It is surprising that anyone would ask about Vassula Ryden after reading "Apparitions and Mystics - True or False. Nevertheless, we have a file on her a foot thick. Our personal involvement with her goes back a long way. If it wasn’t for the managing editor of this company, Rick Salbato, Vassula would have never been known in this country. Now, don’t misunderstand what we are saying, he never ever believed in Vassula. But he was involved in all the actors of the play long before anyone ever heard of Vassula.

Rick Salbato is the author of a book about Mirna Nazzour called "THE MIRACLE OF DAMASCUS". He not only knew Mirna on a personal level, he stayed with her nine months in Damascus and traveled with her three months in the United States. He has the only book in the world about Mirna with an Imprimatur, and that from her local bishop. As a result, he also met with Dr. and Mrs. Monsour, who are the godparents to one of Mirna’s children. Rick also knew on a personal level, Father Robert Fox, the Fatima priest, E. Michael Jones, the owner-editor of FIDELITY magazine, Father Philip Pavich, OFM, an American-Croatian priest who still remains in Medjugorje as the primary confessor to the millions of visitors to that problem. How all these people fit together will be seen, not to mention Bishop Hnilica of Rome.

Dr. Mansour is a millionaire surgeon in Beverly Hills, who also owns an Arabic newspaper. His wife is very much into the social scene What her friends think about her is her life. If her reputation is damaged in any way, she will become a raging mad woman you would not want to confront. Of course, this pamphlet will bring out this rage again, bt we do not worry about those things. We are in the business of uncompromising truth. Dr. Mansour was the first to bring Mirna to the United States; however, she and her husband had rather bad experiences at their home to say the least. In fact, Mirna’s husband had to sell Mirna’s jewelry to get a flight home. They had become prisoners in the Mansour home. Can we prove this? Yes!

When Mirna and her husband, Nicolas, came to the United States again the following year, they refused to even make a visit to the Mansour’s home. In Claire’s own words, "What will my friends think if you do not come to my house?" Angered at the answer, Claire and Dr. Mansour went to Medjugorje while Mirna was still in the United States. They made this trip because of a sign Rick Salbato had put up in all the places where people came to see Mirna. It read:

The messages of Mirna are about unity between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, a unity based on "unity of truth". Mirna was investigated by her bishop and the three Nuncios’ to the Vatican, and by the Orthodox bishop. All gave their approval. Rick knew that you cannot promote private revelation without Church approval [See end of this booklet], and therefore spent two years getting an Imprimatur on his book before he would publish it.

Claire and the Doctor knew nothing about Medjugorje before going, but simply did it out of spite. Strange thing, though, Vassula just happened to be in Medjugorje during the same summer of 1989. Prior to meeting Claire, Vassula never once mentioned "unity" in any of her messages. Now, with the Doctor’s millions behind her, she had become the Mansour’s replacement of Mirna.

She came back to Los Angeles and placed two stories in her Arabic newspaper (side by side), one about Mirna, and one about Medjugorje, trying to show that they are the same. She then wrote a book about Mirna [ready about Claire], and using all her vast financial clout, attacked the book that Salbato had written. She even got Bishop Hnilica of Rome to say that the book was a bad book. [Bishop Hnilica, you might not know, is the same bishop who was arrested in Rome for taking secret documents out of the Vatican Library, and embezzling millions of dollars from the money given him by the promoters of Medjugorje to promote Medjugorje in Rome.]

Armed with this letter from a retired bishop, who just happens to live in Rome, Claire sent letters to all the Catholic bookstores and all the 87 Medjugorje Centers across the United States, saying that Rome condemned the book, "The Miracle of Damascus". Rick was forced to go back to Damascus, and get Mirna and the Nuncio to state that none of this was true. But the damage was done, and only millions of dollars could correct it.

Father Robert Fox was viciously attacked for writing a favorable article about the book in his magazine. E. Michael Jones was attacked for writing about Vassula. Finally, after ten years of trying to spread the messages of Mirna, Rick pulled his book off the market, and began to concentrate on the false mystics.

Now, however, Claire and her money had a new mystic to promote. Suddenly Vassula had the same message as Mirna, the message of unity. Prior to meeting Claire, as we have stated, Vassula never mentioned unity to anyone. Mixing Mirna up with Vassula and Medjugorje has become an obsession with Claire. She tried to get Mirna to go to Medjugorje and have pictures taken with those seers, but God protected Mirna by having an airline labor strike. She tried to fool Mirna by inviting her to Puerto Rico, without telling her that Vassula and Medjugorje seers would be there. The Nuncio in Puerto Rico and the Nuncio in Damascus protected her.

On Vassula’s trip to Sacramento, Claire advertised that Mirna would also be there. They she got Bishop Francis A. Quinn to write to Mirna pleading for her to come and be with Vassula. Even Father Rene Laurentin and Father Michael O’Carroll called her. She did not go, but that did not change the advertisement.

