Unity is Dangerous – Part Two
By Everyone
Does the
Deal Paul Paylis (Marian Times)
I am sorry for not answering your emails right away but I
had to go to a funeral and was away for a time.
I also wanted to see if my readers came up with good answers to your
remarks. To be fair I am going to
include all your emails to me and to them along with more emails to Unity
Publishing. The sad thing is that you
continue to repeat the same lies spread by Medjugorje promoters over the last
20 years about the
The only proof of
“… Pilgrimages, whether private or public, are not allowed if they presuppose the
authenticity of the apparitions, since this would be in contradiction to
the declaration of the Bishops’ Conference of Yugoslavia.”
Now, come on, Paul, no one goes to Medjugorje
who does not presuppose the authenticity of the apparitions, and you know
it. So these people are even disobeying
the very document that you promote as proof of
In fact, Cardinal Ratzinger (before being Pope)
said in writing on 22 July 1998:
“The only thing I can say regarding statements on Medjugorje ascribed to the
Holy Father and myself is that they are complete invention” - frei erfunden - (O. P., p. 283).
In fact, the Holy Father John Paul II, who has never mentioned Medjugorje in any of his allocutions, has frequently summoned the superiors of the OFM to resolve the Herzegovinian question. For example, on 16th June 2003, the Pope asked the members of the General Chapter of the Franciscan Order to carry into effect the decision of his predecessor, Pope Paul VI, going back to 1975:
"Your missionary activity will prove fruitful in so far as it is fulfilled in harmony with the lawful pastors to whom Our Lord has entrusted responsibility for his flock. Bearing that well in mind, I once again warmly remind you of the efforts that have been made to overcome the difficulties that have long existed in certain areas. It is my heartfelt wish that, with co-operation on every side, that understanding with the diocesan authorities sought by my worthy predecessor, Pope Paul VI, should be fully attained. It has become apparent that such an understanding is a prerequisite for effective evangelization."
In November 1983, the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith asked the bishop if the Commission has come to some
conclusions. Bishop Žanić wrote a study on Medjugorje and the Herzegovinian Affair, which he sent to Cardinal Josef
Ratzinger. You know that conclusion
In 1984
bishop Žanić decided to extend the first Commission. He wrote to all the
theological faculties in
In January
1987, upon the suggestion of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
Cardinal Franjo Kuharić,
president of the Bishops’ Conference, and bishop Žanić made a joint
communiqué in which they announced the formation of the third Commission and
Paul, you know the conclusions of that.
On April 1991, The Bishops of Yugoslavia’ Conference
declared: Non constat
de supernaturalitate,
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has intervened four
times through two of its Secretaries, while the Prefect, Cardinal
Ratzinger, also made an important intervention. In 1985, Msgr.
Alberto Bovone notified the Secretary of the Bishops’
Conference of Italy not to organize official pilgrimages to Medjugorje. In 1995, Msgr. Tarcisio Bertone wrote to the
bishop of Langres, Msgr.
Leon Taverdet, and repeated the same to Msgr. Lucien Daloz of
Now Paul, all your arguments below claim either
The
1: The declarations of Bishop Zanic were twice published in the Vatican Paper, Observatory Romano.
2. The results of four commissions were sent to the
3. When Zanic died, Pope John Paul II appointed the most aggressive anti-Medjugorje bishop in the world to replace him.
4. In the many trips to
5. Just before the
war in
6. Last year the
7. My conclusion is this: 1. If the
The
There are many heresies in the apparitions and many lies, but almost all of these were in the first year and all the Medjugorje web sites today have edited out those first apparitions and the statements of the seers including yours, Paul. Now, I admit there are signs and wonders in Medjugorje and many new seers are going there and getting “the spirit” but this cannot be of God.
If you were really a lover of the Virgin Mary you would be promoting Fatima, Our Lady of Nicaragua, Our Lady of Soufanieh, Tre Fontane, Zeitun, and yes, even Akita.
I don’t know how I became known as the anti-Medjugorje web site because that isn’t what my web site is all about. I founded it to promote Myrna of Damascus and the unity of all Christians. For this reason I wrote about what divides Christians, the authority of the Holy Father, the Liturgy thoughout the bible, rapture, and fundamentalism, but Medjugorje managed to drown out Our Lady’s true messages and therefore Myrna and unity have failed.
The fact is that I am probably not the best web site that
speaks against Medjugorje. Maybe the
best is http://mypage.bluewin.ch/cafarus/falseapparitions.html
He and I disagree on only one thing and that is
Now to be even
handed I present your arguments below and some pro and con emails. At the end of this Newsletter are statements by
the bishop and the Criteria of Discernment by the
In the Real Arms of
Mary
Rickard Salbato
Rick,
I think your pride is sadly misplaced. How about the poor Franciscans and visionaries
who need far more defense than the Bishop of Mostar,
who has made life miserable for everyone in Medjugorje. I pray for the Bishop's
soul, but I pray more for yours.
Love in Christ,
Paul Paylis
Mark,
Everybody is repeating the same old errors because Rick
doesn't take them off his website. e.g. Medjugorje is
condemned by the
Vego and Prusina were found not guilty. It doesn't matter whether the Bishop escaped punishment or not. I pray for the Bishop every day, but I care about innocent people who are wrongly accused.
Nobody can deny the scientific studies. Definitely, apparitions are taking place. 25+ years and three major organised scientific studies. NO scientist has any logical explanation. The only other possibility is that it is diabolical. However, Zanic disagreed with this idea himself. Also, when Jesus Himself was accused of causing miracles in the name of the devil, He clearly told people that this was not possible because satan could not act against his own designs.
The fruits are too fantastic to ignore. People are
converting to the Catholic Church by the thousands because of medjugorje. They are not converting to any kind of weird
satanic cult. And there are so many new priests resulting from Medjugorje that
Cardinal Shonborn from
Regarding Peric's
appointment: Firstly, in communist
Love in Christ Jesus,
Paul Paylis
Hi Rick,
Well
done. All I want is openness. I’ve shared my side and I completely accept the
right of your readers to react the way they feel is best. I’m not sure whether
you could rightly presume from this “support” that you are correct in your
condemnations of Medjugorje, particularly if you consider that the
Here is
the history of the sorry division created at Medjugorje. I wonder if you will
have the “stuff” to publish it. If not, I will certainly wonder why, as it is
nothing more than the plain truth:
1)
Long before Our Lady’s appearance, the long-running Herzegovinian Affair was the beginning of bad blood between
Franciscans and secular Bishops. Readers are invited to learn from the official
Medjugorje website: http://www.medjugorje.hr/eviktor.html
where they will quickly see how the secular clergy come off less than squeaky
clean.
2)
1981: Apparitions begin at Medjugorje. Father Jozo
thinks the children are lying. The then Bishop of Mostar
(Pavao Zanic) is excited and wants to fast-track a
miracle. Father Jozo subsequently receives an inner
voice telling him to protect the children and he converts immediately.
3)
Communist secret police call both Jozo
and Zanic in for “questioning”. Zanic tells Jozo he
is not ready to go to jail over this. Jozo takes the
medicine and spends 1.5 years in jail for refusing to obey communist
authorities to quell the sudden influx of pilgrims. (Note: remember that Zanic’s initial appointment as Bishop of Mostar needed to be ratified by the communist government).
4)
From this point, we see a 180-degree turn from Zanic who now
vehemently opposes the apparitions and hauls the children over the coals during
a one-sided investigation that everyone knows is purely designed to turn up any
possible evidence to discredit the apparitions. In this process, The Bishop’s mood
is not helped when the visionaries tell him of a message from the Virgin
condemning his causing division in the region. People who have read the Truth
of the Herzegovinian Affair will understand how it is
possible for Our Lady to condemn a Bishop. It is there in black and white.
5)
Zanic commandeers diaries, conducts interviews, receives
testimonies and eventually submits his findings of constat
de non-supernaturalite (proven to be
non-supernatural). One of the best things he could come up with after his long
investigation were that two of the girls had gone out for a cigarette at the
time of the apparitions, which was the beginning of rash and unfair character
assassinations of visionaries.
6)
The
7)
Newspapers and mainstream media get the wrong angle as we see rash
headlines reading “No miracles at Medjugorje” and “
8)
The Bishop of Mostar, Ratko
Peric, continues to “command” people not to visit Medjugorje and to place all
other kinds of unfair restrictions, using the full extent of his power, which
is considerable despite his ability to determine on the authenticity of the
apparitions having been removed from him.
9)
Finally, in the face of the loud noises coming from Ratko Peric and amidst a great deal of confusion (a confusion still so evident today), people begin writing to
the
What do
we have now??? We have people like Rick Salbato, E Michael Jones and a dozen
other bandwagon jumpers picking up the threads of Pavao
Zanic and Ratko Peric, despite the fact that the
So, if
people are calling me a division-causer, it is simply because they do not know
the facts. I am completely in line with the
In the
final analysis, I am not pro-Medjugorje. I am pro-conversion. I want to see
non-believers not thwarted in the attempts to attain belief by conspiracy
theorists. If the conspiracy theories held water, that might be a different
story. BUT, first we have to get through the confusion and misconceptions and
disinformation. Rick Salbato, E Michael Jones and all the others simply have
not presented a clear picture. That is all I am attempting to do.
