Rome Watch November/December 2003

She stands on the cliff edge, hands outstretched as if in welcome. To believers, this is the Virgin Mary who has shown herself in order to promote peace in a troubled world on the brink of war. To non-believers, she is nothing more than a trick of the afternoon sun.

But there are no doubts about the steadily increasing crowds who gather on the cliffs above a Sydney beach for what has become a daily expression of faith. Instead of suntan lotion and surfboards, they bring Bibles, rosary beads, flowers and prayers of hope.

The figure, of normal height and build, can be seen only at certain angles. Or by squinting. Perhaps the combination of a white picket fence on the cliff top, the skyline and the dazzling sun have something to do with it. It is not known who first saw the vision on the cliffs overlooking Coogee Beach a few miles from the better known Bondi but word has quickly spread.

Lenn Stezovski, a Macedonian Orthodox, is among those convinced she is real. At first, he admitted, he saw nothing. "But, then as I moved around she appeared," he said. "She had her hands outstretched and I prayed to her because I believe Our Lady is truly there."

Roman Catholic teenagers Chad Areiji, and his cousin Jimmy Boumossa, 14, were also in no doubt. "She’s wearing a blue robe on the outside and a white robe on the inside," said Chad.

Janet Langden, who lives nearby, has returned to the spot several times in the past week. "It’s just fantastic, unbelievable," she said. "Some people see her, some don’t. You have to believe. I believe and so I just want to sit here looking at her all the time."

British tourists who have visited the cliff top have mixed reactions. One English visitor, Angela Scott, said: "I haven’t seen anything at all. I was standing here for ages before I realised what was going on. I thought someone had slipped off the rocks or something."

Colin Pearse, 27, from Colchester, was less sceptical. "You can definitely see her but you have to look and believe it will work", he said.

"It’s like those 3D images you see in magazines you have to stare and suddenly it all becomes clear."

Unlike other visions, she can apparently even be photographed as our picture illustrates. Her appearance is the second supposed “act of God” reported in Australia in recent months.

In Perth, a fibreglass statue of the Virgin Mary has been weeping rose scented tears for almost half a year and scientists have been unable to explain the phenomenon. Thousands gather at a small church in Perth each weekend to ask for a blessing or to be cured of ailments. The local priest said that until proven otherwise, he considered her to be a miracle.

The system of Anti Christ will be characterised by false signs and by lying wonders.

• “Whose coming is after the working of satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.” - 2 Thessalonians 2:9

• "And He doeth great wonders so that He maketh fire come down from Heaven in the sight of men and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by means of those miracles which He had power to do.” - Revelation 13:13-14

Sunday 12th October was a sad and sorry day for true Bible-believing Protestants in the picturesque seaside town of Newcastle. On that day a Roman Catholic priest “Father” McNally occupied the pulpit of St John’s Church of Ireland (Anglican) Church as guest preacher at the Harvest Service. He had been invited to do this by the Church of Ireland minister Canon Ellis, who we are informed, stated that the Church of Ireland Bishop had authorised the service. Where now the ordination vows to banish strange and erroneous doctrine? What now of the Thirty Nine Articles, doctrinal standard of the Anglican church which proclaim the Roman Mass to be a “blasphemous fable and a dangerous deceit?” What of the blood of the Protestant marytrs, including an Archbishop of Canterbury and other Bishops who were burned alive because they would not bow to the Roman Pontiff or worship the Host Wafer? Are we now being told to forget the Reformation?

However sweet a sermon the priest may have preached he will no doubt continue to hear “confessions” and claim to transubstantiate the flour and water wafer into the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Of course such Ecumenical happenings should come as no surprise to those who head the Church Of Ireland Gazette. Not so long ago the Bishop of Meath and Kildare in company with “Father” Bernard Tracey O.P flew to Rome for a Conference under the auspices of SANT EGIDIO a lay Roman Catholic movement. Whilst the Church of Ireland church of St Mary in Cong in the Diocese of Tuam is being used by Roman Catholics for their services whilst their own building is being renovated.

There are many reasons that any priest of Rome should not preach in a pulpit of a professing Protestant Church.

1) The Roman Catholic priest represents a system which places Tradition and the decisions of the Popes and Church Councils on an equal footing with the Bible.

2) The Roman Catholic priest represents a system which looks to the “infallible” Pope as Head of the Church.

