), and Dan Burke (EWTN, director of “The National Catholic Register,” founder and director of “SpiritualDirection.com” and the Avila Institute for Spiritual Formation, and considered to be an authority on the Saints and the spiritual/mystical theology of the Church as well as the misunderstandings, heresies, and New Age infiltration) are on the front line of defense against New Age influences.

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and then aside to myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. Nor are we misguided in our observations. Whatever your personal feelings in this regard may be, whatever your affinity for Frannie Rose, no matter what subjective experiences you may have had, we implore you to examine our demonstration as objectively as possible. We implore you to see that which is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to us. We are to guard that good deposit which was entrusted to us, to guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us. We must hold fast to the faith and speak out against that which is contrary to Catholic teaching.

We have definitively demonstrated that Frannie's teaching contains content and language which is directly derived from New Age spirituality. Therefore we must diligently avoid any form of false ecumenicism, speak the truth in love, and be on our guard so that we may not be carried away by the errors of New Age spirituality. We can not simply do nothing. False teaching will spread like gangrene and as a result of it people will subtly and slowly wander away from the truth. That is why it is so important for us to demonstrate the differences between Catholic theology and New Age spirituality.