Saturday 25 November 2017

Update on the Status of the Writings of Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi


Archbishop Giovan Battista Pichierri, of the Archdiocese of Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie
(12 February 1943 – 26 July 2017)


Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi OSJ has recently publically announced that he has attempted to take a civil action against me, dating back to 11th April, 2017, which he issued shortly after I originally published a letter I had received from the late Archbishop Giovan Battista Pichierri, of the Archdiocese of Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie. This was made in an attempt to force me to take down my earlier blog post (here) in relation to this letter, in order to suppress the following important information. Archbishop Pichierri sadly passed over into the Lord's care on July 26th, 2017 (please pray for the happy repose of his soul). Just over a month before his death, Archbishop Pichierri had sent a note to Fr. Iannuzzi's attorney on 11th June, 2017, confirming that Fr. Iannuzzi's diffusion of the writings of Luisa Piccarreta properly belongs with that detailed in his third communication of 2012:

Dear Attorney Eric L. Hearn,

I received your letter of May 22, 2017 in which you refer my attention to the article that Mr. Emmett O’Regan posted on the internet in relation to Rev. Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi. 
On May 3, 2017 the Archiepiscopal Curia and I welcomed Rev. Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi who explained to me the specifics contained within Emmet’s letter. In this regard, I desire to indicate that that which I am to share with you about the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta is all contained already in the Communcation n.3 which I hereby attach. Therefore Rev. Fr. Joseph Iannuzzi’s work of research and diffusion undertaken in relation to the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta is properly understood in light of this declaration [Communication] of mine to which, to this day, I have made no additions, as there have not been any new developments to the Cause of Beatification and Canonization that are underway at the Holy See. 
Moreover since Fr. Joseph is not canonically affiliated with this archdiocese, I am convinced that his good reputation, which I have never called into question, will be best reaffirmed by his legitimate Superior.
I assure you of my prayers in your esteemed work, and I extend to you my warm greetings.  

Giovan Basttista Pichierri
Archbishop

There are a number of things which can be gleaned from the Archbishop's letter to Fr. Iannuzzi's attorney. Shortly after I posted Archbishop Pichierri's letter to me here on this blog, Fr. Iannuzzi sent me a threatening legal notice in an attempt to force me to take down my blog post and suppress this information. At around the same time, he demanded to have an audience with Archbishop Pichierri and his Curia, which was granted on 3th May, 2017. During this audience, Fr. Iannuzzi explained the exact specifics of my letter, and while we do not know exactly how Archbishop Pichierri responded in this meeting, we can be assured that the outcome was not a happy one for Fr. Iannuzzi. The fact that Fr. Iannuzzi chose to resort to communicating to the Archdiocese of Trani through the medium of a civil attorney shortly afterwards strongly suggests that he did not get what he was pushing for during the course of his audience (which obviously was for the Archbishop to refute the fact that he had violated the moratorium). Also the very fact that he attempted to use a civil attorney to intervene in an affair which is solely to do with ecclesiastical law, seems quite a desperate reaction, and against St. Paul's instructions in Sacred Scripture:

When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers. (1Cor 6:1-8)

Given the fact this matter involves the breach of an ecclesiastical moratorium and the lack of imprimatur, imprimi potest and nihil obstat in the books of a member of a religious institute, it pertains solely to obedience, and as such, should be settled by Fr. Iannuzzi's legitimate religious Superior, not in a civil court of law. This is why Archbishop Pichierri stated that it is up to Fr. Iannuzzi's legitimate Superior to reaffirm his good reputation, and not him. Since Fr. Iannuzzi is incardinated in a different diocese (as to where seems to be kept secret), Archbishop Pichierri did not have canonical jurisdiction over him, and as such could not resolve the dispute himself.

In order to provide context, Fr. Iannuzzi has also helpfully posted (some of) the contents of his attorney's letter of demand to Archbishop Pichierri, which informed him of his threat to sue me for libel:

“Mr. O'Regan's conduct in posting the Defamatory Posting to the internet is actionable as such under civil law... Moreover, as it is apparent that the Defamatory Posting was made with actual legal malice, Fr. Iannuzzi will have the right to seek an award of punitive damages... In addition to the civil nature of the wrong committed by Mr. O'Regan, Mr. O'Regan has also committed a violation of Code of Canon Law 220, which expressly forbids illegitimately harming the good reputation which Fr. Iannuzzi possesses. That same Cannon Law provision requires that Mr. O'Regan take corrective action to restore the harm which he has unlawfully perpetrated in a calumnious and detractive manner against Fr. Iannuzzi (CIC, canon 1390, §2), which he has, thus far, refused to do.  Mr. O'Regan, as a putative Catholic, is required to abide by that Cannon Law prohibition…

The falsity of Mr. O'Regan's Defamatory Posting is pointed out by the fact that nowhere in your March 30, 2017 letter did you confirm or support the aspersions that Mr. O'Regan has accused Fr. Iannuzzi of, including breaching the moratorium imposed by you.  Indeed, all you, Archbishop Pichierri, confirm in your letter is that Fr. Iannuzzi does not speak for and is not a member of the Archdiocese of Trani or the Association Luisa Piccarreta-PFDV.  Of course, Fr. Iannuzzi never represented himself as speaking for or otherwise offering an official position of either the Archdiocese of Trani or the Association Luisa Piccarreta-PFDV and, as such, the confirmation which you provided in the March 30, 2017, letter does not suggest any impropriety on Fr. Iannuzzi's part…”

The number of ellipses in the above fragment of Fr. Iannuzzi's attorney's letter to Archbishop Pichierri is worth noting, as we don't get the full picture of what was being demanded here.
However we should note first of all that Archbishop Pichierri did not only say that "Fr. Iannuzzi does not speak for and is not a member of the Archdiocese of Trani or the Association Luisa Piccarreta-PFDV", but explicitly said that Fr. Iannuzzi does not have authorization of any kind "in relation to publications both in reference to their study and diffusion". This was in direct reply to my question about whether he had received permission to publish the abridged collection of Luisa's writings in his doctoral thesis:

Trani, March 30, 2017 Prot. 128/17 / C2
Dear Mr. Emmett O'Regan,

Dear Mr. Emmett O'Regan, I received your e-mail of 21 February 2017 which informed me of your study and the response made on the publications of the priest Joseph Iannuzzi. Point out that this priest does not belong to this Archdiocese and did not receive from me any authorization, permission or warrant of any kind and in relation to publications both in reference to their study and diffusion. Right now the Archdiocese and the Association "Luisa Piccarreta - PFDV" are engaged in the typical edition processing and critical writings of the Servant of God on the basis of which it will be possible to complete the necessary translations in other languages ​​and additional theological research to be conducted. In any event, all of the official study activities at this time are agreed and coordinated in harmony with the Congregation for the Causes of Saints through the postulation. I assure you full availability for any further clarification, I greet you cordially and a Happy Easter.
          

Giovan Battista Pichierri
Archbishop

You can find the official text of the letter here.

While we can't establish all the ins and outs, it appears that he was making some form of legal demand that Archbishop Pichierri restore his "good name" by confirming that he did not breach the moratorium. Instead, the Archbishop directed his attorney to communication n. 3, and said that Fr. Iannuzzi's diffusion of Luisa's writings corresponded to the contents found there.

In his third communication, the Archbishop stated that he had placed the moratorium on the writings of Luisa Piccarreta because they were being interpreted in some quarters in a way that is inconsistent with the doctrine and Magisterium of the Church:

I still observe with sorrow that “the doctrine of the Divine Will has not always been presented in a correct and respectful way, according to the doctrine and the Magisterium of the Church, putting remarks in the mouth of Luisa that are not even implicitly found in her writings. This provokes a trauma in consciences and even confusion and rejection among the people and by some Priests and Bishops” (Letter of March 9, 2006)...

...The Congregation subsequently has communicated to me that “before proceeding any further, an examination of the writings of the Servant of God will be done, in order to clarify difficulties of a theological nature.”... (Para 3)

So in order to correct this unfortunate state of affairs, the Archbishop placed a moratorium to suspend the publications of any of Luisa's writings, and restricted the study of her writings throughout other dioceses to be delegated exclusively through the official Association "Luisa Piccarreta - PFDV", which Fr. Iannuzzi is not part of, and as such is not an approved speaker:

Likewise, I recall what I have already communicated: “Neither the Archdiocese nor the Association nor the Secretariat has delegated any person, group or other association, in any way, to represent them outside of their legitimate locations, to spread knowledge about the life, thought and writings of the Servant of God or to make any decision in their names. From the moment that the Diocesan Inquiry was begun, the Archdiocese has never officially designated any Theologian or Censor for the writings of Luisa. Likewise, it has never nominated any official translator of the writings from Italian into any other language” (Communication of April 23, 2007)...

“As I have already expressed at the conclusion of the diocesan phase of the Cause, it is my desire, after having heard the opinion of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, to present a typical and critical edition of the writings in order to provide the faithful with a trustworthy text of the writings of Luisa Piccarreta. So I repeat, the said writings are exclusively the property of the Archdiocese” (Letter to Bishops of October 14, 2006). To accomplish this demanding work that requires a certain kind of competence, I shall avail myself of a team of experts chosen in agreement with the Postulation.

Nevertheless, I must mention the growing and unchecked flood of transcriptions, translations and publications both through print and the internet. At any rate, “seeing the delicacy of the current phase of the proceedings, any and every publication of the writings is absolutely forbidden at this time. Anyone who acts against this is disobedient and greatly harms the cause of the Servant of God.” (Communication of May 30, 2008). All effort must be invested in avoiding all “leaks” of publications of any kind.
(See here for the full official English translation of communication n. 3)

This stands in immediate contrast with Fr. Iannuzzi's claims to have a direct mandate from Archbishop Pichierri to speak, study and write about about the life and writings of Luisa Piccarreta.
However, Fr. Iannuzzi is twisting the meaning of this letter to mean that the Archbishop had "cleared the air", and that he had actually endorsed his diffusion of her writing. I think this is an outlandish claim, which if true, would make the Archbishop completely contradict himself when he had confirmed to me just a few months previously that Fr. Iannuzzi's diffusion of Luisa's works were not authorized by him in any way.

The relevant facts are as follows:

(1) Archbishop Pichierri told me that Fr. Iannuzzi "did not receive from me any authorization, permission or warrant of any kind and in relation to publications both in reference to their study and diffusion".

(2) He stated in his letter to the attorney that Fr. Iannuzzi's diffusion of Luisa Piccarreta's works corresponds to that in communication n. 3, issued in 2012.

(3) Communication n. 3 explicitly states "the said writings are exclusively the property of the Archdiocese..." and that "any and every publication of the writings is absolutely forbidden at this time. Anyone who acts against this is disobedient and greatly harms the cause of the Servant of God.” (Communication of May 30, 2008). All effort must be invested in avoiding all “leaks” of publications of any kind."

When I had asked Archbishop Pichierri about the status of two books which contained the writings of Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta, which were published after the moratorium was set in place, he confirmed that Fr. Iannuzzi did not have permission of any kind to publish the writings of Luisa.  Fr. Iannuzzi had published an abridged collection of Luisa's writings in 2013 after obtaining his doctoral thesis. But given the fact that the Archbishop had placed a moratorium on "any and every" publication of Luisa's writings until the publication of a future critical edition, Fr. Iannuzzi would have required the Archbishop's permission before doing so. Given that Fr. Iannuzzi did not have this permission, I could only be left to conclude that he had violated the moratorium in issuing this abridged version of the collected works of Luisa Piccarreta. However, Fr. Iannuzzi is insisting that he has not breached the moratorium, since he was granted the authority to publish these writings by the Gregorian Pontifical University, and thus did not require any permission from the Archdiocese of Trani.

I would very much like this claim to be validated by Fr. Iannuzzi's religious Superior or responsible ordinary. If his ordinary or Superior can establish that it is true that some form of loophole has been exploited to allow Fr. Iannuzzi to publish these writings without either permission from the Archdiocese of Trani, imprimatur, imprimi potest or nihil obstat, despite a moratorium remaining in place, I will happily retract my claim, and offer Fr. Iannuzzi a full and complete apology. But I don't think this is the case, and will present the reasons why this is so below.

First, the print edition of Fr. Iannuzzi's doctoral thesis containing an abridged version of the writings of Luisa Piccarreta disappeared from availability on Amazon around the exact same time as Archbishop Pichierri received the letter from Fr. Iannuzzi's attorney on 22nd May, 2017. As of the time of writing, it is still unavailable (see here). Although the fact that it is still available on Kindle suggests that Fr. Iannuzzi has either exploited some loophole pertaining to electronic editions, which isn't covered in the moratorium, or simply hasn't fully complied with whatever instruction was given to him to take the print edition out of circulation, which would have been given by either the Archbishop or his Superior. It is quite unlikely that either Fr. Iannuzzi or his publisher St. Andrew's Productions would suddenly have decided to pull one of their most popular works from availability on Amazon for no apparent reason, which just so happened to coincide with the timing of the letter issued by Fr. Iannuzzi's attorney landing on the Archbishop's desk. Perhaps his publisher can help to clarify this matter further.

