Why I Believe the Beatification of John Paul II is a Mistake.

Master of Divinity ^ | 3/26/2011 | Rev. Fr. J. Michael venditti

[dangus]

Percentage of Catholics attending mass every week or more:

Austria: 28%
France: 12%
Germany: 27%
Ireland: 71%
Italy: 36%
Malta: 81%
Spain: 19%
Switzerland: 17%

[dangus]

Percentage of Catholics attending mass every week or more:

Austria: 28%
France: 12%
Germany: 27%
Ireland: 71%
Italy: 36%
Malta: 81%
Portugal: 42%
Spain: 19%
Switzerland: 17%

[Tax-chick]

How sad for the author, because it’s happening anyway. On May 1.

[Campion]

In 1975, when the late Judson Procyk, Metropolitan sui iuris of the Byzantine Catholic Church of the USA, traveled to Rome with members of his flock to receive from Pope John Paul II his pallium as Archeparch of Pittsburgh

Should read "1995," not "1975," I believe, Father. An appalling episode in any event.

JP2 was a better Pope in the last 5 years of his reign than in the preceding 18 (or whatever), and Benedict XVI is better still.

[mattstat]

Do you have Father Venditti’s email address?

The font and color scheme of his website is painfully eye-straining. I am glad you reposted his essay here, where it is readable.

[steve86]

He was a big part of the fall of communism along with Margaret Thatcher and President Reagan. That alone is worth making him a Saint.

He didn't properly consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary which means he may not even be Heaven-bound. Sorry, JPII, you had your chance and blew it.

[verdugo]

Lent just started a few weeks ago. What I stated has to do with the months I’ve been on the FR religion section with Catholics. I can tell what people know by the responses. The Catholics who disagree with what I write, only know basic information about the faith. How can someone know that they do not know?

Now, if I go into the political side of FR, it’s a different story. I’ve received many good responses, that show me that the people are well read.

[GCC Catholic]

He didn't properly consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary which means he may not even be Heaven-bound.

You make a huge logical jump here. Even if he did not properly consecrate Russia (whether he actually did or not remains debated), he is not bound by private revelations that were not given to him directly. (And while we're at it... none of his predecessors, including Bl. John XXIII and Ven. Pius XII properly consecrated Russia either.)

To say "he may not even be Heaven-bound" on such grounds is absurd.

[verdugo]

Where did you get those rosy stats?

[Salvation]

Good one!

[steve86]

You are correct that the modernistic, conciliar Church generally considers Fatima to be ‘just’ a private revelation.

In fact, the modernistic, conciliar Church particularly at the episcopal level says and does any number of specious things as many have observed on this forum.

It has been suggested that the reason for the Church refusing to release the true Third Secret is the damning nature of the Secret toward the Church’s highest offices, particularly with reference to the post-1960 era. One can easily infer that a posture of marginalizing the message and minimizing the effect of noncompliance would occur.

So, some bishop states Fatima is a private revelation and others are not bound by it. Let me tell you though: If my birth mother states to me alone because my brother is at a friend’s house “All my children are to sit at the dining room table to eat”, I will assure you that edict applies to him as well. And when our Blessed Virgin Mary, in an approved apparition refers to ‘all my children’ or similar words I can assure you the phrase applies to popes who might not even be born yet.

Fatima clearly is a public message given to the whole Church and verified by a public miracle and public prophecies. Catastrophic consequences are indicated for failure to satisfy its requirements (hint: pope). Do you really want to hide in the complacence of a bishop’s lame assurance one need not comply?

John XXIII probably felt his consecration was valid since it was only a year since the secrets were written down and complete clarity was still (and is still now) forthcoming.

[annalex]

I disagree with this article in terms of its assessment of the Orthodox, but, as far as its analysis of JPII, there is much truth in it.

My thought exactly.

I would add that while his desire to make steps to reunification was, I am sure, sincere, the spirit of incessant innovation that marked his pontificate did much to actually delay it.

[dangus]

Georgetown University’s CARA. And their US stats are much less rosy than Gallup.

[verdugo]

If you investigate, you will find that all the statisticians are asking the wrong question. Whether it's on purpose or because they do not know the faith, it depends on the "asker".

The question should be, do you attend mass every Sunday.

However, what they usually ask is vague, like : Do you attend mass. Or do you attend mass at least once a month.

A Catholic that attends mass once a month, is not a practicing Catholic. He is likely also committing sacrilege by going to communion without confessing his sins, like the MORTAL sin of not going to mass on Sundays.

[dangus]

Except that’s actually NOT what the question was. The question was whether they attend mass AT LEAST once per week.

[verdugo]

Sister Lucia of Fatima in 1946 said that "the whole world would become communist"

: "While he was the pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Church in Ludlow, Massachusetts, I spent some time with Fr. Manuel Rocha, the interpreter selected for Mr. William Thomas Walsh, who wrote perhaps the most popular book on Fatima. Fr. Rocha told me that one of the questions Mr. Walsh asked him to translate to Sister Lucia during a three hour interview on the afternoon of July 15, 1946, while she was still Sister Maria das Dores, a Dorothean Sister at Vilar near Porto, Portugal, was ‘In your opinion, will every country, without exception, be overcome by communism?’‘ Her pale brown eyes staring into his, a ‘little dimple on each cheek,’ she answered, ‘‘Yes.’‘ "Fr. Rocha related to me that Mr. Walsh wanted to be positive about the answer and therefore repeated the question adding, ‘‘And does that mean the United States of America too?’ Sister Lucia answered, ‘Yes.’‘ [bolds from the original]

‘Far-fetched in 1946, not so far fetched today is it?‘

[verdugo]

re: Even if he did not properly consecrate Russia... he is not bound by private revelations that were not given to him directly

This "we are not bound to believe private revelations" or "the instructions of private revelations", is accurate, the question is, is Fatima really "private"?.

Fatima is not just another private revelation. It was confirmed by the Miracle of the Sun, the drying of the earth and the 70,000+ witnesses, and the having happened on the day and time the 3 children said that it would happen. Never in the history of the man has there been such a thing.

The instruction to the pope was simple, consecrate Russia in union with all the bishops.

Therefore, we have a private message which asked for something simple to do, confirmed by a miracle unheard of in the history of mankind. To refuse to do it, is a serious breach of duty. If idiots like us know all this information, you can be sure that all the popes since the message was passed to Rome, all of them, knew exactly what they had to do, and thus are responsible before God for all the harm that was caused by their lack of belief, or weakness.

The bishops of Portugal believed, they consecrated Portugal, and it was spared from the Spanish Communist Civil War, and WWII. This "no consecration" situation is the same as the scriptural story of Naaman. A simple cure that he did not believe in, because it was so simple. The popes chose the man made (cowardly) solution of Ostpolitik with the Bolsheviks, as the solution. Big mistake, as history now has recorded, and continues to live out!

[verdugo]

Would be so kind as to delete my postings 36 & 38.

Thanks, and God Bless