Infiltration Comes to the Lay Carmelites

I've been a "Lay Carmelite" for over 40 years. With Rome's permission, I follow the pre-Conciliar Rule and have as little contact as possible with my Superiors.

From Crisis

By Byron Herbel

My naive enthusiasm for the O. Carm. “brand” began to wane after being told the first-year formation materials discouraged us from reading any of the original writings of Teresa of Avila or John of the Cross.

For years I had been intrigued by references to Carmelite saints, especially Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross. But I had never attempted any serious exploration of their writings until I retired from a 25-year career in correctional and forensic psychiatry. In 2020, I relocated from Durham, North Carolina, to be near my extended family in Bismarck, North Dakota. Grateful to live in a robustly unapologetic Catholic diocese and with ample time to pursue my own interests, I was surprised to find myself continually drawn to spending many hours in prayer each week, especially in Eucharistic adoration.

I was delighted one afternoon after adoration when a woman invited me to join a local group of Third Order lay Carmelites who were associated with the ancient Order of Carmelites (O. Carm.), with their Provincial Office of the Most Pure Heart of Mary located in Darien, Illinois. This little community had been meeting regularly in the Bismarck Diocese for over 20 years. I enjoyed the fellowship of the monthly formation meetings and community meetings where I could share my interest in prayer with a small group of like-minded Catholics. Initially, I was confident and enthusiastic about my spiritual formation under the Carmelites, as I could not think of a better way to learn how to grow in prayer than to be formed in the tradition of Carmelite spirituality. 

Early on, I paid no attention to an occasional whispered comment from a few of the more experienced members who expressed veiled concerns and reservations over parts of the curriculum. However, my naive enthusiasm for the O. Carm. “brand” began to wane after being told the first-year formation materials discouraged us from reading any of the original writings of Teresa of Avila or John of the Cross. That seemed incomprehensible to me.  

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Instead, we were given essays describing the origins of the Carmelite order, which were useful enough. But the other reading assignments contained a strong emphasis on social justice and eco-theology with diluted emphasis on traditional Catholic doctrine. For example, I was startled by some of the assigned readings in Carmelite Wisdom and Prophetic Hope: Treasures Both New and Old, edited by Mary Frohlich, R.S.C.J. The editor openly expressed unqualified enthusiasm for the Jesuit Teilhard de Chardin’s controversial evolutionary theology, which seemed completely out of place for a book that was supposed to help neophytes be formed in the ancient charism of Carmelite prayer.  

Problems clearly emerged at the beginning of my second year of formation after we purchased the formation book assigned for the next two years—Climbing the Mountain: The Carmelite Journey, Second Edition, edited by Johan Bergström-Allen, a Third Order Carmelite from Great Britain. At first glance, the book appeared to be a high-quality product. It had beautiful pictures and well-written prose, and it containing a wealth of historical details. Unfortunately, the rainbow-type edges of the book were indicative of problematic content that had infiltrated into parts of the text. 

The scriptural references were all based on a gender-inclusive version of the Bible. 

Social justice issues were prominently interwoven into several chapters, such as support for political engagement and versions of liberation theology. 

For example: 

Elijah inspires Carmelites to be prophetic. That is why Carmel is dedicated to pursuing justice, building peace, and upholding the integrity of God’s created world. Elijah is very much an inspiration to Carmel’s apostolate, including the Order’s presence at the United Nations as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). (p. 121)

Page 448 contains a glowing endorsement of liberation theology and the Peruvian Dominican Gustavo Gutiérrez, with the dutiful disclaimer that liberation theology must be free from the distortions of “a Marxist political agenda.”

Page 450 asserts the Church teaches the “right to life” is closely connected to “the right to employment and the right of workers to be protected and to unionize.”

Page 459 contains photos of lay Carmelites marching in the 2009 “Wave for Climate Justice” in London ahead of a United Nations summit on climate change.

There was an emphasis on finding “God’s loving presence within” but a near absence of any mention of dying to self to follow God’s will, or spiritual warfare with suggested means to identify and resist demonic temptations, or potential for deceptions in discernment.  

Several of us became concerned the book was lacking in vital aspects of traditional Church teaching and that it was not adequate for solid Carmelite formation. We were also dismayed to discover that the editor, Mr. Bergström-Allen, an openly gay lay Carmelite, was a public signatory of a civil rights document written by the dissident and pro-LGBTQ+ organization New Ways Ministry. We were also dismayed to discover that the editor, Mr. Bergström-Allen, an openly gay lay Carmelite, was a public signatory of a civil rights document written by the dissident and pro-LGBTQ+ organization New Ways Ministry. Tweet This

These concerns led to a dispute in our little community about the suitability of using this book for our Carmelite formation. We notified our priest advisor, who referred the matter to the bishop. Our bishop delegated this matter to his priest censor librorum, who determined the book was not suitable. The bishop then suspended the lay Carmelite formation process in Bismarck until we were able to obtain suitable materials that were fully orthodox in doctrine. 

Obediently, we requested different formation materials from the Provincial Office in Darien, Illinois. We were told that our community had no option but to use the assigned book, and we were suspended until we agreed to comply. Sometime afterward, we discovered that the provincial office itself was also a signatory of the same New Ways Ministry document that had been signed by Mr. Bergström-Allen.

This “double suspension” from the diocesan bishop and the provincial office meant there was no mechanism for new members to join our community, which was already internally weakened by this doctrinal dispute. As a result, our O.Carm. lay community was simply dissolved.

Some members chose to pursue the bishop’s recommendation to affiliate with a different Carmelite organization. Seven members of the original lay O.Carm. community continued to meet informally until we received approval to begin the process of becoming a lay community of “Seculars” in the Discalced Carmelite Province of Oklahoma. We started as a “Group in Discernment” in July 2023, being mentored via Zoom by an established Carmelite Secular Group in Sioux City, Iowa. During the past two years of formation, we have been very encouraged by the consistent adherence to orthodox Catholic doctrine as well as having already been assigned some readings from the original writings of St. Teresa of Avila. 

Although some of us had sensed the presence of a subtle but sinister infiltration of heretical ideas into the O. Carm. lay formation materials, the suspension of the Bismarck lay Carmelite group could plausibly be viewed as a reflection of the ongoing tension between progressive and traditional factions in the Catholic Church. As such, it seems to me a faint echo of past controversies in the Carmelite order, such as when St. Teresa of Avila’s efforts to pursue a more primitive observance of the Carmelite rule resulted in a rupture with the mainline practice of other Carmelites in the late 1500s.  For St. Teresa, following the guidance of the Holy Spirit required her to challenge her existing organization to the point of breaking unity in order to fully surrender to the will of God.

For Catholics seeking authentic spiritual formation in traditional Catholic spirituality, one lesson from this little drama in Bismarck is the need to maintain vigilance when enrolling in lay or Third Order associations affiliated with religious orders. Beware of any naive belief that you can trust a particular Catholic “brand” to deliver proper instruction and spiritual formation, since some communities and organizations appear to have been infiltrated with dissident teaching, particularly on political and sexual matters. Proper instruction and formation in authentic traditional Catholic spirituality certainly does exist—but so do many counterfeit versions. Caveat emptor!