Then Claire and the Doctor got involved in the 101 disasterous Victorious Queen Peace Flight to Russia. The main seer on the flight, you guessed it, Vassula. However, Claire got Dr. Rosalle Turton of the 101 Foundation, Father Ken Roberts, Mr. John Haffert, Tony Hanna [Arabic singer and friend of Mirna], Rene Laurentin and others to plead with Mirna to go on the trip also. The Nuncio to the Vatican in Damascus would not allow it. Again God protected her.

So you see, the whole reason for Vassula being so well known in the United States, was to give Claire Mansour a replacement for Mirna. Although the vast resources of the Medjugorje network and the money of the Mansours have buried Mirna and The Message of unity, a great deal of good has come out of it all.

When you think about it, Vassula is the most stupid of all the apparitions and mystics in the world. When we read her books for the first time [We have them all.], we put them in the unimportant file, since we did not think anyone with even the smallest brain would believe them. Any professional graphologist would know that the writings are that of Vassula and no one else. Both God and Satan would be masters of the English language. But Vassula’s scribbling are full of grammatical and punctuation errors. We concluded that she was just a sick woman. But her popularity proves that you can promote anything with money and organization.

Vassula is a divorced and remarried Greek Orthodox, who has been excommunicated out of the Orthodox Church, and sees no reason to become a Catholic.

Why do we say "Thank God for Vassula"? Look at who promoted her: Father Ken Roberts, of EWTN, Dr. Rosalle Turton, the 101 Foundation, Mr. John Haffert, former head of the Blue Army and major promoter of Garabandal, Father Rene Laurentin, so-called Marian Theologian, "Mary’s People", a branch of The National Catholic Register, The Daughters of St. Paul Book Stores, The Marian Centers of Medjugorje; Father Michael O’Carroll, (former teacher at Notre Dame and involved in the Charismatic Movement); The Riehle Foundation, (promoters of "The Final Hour"); Michael H. Brown, (author of "The Final Hour" and "The Day Will Come"); and others. These organizations and people pass themselves off as experts in discernment and apparitions. The fact that they were fooled by such a poor mystic is proof that they are not.

The next reason we say "Thank God for Vassula" is that she proves that the primary reason for false mystics is to drown out true mystics. Think again about the message of Christ to Marie Julie Mahenny in 1882:

The messages of Our Lady to Mirna are directly from Heaven and very important to the Church and the world, but she has been so completely drowned out that we do not even promote her. It is the salt from Heaven with a large pill of sugar over it. You cannot see the salt, and the promoters above don’t even know the difference in the taste. The messages of Our Lady of Nicaragua are very, very important to the Church and the world, who of you have ever even heard of them? If you have, aren’t you just placing them along side 700 others and mixing the messages up.

We also "Thank God for Vassula" because it forced Rome to come out and explain that the statements attributed to Pope Paul VI, regarding the promotion of apparitions, are not to be understood in the way promoters are presenting them. We will give Rome’s statement in full in the chapter "Rome Speaks Out".

"Thank God for Vassula" because she brought Father Philip Pavich, OFM, out of his hiding in Medjugorje to expose Vassula to Rome and bring down their condemnation, which they seldom do in the case of private revelations. Vassula and "The Poem of the Man-God" are rare exceptions. Father Philip Pavich is recognized by Rome as one of the great experts in discernment. He has been in Medjugorje for over seven years. He will have much to say about that when he retires from there in March of 1997.

"Thank God for Vassula" because she shows the harm that can be done by false mystics. By their fruits you will know them. The fruits of Vassula are the destruction of true apparitions, the financial ruin of many families, the loss of reputation of many priests and bishops, and the disillusionment of many followers of true apparitions, but most of all, arming the agnostics, atheists, Protestants, and Orthodox with reasons to mock all Catholic miracles.

As we have already shown above, the promoters are willing to lie to get Vassula mixed up with true mystics. They are also willing to lie to show that bishops endorse her. Bishop John Chedid was advertised as an endorser of Vassula and as one who would be with her at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Bishop Chedid said he was angry with the Mansours’ putting his name on the flyer without his permission. He said he had some doubts about the Mansours themselves: "the lady is Latin, Roman, he is a Maronite Egyptian. They go to all churches. In the Latin, they say they are Latin; in the Maronite , they say they are Maronites. What they actually are, I don’t know." He went on to say that he forbid his parishes to invite Vassula to speak.

For those who do not know, The World Council of Churches is a Marxist inspired pluralistic body. This is the reason the Catholic Church has never become a member. The Holy Father’s recent favorable remarks about WCC were only to invite them on the right track now that communism is dead. Their connection to two other groups of the New Age tinge, prompted us to come out with a new pamphlet, which will be out soon. In addressing the WCC, Vassula’s so-called "Jesus" stated:

Father Michael O’Carroll, from Dublin, Ireland, denies that Vassula’s voice endorsed WCC, but the above words speak for themselves. He also denies that he is her director. "Her spiritual director is the Holy Spirit.", he states. He claims he counsels her in discernment. We wonder who counsels him.