Second, any permission given from the Gregorian Pontifical University for Fr. Iannuzzi to publish his doctoral thesis The Gift of Living in the Divine Will in the Writings of Luisa Piccarreta, would not have overridden the requirement for obtaining an nihil obstat, imprimi potest and imprimatur for this work. He would have needed to obtain these in addition to receiving permission from the Gregorian Pontifical University to publish. As owner of the writings of Luisa Piccarreta, the imprimatur would have had to be issued by the Archbishop of Trani. While obtaining imprimatur is not nowadays always expected for members of the laity to publish a writing, members of religious institutes are absolutely required to obtain imprimi potest from their religious superior, precisely because of the huge respect that a clerical collar or religious habit commands among the lay faithful. Indeed, Fr. Iannuzzi's status as a priest of good standing is the main reason why his works have become so hugely influential.  Because of the air of authority that emanates with the status of clergy and religious, members of religious institutes are required to have the additional safeguard of obtaining an imprimi potest (Latin "it can be printed"), from the major superior of their religious order as part of exercising their vow of obedience, which is made in addition to the requirement of imprimatur. As CIC Can. 832 stipulates:

"Members of religious institutes also need permission of their major superior according to the norm of the constitutions in order to publish writings dealing with questions of religion or morals."

This Canon is further expanded upon in the CDF document "Instruction on some aspects of the use of the instruments of social communications in promoting the doctrine of the Faith":


§3. Along with the local Ordinary, religious superiors have the responsibility of granting permission for the publication of writings dealing with questions of religion or morals by members of their institutes (cf. can. 824 e 832).
§4. All superiors, especially those who are Ordinaries (cf. can. 134, §1), are obliged to take care that within their institutes ecclesiastical discipline is followed also as regards the instruments of social communication. If abuses emerge, they are to insist upon its application.
§5. Religious superiors, especially those whose institutes are dedicated precisely to the apostolate of the press and the social communications media, should see to it that their members faithfully follow the pertinent norms of canon law. They should give special attention to publishing houses, book stores, etc. associated with the institute, to encourage their being faithful and effective vehicles for the Church and her magisterium.
§6. Religious superiors should cooperate with diocesan Bishops (cf. can. 678, §3); it may be that such cooperation is even formalized through written agreements (cf. can. 681, par§1-2).

17. Permission of the religious superior

§1. The religious superior, who in accordance with can. 832 is competent to grant his own religious members permission to publish writings dealing with questions of religion or morals, should not proceed to do so until he has the prior judgement of at least one censor he considers reliable and is satisfied that the work does not contain anything which might be harmful to the doctrine of the faith or morals.
§2. The superior can require that his permission precede that of the local Ordinary and that explicit mention of the fact be made in the publication...


Once the nihil obstat is obtained from the appointed censor, the religious superior is then free to grant the imprimi potest if he deems it prudent to do so, and the imprimi potest is then stipulated in the front matter of the book alongside the nihil obstat and the name of the censor who granted it. After this, the imprimatur is then granted from the local ordinary of either the location of the author's residence, or the location in which the book is to be published, so that the lay faithful can be assured that the book is quite likely to be free of any potential harm to faith or morals. Of course, these measures don't always guarantee that any given book with imprimatur is absolutely free of any doctrinal errors, it is a measure which makes it all the more unlikely, and gives the faithful some peace of mind that they aren't likely to be led astray by the given contents.

So for Fr. Iannuzzi's works not to have nihil obstat, imprimi potest, or imprimatur to be stipulated on his various books is quite anomalous indeed, and needs to be explained by his religious Superior, who should have issued imprimi potest before publication, and should have been in contact with the local ordinary issuing imprimatur, as stipulated in par. 16:§6 of the above instruction from the CDF. Indeed, the requirement of imprimi potest can even come above that of imprimatur for members of religious institutes (see par. 17 §2 of the above CDF instruction).

As to why Fr. Iannuzzi's various books lack nihil obstat, imprimi potest and imprimatur, it is quite evident that either they haven't been granted because of the presence of serious doctrinal errors, or they were not even sought because the author knew that they would not be granted for precisely the same reason. Given his clerical and academic status, vow of obedience, Canon Law and the above CDF instruction, these writings should never have been published without the express permission of his religious Superior.

As to what doctrinal errors would have impeded Fr. Iannuzzi's works from obtaining nihil obstat, imprimi potest or imprimatur, both myself and English author Stephen Walford have written extensively on the various theological errors in Fr. Iannuzzi's works, which are essentially millenarian in nature, and as such is condemned by the Magisterium:

The Antichrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgment. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, especially the "intrinsically perverse" political form of a secular messianism. (CCC 676)

Stephen Walford provides an excellent summary of Fr. Iannuzzi's various theological errors in the epilogue of his book Communion of Saints: The Unity of Divine Love in the Mystical Body of Christ, which he was able to present to Pope Francis in person, during his 45 minute private audience with the Holy Father at the Santa Marta residence on 27th July, 2017 (see below).





I have written about Fr. Iannuzzi's theological errors in my book Unveiling the Apocalypse: The Final Passover of the Church, my CTS booklet The End of the World: What Catholics Believe, as well as throughout this blog over the course of the past several years, both in the main posts, and in the comments section. As myself and Stephen Walford have taken great lengths to point out, Fr. Iannuzzi is one of the worst offenders there is for espousing doctrinal errors in matters related to eschatology, with his advancement of his theory of "spiritual millenarianism". Fr. Iannuzzi uses his millenarian eschatology to promote condemned "seers" such as Vassula Ryden and Gianna Talone Sullivan. Indeed, he offered himself forward to the theological commission at Emmitsburg in order to defend the millenarian doctrine that was being espoused in Talone Sullivan's apparitions, which were condemned as false by the Church. His close affiliation with Vassula Ryden may explain his attempted litigation against me, since this was a tactic she routinely employed to silence any of her critics, such as Maria Laura Pio. Vassula Ryden was issued with a notification from the CDF in 1995, and was condemned for espousing a millenarian doctrine almost identical with Fr. Iannuzzi's:

"These alleged revelations predict an imminent period when the Antichrist will prevail in the Church. In millenarian style, it is prophesied that God is going to make a final, glorious intervention which will initiate on earth, even before Christ's definitive coming, an era of peace and universal prosperity." (Cardinal Ratzinger, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Notification, 6th October, 1995)

As recently as May this year, Fr. Iannuzzi was arguing that Vassula Ryden’s messages are “Church approved”, because her book contains the “imprimatur” of Archbishop Arguelles of Lipa and the "nihil obstat" of Bishop Felix Toppo - two of her known supporters. Fr. Iannuzzi argues and that this was an “act of the magisterium” and thus requires the same level of “religious assent” that we are obliged to give to the ordinary papal Magisterium (see here). This outrageous claim helps us to perceive the extent to which Fr. Iannuzzi is capable of twisting the facts to suit his own dangerous agendas.

According to par. 11 of the CDF instruction on social communications cited above, only the local ordinary of the author or the ordinary of the location in which the book is being published is authorized to give imprimatur:

"11. The competent authority for granting approval or permission
§1. According to the norm of can. 824, the competent authority for granting approval or permission is either the proper local Ordinary of the author or the Ordinary of the place in which the work is to be published.
§2. If permission is denied by one local Ordinary, recourse may be had to the other competent Ordinary. There is the obligation, nonetheless, to make the fact of the prior refusal of permission known. The second Ordinary is not to grant permission without having learned from the first Ordinary his reasons for denying it (cf. can. 65, §1)."


As such, there are only two viable options for an author to gain imprimatur, which has to be granted within the proper canonical jurisdictions, with the appointment of an impartial censor being made by the competent authority. So the Archbishop of Lipa definitely wasn’t the competent ecclesiastical authority for granting imprimatur to Vassula Ryden’s book. Moreover, a naturally predisposed censor cannot be deliberately chosen by someone outside of the competent authority, since this method obviously undermines the goal of the entire process. Also, the magisterium of a bishop isn’t the same as the papal magisterium, so doesn’t require the universal submission of the will and intellect. I believe Archbishop Arguelles was deliberately targeted for granting “imprimatur” by Vassula Ryden's circle of advisors because he was already a known vocal supporter, and did not fully understand that he was not the competent authority to grant imprimatur to her writings. Indeed, Archbishop Arguelles’ approval of the previously condemned apparitions of “Our Lady, Mary Mediatrix of all Grace” at Lipa in 2015 was declared “null and void” by the CDF in December 2015, since it had already been decided the papal authority of Pope Pius XII. The Archbishop was then forced to resign in February this year as a direct result (see here). So he undoubtedly suffered from poor judgement in matters related to private revelations.

This “imprimatur” sought by Ryden in 2005 seems to be a concerted effort to undermine the CDF notification on her writings issued in 1995, which also condemns the same type of millenarianism proposed by Fr. Iannuzzi concerning the “era of peace”. Targeting bishops already predisposed towards favouring her writings for granting “imprimatur” and "nihil obstat", instead of being appointed an impartial censor from the competent authority, is a deliberate "stacking the deck" tactic designed to rehabilitate a series of writings which were already condemned for their millenarian-style doctrinal errors.

Fr. Iannuzzi was promoting Vassula Ryden as recently as September 2017, during a conference in Melbourne, Australia, where he once again argued that her writings are “Church approved” because they bore invalidly obtained "imprimatur" and "nihil obstat" (see here).
Given the fact that I run a blog on Catholic eschatology and take the time to try to respond to the comments on it, I can see that Fr. Iannuzzi's ideas have filtered out very widely into American society and beyond. Fr. Iannuzzi's millenarian eschatology is central to false prophets such as Maria Divine Mercy, and his ideas on a future "spiritual millennium" was widely disseminated through Dr. Kelly Bowring's various books, which are Catholic bestsellers in America. He has a large number of followers who are absolutely dedicated to him, given his priestly and academic status, and is in effect the de facto leader of a millenarian cult. He provides the “Divine Will Movement” (a separate entity from the official Association of Luisa Piccarreta PFDV) with its primary intellectual foundations in his books.

In a nutshell, Fr. Iannuzzi attempts to argue for a ressourcement to the Chiliasm of the Early Church, only instead of a physical Coming of Christ, he states that there will be an invisible “intermediate” Coming of Christ in the Spirit, who will the slay the Antichrist and bind Satan for a “thousand years”, which he equates with the period of peace promised by Our Lady of Fatima. According to Fr. Iannuzzi, we must reject the amilliennial eschatology of St. Augustine of Hippo, which has been accepted as the established model by the Catholic Church for the past 1,600 years, and as such, is part of the universal sensus fidelium.

Luisa Piccarreta is so important to Fr. Iannuzzi because she provides the key to how there will be a complete cessation of evil on earth, since everybody in the world will live according to the “Divine Will” for the duration of the Millennium of Rev 20. He suggests that there will be a total transformation of society, basically a return to Eden on earth, which is in direct contrast to clear Magisterial teaching that evil must remain in the world until the Second Coming of Christ (e.g. Guadium et spes 37; CCC 671). Obviously human freewill is a major obstacle to the theory that there could be total universal peace on earth for a thousand years, so Fr. Iannuzzi tries to explain this by asserting that everyone in the world will be granted the gift of "living in the Divine Will" (which the way Fr. Iannuzzi puts it, is really just the heresies of quietism or monothelitism).

Fr. Iannuzzi attempts to confine the meaning of the word millenarianism to apply only to ancient Chiliasm, and ignores the fact that CCC 676 clearly uses the word in the broader academic sense as defined by Norman Cohn in his vastly influential work The Pursuit of the Millennium (given the fact that the secular forms of millenarianism in systems such as Marxism and Nazism are singled out for particular condemnation). So he thinks that if he posits a “spiritual” middle Coming of Christ, instead of a physical return to rule with the resurrected saints in an earthly millennial paradise, then he can evade the charge of millenarianism.

In his book Antichrist and the End Times, Fr. Iannuzzi follows Joachim de Fiore in asserting that another “Gog” Antichrist will arise at the end of the “age of the Spirit”, when Satan is unbound again, and the forces of Satan surrounds the camp of the saints. It is only after this we have the physical coming of Our Lord, which according to Fr. Iannuzzi's schema is really a "Third Coming", instead of just one Second Coming at the end of time. This contradicts St. Robert Bellarmine, who forcefully argues for just one Antichrist, who appears at the very end of the world, after the bringing in of the fullness of the Gentiles (de Controversiis Book 3:IX). Fr. Iannuzzi’s ideas have proven popular among Catholics in America in particular, given the pervasiveness of premillennialism in wider society. I suspect that the moratorium was placed on Luisa Piccarreta’s writings precisely because of the way he and others were distorting her words to give a millenarian sense.

