Nebraska archbishop suppresses Intercessors of the Lamb

October 18, 2010

Citing “grave reasons,” Archbishop George Lucas of Omaha, Nebraska, has suppressed the Intercessors of the Lamb, an association of clerics and laity living in community.

The canonical suppression of the group, announced on October 15, followed barely two weeks after the head of the community, Mother Nadine Brown, had resigned, and the archbishop had appointed a trustee to govern the group. The Archdiocese of Omaha said that the archbishop suppressed the community after the lay directors of the group “impeded him from helping the association accomplish the necessary reforms identified by a recent canonical visitation.”

The Intercessors of the Lamb had won approval from two previous Omaha archbishops. After the installation of Archbishop Lucas in July 2009, Nadine Brown approached him, hoping to continue the process of obtaining canonical recognition. When the archbishop conducted an investigation of the group, however, the process turned sour.

“Unfortunately, the canonical visitation revealed a number of alarming issues,” said Archbishop Lucas. “For reasons that they have refused to share with me, the board of directors does not want to work with the Church to implement the necessary reforms.” Neither the archdiocese nor the community would elaborate on the issues that caused the crisis.

The archbishop noted that while the directors of the Intercessors refused his guidance, 48 members of the community have accepted his direction. These former members of the suppressed community are temporarily living in housing provided by the archdiocese, and the archbishop issued an appeal for help in feeding and housing them. “My concern is for the welfare of the individuals who joined the Intercessors with the intention of doing the Lord’s work,” he said.

With the suppression of the community, the archbishop forbade the celebration of the sacraments on the 75-acre property owned by the Intercessors. The vows of members are annulled, the faithful are discouraged from contributing to the group, and the Intercessorf of the Lamb can no longer be identified as a Catholic association.

 

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Further information:

• Archbishop Lucas shuts down Association of the Hermit Intercessors of the Lamb (Omaha archdiocese)
• Text of statement shutting down 'Lambs' (Omaha archdiocese)
• Intercessors (Omaha archdiocese)
• Intercessors' neighbors relieved (Omaha World-Herald)