It isn’t nessessary to get into long diologue about her messages. Out of hundreds of pages, you cannot find one that is not full of theological errors. Father Brian Harrison, O.S., of the Catholic University in Puerto Rico, states that her messages are strictly "indifferentism", which is a heresy that all religions are the same in the eyes of God. This is the same message at Medjugorje. Vassula’s Jesus tells Vassula, the Christian "communities are all the same in my eyes … you are all One in My eyes! I do not make any distinction."

Her Jesus has a strange relationship with her that reminds us of a Black Mass:

"I have taken you as My bride sharing My Cross as our matrimonial bed, will you look at Me?" (I looked at Jesus’ face.) "Could I ever abandon you, flower? I am He who loves you most, remain near Me, here." (It was like as if He had a sudden idea, stopped, pointed at our ankles which I saw tied to each other.)

In the April 18, 1988 edition Jesus reprimands the Pope for doctrinal errors:

"O come Peter! Take My Hand, Satan has digressed you from the Truth." In the new version the first six words are whited out, and "many of you" has been inserted. It now reads:

"Satan has digressed many of you from the truth."

In the same issue it read:

"the better chance they have to escape My foes’s claws."

It now reads:

"shadowed by Satan under his wings."

In Notebook 6, page 50, she quotes the devil as saying to her,

"g and f--- off."

In her earlier published versions she stated that we worship Mary, and then this was changed to we "venerate" Mary.

We have no intention of making a complete report here, since E. Michael Jones, Ph.D. has already done this in his March 1993 issue of Fidelity Magazine. Back copies are still available for $4.00 each. Write to Fidelity Magazine, 206 Marquette Avenue, South Bend, IN 46617.

What we wish to present here is the latest developments since the Fidelity issue. First on May 10, 1994, Edward Idris Cardinal Cassidy, Head of the Sacred Congregation for the Promotion of Christian Unity in Rome [Pontificium Consulium Ad Christianorum Unitatem Fovendam] wrote regarding Vassula:

"No one should take seriously any claim on the part of this lady to have an "ecumenical mission … I am amazed that all over the world our Church authorities are opening their doors to this lady … The question of a member of an Orthodox Church being admitted to Communion in our Church is governed by Canon Law…"

He went on to say that the "competent Decistery for matters concerning private revelations is the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, I am sending on to that office a copy of your letter and of the documentation forwarded therewith."

This is the statement of:

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith:

1. The Congregation for the Docrine of the Faith has received various questions about the value and authority of its Notification of 6 October 1995, published in (L’Osservatore Romano on Monday/Tuesday, 23/24 October 1995, p.12), regarding the writings and messages of Mrs. Vassula Ryden attributed to alleged revelations and disseminated in Catholic circles throughout the world.

1. The Notification addressed to the Pastors and faithful of

the Catholic Church retains all its force. It was

approved by the competent authorities and will be

published in Acta Apostolicae sedis, the official organ

of the Holy See, with the signatures of the Prefect and

the Secretary of the Congregation.

2. Regarding the reports circulated by some news media concerning a restrictive interpretation of this Notification, given by His Eminence the Cardinal Prefect in a private conversation with a group of people to whom he granted an audience in Guadalajara, Mexico, on 10 May 1996, the same Cardina Prefect wishes to state:

1. as he said, the faithful are not to regard the messages of Vassula Ryden as divine revelations, but only as her personal meditations;
2. these meditations, as the Notification explained, include, along with positive aspects, elements that are negative in the light of Catholic doctrine;
3. therefore, Pastors and the faithful are asked to exercise serious spiritual discernment in this matter and to preserve the purity of the faith, morals and spiritual life, not be relying on alleged revelations but by following the revealed Word of God and the directives of the Church’s Magisterium.

2. Regarding the circulation of texts of alleged private revelations, the Congregation states:

1. The Interpretation given by some individuals to a Decision approved by Paul VI on 14 October 1966 and promulgated on 15 November of that year, in virtue of which writings and messages resulting from alleged revelations could be freely circulated in the Church, is absolutely groundless. This decision actually referred to the "abolition of the Index of Forbidden Books" and determined that --- after the relevant censures were lifted --- the moral obligation still remained of not circulating or reading those writings which endanger faith and morals.
2. In should be recalled however that with regard to the circulation of texts of alleged private revelations, Canon 623 #1 of the current Code remains in force: "the Pastors of the Church have the … right to demand that writings to be published by the Christian faithful which touch upon faith or morals be submitted to their judgement".
3. Alleged supernatural revelations and writings concerning them are submitted in first instance to the judgement of the diocesan Bishop, and , in particular cases, to the judgement of the Episcopal Conference and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.