I will
answer any and all questions if your readers want to write to me. My email
address is mariantimes01@yahoo.com
Love in
Christ Jesus,
Paul Baylis
Hi Rick,
I notice
another common thread in your answers: That we are not obliged to believe in
Medjugorje. To get people to believe in Medjugorje is not the focus of my
website and articles. The focus is to stop the one-sided flaming that causes
people to get a slanted view on Medjugorje. Everyone must be entitled to
believe or withhold judgment in their own hearts, with full and complete
information. You deny people this by not showing all sides of the story and by
not removing the most damaging lies from your writings, e.g. that Medjugorje
has been condemned by the
Love in
Christ Jesus,
Paul Baylis
Mr Paul Baylis,
Rick Salbato is a honorable and honest person. I know him personally since
2000. He is researching and looking for the truth. You seem to be defending
yourself. Can you explain me why the Gospa is not speaking about the disobedience
of the local Franciscans and always defend them in their conflict against
bishop and pope?
Did you ever speak with bishop Peric? I did, for 3 hours.
I have 200 arguments against the authenticity of Med. after my 24 visits there. Before I have been giving a 100 conferences in favour of Med.
Now you can write about me, without knowing me, like you did with Rick.
No problem because the Lord knows the truth about everybody.
Pax et Bonum
mark w.
Paul,
I know all the documents you mention.
Hereby 2 documents where it is clear that obedience means nothing to the local franciscans. No obedience, no virtue, no truth.
At the moment I have my 200 arguments only in flemish, my own language. But in my article I sent you('Medlove') you can find already a lot.
Pax et Bonum mark
P.S. Bishop Peric on 15 June 2006(see attachment) in the
Therefore I responsibly
call upon those who claim themselves to be “seers”, as well as those persons
behind the “messages”, to demonstrate ecclesiastical obedience and to cease
with these public manifestations and messages in this parish. In this fashion
they shall show their necessary adherence to the Church, by neither placing
private “apparitions” nor private sayings before the official position of the
Church. Our faith is a serious and responsible matter. The Church is also a
serious and responsible institution!
Paul,
Did you read all
this already? You continue insulting this courageous man. Zanic was not found
guilty in the Vego-Prusina-affair. There only were
found procedure-errors. I discussed this with Slavko
Barbaric on taperecorder. I'm not influenced by Rick.I have been interpreter for all seers and franciscans and gave 100 conferences IN FAVOUR of Med.
before I myself discovered the fraud . I cooperated
with Laurentin many years. But he is manipulating
things and has not the courage to accept that he was wrong. Misled
by Zovko and Vlasic. Read the new book
'Understanding Med' by Donal Foley or Michael Davies'
book on Internet. Did you ever go to Hrasno? The real sanctuary since 1977 of the Queen of Peace, 40 km S.E.
from Med.? Visited by the nuncio and supported by J.P.II. Vlasic later
made a copy of Hrasno in Med. Can you explain me why
J.P.II appointed Peric, who lived in
Pax et Bonum
mark
P.S. There is no
new commission at this moment
Rick,
One of
your respondents wrote:
“Medjugori
is bad news and the Church has most certainly condemned it. Those who think
otherwise are just plain wrong.”
Another
wrote:
“The Church has ruled against Medjugorje. The Church has declared it a
false apparition. That is all you need to go on with your work.”
Please
alert this and other readers that they are in serious error. If you care about
the spiritual welfare of your readers, then please spell out for them exactly
what the Zadar Declaration of 1991 has said and its
full implications. Please also show the letter from the
You have
now been informed about significant errors on your website and it is thus your
obligation to correct any possible confusion these errors may cause. Failure to
do so is tantamount to bearing false witness by omission and negatively affects
the spiritual well-being of your readers.
FYI: I
have responded to some of your reader feedback on the following page:
http://www.marian-times.com/articles/medjugorje/unity-publishing-response.cfm
Love in
Christ Jesus,
Paul (Paul Baylis)
Hi Rick, here is the response from this guy who is pretty
confusing - must have some connection to Medj.......I'm
going to forward this also to Mike Jones, I'm sure he'll get a kick out of it,
but also so he knows what is going on in that wonderful world wide web.
Keep the Faith my friend.
Carmella
mariantimes01@yahoo.com>
Carmella,
I can see why you are attached to Rick. But, please, in the
case of Medjugorje he is leading you astray. Please listen:
We don't defend Medjugorje. We are not promoters. We love
the church and the Eucharist. Did you know that Father Jozo
is called the "Eucharistic Priest"? Why? Because whenever he goes on
speaking tours or is asked for a solution to something, he always tells people
to go to the Eucharist. He never tells people to go to Medjugorje! Do you know
why we speak out against Rick Salbato and his cronies? Because
he is snatching souls from the hand of God, souls that are being converted
through Medjugorje or WANT to be converted through Medjugorje or any other
apparition. Let's face it, apparitions attract people.
Rick doesn't know the damage he is doing and how he himself
is likely responsible for lost souls remaining unconverted and dare I
imagine that some souls may have died unconverted after reading some Salbato or
Jones conspiracy theory. I should know. I have spent many long hours on atheist
forums, evangelizing and trying to turn them back to God. Atheists are very
cunning and know how to argue their way out of everything, demanding proofs for
every word you say. I brought up the subject of miracles one day. I used
miracles as an example of something that is a credible pointer to the existence
of God. I used Marian miracles as an example. The first thing the atheists did
was to look up the Marian apparitions on Google and guess whose name kept
popping up - Rick Salbato, E Michael Jones and a host of other conspiracy
theorists. I looked at some of the things they were writing and was shocked to
find that they were mostly lies. It would have been fine if he was speaking
something truthful or meaningful. But they were not. So, atheists came back to
me basically laughing at God, the Catholic Church and religion, having all the
ammunition they need to say "Ah..why
bother with the Church. You guys can't even agree! It's too confusing"!. Snatched from my hands. The
other thing that bugged me was when I go to a Catholic forum and someone is
glowing about his renewed faith after going to Medjugorje and how so-and-so was
healed etc. Immediately, others on the forum would start quoting Rick Salbato
and his friends saying outright lies such as "Didn't you know the Church
condemned Medjugorje?" I was sick to my stomach at the mess of
disinformation that was affecting both unconverted and backsliding souls who
were influenced by Medjugorje to turn back to God.
I have tried to get Rick to at least make it more balanced
and certainly to remove the outright falsehoods from his website, but so far,
NOTHING. He still continues to have "Medjugorje is condemned by the
Church" and all other kinds of misleading things. He seems to
have caught the conspiracy theory bug and isn't listening. Maybe he's come too
far and can't turn back. Even one of his supporters had to tell him that
his website was not updated. I haven't seen it updated yet. All of Don Foley's
arguments have been long-refuted. All of Bishop Zanic and Ratko
Peric's arguments have been refuted. There is nothing
left but innuendo, which is another word for bearing false witness.
I have had long talks with E Michael Jones too and he has resorted
to writing fiction novels. He has become a sideshow Bob because he appears to
have run out of ideas. In his latest book, he tries to convince his readers
that the visionaries are probably seeing a ghost that represents a repressed
mass guilty conscience over atrocities against Muslims? Yet, when it is put to
him that only six people are having the visions and these six people weren't
even born at the time of the inter-religious atrocities, he still tries to
defend himself.
I have to believe that these people who write these theories
are simply in love with the thrill of the adventure of uncovering something,
with scant regard for the truth and very little wisdom and foresight as to how
their actions are harming the Church when they get it wrong. And believe me
they have a lot of damage to undo as regards Medjugorje.
Please tell me.....how do you see the
Love in Christ Jesus,
Paul
(Paul Baylis)
Correction to typo in my previous email: The decision of the Zadar Declaration was "non constat de supernaturalitate", which means "Not proven to be supernatural".
I mistakenly said that it was "constat
de non supernaturalitate" which was of
course the pronouncement of the Bishop of Mostar and
means "Proven to be non-supernatural". This pronouncement ended the
patience of the
Love in Christ Jesus,
Paul
(Paul Baylis)
Hello Rick,
I was impressed to
how many people responded to the "Refutation of Rick" and how many
them zeroed in on what was really going down. I just had to see if there
were others that were also critical of Medjugorje. You might
have seen some of these already.
http://www.roman-catholic.com/Roman/Articles/FalseApparitions.htm
http://www.newjerusalem.com/GreatApostasy.htm
http://mypage.bluewin.ch/cafarus/falseapparitions.html
I am also enclosing
a few pictures that I took when I was at the Knock, Ireland Shrine of
the Apparition a few years ago, for a reason. Notice the display case
with the large crucifix and chain on the right side. The large beads on
the chain have apparition sites on them. The last picture is a close up
with the bead that has "Medjugorje" on it.
This kind of thing,
along with those active priests that support or promote this or other
non-sanctioned events have me bewildered as to whether there is a working
chain of command. Perhaps these things are not considered to be important
enough to act upon by top management or handling them at all might prove to be
too political. I would think that a lot of it would get taken care
of at the Bishop level.