3) The Roman Catholic priest represents a system which gives veneration to dead saints, images and relics and addresses prayers and petitions to those saints.

4) The Roman Catholic priest represents a system which exalts the Virgin Mary to the position of Queen of Heaven Co-Redemptress and Mediatrix of all Graces.

5) The Roman Catholic priest is obliged to believe in the Immaculate Conception and Bodily Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

6) The Roman Catholic priest claims the power by the words of Consecration to change a wafer into the body and blood of Christ, and that the Mass is a true sacrifice for the sins of the living and the dead.

7) The Roman Catholic priest claims the power to forgive sins through Confession.

8) The Roman Catholic priest represents a system which has persecuted true Protestants down the centuries.

9) The Roman Catholic priest believes in a supposed Purgatory where the sins of men and women are purged through suffering and by payment for masses.

10) The Roman Catholic priest represents a system which during 30 years of terrorism in Northern Ireland, stubbornly refused to excommunicate I.R.A. terrorists.

Events in Newcastle have caused much pain and hurt to faithful members of the Church of Ireland.

“Catholic priest rejects God’s story of Creation in Catholic publication.”

A story by Mike Christopulus, a member of the Orthodox Church, in the March 2003, Sword, says:

“A Roman Catholic priest flatly rejects God’s story of Creation to us by Holy Scripture in the Book of Genesis.”

“Father Bruce Vawter fully embraces Darwin’s evolutionary theories and lays out his views in a 62 page booklet inappropriately titled, “God’s Story of Creation.”

“Vawter’s book was published by the Knights of Columbus - the nation’s leading men’s Catholic service organization - and is dedicated to Michael J. McGivey (1852-1890) who founded the Knights of Columbus. Vawter’s views are consistent with those expressed by the late Roman Catholic Cardinal John O’Connor of New York City. In November 1996, O’Connor told worshippers at St. Patrick’s Cathedral that Adam and Eve may have been ‘some other form’ than human. He went on to say that it was possible the first living creature was a ‘lower animal’ “.

Sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests in the United States is even more common than was initially believed, according to a new investigation. At least 1,200 priests are believed to have been involved in abuse, which took place in almost every diocese in the country.

More than 4,000 children have been victims of abuse by priests that stretches back to the 1930s, according to the survey carried out by the New York Times and published a short time ago.

About 80% of the victims were male and 1.8% of all priests ordained in the last 50 years have been accused of committing abuse.

“This has been going on for decades, probably centuries,” said Richard O’Connor, a former Dominican priest who said he was raped by three priests in New York in 1940, when he was 10. “It’s just that all of a sudden they got caught.”

Mr. O’Connor, who assisted in the investigation, said that he was one of 10 boys attacked in a South Bronx parish, but the parents of the victims were unwilling to confront the priests out of respect for the church. “In the 1940s and 1950s, when you were talking to a priest, it was like you were talking to Jesus Christ himself,” he said.

The survey found that much of the sexual abuse began in the 1960s and 1970s when there were major cultural changes inside and outside the church. Priests were encouraged to mix with parishioners, and junior priests - many of them uncertain about their own sexuality - were given the job of working with children. At the same time many priests, who were uncomfortable with the Vatican’s position on celibacy quit, leaving a disproportionate number of maladjusted colleagues.

The church also believed that sexual activities were confessional rather than criminal matters, so allegations of abuse were never brought to the attention of the police.

The inquiry found that while priests took a vow of celibacy not to have sex with women, they were not taught that sex with boys was a breach of this vow, merely that it was unchaste and sinful. Of those accused of abuse, 43% were accused of molesting children aged 12 and younger. Half faced more than one allegation of abuse.

FRUSTRATED by the Roman Catholic Church’s lack of support for his attempts to find a solution to the Northern Ireland problem, Edward Heath flew to Rome in October 1972 to ask Pope Paul VI to persuade Catholic political leaders in the North not to boycott peace initiatives.

The record of their conversation, at a general morning audience on October 4, among the state papers released at the Public Record Office, reveals the mission’s failure.

The signs had not been good, even before the two met. In a telegram on August, the Pope had criticised Mr Heath’s policy of internment without trial. At their meeting, the Pope told Mr. Heath that the situation of violence and terrorism was deplorable and that he had done his best to make that clear in unequivocal terms. He did not, however, commit himself to influencing Cardinal Conway, leader of Ireland’s Catholics, to back Britain’s peace initiative.