Archbishop Pichierri was convinced Luisa's writings can be interpreted in a manner consistent with Church doctrine and the Magisterium, which is why their publication was suspended until a future critical edition can be issued by the Archdiocese of Trani. Fr. Iannuzzi was too impatient for this, and thought that he could issue an abridged version of the entirety of her works through publishing his doctoral thesis, in order to support his wider millenarian theories presented in his other books. According to the Divine Will Movement, the writings of Luisa Piccarreta are viewed as essential for obtaining the gift of Living in the Divine Will, which is why Fr. Iannuzzi appears to have been so impatient, and decided to publish them himself in an abridged form. This appears to have been taken to provide a rallying-point to his followers, so they might adhere to them as if they are some form of gnostic text essential for attaining salvation. He also probably knows full well that his interpretation of her writings will be totally ruled out in the future critical edition of her writings, since it is almost inconceivable that he hasn't been corrected on his bizarre millennialist eschatology by anyone with any authority in the Church. 

Archbishop Pichierri was absolutely convinced that the writings of Luisa Piccarreta are free of any doctrinal errors, but ruled that there should be a complete suspension of the publication of her writings in order to allow for a future critical edition, which will offer detailed theological commentary on how her material can be interpreted in a way that is consistent with Church doctrine and the Magisterium. Some highly esteemed American theologians such as Fr. John Hardon and Fr. William Most, had argued that the concept of "living in the Divine Will" as postulated by Luisa herself was just basically one and the same as the heresy of quietism. But since the Archbishop was convinced that such notions were being imputed into Luisa's writings by others, and were not actually found in the texts themselves, we should trust him in his word, and patiently await the future critical edition to see how her writings do actually align with the perennial teachings of the Church. It is quite probable that the previous writings of Luisa have been poorly translated into English to give her words a sense that isn't found in the original local Italian dialect they were written. As someone who can translate the Bible from its original Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic, I can fully appreciate that some translators can easily impute an interpretation of their own into any given text, if they are employing eisegesis instead of exegesis.

In any case, the postulators of Luisa Piccarreta have been instructed to leave her writings to the side for determining her Cause, as they cannot be used to call her personal sanctity into question (much as is the case with Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich).

In his various books, Fr. Iannuzzi uses the concept of "living in the Divine Will" to explain how humanity will be able to live in perfect peace and harmony during a future "era of peace" which he equates with the Millennium of Rev 20, in a theory which is basically a thinly-veiled version of the eschatology of the Calabrian Abbot Joachim de Fiore, whose works were condemned as heretical by several popes. So it is quite likely that Fr. Iannuzzi's various books, such as The Splendor of Creation, do not bear imprimatur, imprimi potest or nihil obstat precisely because of these various theological errors. For a priest of his standing and academic training not to have imprimatur, imprimi potest or nihil obstat on these books, which are in themselves highly controversial and creating huge division among Catholics, is a quite serious matter, and prompts us to ask why this has been allowed to occur unchecked by the Church hierarchy? This matter urgently needs to be addressed not only by Fr. Iannuzzi's religious Superior, but also by the bishops of the various dioceses in which his ideas are being widely disseminated into American society and beyond.


98 comments:

Mark W said...

Hi Emmett,

Just one thought. I'm not sure what good reputation you could have harmed since Fr. Iannuzzi doesn't have a very good reputation in general. His reputation is quite good amongst the Mark Mallett and MoG forum types, but that's hardly universal. In fact, his rep is pretty dark as far as I'm concerned, and I think a lot of folks would agree with that.

And one question - who has civil jurisdiction? Ireland? Italy? The EU? If you look at his website, it's hard to tell where he might be based. The US? Canada?

Colin Cooper said...

Hi Emmett,

Thank you for that very informative overview of an immensely depressing predicament.

It is shocking that he actually initiated - or attempted to initiate - a civil lawsuit against you, simply for stating an inconvenient fact (from Fr. Iannuzzi's perspective).

If I might opine, his actions in response to you have been most "revealing", should we say. Not what I'd expect at all from a "priest in good standing".

And I must say: what an honour for Stephen, huge congrats to him (if your reading this)! A 45 minute audience with the Holy Father is a good deal longer than many Heads of State have been given. Incredible.

Best,

Colin

Jason R. said...

I am so very infinitely grateful that I was warned off Fr. Iannuzzi's writings when I bought them at the same time as the 1st Ed. If "Unveiling the Apocalypse"; after reading the Birth text I cast my net overly wide without researching a bit first, but at least I was made aware of how much his theories are from a chiliasmist perspective (that I wasn't even aware was a heresy, I'm not the most informed Catholic, to my fault).

Resorting to potential litigation through a lawyer (and without meaning to sound rude, but since I have some experience in this area, judging my the letters, not a particularly outstanding lawyer I guess I could put it, haha) looks very bad on him for seeking to use secular law bevause he dudmt like the answer from the authority, well, basically, from the proper channels and authority of the Church), as well as just plain desperate. He could put the entire matter to rest with a simple letter from the proper Diocese (but which he of course wouldn't seek to obtain because he knows exactly the response he'd receive).

I sure hope this isn't causing you any undue anxiety Emmett bevause it seems very apparent, to me anyways, that you haven't written anything that wasn't perfectly true, so no matter what type of intimidation tactics he may use, you're on the side of the Angels' here as much as I've ever witnessed.

Kevin A Miller said...

Emmett, I have been following your blog for years and rarely post but I do want to pray for Fr. Iannuzzi, yourself, and all others involved in this circumstance in the spirit of ecumenism. Hospodi pomilui!

david drewelow said...

i think it's really important to expose damaging theology, heresy, implicit in 'teachings' propagated by rev ianuzzi. heresy divides and misguides all, churched and unchurched and obscures the brightness of the kerygma (in this case by offfering 'deeper teachings' from Jesus). rev ianuzzi has quite a mission-giving ministry in the US. an appearance in NY state revealed that he is a former new yorker as of 2016 residing in rome as a member of the oblates of st josephprobably at the generalate). a website called truelifeingod shows his support for vissula ryder. on another website he is listed as a exorcisr(liturgyanddevotion.blogspot.com). ....visitcmimedia.net to find his dvd video distribution system.there are listed 6 or 7 dvd sets selling for $50.00 each,plus shipping. each set gives a 10 minute video sample. this business-website opened in 2014, as an adjunct to his parish mission ministry promoting what looks like a lucrative cult in the making. emmett's correction was timely and salvific.

david drewelow said...

as an oblate of st joseph, fr iannuzzi is expected to live in community unless special exemption is made for a good reason. his possible phone number would be at the generalate(generalizia) just a few miles from the vatican,39-06-660-4861. osj website is sangiuseppemarello.it. the american website for the osj's has not been updated for 2 years, but is still plugged in.

Rachmaninov said...

Thanks very much Colin! It was a truly wonderful experience. The Holy Father is very down to earth and very easy to chat with. He repeated several times to me how difficult it is to be Pope and asked for prayers for his ministry. God bless,
Stephen

RC said...

Emmett,
I must say I find the actions of priests like this fellow and priests like rosica to be most uncouth,threathening litigation against bloggers isn't very charitable and quite demeans the priestly character.

Perhaps the two of you could follow the example of the bishop of rome,"who am I to judge"? Encounter each other in a spirit of dialogue and Parrhesia?

Thanks for the tip off on this maria divine mercy character,having never heard of her before,I went off and read some quite spectacular predictions! If I'd read her before feb 2013 I'd have recommended a stay in muckamore, given that no pope in 600 or so years had resigned thats some amazing stuff,and an Irishwomen to boot! That kelly bowring fellow you mention as well seems a most interesting chap, good stuff emmett, go raibh maith agat!

Emmett O'Regan said...

Thanks Colin! I don't think that Fr. Iannuzzi has conducted himself well either, by involving a civil attorney in a theological dispute which should be settled by Church authorities. A priest should behave better than this. I didn't want to mention it publically at the time, because I thought his reputation had already suffered enough. But since he has came out and said it himself, I don't think I need to spare him this indignity anymore. I think it is especially sad that one of Archbishop Pichierri's last official writings was to answer a legal demand from a civil attorney, hired by a priest he knew personally. If he wants me to amend my post, then he can always ask his superior or local ordinary to intervene to establish the veracity of his claims, and how his writings can be accepted as orthodox teachings in line with Church doctrine and the Magisterium.

It did have me worried for a bit Jason, since we can't always rely on justice to be properly served by the secular courts. But I know for a fact he doesn't have a leg to stand on. Besides, I'd rather go to jail than not to warn the faithful of the dangers he presents to the Faith. It seems that he has learned a few tricks of the trade from his affiliation with Vassula Ryden, who regularly attempted to silence her critics with threats of litigation.

Thanks Kevin. Both myself and Fr. Iannuzzi could do with all the prayers we can get during this sad state of affairs. It's not as if I want to push him out of his vocation. Absolutely not at all. We need all the priests we can get, and he has given his whole life to the Church. I just want his superiors to correct him on his erroneous teachings, for him to then humbly submit in obedience, and move on. I don't see why a reprimand from his responsible ordinary should destroy his vocation. I would like to think that he has been acting without full knowledge of what he was doing, and has mistakenly stumbled into a whole big mess.

So, did you get to spend more time chatting with the Holy Father than Donald Trump Stephen? Or did he pip you to the post?

I was thinking about going to Connolly House to get his wagon sorted for him RC, our kid (Belfast joke). Seriously though, make sure to stay well away from MDM (who is condemned) and Bowring (who is crazy).

A Catholic said...

Hi Emmett,

First of all, no; imprimaturs are *not* required of priests

Secondly, you have no reason to suspect that Fr. Iannuzzi's superior did not give him permission to publish his works

Thirdly, Fr. Iannuzzi did *not* publish Luisa's volumes (which is all the Moratorium prohibits). You are the one who sneakily inserted the word "any" into the Moratorium, not the good Archbishop.

Finally, and most importantly:

We would love to see proof of this claim of yours, hidden in the middle of the post, upon which your entire accusation of the Era of Peace being heresy resides:

"...the amilliennial eschatology of St. Augustine of Hippo, which has been accepted as the established model by the Catholic Church for the past 1,600 years, and as such, is part of the universal sensus fidelium."

We are all aware of St. Augustine's amillenial eschatology, and of how it was a *common opinion* for a long time. Please demonstrate, with specific proof and the proper citations, how exactly this common opinion was magically elevated to the status of universal sensus fidelium.

Doubtless, if a teaching has been universal sensus fidelium and established Church belief for sixteen hundred years, it would have been clearly asserted many, many, many times in encyclicals, ecumenical councils, etc. Please, share these findings.

Emmett O'Regan said...

Hi "A Catholic"

So, priests can write like whatever they like with impunity? I don't think so. Members of religious institutes are required to have imprimi potest from their religious superiors, which has to be stipulated in the front matter alongside the nihil obstat. If Fr. Iannuzzi had been granted permission from his religious superior, this would be evident with the appearance of the imprimi potest, alongside the nihil obstat of the appointed censor. I'm not going to bother getting into the whole overturning of St. Augustine's amillenialist eschatology, because I don't have the time. If you read through the comments of the previous post, you'll see that CCC 676 completely rules out Fr. Iannuzzi's millennialist interpretation of Rev 20.

http://unveilingtheapocalypse.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/archbishop-of-trani-confirms-fr-joseph.html

Can you offer me proof that Fr. Iannuzzi actually received imprimi potest, but mistakenly forget to include it in the front matter of his books, so that readers could be assured that no doctrinal errors were found?

Emmett O'Regan said...

Also, the moratorium didn't relate only to the publication of the "entire volumes" (which is a ridiculous claim to make). But rather to "every and any" publication of her writings and "leaks" of any kind. I would call an abridged version of the entirety of her works a major "leak" indeed.

Emmett O'Regan said...