Take care,
Mr. Rick Salbato you are indeed 'More Dangerous Than Any False Apparition' and I respect you for your courage and perseverance.
I will be offering a mass for you (will let you know when its confirmed) because I don't know how else to show my support.
Respectfully
Rick, I am sure you
have seen what Mary Ann has done with the Myrna series. I am so happy that this
has been able to be presented now online in video. Wow! This is a great way to
fight the wacky apparitions etc. I made a real pretty link and ad for Mary Ann
on the front page of my website. It is on the right if you scroll down a bit.
This is so exciting
http://www.semperficatholic.com
Denise
Hello Rick:
I was amazed by the
contents of Baylis’ article. He writes and I quote: ”The weight of evidence against his position is likened to
a mountain against a molehill. But, Rick squirms and wriggles and refuses to
give. Now, that's scarey!” What really is SCARY
(spell-check!!) is the fanatical defense of the Medjugorje event and other
hoaxes that have been investigated (supposed “apparitions”, “divine writings”
and “seers”) and the results have been very clear there was (were) no
apparition(s).
People
with that kind of fanatical attitude and open disobedience to the Bishop is really SCARY.
G….
Rick - just my
response to this man's article,
the early messages speak for
themselves.
I contacted a
"medjugorje" web site that had SUDDENLY
removed all messages of the first few years. YOU didn't convince me there was a
problem with the authenticity of Medjugorje, the early messages did. I wrote
the web site and asked, where are the messages from the first
few years and he said "The people in charge of the apparitions
asked me to remove them" - and this is really key - "because they
hadn't had a chance to review and approve them before they were
distributed."
If that doesn't
sound like the Hand of Man behind these "apparitions" I don't know
what does. So the whole first few years we can't trust? What are we
saying here? Either they were ALL of God or NONE were. You can't have some
messages from God and some not.
You don't have to
be a brain scientist to see that this is a fraud and if it helps
people, that's nice, but the number of supporters has never been a
reliable argument for authenticity. Those early messages were SCARY
and did NOT help people or the church or God's mission.
I try to convert
atheists all the time and Medjugorje would scare them away faster than almost
anything I can think of.
I think it hurts
the cause.
Thanks for letting
me vent!
Aloha Rick...
Thanks
for blind coping (bcc:) me with this. I am
first most happy to see that someone is reacting. This Medjugorje matter
is not some vague issue that has an ambiguous answer or lacks a response from
the Church. It has a direct and unequivocal creditability ruling from the
appropriate ecclesiastical authority, the local Bishop.
Mr. Baylis seems to be making up his facts from the
beginning. He makes the charge that that the unitypublishing.com
web site is a source of disinformation. Anyone who has been to this web
site knows that the sources for almost everything on it are quoted in a
bibliographic style. This lame excuse for a so-called impartial plea for
"unity" is obviously based on
acceptance of Medjugorje and is transparent for what it is... a personal and
emotionally charged attack. Where are the sources for this op-ed
piece?
He quotes the
web site and then answers not with facts but with his own unqualified
derisions. I guess what really is the most irritating and
insulting to the reader about the article is how the author tries to assume the
intellectually superior high ground by trying and failing to sound like a
lawyer and portraying you as some sort of venal Cotton Mather. IF
he is a lawyer, I wonder how many cases he has won with his
clever blow-by-blow illiterations along with the
"straw-men" and leaving his facts outside of the court
room. The ending paragraph of "...More Dangerous..." does
a very good job of revealing it's true purpose.
Rick is causing
Catholics to think and making them reconsider their positions on
Medjugorje.... how awful! Mr. Baylis's
version of Catholicism is one to which I will not subscribe. It
is one that ignores the Church and follows its own agenda.
Take care,
Dear Rick
Concerning the article blasting you in "Marian
Times", keep to your policy of "not giving in" to what the
Medjugorje pushers want. I myself am often confused concerning the
subject, but am leaning heavily towards false, because of the local Bishops
ruling, and because the fruits of the seers are not good. This has all come
from you, and with proper documentation of the official papers, so how
does one refute that? I consider it a mess, and stick to the approved Fatima
and
As for this guys article, all I see is him personally
attacking you...but gives no proof to discount what he states are your
"errors". It is all about discrediting you for your non-acceptance,
but not a defense of why it should be accepted in the first place!
Are the links at the bottom direct links to your articles?
I clicked on them but it was taking so darn long...could be my connection
today. If so, hopefully readers of his column will read what you have to say.
If they have "eyes to see and ears to hear", then it will be a
blessing!
Stay tough!!!
Dear N…,
I was forwarded a copy of your email to Rick Salbato about your concerns with
false things going on in the Catholic Church.
Have no fear, these things will occur until the
second coming. Jesus chose Judas as one
of his disciples for the purpose to warn us that there will be scandals in the
Church until the end of time. The smoke of Satan is within the Catholic
Church, let there be no doubt about that.
I know nothing about this Anne you refer to but I do know a little about
Medjugorje. My late Bishop Paul O'Byrne permitted Vicka
Ivankovic to speak at my parish years ago and I have
a friend who visited Medjugorje 3 times. I never needed to believe in
these so- called apparitions in order to affirm my faith. I believe in
the teachings of the Holy Catholic Church and am in full communion with our
Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI. I never felt a need to go to Medjugorje to
check it out. I have a brother who is studying to become a priest who went
there and claims to have witnessed a miracle of the sun while there. I am
completely convinced that Medjugorje is a complete fraud!
In my research I
found unitypublishings.com website and catholicdoors.com website that refuted
the Medjugorje claims, but the one that helped me to see the truth of Medjugorje
and taught me how to discern the truth about any apparition is the book written
by Michael Davies This is his website. http://www.mdaviesonmedj.com
and you can download a copy of his book. I highly recommend reading it! The key to discerning the truth regarding apparitions
and the like has got to do with the virtue of obedience. St Faustina of the Divine Mercy said that Satan cannot hide
himself in the cloak of obedience. It is easy to see how the false seers
of Medjugorje and the priests who support them have failed in regards to this
essential virtue (read the book). Also remember the lives of saints like
Satan can hide
himself in the cloak of humility so when you see the seers and their followers indulging
in pious external practices of praying the rosary be
not deceived. Ask yourself how many true saints in the church wished to be
exposed to the public attention? I cannot name any. Why have there been no Medjugorje seers
giving themselves to Jesus in a Holy religious vocation? They all should
have devoted their lives to a religious vocation, think about it, what would
you do if our Blessed Mother Mary appeared to you? I pray for the seers of Medjugorje that they
will repent of their deceptions. I pray
their supporters and followers will see the light of truth and return to true
authentic faith based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church in full communion
with the Pope.
My advice to all Catholics to avoid being led astray is to know and follow the
Catechism of the Catholic Church, remember the promise of Jesus that he would
build his church upon the rock (Peter the first Pope and his legitimate
successors) and that the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Do
not be afraid when scandals occur in the church since Jesus chose Judas knowing
full well he would betray him and there will be others following the example of
Judas until the second coming. Prayer and the sacraments are all we need
to combat these errors. Remember that we are not compelled to believe and
follow any private revelations (catechism #67) even the authentic ones.
I have been
researching various religious phenomenon as well as non religious phenomenon
such as the 9/11 myth, global warming, the Israeli/Palestinian middle east
conflict and others. In my research I have also studied a bit about
propaganda techniques, the use of fear mongering and truth suppression and
misinformation to manipulate people. It is truly amazing the degree of
deception and manipulation we are exposed to in all aspects of our lives in
this world.
I will pray for the intentions of yourself, your parish,
Bishop and clergy. Please do the same
for me. Ours is a spiritual battle. Be not afraid! I highly recommend Holy Hours of Adoration to
help in the battle and of course the Holy Rosary a favorite weapon of St. Padre
Pio (he prayed 17 rosaries each day!).
Hope this helps.
Yours in Jesus, Mary, Joseph
Dear Mr. Baylis.... (Paul Baylis)
It amazes me how people will continue to seek and find something that will ease
their minds concerning the supposed apparitions in Medjugorje. All I see is your vicious attack on Rick and
all because he defends what the two Bishops of that area have said, as well as
the commissions as well. How you can continue to even think that Mary is
appearing shows a complete ignorance on your part and those who you are sharing
your views with.
Let me tell you something about this man, I met Rick through the Internet as I
was doing research into a dangerous cult called the "Kingdom of the Divine
Will" which I'm sure you have heard of and if you don't know, you'll find
it on the web. Of course you'll find the good and bad, but if you can
discern truth, you'll see it can never be from God, it is full of things that
are just completely absurd.
Back to Rick, well, my husband was involved big time with
this and causing a major rift in our marriage, as well as our six children at
the time. We consider ourselves to be devout Catholics,
that would be definied as those who follow the
teaching of the church and don't get involved in things that are "outside"
the church. Needless to say after much battle, I was able to show
my husband, with the help of Rick, the truths in that movement and Praise God
he came back to the fullness of our dear faith. At this time in our
lives, I became pregnant with my 7th child, Elias, and found out that he was
born with only half a heart, something we knew nothing about. Well, I
live on the East Coast and Rick lived at that time on the West Coast and I
found myself asking him if he wanted to be the Godfather to our ailing
son. He agreed, which just blew me away, here is a man I never met, yet I
knew that he was a man of God, and would be a great help to being a man who
would guide our son's religious upbringing if we should be neglect.
