Posted on 10/25/2007 9:24:05 AM PDT by NYer
The Other Christ: Padre Pio and 19th Century Italy, by the historian Sergio Luzzatto, draws on a document found in the Vatican's archive.
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The document reveals the testimony of a pharmacist who said that the young Padre Pio bought four grams of carbolic acid in 1919.
"I was an admirer of Padre Pio and I met him for the first time on 31 July 1919," wrote Maria De Vito.
She claimed to have spent a month with the priest in the southern town of San Giovanni Rotondo, seeing him often.
"Padre Pio called me to him in complete secrecy and telling me not to tell his fellow brothers, he gave me personally an empty bottle, and asked if I would act as a chauffeur to transport it back from Foggia to San Giovanni Rotondo with four grams of pure carbolic acid.
"He explained that the acid was for disinfecting syringes for injections. He also asked for other things, such as Valda pastilles."
The testimony was originally presented to the Vatican by the Archbishop of Manfredonia, Pasquale Gagliardi, as proof that Padre Pio caused his own stigmata with acid.
It was examined by the Holy See during the beatification process of Padre Pio and apparently dismissed.
Padre Pio, whose real name was Francesco Forgione, died in 1968. He was made a saint in 2002. A recent survey in Italy showed that more people prayed to him than to Jesus or the Virgin Mary. He exhibited stigmata throughout his life, starting in 1911.
The new allegations were greeted with an instant dismissal from his supporters. The Catholic Anti-Defamation League said Mr Luzzatto was a liar and was "spreading anti-Catholic libels".
Pietro Siffi, the president of the League, said: "We would like to remind Mr Luzzatto that according to Catholic doctrine, canonisation carries with it papal infallibility.
"We would like to suggest to Mr Luzzatto that he dedicates his energies to studying religion properly."
Another example of media misreporting. Catholics do not pray to saints.
No, we do pray to saints, in the sense in asking them to pray for us. The Hail Mary is a prayer directed to Mary.
I recently read the new biography of Padre Pio. There was a tremendous, long-running feud between Padre Pio and his supporters and others (going all the way up to the Vatican) who believed he was a fraud. Charges and counter-charges flew all over the place.
This was all hashed out in the cause for sainthood. It's not so much that the canonization closes the issue permanently, but that this was already dealt with.
I think there are people who really hate this man. I have no idea why. And I don't see why this information about carbolic acid amounts to anything at all.
Almighty Father....
Who do you think that prayer is to?
I know how Mr. Luzzatto feels!
Pietro Siffi, the president of the League, said: "We would like to remind Mr Luzzatto that according to Catholic doctrine, canonisation carries with it papal infallibility.
No,you are correct. We do pray to saints. We pray in petition or devotion (a desire to emulate their lives), but never in worship. They are not God. Nor are they equal to Him. They do no mediate in the sense that Jesus mediates with the Father, but being in total presence of the Holy Spirit, they perfect our prayers and bring them before the throne of the Lamb.
Also, there is an immense--really an infinite gulf--between how we pray to the saints and pray to God. Our highest prayer is not the personal prayers we say every day, but rather the Mass...and the Mass is always offered to God the Father and never ever ever to any creating being, and that includes the angels, Mary, and the saints.
Thank you for posing the question.
Eph. 3:14-15 tells us we are all one family ("Catholic") in heaven and on earth, united together, as children of the Father, through Jesus Christ. Our brothers and sisters who have gone to heaven before us are not a different family. We are one and the same family. This is why, in the Apostles Creed, we profess a belief in the "communion of saints." There cannot be a "communion" if there is no union. Loving beings, whether on earth or in heaven, are concerned for other beings, and this concern is reflected spiritually through prayers for one another.
If you read the prayers posted at your link, you will notice that they are intecessory - "please pray for us", "please intercede for us" - etc. Asking the saints to pray for us is no different from you asking a coworker, neighbor or friend to pray for you. In Rev. 5:8, the prayers of the saints (on heaven and earth) are presented to God by the angels and saints in heaven. This shows that the saints intercede on our behalf before God, and it also demonstrates that our prayers on earth are united with their prayers in heaven.
What!!! Has it since been corrected?
I think there are people who really hate this man. I have no idea why.
He had the charism to read souls, bilocation, and other great gifts. At night, Satan would attack him in his cell. Those who are 'of the world' usually dislike those who have overcome worldly temptations. You might enjoy this article about Padre Pio, and posted to EWTN.
Defamation of saintly Catholic figures has turned into a veritable cottage industry:
Pope Pius XII - Nazi collaborator
Pope Benedict XVI - President of the Adolf Hitler Youth Fan Club.
John Paul the Great - Committed suicide by euthanasia
Mother Theresa - A cruel and heartless thief who had no actual faith in God.
Lucia of Fatima - Secretly replaced with Folger’s Crystals.
Saint Padre Pio - Fraud.
It’s mind-boggling how well the secularists have concentrated their firepower on the Church. They have a public stacked wall-to-wall with nimrods who take this crap at face value because, well, Diane Sawyer said so. In a perverse way, though, it’s very comforting. Jesus promised this, and countless saintly prophets have predicted this persecution from centuries ago.
First case of vandalism I ever saw, and I immediately had to learn how to address it (not that hard). I got it fixed up in no time, don't worry.
Thank you!
Dozens of times in the King James Version of the Bible the word "pray" clearly means not "worship," but "ask" (the following are just the first 3 examples that turn up):
Genesis 18:4
Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree
Genesis 19:2
And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night
Genesis 19:7
And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
Our beloved dead are alive in the Lord, and love us more dearly, and speak to the Lord more freely, than when they walked this earth. So, for instance, I can ask my departed mother's prayers now, even more confidently than I could when she lived here in my own home.
Or as I might even ask you, friend: "Please say a prayer for me."
This is why you pray to the Father and Jesus. They are not dead.
No where in the new testament are prayers offered to people, living or dead.
If your prayers to the saints are intercessory, and basically asking the saints to ask God because they are not mediators in the same way Jesus is mediator for us, why not pray directly to Jesus? After all, 1 Timothy 2:5 says: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus....”
Why aren’t all of your prayers directed to whom the Bible says is our one perfect mediator, Christ? He’s God, he won’t be overwhelmed or annoyed at all your prayers.
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