"For a monumental struggle against the powers of darkness pervades the whole history of man. The battle was joined from the very origins of the world and will continue until the last day, as the Lord has attested. Caught in this conflict, man is obliged to wrestle constantly if he is to cling to what is good, nor can he achieve his own integrity without great efforts and the help of God's grace." (Guadium et Spes 37)

"Though already present in his Church, Christ's reign is nevertheless yet to be fulfilled "with power and great glory" by the King's return to earth. This reign is still under attack by the evil powers, even though they have been defeated definitively by Christ's Passover. Until everything is subject to him, "until there be realized new heavens and a new earth in which justice dwells, the pilgrim Church, in her sacraments and institutions, which belong to this present age, carries the mark of this world which will pass, and she herself takes her place among the creatures which groan and travail yet and await the revelation of the sons of God." That is why Christians pray, above all in the Eucharist, to hasten Christ's return by saying to him: Maranatha! "Our Lord, come!"
Before his Ascension Christ affirmed that the hour had not yet come for the glorious establishment of the messianic kingdom awaited by Israel which, according to the prophets, was to bring all men the definitive order of justice, love and peace. According to the Lord, the present time is the time of the Spirit and of witness, but also a time still marked by "distress" and the trial of evil which does not spare the Church and ushers in the struggles of the last days. It is a time of waiting and watching. (CCC 671-672)

End of Fr. Iannuzzi's millenarian story, "A Catholic"

Anthony W said...

Hi Emmett. I don't believe that this will go to litigation. But what I would recommend is not to let this situation escalate. I would try to ignore him and concentrate on your writings and your blog.

God bless

Anthony W

Anonymous said...

'A Catholic',
It was Fr Ianuzzi who initiated civil action against Emmett. Your comment about innocent until proven guilty should therefore curb your attacks. Also, I am offended by your pseudonym. You do present yourself as anything I stand for as a member of the Catholic Church. Get behind me, stumbling block!
Michael G

Emmett O'Regan said...

I'm just going to delete the comments of "A Catholic". He is clearly very antagonistic, and I have no time for dealing with trolls atm.

JMC said...

I found a statement from the Archdiocese of Dublin regarding the "messages" of Maria Divine Mercy; she's a fraud. You can read the brief version at the address below; the site also includes a link to the full statement.

http://www.mysticsofthechurch.com/2013/11/the-messages-of-maria-divine-mercy.html

RC said...

Evening Emmett and by proxy JMC :)

Given the local ordinary has prohibited the mdm messages then yes one must abide to his competency, it's the accuracy of some of them that is perturbing, as I said earlier given no papal resignations in almost 600 years some of them are quite startling! Now i believe I'm right in saying that lucifer and his cohorts cannot with certainty predict the future,given their intellect is vastly superior they may of course give educated guesses based on behavior and trends etc, but again given what happened with Benedict it really does beg the question who in their right mind could have predicted what this woman did?? Baffling!!

Emmett don't get me started on the shinners!! From what i hear the offices on the falls will probably become irelands first planned parenthood site! being virulently pro life you can imagine what i think of their recent shenanigans!! I remember a few years ago, was walking my kerry blue round the bog meadows(on the lead of course), now my dog was born and bred just off Sandy row! Anyhow who comes walking down towards me but oul Gerry A, just as Gerry passes and exchanges an 'alright' the dog starts growling and baring his teeth! Never with any other person certainly he was fiesty with dogs but the only person who ever raised his heckles was Gerry A!! Looking back i should have let him bite Gerry on the arse!!!

david drewelow said...

in 2003 fr iannuzzi wrote a piece on transporter.com which gave an update on the moratorium imposed onthe beatification process for Maria P(see July 13). i earlier misspelled the website carrying dvda of fr I's talks. it should have read cmi-media.net. an interesting website tracking vassula ryden is pseudomistica.info, dedicated to critiquing her movement and errors. the current article on homepage is "nouvelle tentative de reduire au silence ses critiques", mentioning her tactics of legal intimidation using her well-funded foundation royalties. she also developed the approach of visitng with the religious superiors of her critics to whittle from above. it mentions that she started a campaign to persuade bishops and priests that the church had moved beyond its 1995 warning against her. she has denounced critics as demonic forces and jackals in the night. she well may have counselled fr ianuzzi on tactics to protect his publishing empire and potential cult since there seems to be communication between them. pseudomistica lists priest she has tangled with, including mitch pacwa,whom she attempted to enlist in her cause unsuccessfully as he could not find it in line orthodoxy

david drewelow said...

about fr iannuzzi's piece on website transporter.com, you may find it by going to the bottom of the webpage to a hotlink 'moratorium update' this update is written by fr iannuzzi and has some interesting revelations about a theft by photocopying of of the mystic's volumes. fr iannuzzi signs it identifying himself as a member of 'missionaries of the holy trinity, jacksonville florida. his switch to the oblates of st joseph came afterwards. i think if you google 'transporter.com and moratorium' it will land you there. fr iannuzzi's discussion of his dealings with the diocese of trani is quite,quite detailed in this essay.

Emmett O'Regan said...

Thanks for sending all this important information David!

Mark W said...

The more I learn about Fr. Ianuzzi, the more I'm reminded of John Corapi.

david drewelow said...

re fr corapi, it does make one wonder where the profit from this large worldwide enterprise is going. when i tried to find evidence of 'missionaries of the holy trinity' online, in english so far, i came up with nothing. i'll check tonight in a few other language searches.

david drewelow said...

spelling correction on website 'pseudomystica.info' it should be as just written and not how i did it above with the i for the y. btw, the section on vassula ryden pseudomystica carries is just amazing, showing the depth of occult new age practices in her background and successful attempts in twisting clergy to her support.really looks demonically-fueled.

david drewelow said...

researching 'missionaries of the holy trinity jacksonville' led me to a listing of the terms posted on a website called 'findbusinessusa.com' it's registered as a local business in jacksonville with "SIC" number 6332, a 'joseph iannuzzi' pegged as 'COO' (chief operating officer). address PO box 14627, jacksonville,fl 32237 postal code. phone:(904)388-8399. email address 'soulofjesus.com', on the creepy side to me to use the sacred terminology for the most sacred Lord as a handle, bit like a door knocker , a bit impersonal for the home of Personhood itself. this might help lead to the operations center for missions scheduling. if fr I is indeed based in florida, it's a perfect location to pivot from to cover the globe. i checked, and there are direct flights to Rome, latin america, africa's only a short hop eastward,. a sure weather location avoiding snow entrapment in the winter.

david drewelow said...

on his 'itdw' website, fr iannuzzi still uses the term 'missionaries of the holy trinity' to define his program. from that, it does seem it is only a business name and not a religious order as it seems to suggest. fr I may always have been and 'OSJ' and did not 'switch' as i earlier surmised. the itdw website also has a P O box address (often a mailbox point with no resident real office, in the US practice), 'missionaries of the holy trinity, po box 8484, cranston, RI, 02920. no phone number here, whle the phone at jacksonville is functional and rings with no answering machine message given. the network is farflung, with many, many more website links and another base of operations for dvd distribution in texas, as listed on the cmi-media.com website.

david drewelow said...

one more tidbit from the pseudomystica.info website obtained by googling 'pseudomystica iannuzzi'. it will take you to the english version of pseudomystica with a page that mentions that Fr I oftens travels with vassula ryden to international confereences. it is possible that google outside the USA will not bring up the same results since google seems to have differences in different countries. but i am sure you will find it in pseudomystica with a little trying. considering that one of the vassula ryden critics is convinced that she is heavily under the influence of a demon named 'daniel',things do not bode well for the spiritual 'benefits' to be had from what seems to be a well spun webwork for a cult

Anonymous said...

correction for 29 november 00:22 spelling: 'findbusinesssusa.com' was wrong. should have been 'findusabusiness.com' interesting that the business would be name 'missionaries of the holy trinity', giving the impression of an institutional order of the church following a founder and a charism. fr iannuzzi writes of setting up cenacles, so there could be many groupies out there. when it all boils down to one man's network and networking. perhaps the cenacles have a spiitiuality handbook for the divine will, and are told that they are missionaries of the holy spirit'. so far, it seems impenetrable, a bit like scientology, as regards the inner operations of the divine will adherent groups.

Emmett O'Regan said...

That's a lot of brilliant research you're putting in David! Thanks! Fr. Iannuzzi was in Melbourne, Australia promoting Vassula Ryden as recently as September this year.
http://tlig.org.au/product/melbourne-retreat-2017-audio-cd-set/
Fr. Iannuzzi is claiming that the Catholic Church has set two seals of approval for Vassula, despite the fact that the CDF issued a notification against her in 1995 which still stands.
He seems to do a lot of globe-trotting. I wonder who is paying for all of this, and how?

Anonymous said...

Watch for 2019 European Parliament elections. By 2024/25 expect current EU to spin out of control to be remade into new Union with 7,8, 9, or 10 countries.

JMC said...

Who is paying for all this? That's the big question, isn't it? Too bad we can't "follow the money," as they say.

david drewelow said...

there's a website somewhere that lists total books sold by volume. there's a good chance she takes up collections at appearances and encourages online tithing from her believers. it seems that i saw a little donation check box on one the the many links to the the iannuzzi-piccharetti conspiracy

david drewelow said...

the books sold website i alluded to lists books by any author.

Mark W said...

Does Fr. I or Ryden have a website? It's hard to tell which is theirs and which might be a supporter.

Sr. Marianne Lorraine Trouve said...

Hi Emmett,
It seems to me that the info you provided on Fr Iannuzzi are simply facts, and not any kind of false accusation or calumny. People might disagree with the interpretation of some things, but it does seem very strange that Fr I. has engaged a civil lawyer. It's absurd for the civil lawyer to be quoting canon law, because I doubt he or she understands the Catholic principles on which it is based. Canon 1390 no. 2 is about those who commit the offense of calumny or denounce someone falsely. To say you violated it is just begging the question, because they haven't proved you committed any calumny. It is sad that such legal actions are taken against good Catholics like yourself. St Paul would not have been pleased!

Emmett O'Regan said...

Thanks for your words of support Sr. Lorraine! Yes, I don't understand how presenting facts can be considered calumnious. Also, his accusation that I am acting with "actual legal malice" seems to be something that his attorney was pushing for. Since when is acting with concern for the integrity of the Catholic Faith against heresy constitute "actual legal malice"? Below is some more important information which I came across concerning the intellectual honesty of Fr. Iannuzzi:

As recently as May this year, Fr. Iannuzzi was arguing that Vassula Ryden’s messages are “Church approved”, because her book contains the “imprimatur” of Archbishop Arguelles of Lipa, and that this was an “act of the magisterium” and thus requires “religious assent”.

http://www.tlig.org/en/testimonies/churchpos/nihilobstat/

However according to the CDF instruction on social communications, only the local ordinary of the author or the ordinary of the location in which the book is being published is authorized to give imprimatur:

"11. The competent authority for granting approval or permission
§1. According to the norm of can. 824, the competent authority for granting approval or permission is either the proper local Ordinary of the author or the Ordinary of the place in which the work is to be published.
§2. If permission is denied by one local Ordinary, recourse may be had to the other competent Ordinary. There is the obligation, nonetheless, to make the fact of the prior refusal of permission known. The second Ordinary is not to grant permission without having learned from the first Ordinary his reasons for denying it (cf. can. 65, §1)."

So the Archbishop of Lipa definitely wasn’t the competent ecclesiastical authority for granting imprimatur to Vassula Ryden’s book. Also, the magisterium of a bishop isn’t the same as the papal magisterium, so doesn’t require the universal submission of the will and intellect. I believe Archbishop Arguelles was deliberately targeted for granting “imprimatur” by Vassula Ryden's advisors because of his poor judgement in giving credulity to private revelations, and did not fully understand that he was not the competent authority to grant imprimatur to Vassula Ryden. Indeed, Archbishop Arguelles’ approval of the previously condemned apparitions of “Our Lady, Mary Mediatrix of all Grace” at Lipa in 2015 was declared “null and void” by the CDF in December 2015. The Archbishop was then forced to resign in February this year. So he undoubtedly suffered from poor judgement in matters related to private revelations.

http://www.manilatimes.net/lipa-prelate-quits-row-vatican/310439/

This “imprimatur” sought by Ryden in 2005 seems to be a concerted effort to undermine the CDF notification on her writings issued in 1995, which also condemns the same type of millenarianism proposed by Fr. Iannuzzi concerning the “era of peace”:

"These alleged revelations predict an imminent period when the Antichrist will prevail in the Church. In millenarian style, it is prophesied that God is going to make a final glorious intervention which will initiate on earth, even before Christ's definitive coming, an era of peace and universal prosperity." (1995 CDF Notification on Vassula Ryden)

Targeting susceptible bishops for granting “imprimatur” seems to be a deliberate tactic for giving a sense of authenticity to such individuals. Fr. Iannuzzi was promoting Vassula Ryden as recently as September this year, during a conference in Melbourne, Australia, where he also argued that her writings are “Church approved” because they bore illicitly obtained "imprimatur" and "nihil obstat":

http://tlig.org.au/product/melbourne-retreat-2017-audio-cd-set/

Emmett O'Regan said...

I've updated the main blog post above to include mention of Fr. Iannuzzi's claims that the condemned writings of Vassula Ryden are "Church approved".

JMC said...