Again, needless to say, our son didn't live until his 1st birthday, it was a
grueling 55 days in the hospital as the doctors tried to fix his heart and he
never recovered. Rick flew out to the funeral, in the middle of a snow
storm, to be there for us as we celebrated his official entrance into
heaven. On Rick's website, you can read all that transpired between him
and I as he journeyed with our family through every
day of our son's hospital stay.
How you can attack this man on the pure basis of Medjugorje is just insane.
How can any of your pro-Medjugorje people make sense of what the Bishop has
declared and feel good about yourselves? How can
you not see that the devil has been loosened and his primary target is
MARY? If you can't read the newest book by Donal
Foley and tell me that what you preach is truth, then you should seek divine
intervention as you are dangerously close to being one of the "blind
leading the blind" and I
pray that you can recover your senses and fight for what is truth and how Mary
would want her children to act.
Our world is plummeting head first into hell and we need
faithful and truth filled people to bring people to their senses, and this
movement is not one of Mary's weapons. It is full of lies, no one is
making these things up, Donal Foley had his hands on all
the documentations out there and yet you still see it as something good.
It is so sad and I pray our dear Holy Father will make the final say, and if he
doesn't, it will continue to lie with the Bishops who are the successors to the
apostles and they have the say in their area. Do you not realize
that? How Mr. Baylis can you rectify
that? I ask for no response, I just wanted to share with you how Mr. Rick
Salbato was instrumental in my life as well as my family's
and if you consider this man what you call him on your website - well, God help
you.
Under the mantle of Mary,
This statement from
an email on your page Weakness
# 1: John Paul II did lend some support to Medjugorje (and I
have seen a photo of him with the Medjugorje visionaries).
This actually proves nothing! I have seen pictures of PJPII with Castro and
many others like Clinton and Hillary. Pictures can either enlighten or deceive.
When they decieve as with the Medj.
group then they will believe anything.
I never had any doubts about Medjugorje till I heard a presenter say that Our Lady had initially informed one of the visionaries that she would no longer be appearing to her any longer but then later changed her mind and said that she would indeed continue appearing to that particular visionary (I don't remember her name) every year on her birthday and on special occasions. While the presenter continued and praised our lady for being so gracious on changing her mind, I on the other hand was skeptical because I've never heard of Our Lady making such a u-turn on her words. Thus began my journey on the internet to look for the facts and coming across Unity Publishing.
Unity Publishing gave me the facts I needed. I appreciate the fact that Rick is straightforward and sees no need to be politically correct. From personal experience anything that happens there is never considered evil. Only the disbeliever is considered as being unholy and lacking in faith and to be pitied. Its incomprehensible when people who seem to be so knowledgeable of the faith and are so active in the church become so protective of Medjugorje that even the disobedience is seen in a favourable light.
Thank you Rick for Unity Publishing!
Could you please post on your website, a list of apparitions that have Church approval as well as a list of those apparitions that have not received approval and/or have been condemned by the Church. Today, there are so many who claim to have visions that it is hard to keep on top of them. It is even harder to determine which apparitions have merit and which don't . Thanks, MG
One of
the best things that I have encountered in my life has been Unity
Publishing, it simply opened my eyes, and I'll be forever grateful.
Dear Rick,
You are blessed Rick because you are
persecuted by the enemy of God who is so furious not to have got the
approbation of the Catholic Church that he needs to flow his anger against you
! His “proofs” are no proofs at all!
Even before the Catholic Church gave her
opinion, it was obvious for me that these apparitions were and are false!
As per “Anne, the Lay Apostle” I have seen
somewhere in a “catholic” shop of books a French translation of its book but
the title did not caused me so much enthusiastic as to lead me to buy it, so it
remained in the shop!
I would like to stress this fact: I
discovered very recently that the official French translation from the Latin
Mass in the French official Missal is very bad : very
important words are missing and it leads the people to profess heresy without
even knowing it (an example: In the Credo “consubstantial” is translated by
“same nature”) ! So, this makes me twice sad than the hundreds of false
apparitions and this because the Church does not obliges us to believe in
apparitions but the Church obliges us to believe in the truth and to profess
the truth.
So: the priests who use the French Missal
are under obedience of their French Bishops, but we lay French Catholic people
must be under obedience of the Catholic Church and the Holy Father. So, the
Catholic Dogma having not changed even after Vatican II (
There is with no doubt a real Mystery
because even people without instruction now start to discover the wrong which
has been done since Vatican II and who they have been obliged to serve during
40 years so that, few by few, they return to the St Pie V Latin Mass for the
redemption of their souls!
Me too, I go now, with these few who are
strongly rejected by the modernists, to legal and licit St. P. V Latin
Mass (attended by FSSP, ICRSP, IBP) this is more profitable for our souls than
the other!
Rick, continue fighting without fear
because you have great protectors at your sides: Our Lady of Fatima and St
Michel Archangel!
Here in
God bless you, Rick!
Rick
Lots
of good comments and points' made in the responses. I am glad you are enjoying
this. Maybe it will cause a lot of misled people to actually look to your
articles and see the truth! I would find that enjoyable also!
Hi
Rick,
Just
a short note to thank you for helping me reconvert to my Catholic roots/faith. Because
of your publications, 'The Bible is a Catholic Book' & 'Pope A
Sign of Division Or a Sign of Unity, my life is
now back in unity with the
You
are a true Catholic Christian warrior. Don't let the critics get you down. Keep
going...
Sincerely,
Hi Rick,
This is very sad. I do know there are manipulative hands in Medjugorje,
just like AF was. She drew on it plus, you know from other power sources
outside of our Lord.
By the way, people are finally noting how flat and inactive the
local church is. I know AF and her husband touched on so many here in
Portland, even going to Salem and observing and involving herself with some
Catholics involved with the state legislature. I think they tainted
a lot of lay people's involvement in the church.
Hi Rick,
Read your page of emails. It seems that the old
Catholic way of questioning anything new is now not allowed. Medgegoria may be true or false but even if it is true it
is the Catholic way to question everything so we don't end up looking like a
fool. If the people at the Marian Times think you have been hard then
they will be shocked when the Devil's Advocate division
of the
The suggestion that you will have to face the Wrath of God because you find
things to be questionable is almost laughable. Just have a look at the
questions Bernadette of Lourdes had to answer and you will find out that
you really are quite a softy.
The other suggestion that your writings are those of an Atheist who hates the
Catholic church doesn't stand up at all. I
personally may not agree with everything you write because some of it is your
personal opinion but I can't find anything that is contrary to the Teachings of
the Church, in fact, quite the opposite.
My great fear is that it is indeed all a plot of the devil. People in the West
are only just holding on to their faith. The fall of
Medgegoria may be the catalyst that pulls many down
and cause great damage. I hope it doesn't but the only way for it not to is for Medgegora to be true and
that is too much of a risk.
Dear Mr. Salbato:
I love your
website. I have learned so much from it. I just wanted to let you
know since others are knocking you down.
Thanks for your
hard work.
Sincerely,
Wow!! You are so attacked. It is so scary how the devil can confuse them to think that you are in the wrong. I really have to keep re-reading your stuff because my retention on stuff is so poor now. Nana's is better than mine at the rate I am going. They are so stupidly confused they don't even realize that they are leading people down a path of maybe. Maybe these will be approved some day. He is obsessed with the idea of a "maybe true apparition" and yet, does not mention the Eucharist (the center of Christ's true Church) not even once!! How can he be converting people with these maybe apparitions? That is ridiculous!! Also, it seems to be from the side of evil certain adjectives he used to describe you and your work. A holy man would not use such adjectives, I don't think. Christ never did. He prayed. He pointed out the simplicity of truth and corrected wrong.
You see? This is exactly why I don't encourage apparitions to my children. Sure, there have been some that are approved. However, many, hundreds, that are completely false. Why should I as a mother deliberately place my children on a path to sift through hoping to find the one true apparition out of thousands of false ones when our faith does not say we must believe in the true apparitions? I hold them to the Pope and the Eucharist (which naturally includes confession in order to receive the Sacrament) and that is all. This is where their heart needs to be. No matter what. If they keep the Papacy and the Eucharist center, all the other aspects of the faith will follow. They have learned through my heartache and mistakes that chosing a path other than the Pope and the Eucharist leads one to sadness and self destruction. I also teach them through my mistakes that when and if they find a young man that loves Jesus more than anyone, this is spouse quality. Don't bother with anything less than that. If this young man is not found, better to be single.
Richard, I will admit to you as a dear friend and family, that sometimes your sentences could be worded a little better. However, this is the only thing negative I can say. This guy you are dealing with is not of God. He is one of those wolves in sheep's clothing that is talked about. My opinion. You can correct me if I am wrong. I still hold to that too many people are wrapped up in apparitions period!! To their own demise!
Thanks for fighting the good fight! It is the fight that most of us are incapable of fighting for one reason or another. I will say one thing in this misled man's defense. When he mentions that you say "God is happy with your work" or however it was worded, I can agree that it is not necessary for you to say that. Not because of the reasons he states, but simply because any believer will naturally know that your work is pleasing to God and need not even be said and can possibly be interpreted as a self-inflating statement.