A Catholic group is trying to raise $100 million to build, the world’s tallest monument, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, on the Lake Erie shore in Buffalo, N.Y.

If built, the 700 foot tall golden arch (seven being the mystical number of perfection) would surpass the 630 foot tall Gateway Arch in St. Louis and the 555 foot tall Washington Monument.

Panned and praised in the local press, the arch is sponsored by a group called the Association for the Arch of Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The group has released a statement saying the character of the structure will move “it into that rare category of culture shaping architecture!”

So far, $50,000 has been raised for the monument. Below the arch would be a two story Shrine of the Holy Innocents dedicated to "victims of abortion!"

A mural will portray the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Virgin Mary, who Catholics believe appeared to peasant Juan Diego in 1531 near the present day Mexico City.

“We don’t have to worry about if people will like it,” says Stasia Vogel of the Buffalo Regional Right to Life Committee, “because they love it!”

In April, the, Buffalo City Common Council passed a resolution supporting the project. However, a letter published in the Buffalo News on June 24, 2001, likened the steel structure’s appearance to a “massive tuning fork” and mocked its “unwieldy” name.

Other opponents say Buffalo will become the brunt of late night comedy jokes if the project continues. Some fear the monument will catapult Buffalo back into the forefront of the abortion debate, sparking street confrontations similar to the “Spring of Life” demonstrations in 1992 that resulted in more than 500 arrests.

However, a campaign is under way to establish chapters of the association across the country and its members are seeking 1 million people to donate at least $100 each.

“Bingo games are not going to put this up,” board member Anthony J. Coucci Jr. told the Buffalo News.

However, “We are taxiing down the runway about to take off,” said association founder Laurence D. Behr. “Catholics here are thrilled!” The monument, he added, may attract tourists of all religions.

Bishop Henry J. Mansell of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo has released a statement that he is “heartened” by Mr. Behr’s prolife sentiments but withholding judgment on the monument.

Mr. Behr said he chose an arch shaped design honouring Mary in September 2000 after a dream in which a woman appeared to him and showed him a beautiful shrine set in a valley. “This is the shrine of the Golden Arch of Mary,” he says she told him.

He formed the association on Jan. 16, 2001, and chose a slender, half mile long peninsula in Buffalo’s outer harbour between the mouth of the Buffalo River and Lake Erie as a location. However, the association has not yet purchased the lot or secured an architect.

City of Buffalo planners say they would require an environmental review to determine, among other things, whether the ground could support such a massive structure. Building engineers would have to design the monument to withstand gusting winds that are common along the lake.

Jill Saunders, writing in the Mar-Apr. Canadian Revivalist, says there is much evidence of J.R.R. Tolkien’s devout Roman Catholicism. In a letter to his son Michael, he said:

“Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament [the Mass]”.

Tolkien’s wife had to convert to Catholicism before their marriage, and their son, John, became an ordained priest. Saunders adds:

"It is interesting that C.S. Lewis converted to Christianity through Tolkien. [They] were close friends for most of their lives and belonged to a literary group called “The Inklings”, who met weekly at an Oxford pub to drink, smoke, and discuss each other’s stories. While Lewis was an Anglican, he held some R.C. views including its doctrine of purgatory and the Mass and he also requested the ‘Last Rites’ of the R.C. Church on his deathbed. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings was basically a religious and Catholic work.”

Spanish troops being sent to Iraq are wearing the Cruz de Santiago de Compostela (Cross of St. James of Compostela) on their arm badge. The triangular top and arrow like arms of the cross are a symbol of the expulsion of the Muslims from Spain after 800 years by the reconquest in 1492. This was also the start of the period of colonialist expansion by Spain’s Roman Catholic monarchy.

During the battle of Clavijo, the legend goes, the Apostle St. James appeared in the sky on a white horse brandishing a sword with which he killed every Muslim in his path. St. James became the symbol of the fight for the reconquest of Spain and has since been known as “Santiago Matamoros” (St. James the Moor killer). The Apostle is credited with converting the Iberian peninsula to Christianity.