Sad experience has taught me that the Imprimatur is not always reliable. Back in the 1980s, I bought a religious ed text that had the Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat. I started reading it, and I found some of the material troubling, so I set the book aside. A few months later, I found out that that book had been condemned as heretical. I discarded the book shortly afterward; after all these years, I no longer remember the title or author. I do often wonder if any action was taken against those censors for approving questionable material.
.
I will grant that occurrences like that are rare, but having been burned once, it's a major concern for me.

Emmett O'Regan said...

It's entirely down to the limitations of the appointed diocesan censor and the responsible ordinary. Obviously their knowledge in any particular field is not going to be exhaustive. Also, imprimatur can be denied on grounds of prudence, so the lack of it doesn't necessarily mean that a book without it contains doctrinal errors. It's definitely not "Church approval" in any shape or form, as Fr. Iannuzzi insists for the condemned writings of Vassula Ryden. But the fact that a priest of such influence is publishing without imprimatur and imprimi potest for works that have caused widespread division and confusion among the Faithful is nothing short of scandalous.

Colin Cooper said...

Emmett,

Putting aside for one moment, the unseemliness of a priest initiating secular lawsuits against a layman on the basis of an ecclesiastical matter, I think it is crucial to keep reiterating to our fellow Catholics how serious a theological misinterpretation the "secular messianism" being promoted by followers of Fr. Iannuzzi really is.

In many ways, it is perhaps an even graver error than the heresies which posited a bodily reign of Jesus - which is why the Catechism explicitly correlates it with the spirit of Antichrist in history.

One can trace its significance right back to the Gregorian Reform or Papal Revolution led by St. Gregory VII in the 11th century. The Supreme Pontiff led a campaign to free the church from control by the state during the "Investiture Contest". Dictatus Papae, a 1075 decree by St. Pope Gregory VII, was the "first declaration of independence" in European history.

As Pope Gregory VII (1081) once wrote:


"Who does not know that kings and dukes had their rulership from those who, not knowing God, strove from blind greed and intolerable presumption to dominate their equals, namely mankind, by pride, rapine, perfidy, murder, and crimes of all sorts, urged on by the ruler of the world, i.e., the devil?...

For His Son, even as He is undoubtingly believed to be God and man despised a secular kingdom, which makes the sons of this world swell with pride, and came of His own will to the priesthood of the cross...

Therefore all Christians who desire to reign with Christ should be warned not to strive to rule through ambition of worldly power..."

(Gregory VII 1081: 552; see also Poole 1920: 201, fn. 5)

To subject the Kingdom of God, which Jesus made clear before Pilate is not a temporal reality this side of the Eschaton for which his disciples could "fight" to create (as with an earthly realm) [John 18:36] and which, according to Christ's testimony in the Gospel of Luke is "not coming with things that can be observed, neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there!" [Luke 17:21], to subject this to expectations of fulfilment within a secular paradise is to equate the City of God with the City of Man wounded by original sin.

This - "fighting" to inaugurate a utopia "that can be observed" - has been a common theme with millenarian movements throughout history. There is the belief that the long awaited "utopia' can only be reached by utterly destroying the old temporal order, cleansing it through fire and blood in preparation of the new world, for which reason many radical millennial movements have deliberately pursued anarchy and violence in order to fulfil this prophetic dictum.

(Continued...)

Colin Cooper said...

While the Divine Will variant of this millenarianism is pacifist and indeed quietest (a whole other heresy I'm not getting into here), the same dynamic is at play here. Secular messianism is by far the most insidious of all millenialisms, for it has resulted in more bloodshed and human misery than any other.

Wisdom of Solomon, the text which Paul uses as the cornerstone of his argument in the Epistle to the Romans according to many scholars, has been described in a recent scholarly article by Drew J. Strait as an "explicit critique of the Roman imperial cults...[intended to] censure the origins and material representation of deified political authority (Wis 14:16–21)...The aesthetic quality of the imperial image blurs the distinction between human and divine, thus leading the multitudes to deify their ruler, who “a little before had been honored as a human being [τιμηθέντα ἄνθρωπον]” (v. 20)..."[Strait, D.J. 'The Wisdom of Solomon, Ruler Cults].

By contrast to this, the religion proclaimed by Paul taught that God had become incarnated solely and uniquely in the son of a Jewish carpenter who had been executed as a condemned criminal - a man at the lowest level of the social ladder; a pauper riding about on a donkey without any political power. He alone was the true "Caesar", the "Lord", "the King of Kings". And Paul understood himself to be the messenger of this "kingdom" to the Gentile, Roman world.

This belief made it impossible to "deify" political rulers and the state in the way that ancient polytheistic peoples had with their priest-kings. The real and only Son of God, in the Christian mindset, hadn't had any earthly power at all. Ideologically, the political order was to be stripped of religious trappings or sacral underpinnings.

This is the concerning aspect of popular misunderstanding of the "Great Monarch" prophecies.

Colin Cooper said...

If I might conclude with Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 5:17-18, where he explains how we are waiting,

"for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, 18 because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal."

Amen to that.

Sr. Marianne Lorraine Trouve said...

Thank you, Emmet, for the additional info about the imprimatur. yes, it can only be given by the Ordinary of the author or the publisher. The idea that an imprimatur requires "religious assent" is very strange, since the imprimatur simply means there is nothing in the book opposed to Catholic teaching. Any opinions expressed are still opinions and do not require agreement. Besides, any church approval of private revelations simply means they are credible, but no one is required to believe in them.
Many Advent blessings to you!

KEP said...

Hey Emmett, Pope Francis's letter approving of people divorced and civilly remarried without an annulment receiving communion now has official status. It even is now the pope's "official magisterium." Yet many popes throughout the past have written against this in magisterial documents, as well as the officially promulgated catechism.

So which one is free from error? Pope St John Paul II when he said that the divorced and civilly remarried without an annulment cannot receive the eucharist, or Francis who says they can? Recall that Francis said this is
official teaching, literally "official magisterium," and not just a practice.

Anonymous said...

I don't profess to be able to answer your question, KEP; all I can offer is my opinion. The laws of God are not subject to change by any Pope; remarriage while the first spouse is alive is still adultery. But there are circumstances that can ameliorate even the blackest of sins, thus making what is usually a mortal sin, a venial sin instead. Granted, never having been married, I can't even begin to imagine what circumstances might apply in this particular situation, but that doesn't mean they don't exist. While it still boggles the mind to think of remarried divorcees receiving Our Lord, it might be just the spiritual boost they need to lead to true repentance... considering that a measure of repentance is necessary to approach the Sacrament in the first place.

RC said...

2072 Since they express man's fundamental duties towards God and towards his neighbor, the Ten Commandments reveal, in their primordial content, grave obligations. They are fundamentally immutable, and they oblige always and everywhere. No one can dispense from them. The Ten Commandments are engraved by God in the human heart.

Emmett O'Regan said...

I don't want to be dragged into this whole debate again with you KEP, as I don't think that it is productive. Suffice to say that one of the errors in the writings of Vassula Ryden that was singled out for condemnation in the 1995 CDF Notification was that "These alleged revelations predict an imminent period when the Antichrist will prevail in the Church." The Joachite idea of the "antichristus mysticus", or papal antichrist theory, obviously contradicts the dogma of the indefectibility of the Church and is incompatible with Catholic doctrine.

RC said...

Blessed Emmerich...I saw also the relationship between the two popes… I saw how baleful (evil; harmful) would be the consequences of this false church. I saw it increase in size;2 heretics of every kind came into the city (of Rome)3 … Once more I saw the Church of Peter was undermined by a plan evolved by the secret sect (Masonry), while storms were damaging it.”
“I saw a secret sect relentlessly undermining the great Church… When the Church had been for the most part destroyed (by the secret sect), and when only the sanctuary and the altar were still standing, I saw the wreckers (of the secret sect) enter the Church with the Beast.”
“I saw an apparition of the Mother of God, and she said that the tribulation would be very great. She added that these people must pray fervently with outstretched arms… They must pray above all for the Church of Darkness to leave Rome.”
Anna Katherina Emmerick
“The Church is in great danger… I see that in this place (Rome) the (Catholic) Church is being so cleverly undermined, that there will hardly remain a hundred or so priests who have not been deceived. They all work for destruction, even the clergy. The great devastation is now at hand.”
“When I saw the Church of St. Peter in ruins, and the manner in which so many of the clergy were themselves busy at this work of destruction – none of them wishing to do it openly in front of others – I was in such distress that I cried out to Jesus with all my might, imploring His mercy. Then, I saw before me the Heavenly Spouse… He said, among other things, that this translation of the Church from one place to another meant that She would seem to be in complete decline. But She would rise again; even if there remained but one Catholic, the Church would conquer again because She does not rest on human counsels and intelligence. It was also shown to me that there were almost no Christians left in the old acceptation of the word.”4
“The Church is completely isolated and as if completely deserted. It seems that everyone is running away.”
“Among the strangest things that I saw, were long processions of bishops. Their thoughts and utterances were made known to me through images issuing from their mouths. Their faults towards religion were shown by external deformities. A few had only a body, with a dark cloud of fog instead of a head. Others had only a head, their bodies and hearts were like thick vapors. Some were lame; others were paralytics; others were asleep or staggering.”
“I saw what I believe to be nearly all the bishops of the world, but only a small number were perfectly sound…”
“Then I saw that everything that pertained to Protestantism was gradually gaining the upper hand, and the Catholic religion fell into complete decadence…”
“In those days, Faith will fall very low, and it will be preserved in some places only, in a few cottages and in a few families which God has protected from disasters and wars.”
“I saw that many pastors allowed themselves to be taken up with ideas that were dangerous to the Church. They were building a great, strange, and extravagant Church. Everyone was to be admitted in it in order to be united and have equal rights: Evangelicals, Catholics, sects of every description. Such was to be the new Church…”
“I heard that Lucifer (if I am not mistaken) will be freed again for awhile fifty or sixty years before the year 2,000 AD.”

KEP said...

Emmett, who said anything about a papal antichrist? Saying the pope is teaching error doesn't mean he's the antichrist. Very strange response.

You know the Pope is teaching error. You don't understand how the Magisterium works. You're too stubborn to admit you were wrong. Francis proved you wrong on the death penalty and now proved you wrong on adultery.

JMC said...

RC: Some of what Bl. Emmerich was told was also told to Mother Marianna at Quito. At both Quito and Fatima, at the very least, Our Lady said that when all seems to have been lost, that is when the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart will occur.

KEP, I have to agree with Emmett here, in that this debate serves no purpose. When in doubt, stick to tradition, I have found to be the safest course in these muddied waters.

Anonymous said...

KEP, without citing internet articles from non-theologians, perhaps citing from theological manuals after Vatican I, explain to us how papal errors and the magisterium works. Why only after Vatican I? For approximately the same reason why we can no longer hold the opinion that Mary was not assumed into heaven. I'm willing to change my mind if you can make a compelling case.

Anonymous said...

It is very clear that Francis is the one and only true Pope of our Lord. This is why we know that Catholics may now get remarried after a divorce and eat the Eucharist, that there was no special creation but only evolution, that there was no global flood, that the Jews regaining their homeland and eternal city fifty years was only coincidence and not of God, and that any person who refuses to bake a cake for a man to marry his male friend is in mortal sin and must do penance.

The elite bankers of the world would never use the threat of cutting off the Holy See and all Catholic monastic communities from access to financial markets in 2012 thus forcing the other Pope into a false abdication in 2013 and confinement in the basement of the Vatican. We know this because we know bankers love truth above all else.

We must submit and obey Holy Francis.

Anthony W said...

To Anonymous. And by your comments we can all see that you are not a faithful Catholic.

Anthony W

Bridget said...

I remember reading a few years ago how Pope Francis prays 15 decades a day. How can anyone who prays THAT much be led astray? I don’t think it’s possible!

Also, if I were a man, the absolute LAST person on the planet I’d want to be is the pope. What a job! God bless him!!

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/commentandblogs/2014/05/19/two-moments-awakened-in-pope-francis-a-deep-devotion-to-our-lady/

RC said...

The bishop of rome has been quite clear in deriding people who "count" rosaries......It concerns me; when I was elected, I received a letter from one of these groups, and they said: “Your Holiness, we offer you this spiritual treasure: 3,525 rosaries.” Why don't they say, “we pray for you, we ask...”, but this thing of counting... And these groups return to practices and to disciplines that I lived through - not you, because you are not old - to disciplines, to things that in that moment took place, but not now, they do not exist today...

Bridget said...

RC, I don’t think he’s being hypocritical. Maybe I should’ve phrased that as “he meditates on all of the mysteries of the rosary.” It’s obvious some traditions seem to leave a bad taste in his mouth based on those comments you posted. I agree with that. I remember when that was in the news. But I get what he’s saying and I appreciate his point. I myself can be a little OCD. Couple that with a sharp conscience and you have quite the Catholic guilt complex. Some days I tell myself I’ll try to say this many rosaries for this person in this situation, and then I feel guilty when I fall short. I would greatly benefit from Pope Francis’s words. See my point?