I am with you in your fight and am thankful to you for your hard work.
God speed,
V…….
I went to her website and read about depression. Hogwash. Jesus does not want us to be depressed and he will listen to our self serving depressed state. I believe, and could be wrong, that often times depression is held on to because of an unwillingness or temporary spiritual incapability to accept God's will in our lives. I believe depression is real. However, after experiencing it myself and not believing its power until I was depressed, we hold on to depression because of not wanting to accept God's will, not admitting our own wrong doing and therefore not trusting in God's mercy and forgiveness. Depression, if not brought on by hormonal problems, can often times be a choice of state of mind. Not to mention when embraced is extremely self serving and selfish. Depressed people think of self and self feelings before anything else or anyone else, including children.
This lady is a complete kook. I don't think it is fraud alone. She is being led by an evil entity.
I know my take on depression probably seems harsh for people like Brooke Shields but I have been there. Richard, after this last baby my doctor told me I was "clinically depressed". I refused mind altering medication. Depression is an evil that gets one to give in totally to it and places one in a state of mind where you are a totally ungrateful person for all of God's blessings. Hard for many to believe, but you do reach a point in your mind where you can continue to embrace depression and know that that path will lead you further away, or you can grab your boot straps, pull yourself up, and choose the other path. I think many people ignore the choice or don't even see it because they are so self absorbed with their "feelings of depression". I am not saying depression is not real. It is very real. I have suffered it. I am merely saying that I believe God gave us what is necessary to avoid it. It is up to us to take control of it.
Dear
Rick,
Thank
you for both of your recent emails, I'm busy at the moment so won't give a
lengthy response. Paul Baylis is auto-projecting, as
a result of his emotional immaturity he is attributing to your good self
the failings that his subconscious mind refuses to accept about his own self. I
am doing some of my own investigations about Anne. Please God I'll
have something for you about her later. We do have a major problem however
with the Bishops here in
Reflecting
on the book of Job recently, it occured to me that in
actual fact the Book is not about a man so much as about Satan... the accuser
of the breathren. God knows Job's heart He knows he
will be faithful come what may, and He allows Job to
be tempted so that Satan is humiliated. Likewise, your fidelity to the truth
about Medjugorje humiliates Satan, so of course he will seek out souls weak in the
faith to attack you.
It is truely against powers and principalities that we battle. Be
strong He has overcome the world.
Richard,
I just read your page on the "Marian Times" article against you
(and against the truth).
How sad how they constantly attack the bishop. This is such a crystal clear
sign of the evil origin of the fraud in
Medjugorje that I can't believe it is not obvious to everybody.
In contrast, I was reading today in detail about the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Oh my God!,
what a difference: http:// www.sancta.org/intro.html She manifests her desire that a church be
built in the site and sends Juan Diego to ask that to the local Bishop. When
the Bishop hesitates and asks for a sign, she complies immediately to the
request of the bishop. Yes, she, the Queen of Heaven,
subjecting herself immediately to the authority and request of the
local bishop.
What a difference with Medjugorje!
Hey Rick,
You must have them all shook up!!
I just reread your piece on narcissists the other day after an incident at a
local business where some of my in-laws and friends were/are employed.
The president of this outfit runs his business and his family like a cult and
NPD sure fits him in the extreme. I am
trying to explain to these poor people that getting fired after 11 to 20 years
of hard work had nothing to do with them, their attitude or their job performance.
I feel really sorry for them because these men are in their forties and
fifties and trying to find a decent job at this age is very hard if even
possible. They are also catholic guys with big families to feed. Heaven only
knows what the narcissist is telling
prospective employers when they call for a work reference. Have you got
any suggestions? Also, please pray for these men.
Rick,
How are you?
I read the article
to my mother and we both laughed the whole time, not because it was funny, but
because Paul sounds just like my cousin Rudy who wants to save the world.
People like them want to be good people; they just don’t know the full truth.
In the article he looked at you the same way, only what killed his argument was
your book, where you are Rock. When I was re-thinking about what I had read
Paul sounds like Rock, he wants to find the truth, he just doesn’t know he’s
being suckered in by the “fakes.”
Anyways, he also
said that you write lengthy articles, in my opinion, I love it! I love that you
can take one subject and write ten pages, if anything it proves you have more
facts and truth to say, unlike Paul who claims it’s a good thing that he can
write two pages on Medjugorje. If anything it proves that he has nothing to say
if he can’t write more then two pages, to me it means he hasn’t researched his
stuff.
Anyways Rick, I
love you, I’ll pray for you, and of course you already know you’re doing the
right thing but incase you need to hear it again, RICK YOU’RE DOING THE RIGHT
THING!
(I’ll pray for Paul too.)
With lots of love and hugs and kisses and some more hugs and kisses,
Dear Rick,
Keep up the good
work...you're getting lots of points where they count!
I thought the
And what's with
this "Marian Movement of Priests" taking over EWTN? It's
scary...I think a majority of faithful Catholics are slowly getting brainwashed
with all these delusions. At least we know Unity Publishing is on the straight
and narrow path...
Thank you (and
thank God for you),
Rick,
Sorry, I didn't
mean the MMP was literally taking over EWTN, just that it seems they have a lot
of priests that belong to that organization. One visiting priest was
recently talking about Fr. Gobbi through his
whole homily at the morning televised Mass there.
I think Fr. Pavone and Fr. Corapi are
authentic Catholics, not likely to be deluded by any false seers. But I
really wonder about some of the others.
We have Gobbi and Medjugorje literature in the vestibule of our
parish church during Eucharistic Adoration, because the people that set up the
monthly adoration are gullible fanatics, hanging on every message they can
find.
It's sad that
faithful people come to pray before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament
and might get blind-sided by that junk.
Anyway, that's
why we really appreciate you. My husband and I read your new articles
whenver we have several hours to spare!
Really, they're
very interesting, and you're a talented writer.
Thanks again,
Looks like you have hit the big time Rick!
"Unity Publishing, in the vein of many other quarters thriving on a diet
of disinformation from all around the world (and we know who is
the cause of that!)"
With this statement the author demonizes you and your ministry. And what are
the "many other quarters?" Your
site is absolutely unique. I have looked at hundreds of sites on
Catholicism and no site comes close to yours in terms of the sheer volume of documentation
and teaching against false apparitions.
"I'm not so sure God would smile so brightly on any individual bold enough
to negligently afflict the Church founded through the blood and suffering of
His only begotten Son. Thus, I say that these people are more dangerous than
any false apparition."
With this statement the author is showing that he is not interested in the
truth. He would prefer to go on demonizing you than dialogue with you.
"I came upon some Medjugorje-related book reviews on different websites
which repeated the same warning against Medjugorje and invited people to go to
Unity Publishing and "read as many articles as possible" to avoid
being deceived."
This is the reason why he is writing and taking your site seriously. He
is afraid of what you write.
"But, Rick squirms and wriggles and refuses to give. Now, that's scarey!"
He knows of your determination and your persuasiveness. He admits to his
fear. (Curious ~ is this man really serious about what he believes?
Does he even know how to argue a point? Has he even studied philosophy,
let alone theology?)
"His mission statement is the promotion of unity and a pledge to
"dispel the darkness", "break the spells" and free us all
from "baffling deceptions" when in reality it is really people like
himself who have created the darkness and the spells."
More demonizing.
"I simply cannot see any good in what he is doing."
Still more demonizing.
You need my prayers Rick. This sort of thing is dangerous. It is
even more dangerous that the author is not interested in dialogue or in the
truth, but prefers to see you as the cause of any trouble he might be having. I
will have a look at the rest of the
article when I get more time. Meanwhile, keep at it! I will keep checking your site to see your rebuttal.
Hi Rick,
I wonder if this guy really read any of your articles. You have saved me much grief in my own search for truth, I read much, especially works by the saints. I find that your research very true. True to the Faith and to God! This guy says that your squirm and wriggle, It seems to me that he's the one that is doing the squirming.
Keep up the good work my friend, we'll probably never meet in this lifetime, but you're one of the ones I can't wait to meet in Heaven. Along with King David and Saint Peter!
God Bless you and all you do.
Hallo Rick,
Thanks for your article. The Medjugorje adherents must be very angry to find
your good arguments against their own weak ones for all and everyone to read on
internet. They will stay blind though.
Peric wanted to stop Medjugorje.
Medjugorje or
that the CDF does not give any formal or official information or explanation
about their so-called own involvement in this amazing development. We and
others have written to
As a result, our side can now claim, that
By the way, we mean that
Greetings,
Hi Rick
Just wanted to add, I am sorry
if maybe the tone of my email sounds harsh – not intended at all!! I wrote it
very analytically, therefore it might sound strong
that way. No impugnation intended on you nor your thoughts, just wanted to
expose a weakness.
Thanks
Dear
Rick,
I would
accept it as a compliment too!