The newspaper El Mundo declared: “To put the Cross of St. James of Compostela on the uniforms of Spanish soldiers demonstrates an absolute ignorance of the psychology of the society in which they will have to carry out their mission.” And it added, “it would be difficult to come up with any symbol more offensive to the Shiite population than this cross.”

lt is to be observed that Pederico TrilloFigueroa, the Spanish Minister of Defence is said to be a supernumerary member of the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, commonly known as “Opus Dei” (Latin for “Work of God”). Founded in 1928, Opus Dei is an ultraconservative Roman Catholic movement that recruited many of its members from Spain’s wealthy and powerful families. It flourished under General Franco’s rule and provided ministers to his government. Its clannishness and secrecy has won it the name of “Holy Mafia.”

Its founder Jose Maria Escriva de Balaguer died in 1975, was beatified by the Pope in 1992 and was controversially made a saint in 2002, in record breaking time.

Jesus Ynfante, author of the critical Founding Saint of Opus Dei, says that Escriva was an unashamed fascist. “He had Madrid under his control, starting with the dictator. Under Franco the clerical fascism of Opus Dei won out over the true fascism of the Falange [political party],” he wrote. Escriva has also been quoted as saying that Hitler would save Christianity from Communism.

The group’s annual income has been estimated at around £120 million which funds hundreds of schools and universities and helps make it one of the fastest growing movements within the Roman Catholic church. It is present in 80 countries. The group is estimated to have up to 77,000 members.

El Mundo recently named a raft of senior officials in the defence, justice and interior ministries who belong to the order, which encourages its followers to seek positions of power. “Defence, law and order, and the judiciary are in the hands of Opus,” said Juan Carlos Rodriguez, the president of Extremadura region’s government.

(Although this article has been gleaned substantially from the secular World Socialist Web Site, we are satisfied with the accuracy of the information.)

Pope John Paul II entrusted the future of the new Europe to Mary as he concluded a series of addresses on his hopes and concerns for the Old World.

From the courtyard of the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, the Pope has dedicated his last eight addresses at the Sunday Angelus to reflect on the postsynodal apostolic exhortation “Ecclesia in Europa,” published in June.

The Pope concluded his reflections last Sunday, as he, did in the document itself, “with an ‘Entrustment to Mary’ of all the men and women of the continent.”

He placed Europe in Mary’s hands, so, that it will "become a symphony of nations committed to building together the civilisation of love and peace.”

More recently, the Holy Father urged that the final draft of the European Constitution should recognize explicitly the Christian roots of the continent, as they constitute a “guarantee of a future.”

On Aug. 17, he referred to the crisis of values in Europe and appealed for the recovery of the continent’s “true identity,” adding that “the process of enlargement of the European Union to other countries cannot affect only the geographic and economic aspects, but must be translated in a renewed agreement on values which must be expressed in law and in life.”

OUT OF THEIR OWN MOUTHS - NOT THE WORDS OF PROTESTANT BIGOTS - BUT CONCERNED ROMAN CATHOLICS

Roman Catholic Magazine: “Homosexuals in the priesthood now estimated to be between 30 and 60 percent.”

Read this ad from the New Oxford Review in the November 18, 2002, Human Events.

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AXIS OF EVIL:

Dissenters & Degenerate Priests

Priestly sex scandals in the U.S. Catholic Church were few and far between before seminaries began accepting homosexuals in the 1960s. The homosexual population of the U.S. is estimated at between 2% and 10%. Homosexuals in the priesthood are now estimat- ed to be between 30 and 60%. A major study conducted by The Kansas City Star found that priests are dying of AIDS at a rate at least four times that of the general U.S. population....

Is celibacy the culprit? No. The Times of London found that priests in the (Anglican) Church of England are dying of AIDS at a rate roughly 2 to 3 times greater than Catholic priests in the U.S.! Note well: The Church of England has always allowed priests to marry.

Not surprisingly. 90% to 98% of the publicized cases of priestly pedophilia committed by U.S. Catholic priests involve boys (whether prepubescent or postpubescent). Not all “gays” are pedophiles, but pedophilia - called “Intergenerational love” by homosexuals - is part and parcel of the homosexual sub-culture, which places great emphasis on youthful physique and is notoriously promiscuous, and whose publications commonly carry themes of adult-child sex.

How did a number of seminaries get flooded with homosexuals? Not only because many bishops and religious orders have allowed seminaries to admit homosexuals - in direct violation of Vatican policy - but because certain vocations, directors and seminaries reject a candidate, not because he’s homosexual but because he's “homophobic” - they also reject candidates deemed "rigid” (a code word for orthodox).