RC said...

Bridget,
I admire your defence of and obvious love for the man,i really do.In that respect your exhibit infinetly more charity than i do no doubt about that mea culpa mea culpa mea maxima culpa.You view him as some angelic Shepard, i think he is one of the greatest chastisements visited on the church i have loved my whole life.
I think he is being immensely hypocritical, you don't which is fair enough. Unfortunately the only things i have learned from this man are that Our Lady accused God of lying to her, that Catholics are rabbits for doing exactly what it says in scripture,i.e go forth and multiply. That when i die i have no need to fear hell because i can't be condemned forever and my soul will merely be annihilated, so depart from me accursed,it would be better if that man had never been born etc do not apply! That people who hold to the perennial teaching of the Catholic church are unmerciful rigid pharisees etc. That as long as i have squared my mortal sin with my own conscience then i can basically do what i want in direct contravention to the word and commandments of God. Coprophagia!!! I had no idea what this term even meant until it came out of his mouth!! Amazed absolutely amazed that a man of God should utter such disgusting filth, I could go on and on but as far as this man goes with me and you never the twain shall meet. I'm sorry but how anyone could describe such a man as angelic is beyond the scope of all known reason and logic, his own words and actions are incredulous. I've read all the defence of the man, from people like emmett,walford,winters faggioli in some forlorn hope that I'm wrong but i can't come to any other conclusion but he has been nothing short of a disaster.I always like to read both sides of the argument in order to form opinion, i personally have been born and raised in the norvus ordo, never been to a latin mass in my life so the mad trad label dont wash with me,I am an ordinary sinful Catholic but i have a sensus fidelium, i have eyes and ears, a conscience and although the good Lord never granted me much intellect,He did grant me common sense and an absolute certainty in His law and His word. Perhaps you could be so kind as to include in your prayers the absolute turmoil and heartbreaking sadness I am going through seeing this church I love torn asunder? Apologies for the length of this and be assured of my prayers Bridget.

Bridget said...

I’m so sorry, RC. :(. Thank you for saying all of that though. I like hearing both sides too! And YES, you can count on me including you in my daily prayers! See, this is why I have a problem squaring the two. There’s no hiding the fact that Pope Francis has deeply hurt lots of people with his words and actions, which is a far cry from being “angelic”! But maybe he is still an important part of the process. Maybe it’s a “one step back, two steps forward” kind of a deal that has to play out in order to unite the Church. ??? I just don’t know!

RC said...

Thank you Bridget, your kindness is an example I could do with following more in my life.God bless you sister and a happy feast of the Immaculate Conception for tomorrow :)

Anonymous said...

O Mary conceived without original sin,
Pray for us who have recourse to thee.

Mark W said...

"I remember reading a few years ago how Pope Francis prays 15 decades a day. How can anyone who prays THAT much be led astray? I don’t think it’s possible!"

As I've said before here, in my area I'm known as something of a prayer warrior. A dozen years ago, I got a call from a friend. She wanted me to pray for a friend of hers. There was something amiss in this other woman's family. The husband was accused of cheating, and there were accusations that perhaps he'd abused her. The woman had gone silent when my friend tried to contact her, so she was concerned that the husband had done something horrible to her.

The woman went to daily Mass. She prayed the rosary daily after Mass. She was a regular volunteer in a variety of projects at their mutual parish. She was, by all outward accounts, a model mother and Catholic. She had two kids, I want to say they were maybe four and six years, but I'm not sure anymore.

A few days later, they called the police about a home invasion. The husband had been beaten into a coma by the intruder, and was rushed to the hospital. My friend called in near panic - her friend was worried that the intruders would come back for her and her kids.

I stopped at a nearby parish that evening, lit two candles, and begged Mary and St. Jude (my patron) to protect the woman, her kids, and the hospitalized husband. I had my one and only mystical experience that night. At one point, kneeling in prayer, I was overcome by the knowledge - not just a feeling, but an absolute knowledge - that the children had gone to heaven but that the mother had not.

The next morning, the local news media was awash with the story. The mother and kids were dead. But the Dallas police quickly established that not all was as it seemed. That afternoon they had enough evidence to say that the mother had killed her kids and herself. She'd beaten her husband with a baseball bat (found in the garage, or something like that), in order to create the story that intruders had come back and killed her and her kids. It came out that she had massive debts that no one knew about, and was having an affair herself.

So yes, someone that prays the rosary daily, and goes to daily Mass, can be overcome by darkness and do all manner of unspeakable things.

Bridget said...

Wow, Mark! What a tragic story. Yes, you’re right. I think I have a weak argument there.
: /

RC said...


Hail, mistress of earth; hail, heavenly queen!
Hail, Virgin of virgins, all chaste and serene!
Bright star of the morning, the light of whose face,
Reflects His effulgence, who filled you with grace.


O sovereign of angels, come quickly, we pray,
And drive every ill, that besets us away.


You from eternity God did ordain,
Over His household As mistress to reign;
You He predestined The mother to be
Of Him who created Earth, heaven and sea;
You He elected The spouse of His Heart.


Because in our sin You never had part.

God elected and prepared Her;
And gave His own tabernacle for a dwelling.

O Holy Mary, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Queen of Heaven and Mistress of the world, who never forsakes nor despises anyone, look upon us with an eye of pity and beg of your beloved Son the pardon of all our sins that we who now devoutly celebrate your Immaculate Conception may receive the reward of eternal joy through the mercy of Jesus Christ our Lord, whom you, pure Virgin, did bring into the world, and who, with the Father and the Holy Spirit in perfect Trinity, lives and reigns one God, world without end. Amen.

O Mother, turn a mother’s ear.
And kindly our petitions hear.

Blessed be the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

RC said...

That truly is a tragic happening Mark, reminds us that our adversary prowls the world seeking whom he may devour.Lest we forgwt lucifer had the arrogance and temerity to tempt Our Lord, so he would most certainly attack and lay siege to our intellect and will. We also of course have precedent of lucifer allowing a pope to be corrupted in thought and word...." turning, said to Peter: Go behind me, Satan, thou art a scandal unto me: because thou savourest not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men.

mightyrighty said...

Meanwhile, back at prophecy ranch........

Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital fulfills Jewish/Daniel prophecy of 70 weeks/years - 1947-2017 etc...

Brexit/Ireland looks to be heading to the breaking of "English sovereignty" and 'confederation' between England and Ireland. Wither the 'light in Ulaidh' Emmett?

Jason R. said...

I've been reading and quietly biting my tongue (or would that be biting my fingertips when a keyboard is involved, haha), on Petrine primacy being the foundation of the Church and without it, everything else crumbles down, or how latitude for priests to be able to read souls in their indispensible pastoral care that seeks to win back every stray lamb to the Church is so important... and I could go on and on, but...

I think we've all beaten a dead horse until there is nothing left of it on this topic. At this point everyone has had their say (or for ones likes me, have had their say more than their fair share of times I'd admit), and no one that frequents these comments sections are going to change their minds at this point, so in the interests of Christian charities and avoiding hard feelings, like mightrighty put it so well, lol, meanwhile, back at prophecy ranch... I hope we can all just at this point agree to disagree on that one big divisive issue and move on to new, interesting, and important discussions that don't involve that one issue.

To maybe switch gears a bit, I have an off-topic question for you Emmett, but if you are still really busy with other things as I know you have been, don't feel obligated to answer this or anything, it is more of a curiosity for me. With the 1944 Tuy apparation, if the lance that detaches was Sr. Lucia's way of describing an ICBM with an MIRV payload (multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle... basically multiple warheads that detach from the ballistic missile itself before detonating, which reminds me very much of the lance that detaches from the 1944 Tuy apparition), does the rest of the premise of your book, and your work in general still hold?

I know you associate Sr. Lucia's description of the lance that detaches to the Spear of Destiny (which, incidentally, after reading that name in your book which I wasn't previously familiar with led me down a path of *a lot* of reading about the Spear of Destiny and research that was super interesting, so thank you for that!), and though 1944 doesn't seem so long ago, ballistic missile technology was just coming into the public eye through Hitler's V2 ballistic missile program, so just as Ezekiel descriptions that now seem understandable as his interpretation of modern things that didn't have any readily available things to compare to, I wonder if Sr. Lucy's description of the lance that detaches being an ICBM w/ MIRVs... I just can't shake that idea.

I agree with almost every single thing I've read of yours Emmett, and feel so very thankful that Our Lord and Our Lady (I believe) kind of guided me towards your writings, that's why it's maybe strangely important to me to know if you feel your interpretation of the lance that detaches is critical to the rest of what you set out in "Unveiling The Apocalypse"? I even wonder if maybe a specifically targeted nuclear strike at the Canary Islands could trigger the lateral collapse, or maybe a massive surprise nuclear attack against "Babylon" could unintentionally cause an equally massive seismic reaction that could help to trigger the eschatological earthquake centered in Jerusalem? Would a nuclear attack have to come after the mega-tsunami, or could it coincide, or even precede it and be the "trigger", so to speak, or would the eschatological earthquake and resulting fall of Babylon have to be a clearly supernatural act tied to the sign of the Son of Man appearing?

cont...

Jason R. said...

...cont.

Again, this isn't a critical question or anything, more of a curiosity as I wrote above, so if you don't have time to answer Emmett that is totally OK (and if anyone else would like to jump in with their opinion, I'd very much appreciate and be interested in those as well!).

Thanks, Pax Christi, and God bless all of you,
Jason

p.s. Happily into my new home, all my financial problems have completely disappeared, and actually reversed (I even have around 25,000 dollars sitting in my savings account after all the dust settled as a buffer for any emergencies or to cover monthly gaps because of medication costs, etc., instead of going further into debt; that might not seem like a lot of money to some folks, but to me it's like having a million bucks, such a wonderful blessing!), so I'd again like to thank everyone for all their prayers through such a time of trial for me.

I have a deep spiritual sense that Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Joseph the Worker intervened for me through everyone's prayers (I'm still blown away about having my intention placed under a statue of St. Joseph at the Sydney Opera House... it's mind-boggling how far prayer intentions can go)... for me the sudden and so unexpected turn-around from facing homelessness to where I am now is nothing short of a miracle in my mind and heart, and it's made me much less shy about asking for intercessory prayer or providing it for anyone who requests it. Anyways, again, thank you all so much for that!!

Jason R. said...

p.p.s. (Sorry, my lack of brevity still needs just a bit of work, haha), just as an elaboration on part of what I'm wondering is in light of the proof that volcanic eruptions do cause very slight effects on the axis the planet spins on, could a very large nuclear exchange have the same unexpected side effect (or even one very large payload weapon specifically targeting an especially sensitive tectonic area for exactly that desired effect)? I don't know very much at all about geology, but I'm guessing a more pronounced sudden shift in the angle of the axis of the planet (maybe much more than even produced naturally through axial precession's "wobble" every 26,000 years) might trigger huge seismic activity all over the Earth, the kind envisioned in the eschatological earthquake centered in Jerusalem, where every building on Earth is predicted to be flattened (if I'm remembering it correctly).

If anyone more familiar with geology or plate tectonics knows whether this could be a reasonable thing as far as being in the realm of possibility, I'd love to hear any opinions at all. I'd hate to leave the impression that I'm somehow trying to divorce the great eschatological earthquake, mega-tsunami, and subsequent fall of Babylon which leaves an opening for the Antichrist to make himself finally known, from the direct Will of Our Lord by suggesting that maybe human use of nuclear weapons could be a possible trigger... I know whether the actions be of a supernatural nature or the misguided hand of mankind, Our Lord's Will reigns supreme. Whether the fire and brimstone to fall from the sky is a description of nuclear war, the result of the planet passing through the tail of a comet, or a purely supernatural act of Our Lord where it literally comes out of nowhere, I think the distinctions don't effect whether it is Our Lord's Will necessarily (although I guess the more of these events that occur without a preternatural explanation, the more inclined mankind would be to recognize the Hand of God behind the occurrences, so there is that).

Jason

As an interesting happenstance (or at least I found it interesting), when I checked the etymology of the word tectonic, that fact that it comes from the "Latin tectonicus; from Ancient Greek τεκτονικός (tektonikos), meaning "pertaining to building", that really caught my attention considering the prophecy of every building falling and collapsing... tektonikos certainly seems apt!

RC said...

Isn't it all rather academic though? Haven't the stable doors at the ranch all been left open and the prophecy horse's have all bolted and are furiously galloping headlong towards the end times?
As a born and raised ulsterman your last line is rather intriguing? Are you referring to St Patrick seeing the light coming from the north of the country? I thought that referred to matters of faith not politics? I could of course be totally misrepresenting what you mean by that last line! I would be amazed given the history and partisan politics of my country if a confederation ever exists between the uk and the republic, i would however prophecise that the Donald has his sights firmly on shoring up florida in the next election?