This is
precisely what is so dangerous about, yes, FALSE apparitions. One depends
on them rather than the Faith. One is made to feel part of the
apparitions, a defender, so as to "feel" that they are defending
"God's Mother." All else is secondary. One is not
thinking about the content of the messages, one just "feels" they are
right and since a person has already committed himself or herself to them, then
they must be defended with rigor for if they are proven false, then one's whole
faith drops away because they have substituted a false apparition to Christ's
Church and the Truth. The apparition becomes preeminent. I know
because I was involved in a false apparition about 25 years ago. Their is a pyschology to
apparitions, and to those people who start false ones, they know how to
manipulate people into their way of thinking! And I believe they
are spurred on by the devil if they were not already inspired by him. We
can't leave out the money end either.
Rick, as
you well know, every response to your articles on Med. in this
articles are easily refutable. Facts are facts. You also
know you are dealing with emotional people here who do not see the true beauty
of our Catholic Faith because this appartions supercedes anything the Church does. I'm willing to
bet that many on the Med. side would even detract the Holy Father if he came
out with negative statements. I do wish the Church would have acted more
quickly on these apparitions for the sake of people's souls. Nowadays, if
you stand for the Truth, you are a hate monger. What ever happened to the
honor and glory of God?
I also
believe, from my own experience, that some people are literally afraid of going
against the apparitions because they think they are going against the Mother of
God! That they don't have a right to question the apparitions because
they think they will be castigated. That fear of human respect haunts
them. I wonder how they would respond to Donal
Foley's book on Medjugorje? He's referenced it
to the hilt, which is always a good thing to do. What axe did he have to
grind? None, except a love of the Truth. People hate to look at the
truth because they are too comfortable in the shoes they are wearing.
That's why the attack on you. You are affecting their comfort zone.
On a side note, that's part of the reason why there is so little concentration
on the Sacrament of Penance today and the lines are shortening. People
are afraid to examine their conscience today for fear of discovering what we
are, sinners. As Archbishop Sheen said once, "It used to be that
only Catholics believed in the Immaculate Conception. Now everybody
believes they are immaculately conceived."
You and Donal's book have said it all. I just wanted to throw
something in on the psychological end of the spectrum. Rather than study
the beauty of our faith, people would rather jump in on the sensational.
Instead of reading history and the spirituality of the Saints, now we can be
our own saints and feel part of the clique that the "Gospa" is speaking
too. How many disillusioned Catholics are we going to have when the
pronouncement comes against the apparitions? How many will fall from the
Faith? The devil is willing to lose a few in order to gain many, and lose
many in order to gain a few souls. In this day of the visual, he knows he
has to present the fantastic to sucker people in. Do things that
make them say, "Wow." He knows the Church will be victorious in
the end, and his time is short. He's got people believing the apparition
is right and the Church is wrong. He's knows the Church is in a weakened
state, so he attacks. When the Church is holy, the attack is always from
the outside. When the Church is not so holy (not talking about the marks
of the Church here) the attack always comes from within.
These
people fail to see that it is Med. that is causing the division, not the people
who speak against it, who have a right to speak against. The message is
causing division precisely because the messages are false. Mix some truth
with lies and keep telling the lies long enough and you can get a multitude to
follow you. I think everyone is afraid to ask the children seeing the
"gospa" the hard questions. If you
challenge them, people think they are martyrs for the suffering you are causing
them. It's a hard situation to deal with. I think we just have to
continue to tell the truth in season and out of season.
I have
rambled on long enough. God bless you Rick. Keep up the fight. I am
doing it on a local level here. People look at me like I am the devil
himself when I point out some things. Thanks for having the backbone to
say the Truth. Take care.
In
Christ,
Dear
Rick Salbato
It is
unfortunate that people are so adamant about distorting the truth. I have found
Unity Publishing nothing but helpful and am quite impressed that you qualify
your own opinion so well. Facts are facts. Medjugorje is bad news and the
Church has most certainly condemned it. Those who think otherwise are just
plain wrong. There may come a day soon when our holy father must step in and
correct all those who continue to spread the lies. My wife and I pray for you
and those like you every day..
Please
keep up the great work in spreading the truth.
Hi Rick,
Don’t worry, that
this guy is forgetting that the division is not caused by us, but by the
apparition itself. Why? Because if there was no
apparition there would not be a division. For if the apparition
were really supernatural from God, there would be no divisions among the
faithful of the Catholic Church, or She would simple not appear if She would
had known that there would be divisions. I sense anxiety and possible impatience
in Paul’s letter. He is certainly hurting. Poor soul, I hope that
he can make it through
this trial.
May God give you
and your family courage and continue holding onto Truth in our Catholic Church. May God give us all strength to help those
who need some strengthening during these times of real trials.
I will appreciate
if you keep me posted with this issue.
Thanks,
Hi, Rick. I
also have noticed how Medjugorje supporters see the devil in any & every
person who is not persuaded by their supposed revelation.
Dear Rick,
Thanks for the emails you've
sent me regarding "Anne". You are doing a great job, and keep it up!
It's only courageous people like yourself who will
stand up and be counted, who will continue to prod these people's
consciences. Quite obviously the people who make the most noise about your
website are the guilty ones. If your writings/findings didn't prick their consciences,
they wouldn't be hounding you.
Having lived in a cult, as you
know, I experienced first hand, the lies, deceit, spiritual abuse and
many other things, on a regular basis and every time
something like that happened it was condoned by the
"priest" who was there and still remains to this day. It took guts to
stand up against him, which eventually I did and believe me, what peace of mind
did I have then! All because I was following what the Church had to say, not
some loony "prophet".
To all of you out there
following apparitions, DO YOUR HOMEWORK FIRST, before visiting ANY site, that
supposedly hosts apparitions. Talk to the local Bishop, local
Catholics, even the local townspeople. And don't stop there, keep moving
up the ladder and don't stop until you have the full picture. False
"seers", "prophets" and the like, tell lies like it's normal. They have no scruples whatsoever.
God Bless you and your work Rick.
Dear Rick,
I am quit happy to have you as a friend.
You provide the information, and if N M does what he says he will do, this may
be what is needed to make
May all the false apparitions be revealed for what they really are... a human
trap.
Your sister in Christ and Mary,
There is a great deal of confusion today. There is too much data being communicated. I can't keep up with it. I am not sure why you sent me this email. It doesn't seem to support your negative opinion on Medjugorje in fact the opposite but I don't have time to read it all. I say there is too much complaining and not enough prayer. I have been given a gift, I believe, in knowing that the seers in Medjugorje are real. You can judge them all you want. If they are false they haven't hurt me but have helped me. I am tired of all the argument. Just pray and shut up. Help your family and the people you come into contact with and you and I and everyone else will be too busy to counterclaim anything. "Shut up and pray" is my new motto for all the bloggers who have too much time on their hands. Save the typing for time to help those in your direct contact. Thank God Mary is appearing and has appeared and stop being the expert.
I have a buddy dying of cancer in another town I should send something to help him since he wont' return my calls. That’s one example. I have a nephew in prison I need to attend to, a mother who is aged, a friend who is watched by 24 hour helpers. Who has time for debating what seers are saying and since it can't be proven, just give it up and live the messages and let the Father sort out the truth. I don't believe any of your FACTS. Give it up.
Best Regards,
I hope you forwarded that litany of voices on to this cultic apologist. Some good stuff there. Now I think I should have written more but like the Bard said, "Brevity is the soul of wit."
Rick,
I made you a web
page.
In the attachment
is the first hour of The Miracle of Damascus. I'll update this page for you
every week to 1.5 weeks as I make more videos. I'll do this will all three of
your documentaries. I've embedded the videos into the page using script
provided by You Tube. I didn't write any
intro. I'll leave that to you.
I have to say ...
the folks on You Tube are EATING THIS UP! They LOVE IT. People are watching
this en-masse. See my You Tube page and the number of views. Now, some videos
are duplicated. I was messing around and put in some called "low res for dialup." I won't be doing much more of those
because even the low res takes 45 minutes to upload on dialup. So when you add up
the numbers, make sure you add the duplicate videos together.
You will be able to
see the number of views and comments on my You Tube Channel: www.youtube.com/Button36. Uh ... sorry about the banner ads on there. That's all You
Tube's doing.
Anyway, I think
that once people see the signs and miracles surrounding Myrna Nassour, their
eyes will be opened. There is no denying Myrna. There are no such miracles or
signs surrounding Medjugorje --- except for the retinal burns from viewing the
sun!
Once people see the
REAL THING, they'll never believe in Medjugorje again! You might want to do some sort of intro along
those lines. Anyway, this is totally
cool, for you my good friend!
God Bless!
Mary Ann
P.S. Check out the Vicka interview part one comments. Paul Bayliss
gets totally debunked by a large number of people. His username is Bayliss, I think. Anyway, he emailed me privately, said all
sorts of garbage about you, and then I directed him to the articles on my blog and asked him to explain to me why the ophthalmic
literature has documented quite a number of cases of Medjugorje Maculopathy. I asked him why this "miracle of the
sun" causes permanent damage to eyesight. He had no answer. In fact, he
didn't write me back! Hey ... how can you oppose the New England Journal of
Medicine, the most reliable and most prestigious medical journal in the entire
world? Anyway, I thought you might amuse yourself by reading the You Tube
attacks on Bayliss. He gets totally creamed! It's
cool!!!!!!