In certain seminaries, professors openly dissent from Catholic teaching on homosexuality and homosexual behaviour is protected. And those orthodox, morally straight seminarians who have managed to get in under the radar and who object to the scandalous goings-on are persecuted or forced out. Meanwhile, sodomites are ordained priests, and they protect and promote one another, forming what is widely known as “the Lavender Mafia,” extending even into episcopal ranks.

Thanks to the media, the U.S. bishops have finally had to take a strong stand against sexual abuse of minors. But so far the get-tough policy affects only some priestly violations of celibacy. It doesn’t affect “consensual” sex with boys, or sex with men and other priests. As long as certain seminaries continue to be hothouses for flamers and promote the dissent that justifies immorality, sexual license in the priesthood will continue. But it must and will be stopped, if not by the bishops then by us, the laity.

We at the NEW OXFORD REVIEW an orthodox Catholic monthly magazine run by laymen, don’t sweep scandal under the rug. We deal with it, and with all the issues of concern to loyal Catholics. Subscribe today, and together we’ll restore the Church’s lost credibility

A warrant has been issued by the Maricopa County Attorney’s office, Arizona, for an Irish priest wanted on child sex abuse charges. The priest is believed to be living in the west of Ireland since January. Arizona authorities indicated they will initiate extradition proceedings if he does not return voluntarily.

Father Patrick Oliver Colleary was ordained from All-Hallows College, Dublin, in 1975 and served in the diocese of Phoenix, Arizona, until May last year. He was then placed on administrative leave after admitting he fathered a child in 1978 and was accused of fondling a schoolgirl who later became his lover and twice attempted suicide.

It was announced recently that he is wanted on two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor and one count of attempted sexual misconduct with a minor. Four other priests and a former priest of the diocese have been indicted on similar charges.

In December last year, Father Colleary was indicted on charges of sexually abusing then 10-year-old Mark Kennedy, an altar boy at the Holy Spirit parish in Tempe, Arizona, in 1979. On January 8th last, the indictment fell because of statute of limitations provisions, and Father Colleary was released from jail.

A 1996 memo from a senior aide to Bishop Thomas O’Brien showed the Phoenix diocese was aware then of allegations against Father Colleary. Diocesan assistant chancellor Father Michael Diskin noted that, in addition to the sexual encounters with the two women, Father Colleary was accused of groping an altar boy. The priest has rejected the charges.

In 1997 Father Colleary was sent for six months treatment to the St Luke Institute in Silver Spring, Maryland, one of the leading centres for priests with sexual problems in the US. He was released in early 1998. A psychological evaluation sent to the Phoenix diocese in January 1999 noted that three times since his discharge from the institute, he had been involved in sexually inappropriate incidents. Despite that report and his history, he was transferred back to the Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish in Scottsdale, where he had been serving since 1992.

It emerged that Bishop O’Brien has been granted immunity from criminal prosecution in a deal with the Maricopa County Attorney’s office. This involved him signing an admission that he allowed priests “under my supervision to work with minors after becoming aware of allegations of sexual misconduct. I further acknowledge that priests who had allegations of sexual misconduct made against them were transferred to ministries without full disclosure to their superiors or to the community in which they were assigned.”

“I apologize and express regret for any misconduct, hardship, or harm caused to the victims of sexual misconduct by Roman Catholic priests assigned to the Diocese,” he said.

A church official will take over the day-to-day administration of the diocese. A new diocesan lawyer will replace the bishop’s adviser on these matters, while the diocese must contribute $600,000 for the county attorney’s Victim Compensation Fund and for counselling in the diocese of sexual-abuse victims.

Dutch mobile phone users can now choose to programme their phones with ringtones based on religious melodies rather than on the usual secular tunes.

The Roman Catholic Church in the Netherlands has recently launched an Internet service offering mobile phone users a choice of 15 tunes based on such well-known melodies as Ave Maria and Salve Regina.

Although downloading the melodies from outside of the Netherlands is not yet possible, the idea of expanding the service abroad was under consideration, the church’s national secretariat said in a news release.

The Vatican is considering whether to apply to become a full member of the United Nations rather than just an observer, as at present.

A senior Vatican diplomat told news agencies, “We will have to weigh carefully the advantages and disadvantages of such a step”.