Anonymous said...

Jason, there is a large asteroid making a close approach to Earth on December 17, Pope Francis’ birthday and the first day of the ‘O Antiphons’ and which some say is the source (asteroid 3200 named Phaeton) of the Geminids meteor shower which happens next week. Also thinking of the Garabandal Warning which has the appearance of ‘two stars crashing’. We are going to get a sore neck with all this ‘heads up’ business - the price of being a watchman!
Karen

Emmett O'Regan said...

Good to hear that your prayers have been answered Jason!
I think there are multiple layers to the prophecy of the angel with the flaming sword Jason, and one of these layers definitely pertains to the use of a nuclear weapon, as Cardinal Ratzinger proposed in his theological commentary to the Third Secret:

"The angel with the flaming sword on the left of the Mother of God recalls similar images in the Book of Revelation. This represents the threat of judgement which looms over the world. Today the prospect that the world might be reduced to ashes by a sea of fire no longer seems pure fantasy: man himself, with his inventions, has forged the flaming sword."

I think this specifically relates to the rider of the second seal being given the great sword in Rev 6:3:

"When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword."

I don't think it is coincidence that Sr. Lucia received this vision just a year previous to the United States' development of the atomic bomb. The lance detaching from the side of the Crucified One marked the moment of Christ's Sacrificial death, which opened up the font of the River of Life. So, it also prefigures the final Passover of the Church, when the Bride must follow in the Passion of Christ before its resurrection, and as such, is a vision of the end of the world itself. However, the flaming lance seen touching the axis of the earth also sets in motion a chain of events which eventually culminates in the general conflagration at the end of the world, beginning with the eschatological earthquake and destruction of "Babylon", following through to the rise of the Antichrist and persecution of the Church. So, while there is probably a seven year gap between the angel touching the earth with the flaming sword to the end of the world itself, it is in effect the efficient cause of this end, which is ultimately meted out by the hands of man.
And, yes, there be a small-scale nuclear attack on the US at around the same time as the devastation of the East Coast by tsunami, since we are told that the ten kings together with the Antichrist hate "Babylon", and collectively work together destroy it by fire, in order to ensure the Man of Sin rises to world dominance in its stead:

And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. (Rev 17:16-17)

RC said...

Emmett,
I am in my 30's, given the distinct signs of the times,am I going to hear Enoch preaching?

Emmett O'Regan said...

I would say so, RC. Especially if we are at the latter end of the period of the unbinding of Satan.

Colin Cooper said...

RC,

I would personally be very wary about getting carried away by apocalyptic fervour.

The early Christians in the first century thought that the Parousia would take place in their lifetimes. They were wrong. The Christians living at the turn of the first millennium thought the Apocalypse was nigh. They too were wrong. The Christians living during the upheavals of the mid-17th century Thirty Years War, when many believed the world had been "turned upside down", imagined the reign of Antichrist was about to arrive. I could go on, but you get what I'm saying.

On the basis of the testimony from St. Paul in his Epistle to the Romans, we know that at a minimum the Eschaton is restrained not merely by the Thessalonian "katechon" but owing to the fact that a hardening has come upon Israel, preventing her children from believing in Christ.

Unless one anticipates an imminent mass conversion of a substantial number of the world's Jews (which is an exceedingly remote outcome for the foreseeable future), I would not bet that we are anywhere near the final persecution of the Church.

Likewise, we need to take special precaution when engaging in exegesis of the Apocalypse of John. The Divine Liturgy of our Orthodox brethren never uses the Book of Revelation in its lectionary, the only scriptural text to be omitted from the readings. And there is good reason for this, since its dense imagery and genre are so often misunderstood by laymen.

Millenialism, the rapture and a good many other heresies have cropped up as a result of poor exegesis of Revelation. More than any other book of the Bible it lends itself to serious misinterpretation with grave consequences especially for the faithful.

The thing to keep in mind is that apocalyptic literature is not primarily prophetic. It can incorporate prophecy but there is a reason the Rabbis wisely put Daniel in the Writings section of the Tanakh rather than among the Neviim (prophets). Apocalypse are a Hebrew genre of writing that often spoke of current world events unfolding as if they were fulfilling oracles similar to those uttered during the Prophet Era of the Jews which preceded the Second Temple era.

That doesn't mean Revelation is free of prophecies: it does include allusions to the future. I am not aware of any Church Father who did not interpret the two witnesses as referring to genuine individuals, seemingly "yet to come", for example. But Revelation is not our best guide in this respect. The Pauline epistles and Jesus' oration on the end times while in Jerusalem (in the Synoptics) are our surest path to understanding the signs of the times.

To the author, John of Patmos, his book would have been written as a response to an impending crisis in the nascent Christian community, likely in the aftermath of the Neronian Persecution. He wrote to console the faithful in the genre of an apocalypse relying on imagery and thematic concepts from the Prophets of the Old Testament. To this end, it is a literary device as opposed to a series of prophetic oracles - as in, Ezekiel or Zechariah.

Even a cursory reading of the Book of Revelation shows the presence of liturgical language set in worship. This is actually a very important aspect of its message, as opposed to prophecy.

Mark W said...

Jason - Good to hear that things have turned around for you. Deo Gratias!

As to the tectonic question - A change in the axis would be catastrophic. The weather works largely off the spin of the planet and the angle of the tilt. If such a thing were to change too dramatically, it would wreck our weather cycle. But a change in axis angle is possible, and there are those that believe it's happened before. The earthquake you're talking about, and that may be something like the Eschatological Earthquake, could also happen - it's within the realm of possibility, but not so much within the realm of probability. It would require a shift in the crust in general. Some have offered conjecture, but not much more. It would be big enough to level every building, and then you'd wake up the next morning with the sun rising in the NNW. This would again cause a massive weather disruption because the poles would be in the wrong place...the tropics, maybe? And there is no manmade nuke capable of setting off an earthquake like this on it's own. The dinosaur killer impact (Chicxulub) was many orders of magnitude higher than any nuke, and that didn't cause a crust-shift event. To generate the kind of energy necessary to force a crust shifting earthquake, you'd wipe out all life on earth and strip away the atmosphere. In such a case, we won't likely care too much.

And I should say that I'm not a scientist in any way. I worked on my MA in the history of science and technology. As such, I took a bunch of science classes for non-majors. So I've had physics, biology, astronomy and cosmology classes, but without calculus. I managed to avoid chemistry somehow, but I did study the transition from pseudo-science to science. It's fascinating, and if you ever want to have some fun with a scientist, tell him that modern chemistry itself wouldn't have existed without alchemy. It's an arguable point, but they will almost certainly pop an internal gasket.

Colin Cooper said...

Jason,

As a result of my own rather measured interpretation of eschatology, I must admit that I have an extremely hard time putting stock in predictions of imminent nuclear Armageddon or the like. I'm a lawyer by trade and naturally of a skeptical inclination, particularly when dealing with the hot potato that is prophecies of the future.

Of course, such earth-shaking tragedy could transpire at any moment owing to a near total breakdown in diplomatic communication, as in over the North Korea crisis, but we should in my opinion avoid the temptation towards 'woe-is-me'-type "fatalism".

Rather we should pray and hope that reason prevails, warnings are duly noted and carnage is averted. There is a profound pessimism at the heart of a great number of apocalyptic-inspired movements that is in many respects just as harmful to the soul as the heretical utopian optimism in human potential which underpins millenarian speculation. In my understanding, both are aberrations from the truth which deserve to be steered clear of by the discerning faithful.

Please note, I'm not trying to be a "party-pooper" but merely cautioning folk here that we all need to take a chill pill once in a while.

When all is said and done, yes, we know from the combined witness of both scripture and private revelation, the late sociologist Rene Girard was astute in his observation that:

"Christianity is the only religion that has foreseen its own failure. This prescience is known as the apocalypse. Indeed, it is in the apocalyptic texts that the word of God is most forceful, repudiating mistakes that are entirely the fault of humans, who are less and less inclined to acknowledge the mechanisms of their violence...

Christ allows us to face this reality without sinking into madness. The apocalypse does not announce the end of the world; it creates hope. If we suddenly see reality, we do not experience the absolute despair of an unthinking modernity but rediscover a world where things have meaning. Hope is possible only if we dare to think about the danger at hand, but this requires opposing both nihilists, for whom everything is only language, and pragmatic realists, who reject the idea that intelligence can attain truth: heads of state, bankers, and soldiers who claim to be saving us when in fact they are plunging us deeper into devastation each day."

The prophesied ultimate failure of mankind to find perfect satisfaction of desire and peace on earth (which can only be found in beatitude, via the Beatific Vision in Paradise), is not supposed to be an occasion for hand-wringing despair. "The end is nigh, we are doomed!"

There is a via media between optimism and pessimism about the future.

From where I'm standing, history is not near its end. We have a lot more "journeying" to and their will yet be some great "highs" prior to the final low.

Mark W said...

"That truly is a tragic happening Mark, reminds us that our adversary prowls the world seeking whom he may devour."

I'm actually reminded of it fairly often these days, RC.

This time last year, I started writing a little booklet. It was never meant for publication, just a reference for me. It took about four months to complete and bind. (I'm into leather crafts, and made the cover myself.)

The booklet is a set of deliverance prayers. It's kinda my own creation from a variety of Catholic sources, including the Rite of Exorcism, and includes nothing Protestant at all. (I have a book that includes the Rite of Exorcism, but I've honestly never been brave enough to even read it all the way through.) The commonly used prayers are in Latin, the specific prayers needed for the deliverance effort are in English. Once I got it done, I had it blessed by a priest.

After I'd done the deliverance prayers two or three times, I started getting massive temptations. Really off the wall things that would hit me all of a sudden. Intrusive thoughts...dark thoughts...at odd times. Many of the things I've experience in the past six months have been right out of the Dark Night of the Soul. And I've been having problems ever since with what might be called "spiritual fatigue". It's actually been a fascinating experience.

But - Deo gratias - so far the attacks have been pretty obvious. They've been difficult at times - very difficult at times - but obvious, and I'd almost go so far as to say desperate. And I'm reminded of a passage in Screwtape, where he reminds his student not to be so dramatic and obvious as to force the person back to God.

One day after I had said these prayers, my wife came in and pulled me into the back yard. A flock of buzzards (small vultures, basically), had landed at the house behind us. There were a dozen of them, black as coal and about three feet tall. They sat on two trees, and my neighbors house, looking down into our yard, but they never crossed into my property. My wife said she felt a chill (I did not). It was as if they were looking into my yard and house. I went in. I have this little prayer area setup with blessed beeswax candles, a San Damiano crucifix, several bibles and my diurnal. I said a quick Saint Michael the Archangel prayer, and the Anima Christi. It took less than two minutes. I went back out and the birds were gone. My wife said she'd been watching them, and was terribly creeped out by them, but she didn't see them leave. They were just suddenly gone. And I could give you a fair number of other examples.

So now you see why I have a pound of blessed salt (as used in the Rite of Exorcism), and why I occasionally sprinkle it in my house and around my property. And I've secretly sprinkled it in my kids apartments.

So yes, the darkness is all around us. I guarantee you, it's never very far. And I am absolutely certain that it's here on this blog at times as well, and I know Emmett has felt it based on some of the things he's said. And Jason has certainly experienced it. And I've said the deliverance prayers for several people here, and for the group in general, at different times.

And I felt very strongly that I should put this here, so maybe someone will be helped by it, or maybe it's just to serve as a general warning. I don't often talk about this kind of thing.

Colin Cooper said...

Mark,

That has surely got to be one of the most disturbing and utterly tragic stories I've ever heard - and I say this as someone who studied criminal law at university, so is used to reading about horrifying cases!

I'm so sorry that you had to be a distant witness to such traumatic events.

I wonder if the woman in question perhaps had severe but undiagnosed psychological problems?

But yes, it just goes to show that we never can judge from the exterior. Even Satan appears as an angel of light, as St. Paul once stated.

RC said...

Hi Mark,
Thanks for the post you have no idea how much this resonates with me. I for one would very much love to read your booklet.

I put my tin hat on here as i may open myself up to accusations of madness but unfortunately I have had first hand experience of the demonic and they took a very heavy revenge on me and my life, i know firsthand of their existence, i tangled with them and paid such a heavy price so in this realm i can certainly empathise with anyone suffering their deceits. I don't wish to hijack the thread but i am certainly open to sharing experiences perhaps on the other thread should you wish. One thing i will say is they are strict legalists when it comes to authority to confront them.

RC said...