Hello Rick,
I've appreciated a lot your links, expecially
"Unitypublishing is dangerous",
devil can imitate devotion but cannot imitate obedience. It is all, we
shouldn't worry about people who mock us because great will be the prize.
Months ago Cardinal O'Malley created a blog of own, I give you its link: www.cardinalseansblog.org
You have the grace
to be intellectual and to know the holy law, that is a
big grace and necessary to save and to find out the truth! Nice to know you! You have a nice heart,
and I thank you for your work! Hope to see you! Why not in
Rick, Two points:
The fact of the matter is that the things contained on your
website, although they are public domain, are not for everyone; and the
understanding of many other things on your website are predicated on
understanding other things. Just like you can't learn Calculus until you learn
simple addition. The vast majority of Catholics have not learned the "simple
addition" of the spiritual life. What is worse, they don't know that they
don't know, and so are in some sense incurable b/c you can't give someone
something they think they already have, like discernment.
Also, to give the Medjugorje followers the benefit of the doubt,
anyone who has ever immersed themselves in the teachings of the Fathers, the
Saints, and Doctors of the Church know that an apparition that is surrounded by
such controversy is not safe to believe and not even worth believing, even if it
is true. And yet, in spite of all the drama and controversy and argument, you
still see people running to it, as if Fatima, Banneux,
La Sallette,
I will ask my patron, St. Anthony of
Rick
one more comment about Paul Baylis: (I read
your latest article with email replies)
Welcome
to meeting face-to-face with the Medjugorje Apostasy.
Already
just by the title of his article, MORE DANGEROUS THAN ANY FALSE APPARITION, indicates that Paul Baylis
is way off on the wrong track!!
Excuse
me, Mr. Baylis, but I can’t imagine what is more
dangerous for the soul than a False Apparition, whose purpose is to delude
people into sin & division and to lose the Catholic Faith!!
Is a
website like Unity Publishing which advises caution backed up by documented
reasoned analysis, really more dangerous for the soul???
Apparitions
are NOT needed for Faith and Salvation, but a False Apparition can endanger
Faith and Salvation –
so the title MORE DANGEROUS THAN ANY FALSE APPARITION
is in itself COMPLETELY WRONG AND FALSE.
Paul
Baylis has his priorities wrong --- see the dangers
of false apparitions?
To
support Medjugorje, even the eternal truths of the Catholic
Faith is expendable and can be sacrificed at the Altar of
Medjugorje.
The
Altar of Medjugorje also demands the sacrifice of truth-tellers (aka Prophets) like Unity Publishing, similar how the Old
Testament Jews punished their prophets who told them of their evil ways – they
did not want to hear that!!
Obviously
it is some Spirit motivating Medjugorje fanatics, but it is NOT the HOLY Spirit!!
(The
same goes for Catholic liberalism/modernism/progressivism – so similar to the
Medjugorje false apparitionist fanatics, and they all
merger together and jump into the same bed by way of the Catholic Charismatic
Movement).
Catholic
Medjugorje fanatic + Catholic modernist thinking = a Catholic Charismatic, a
mixture of so many errors on the path of apostasy of the eternal traditional
Catholic Faith.
And
these misguided souls absolute hate truth-tellers like Unity Publishing.
Keep
on publishing the truth, Rick, even if they cover their ears, chant nya-nya-nay-I-am-not-listening-to-you. One day, maybe the
kernel seed of truth you implant in some minds will help them turn away from the
Medjugorje Apostasy.
Rick,
I don't know who these people are
who have written these comments. But even if you had never been on the
internet, I was onto Medjugorje a long time before you or anyone else was on
the net about it. When I was a student at (Catholic)
So, you may have your detractors, but they are definitely on the wrong track anyway. If they would do their research, as I have done,and quit ignoring the glaring problems with it, I doubt they would be extolling the virtues of Med. I am a firm believer in leading by example, and while not intending to be judgmental, when I hear of the seers' living in expensive homes and driving BMW's a big red flag goes up! Is that the way Sr. Lucia lived???? Or Bernadette? If I had meetings with the BVM, I really doubt that I would be living an opulent and worldly lifestyle! I probably would join the priesthood or something...
It looks like the people who wrote the critical articles are merely trying to defend their position by giving YOU lessons in investigative-writing techniques, but if they did not choose to ignore the facts regarding Med and everything written about it since the 1980's, including the negative assessment by the 2 investigations (correct me if I'm wrong there), they really don't need to read your website or anyone elses' for that matter; there is so much that is patently wrong and disgraceful about that whole phenomenon that they should be looking at THOSE facts, rather than trying to correct you.
And BTW, if our prior Holy Father, and with all due respect, did indeed make favorable comments towards Med, I don't know if he was ignoring the facts or just pleased as a matter of pride towards his homeland area and made favorable remarks.
He would have done better to say nothing!
That's the end of my rant. Thanks for reading it!
(BTW-Have you noticed that it's been 46 years since Garabandal and not a d**n thing has happened-why are these fools still waiting??? Can't they get a clue?)
Rick,
Check out Bayliss getting creamed (debunked) on You Tube with the Vicka Interview. There are 81 text comments.
Here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ANuryDkto8
God Bless!
Important Notes:
Note 1.
Peter Kreeft says
it so well:
"If you want to invent your own
religion, do not be a Catholic. If you
want to teach the Church rather than let the Church teach you, there are plenty
of other churches for you, churches that welcome theologies without miracles,
moralities without absolutes, and liturgies without adoration. Please do not be
a Catholic unless you believe the Church's claim to speak in these areas in the
name of Jesus Christ."
"There is no such thing as a 'cafeteria Catholic'. Catholics do not pick and choose among the Church's doctrines and laws;
we receive them gratefully from God, we 'eat all the food Mother puts on our
plate'".
"A 'cafeteria Catholic' or a half Catholic or a 95 percent Catholic is a
contradiction in terms. If the Catholic Church does not have the divine
authority and infallibility she claims, then she is not half right or 95
percent right, but the most arrogant and blasphemous of all churches...It must
be either/or, as with Christ Himself...The only honest reason to be a Christian
is because you believe Christ's claim to be God incarnate. The only honest
reason to be a Catholic is because you believe the Church's claim to be the
divinely authorized Body of this Christ."
- Dr. Peter Kreeft, in his book "Catholic
Christianity" (pp. 104-105)
Note 2.
In
fact, here is an excerpt from the full letter found in Michael Davies book. The
letter is from Bishop Zanic (he's only the Bishop), to Fr. Tomislav Pervan, who was the Pastor at the time the letter
was written on March 25, 1985. Once
again, I stress that even if these "apparitions" were authentic, a
bishop will test the obedience of the "seers" with actions like this.
They flunked!
Quote: |
Following
a two-day session, the commission on the events of Medjugorje declared that
the pastoral personnel and the seers in Medjugorje are requested to
abstain from any public statement or declaration to the press about the
contents of the visions and the alleged miraculous cures. At our meeting,
held in the chancery office in Mostar on 31 October
1984, I demanded that Medjugorje's occurrences "be toned down and
eliminated little by little." |
Note 3.
SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST
MEDJUGORJE, 15 - VI - 2006
Ratko Perić,
bishop
Dear brothers and sisters,
Dear candidates for Confirmation, I am
happy to be with you and your families here today for the conferring of the
sacrament of Confirmation. Through the required instruction and the sacrament
of Reconciliation you have prepared yourselves to faithfully receive the seven
gifts of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of wisdom, understanding, knowledge and
counsel, are concerned with our minds, with the enlightening of our use of
reason; while the gifts of fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord, regard our
hearts and the strengthening of our free will. These are not fleeting gifts
that you will joyfully receive today as candidates for Confirmation and which
will be gone tomorrow. This is the seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. Once
sealed you always remain sealed with the Holy Spirit! However, each of these
gifts requires your efforts in conformity with your growth in knowledge and
witnessing through a life of faith.
Do not fear to be strong in God before people, even though
the world may consider you cowards and backward. Christ the Lord, God's Truth,
teaches us: "Everyone who acknowledges me before others, I also will
acknowledge before my Father in heaven (Mt 10:32).
Do not be ashamed to be fearful of the Lord and pious, full
of awe towards God and his holiness, even though this passing world may ridicule
and mock you. The world has no fear of, nor sense of shame in transgressing
God's commandments. We on the other hand, are believers and worshipers of God,
who adore him in spirit and truth.
The world counsels on how you can most easily lose yourself in fleeting
passions, but the Holy Spirit counsels us on how we can most easily
reach eternal life. Whoever then takes truthful counsel,
is lead by the Spirit on the right path.
The world tempts you and invites you to behave according to its
perverted fantasies and passions, yet the Holy Spirit lets you learn and
discern by acquiring unending knowledge that leads to the Father's
house. Today, do not allow yourself to just receive the seal on your forehead
and then continue living as if you do not possess the Holy Spirit within
you.
II. - Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The Church celebrates today the
Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. We Catholics believe that
the historical event of Jesus' Last Supper, described in each of the four
Gospels, is one of the greatest mysteries of our holy faith. During that
evening, the Lord Jesus, while he ate with his disciples, took bread, blessed
it, broke the bread and gave it to them saying: “Take; this is my body”. He
then took the cup, gave thanks and gave it to them. And all drank from it.
“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many” (Mk
14:22-23).
Eucharistic sacrifice. The mystery of the Lord's Supper is first of all a sign of
Jesus' sacrifice through his death on the cross and resurrection to new life,
which he offers us as a divine gift. Why is this at the very core of Christian
faith? Because this is what God desired and accomplished! If the all-wise God
decided on this path of salvation, then his entire divine intervention is
nothing else than wisdom and goodness. We become wise and prudent when
we accept this sacrifice as an expression of God's grace and love. The
sacrifice can only be understood and accepted in the context of love. Sacrifice
is the most convincing demonstration and evidence of love. God is Love.
Therefore, the Eucharistic sacrifice is an expression of God's love towards us.
In a specific historical moment on
Eucharistic banquet. This mystery of Jesus' love is not only his divine sacrifice
for us weak people, but it is also our spiritual food for our journey towards
eternal life. There is no health, nor life without bread. Mankind does not know
all the ingredients of bread and wine, yet he still eats and drinks of them
with joy and moderation. Are we even aware of the process of how wheat and
grapevines grow? How does a seed sprout or a grape mature? How is the seed
transformed into bread, or the grapes into wine? Do we know how bread and wine
are then transformed in our living organisms? Despite our lack of knowledge,
this does not lessen the strength of bread nor wine to sustain our lives in
good health through their nourishment.
Something similar occurs with our spiritual health. We cannot
understand what the Holy Eucharist is, but we accept it with faith and partake
of it with the greatest respect of heart for our eternal salvation. Jesus said
to us: “Whoever eats of this bread will live forever” (Jn
6:51). While our earthly bread and wine serve for this life, so too Jesus' Body
and Blood serve for spiritual and eternal life. None of us are worthy of this
for we are all sinners: in our thoughts, words and actions, as well as through
our omissions in doing the good that we should do. Whoever unworthily eats and
drinks of this Sacrament, that is, while in sin, in disorder, in obstinacy,
that person is guilty of sinning against the Body and Blood. However, those who confess and repent for their sins, God grants them
forgiveness and feeds them with the Body and Blood of Christ. Let us give
thanks to God who first of all sets us free from our sins in the sacrament of
Confession and who nourishes us with his Eucharistic Body. The Mass is
therefore the center of our personal and communal lives. This is the will of
our heavenly Father, established by the Son of God, which happens through the
power of the Holy Spirit. We believe in the words of Christ, for his words “are
spirit and life” (Jn 6:63).
In memory of him. The Lord Jesus left us a great divine truth and mystery:
“This is my Body”. “This is my Blood”. These words were spoken by Christ
himself. From the very beginning, the Church has always literally understood
this holy text and message from Jesus' Last Supper. Not even a single letter
has ever been changed, nor have they been understood according to other
symbolic meanings in order to make them more acceptable to people. Jesus said
these words once and forever! He also commanded that this be done in memory of
him! In memory of God's great works of salvation. We acknowledge and believe in
what has been communicated to us! We celebrate the liturgy in the same fashion
as we have received it. Let us give thanks to God for the immeasurable gift of
Jesus' Most Holy Body and Blood. This act and mystery contain the past: “Christ
has died”; the present of Christ's resurrection: “Christ has risen”; and the
future: “Christ will come again”, when he shall come and prepare a place for us
so that we may be where he is (Jn 14:3).
III. - “Apparitions”. First of all, the fact that a person makes a humble
Confession and receives Holy Communion in this parish church and that this
person feels spiritually well due to God's forgiveness, each and every believer
will recognize and give due praise to God for this, who is the source of all
graces. At the same time, this person will take care not to proceed from this
state of grace towards an illogical and inconsistent conclusion: “I made a
Confession. I feel good and now I am converted. Therefore the Madonna is
appearing in Medjugorje!” This type of believer and penitent is nonetheless
obliged to go to confession, receive the other sacraments, observe the
Commandments, whether any private apparitions are recognized or not.
Secondly, I
would be an irresponsible minister of the Mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ,
if today I were not to publicly advise, from this place and on this occasion as
well, to all those interested throughout the world, that in this local Church
of Mostar-Duvno, there exists something similar to a
schism. A number of priests that have been expelled from the Franciscan OFM
Order by the Generalate of the Order, due to their
disobedience to the Holy Father, for years now have been forcefully keeping a
few parish churches and rectories along with church inventory. They have not
only been illegally active in these parishes, but they have also administered
the sacraments profanely, while others invalidly, such as Confession and
Confirmation, or they have assisted at invalid marriages. This type of
anti-ecclesial behaviour is shocking to all of us. At
the same time, this scandal of sacrilegiously administering the sacraments,
especially of the Most Holy Body of Christ, must shock all the faithful as well
who invalidly confess their sins to these priests and participate in
sacrilegious liturgies. We pray to the Lord that this scandal and schism be
uprooted as soon as possible from our midst.
Thirdly, I
am truly grateful to the Holy Father the Pope, to John Paul II of blessed
memory and to the reigning Benedict XVI, who have always respected the judgements of the bishops of Mostar-Duvno,
of the previous as well as the current bishop, regarding the so-called
“apparitions” and “messages” of Medjugorje, all the while recognizing the Holy
Father's right to give a final decision on these events. The judgements of the bishops, after all the canonical
investigations made thus far, can be summarized in these following
points:
1 - Medjugorje is a catholic parish in which liturgical and
pastoral activities are carried out, just as in all the other parishes of this
diocese of Mostar-Duvno. No-one except the official
Church authorities is then authorized to attribute the formal title of “shrine”
to this place.
2 - On the basis of Church investigations of the events of
Medjugorje, it cannot be determined that these events involve supernatural
apparitions or revelations. This means that till now the Church has not accepted, neither as supernatural nor as Marian, any of
the apparitions.
3 - Priests who canonically administer this parish of Medjugorje
or those who come as visitors, are not authorised to
express their private views contrary to the official position of the Church on
the so-called “apparitions” and “messages”, during celebrations of the
sacraments, neither during other common acts of piety, nor in the Catholic
media.
4 - The Catholic faithful are not only free from any obligation to
believe in the authenticity of the “apparitions” but they must also know that
church pilgrimages are not allowed, whether official or private, individual or
group, or from other parishes, if they presuppose the authenticity of the
“apparitions” or if by undertaking them attempt to certify these “apparitions”.
5 - As the local Bishop, I maintain that regarding the events of
Medjugorje, on the basis of the investigations and experience gained thus far,
throughout these last 25 years, the Church has not confirmed a single
“apparition” as authentically being the Madonna. The fact that during these 25
years there has been talk of tens of thousands of “apparitions” does not contribute
any authenticity to these events, which according to the words of our current
Pope, who I encountered during an audience on 24 February this year, commented
that at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith they always questioned
how all these “apparitions” could be considered authentic for the Catholic
faithful. They particularly do not seem to be authentic when it is known
beforehand that these so-called “apparitions” will occur:
To one of the “seers” on the 18th of March every year, but along
with this she will also receive an “apparition” on the 2nd of each month, with
“messages” which you can expect, according to the established procedures;
The second will receive an apparition on every day of the year,
and if this were not enough, an added special “apparition” on the 25th of each
month along with a type of press release, which once again you can foresee and
expect;
The third will receive an “apparition” on the 25th of December, on
Christmas day, along with a message similar to the ones already
mentioned;
The fourth will receive an “apparition” on the 8th of September
every year along with a specific message;
The remaining two will receive the same, every day along with
“messages” that can be anticipated since they are variations on the same theme.
This fact and the flood of so-called apparitions, messages, secrets and signs,
do not strengthen the faith, but rather further convince us that in all of this
there is nothing neither authentic nor established as truthful.
Therefore I responsibly call upon those who claim themselves to be
“seers”, as well as those persons behind the “messages”, to demonstrate
ecclesiastical obedience and to cease with these public manifestations and
messages in this parish. In this fashion they shall show their necessary
adherence to the Church, by neither placing private “apparitions” nor private
sayings before the official position of the Church. Our faith is a serious and
responsible matter. The Church is also a serious and responsible
institution!
Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the greatest possessor of the gifts of
the Holy Spirit, who through the same Holy Spirit conceived in her body and
gave birth to the Second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, who gives us his
Most Holy Body and Blood for eternal life, may He - who is the Way, the Truth
and the Life - help us so that the truth of the Blessed Virgin, his Mother and
Mother of the Church, Seat of Wisdom and Mirror of Justice, may shine forth in
brightness in this parish and diocese, without even a hint of incredibility,
yet all in accord with the constant teachings and practice of the Church.
Amen.
Note
4.
Natrag
1978 Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith Document on Apparition Discernment English translation 1978 Congregation for the
Doctrine of Faith document on apparition discernment (in French) - the sections in italics are
opening and closing remarks by Joachim Bouflet -
these remarks and the text from the CDF are taken from his book, jointly
authored with Philippe Boutry, Un signe dans le ciel, (Grasset, Paris,
1997), pp. 396-99. © Joachim Bouflet
& Philippe Boutry, 1997
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