Hi Colin
Thanks for the reply and the info, I'm very ignorant and uneducated in this whole area.
I wish i had your optimism i really do, I look around the world and the church and can't help but feel it's all coming to an end. The social kingship of Christ has been rejected by almost every Catholic country on earth, the only faithful country i can see is probably Poland. Blasphemy is rife, paganism and humanist secularism is rampant, the Church is in chaos, life means nothing anymore, the daily holocaust of the unborn is gathering pace at a frightening rate, euthanasia infesting country after country, civil laws being enacted everywhere basically making it impossible to hold Christian moral beliefs, gender ideology turning the natural law upside down and on and on it goes. What lead me to pose the question to emmett originally was a sermon from a priest on the anti christ, i believe based primarily on interpretations from Bellarmine and the doctors and fathers, il have to give it another listen, i believe it was Father Wolfe from the Fssp

Bridget said...

Hi Colin! I always a enjoy reading your comments! So much great information! Thank you! You mentioned how the Orthodox are cautious when it comes to Revelation. However, I couldn’t help but think back to this article I read last week. Based on the quotes, it seems as if Patriarch Kirill personally isn’t as skeptical about where we are in history.

https://mysticpost.com/2017/12/patriarch-kirill-end-times-approaching-signs-book-revelations-now-apparent-awe-inspiring-moments-history-can-already-seen-naked-eye/

“In a public speech in the main Moscow cathedral, Patriarch Kirill said the signs from the Book of Revelation are now apparent. He also called on politicians and ordinary citizens to unite and stop the movement towards the abyss.

‘All people who love the Motherland must be together because we are entering a critical period in the course of human civilization. This can already be seen with the naked eye. You have to be blind not to notice the approaching awe-inspiring moments in history that the apostle and evangelist John was talking about in the Book of Revelation,’ the patriarch was quoted as saying by Interfax.”

Bridget said...

“And I’ve secretly sprinkled it in my kids apartments.”

Mark, you are a good dad! :)

Emmett O'Regan said...

Colin, you have a depth of wisdom beyond your years. I'm also more inclined towards a more positive take on the Apocalypse, in that we are about to emerge from a spiritual "dark age". The renewal of the Church must come about before the end. So, it's not all 'doom and gloom', and I'm certainly not expecting an imminent nuclear war. This is all set to take place at the end of the bringing in of the fullness of the Gentiles.

Mark W, I would love to see your booklet in print. And yes, I have seen enough of the darkness myself.

Anonymous said...

> I'm certainly not expecting an imminent nuclear war

Tfw expecting an imminent nuclear war...

JMC said...

I hadn't checked here in a few days, and now there is just so much to comment on!

The statements that Pope Francis is known for the decrying of "Rosary counters" rather put me in mind of the old custom of the spiritual bouquet. They actually used to print greeting cards that had spaces for you to fill in how many Rosaries, Masses, Communions, etc., you had offered for one particular person. I remember filling these out when I was in first and second grade, to give to one of my parents for Mother's Day or Father's Day. (I found one of them in my mother's things after she had died!) I don't remember ever having the concept explained before the first one was handed out; I think all of us just made up huge numbers (usually in the thousands). It was a beautiful custom in terms of reminding us of our duty to pray for the living and the dead, but I suspect unrealistic in terms of any of those numbers being accurate. I mean, I doubt anyone actually kept tally sheets of how many of these things they did. ;D

Thanks for that explanation about the Spear of Destiny, Emmett, prefiguring the suffering that the Bride of Christ must undergo. Before that, I found myself scratching my head and wondering what the lance that pierced the side of Christ had to do with prophecy.

Mark, you are certainly spot on about the possibility of axial tilt. I remember learning about it in an astronomy class I took in college, that researchers had found evidence that it had happened at some time in the distant past. The only thing I really remember about it was that Polaris was not always the North Star, and during the period of shift the earth underwent some drastic tectonic and climatic upheavals. I recall that, in the early 2000s, there was a 10M earthquake somewhere in the Far East (I don't remember exactly where anymore), an earthquake so severe and widespread that it actually did shift the axial tilt a fraction of a degree. We've been experiencing really weird weather all over the planet ever since; the anthrogenic climate change proponents are trying to whip up panic over it, but more and more people are starting to realize that what we do really has little to nothing to do with it.

And I think it's time to split this post so I don't run over my character limit. ;D

JMC said...

There are some really good comments about the multiple layers of meaning in Apocalypse. I remember one sermon where the priest brought up the fact that, being a prisoner on Patmos, St. John was actually writing in some kind of code that the Jews and early Christians would have readily understood, but which was impenetrable to the Romans, unversed in Judeo-Christian prophecy as they were. Certainly food for thought.

And finally, Mark, I would certainly like to see your collection of deliverance prayer as well. Its something I've been incorporating into my prayer life for a few years now. I, too, once had a copy of the full Rite of Exorcism in both Latin and English; it came with a warning to the laity never to say it in Latin, a wise warning, as we do not have the arms, protections, and most importantly the authority of an ordained priest, duly appointed as an exorcist. I've since lost the pamphlet, which is probably just as well.

I've a story of my own to tell with that. When I first started using deliverance prayers, I had a couple of nightmares that I'm fairly well convinced were actual demonic attacks. They stopped when I incorporated into my bedtime prayers the St. Michael prayer and a prayer from the Flame of Love devotion which Jesus told Elizabeth Zimmerman would actually blind the devil for a time. It's particularly efficacious in that regard when said before the Blessed Sacrament, so I made that a part of my prayers before Mass. It goes like this:

O my Jesus, may our feet journey together.
May our hands gather in unity.
May our hearts beat in unison.
May our souls be in harmony.
May our thoughts be as one.
May our ears listen to the silence together.
May our gazes penetrate each other profoundly.
May our lips pray together to the Father to obtain mercy.
Amen.

God bless.
-JMC

RC said...

Excellent points JMC,
It is extremely dangerous ground and extreme caution must be applied in this realm.In the most extreme cases even a priest must obtain faculties from the bishop. St Michael himself even though he banished lucifer from heaven, when contending with the devil over the body of moses asked God to rebuke him St Michael did not directly issue the rebuke!
Make use of the sacraments,many exorcists have stated confession is frequently even more effective than solemn exorcism, develope devotions to Saints who regularly confounded lucifer, St Michael of course,being particularly repugnant to lucifer as lucifers pride is greatly offended by being expelled by an angel of much lower rank!! St Benedict, St Joseph-terror of demons! St Pio,St Gemma Gagliani, St John Vianney,the devil said of him if there were two or three like you in this world my kingdom would cease to exist!
Pray the litany of the Most Precious Blood, pray to the Immaculate Conception, our guardian angels,so often neglected but there with us 24/7! Meditation is torture to them as holy recollection and imagery in our minds violently dusturbs them!
Holy water of course,blessed salt and blessed oil,St Benedict medals above the entrance to the home and also on window sills, the scapular and of course the Holy Rosary, remaining in the state of grace is akin to wearing a bulletproof vest!avoidance of the occult and curiosity of,ouija boards,mediums etc.Harry Potter!according to some exorcists over 60% of the names in those books are actual demons!! Finally there is a group called auxillium Christanorum which cumulates the prayers of thousands of people for the work of exorcists and for the protection of the families of all those praying the prayers,it is recommended though consulting a spiritual director before praying them as they are pretty strong prayers!

Anonymous said...

hello, emmett...there is a very interesting vídeo on youtube of guy that made a reseach on father malachin martin áudios and the vision of sister lucia on 1944....he makes the conclusion that the tip of the spear as a flame would be a weapon from russia...really interisting theory.....people forget that Our Lady put enphasis that Russia will the instrument of the chastisement both spiritual and material.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AR2jC8N4IEM&t=843s

JMC said...

RC, I'm already aware of the Auxilium Christianorum; I stumbled across their site two years ago and have been using those prayers ever since. Its purpose as a prayer-support network for exorcists was never brought home more powerfully to me than the day the exorcists of Mexico performed a Grand Exorcism over the entire nation. But even more than that, every single one of us who prays a Rosary is part of that network, because the Rosary is the most powerful weapon of deliverance we have, and was given to us for precisely that purpose.
.
I will admit that I'm not as diligent about praying it daily as I once was, but I will be the first to claim that it has protected me from most of the usual fallout of growing up in a dysfunctional family, and later from my own foolishness. I promote it wholeheartedly, all the while trying to get myself back into the habit of saying it daily. At least we also have Our Lady's assurance that the promotion of the Rosary is worth almost as much as actually praying it. ;D

Anonymous said...

Our Lady of the Rosary, Fatima - Pray for us.
Peter

Mark W said...

Hi All,

Relative to the prayer booklet, I'm actually not inclined to seek publication or to even show it to anyone else. There's clearly an element of risk involved.

And JMC - I'll print off that prayer and keep it handy. The St. Michael prayer is incorporated in the text itself, so that's included already. As you say, there are times when it's probably just as well to misplace this kind of thing.

Mark

Anonymous said...

Fr. Iannuzzi is suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder¨

Anonymous said...

Joseph Iannuzzi left the Oblates of St. Joseph years ago. In 2002 he was seeking incardination w Marquette Diocese in MIchigan. He was officially under Fr. Jack Fabian founder of CCL Companions of Christ the Lamb. He was attempting to establish "Missionaries of the Holy Trinity". ...at which point soon after, God revealed to me this priest's sneaky and less than honest means of dealing. I was his most fervent supporter,defender and dear friend for years even before he was a priest.
He was a brother of the OSJ. I would never have believed his deceptive ways had I not been a victim of his several times over the years. While he helped me on several occasions, it was w a price and I believe an ulterior motive that I didn't perceive at the time. God put reputable priests and religious in my path to reveal to me the back stories of this priest'S shrewd dealings, so as to help me heal from the devastation of my entanglement with this priest and his devotees. I believe he slandered MY GOOD NAME AND REPUTATION since I was persona non grata to his minions when they didn't even know me but we relocated at his request to help him w his ministry. All I ever did was try to love, help and support this priest by helping him w his ministry. Does he even HAVE A SUPERIOR? He has had problems w his former community, various parishioners, other promoters in various dioceses, creating dissension and confusion on several continents. Luisa's signature was an OBEDIENT DAUGHTER OF THE CHURCH! I will pray that Fr. Joseph will learn obedience and humility through what he suffers....just like Our Lord Jesus Christ did...may we all offer up in Divine Will all our sufferings for Luisa's Cause of Canonization. Thank you for this opportunity to share my experiences on this blog.

YoBog https://theoutlawedgod.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/we-are-ciborium/ said...

So glad to see all this information. I read the entire thread!!

YoBog https://theoutlawedgod.wordpress.com/2014/05/22/we-are-ciborium/ said...

There was no tangible narration of the effects of the divine will/luisa picarreta muck. Let me tell you some. I live with a devotee of the junk. She speaks of avoiding "virtue". She says to ignore "virtue" for it only binds your feet. Instead soar to the "Father's Will" where your life will be perfectly in His Will. Total crap!! Who is our model for virtue??? if not Our lady and Our God/ Jesus Christ? What does such command look like? Someone who lives in chaos, irresponsibility, anger, rage, anarchy, anxiety that no pill can touch, moodiness that daily Eucharist has no effect,Why? because if one lives in the perfect divine will, one does not engage our free will but is "possessed by God's will who is the one who acts ..... and there is no virtue to quell what EVER is coming across the mind, nothing to curve, squelch, derail that "will of the father"....... full speed mind with no brakes from virtue. That's my husband. Pray for us.

Unknown said...

Shame on all of you. Every word you speak against this priest you will answer for. Just the comments above show that no one has ever studied these approved writings. It was never stated in the writings to ignore "virtue". Fr. I did not publish her writings. I hope you all keep writing so he sues all of you for defamation. Praying for Fr. Ianuzzi. I suggest you all pray for each other as you attack one of HIS priests who is NOT in error.

Unknown said...

Emmett has been disavowed by his local bishop (see official letter below) and has been known to invent lies and falsehoods. He does so because he cannot find income any other way. He admitted that his books, that condemn the Servant of Luisa Piccarreta, do not sell. And why should they? He needs prayers.

Emmett's Local Bishop of the Diocese of Down and Connor formally disavowed himself from Emmett's schismatic teachings and statements:

"Mr Emmett O'Regan... neither he nor the views and opinions expressed by him in his blog or in his many publications (that do not sell) are in receipt of any endorsement, support or approbation from the Diocese of Down and Connor."

- Very Reverend Eugene O'Hagan, Vicar General & Chancellor

Unknown said...

Those who follow Emmett are on the sure path to schism, as is he. Such as these think they know more than God and the Pope. An arrogant and shameless lot. They utter useless banter, seek to cause division and spew out hatred against God's holy and good ministers. A pathetic motely crew. Let these mental midgets grovel in the dense obscurity of darkness whence they came.