Medjugorje Warning From Archbishop Carlson

Text:

MEMORANDUM

TO: Priests and Deacons of the Archdiocese of St. Louis
      Members of the Curia

FROM: Archbishop Robert J. Carlson

DATE:  March 3, 2015

RE:  Medjugorje Events

I have received a request from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to remind everyone that they are not to participate in events that promote the so-called visionaries of Medjugorje and in particular Mr. Ivan Dragicevic.  Please make this information available to the Lay Faithful.

There was an event scheduled for March 18th which has now been cancelled.  No other such events should be scheduled.

If you have any questions, please contact the Office of the Archbishop.  Thank you for your assistance.

Link:

• From Archbishop Carlson: Memo Regarding Medjugorje and Mr Ivan Dragicevic

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• Medjugorje Ruling - "We are about to make decisions" says Pope Francis
• Medjugorje - Clerics and Faithful Not Permitted to Take Credibility of "Apparitions" for Granted (CDF)
• Father George Rutler: Medjugorje cult "has become an industry from which many have made a lot of money"
• Father Mitch Pacwa: Lack of any Spiritual Depth to the Messages May be the Unraveling of Medjugorje
• Medjugorje and Authority
• Medjugorje Madness with Michael Voris & E. Michael Jones
• Medjugorje (EWTN)
• Pope Meets Head of Medjugorje Commission  
• Pope Francis: "Our Lady... is not a postmaster, sending messages every day"
• Medjugorje "visionary" Vicka flinches while in "ecstasy" (video)
• Our Lady of Medjugorje?: Very Serious Counter-Signs - By Father Jay Scott Newman
• What is Happening at Medjugorje?
• Medjugorje Commission to Present Final Report by End of 2012
• Medjugorje : "The pope wants a decisive conclusion made" - Father Salvatore Perrella, CDF Expert
• Medjugorje Commission Priest: Christian Who Bases His Faith in Apparitions is Not a Christian Adult, It's Not Mature

"Keep me in your prayers; I'm going through a bad time in my life"

"Mel Gibson made a private and unexpected visit to St. Louis this week. He came to pray and talk to bishops from the Eastern Catholic Church Bishop Conference.

I was more than surprised; I was flabbergasted," said Bishop Robert Shaheen of the Maronite Church. Shaheen had little warning about Gibson's visit. The mega star decided to pay a visit after learning the Maronite tradition within the Catholic Church uses a dialect of the historic language of Jesus , Aramaic, during the Mass.

Gibson's compelling movie, "The Passion of the Christ," used the Aramaic language and English subtitles to tell the story of the last days of Jesus.
"A dozen Eastern Rite bishops from various traditions shared dinner with Gibson Wednesday night at Bartolino's Osteria in west St. Louis City. "He was very kind, very gracious, really no business," said Bishop Shaheen. Gibson asked the clergy about the differences among their traditions and the languages they use to celebrate liturgy.

The group shared traditional St. Louis style toasted ravioli and other Italian dishes. Gibson signed a menu for owner Bart Saracino and then one of his assistants paid the entire bill.

Gibson has led a controversial and very public life. He was accused of being anti-semitic and criticized for his personal life. He is currently facing divorce proceedings. "He didn't ask us of anything. He didn't ask us to endorse him," said the Bishop adding," He never said anything about his personal life except 'keep me in your prayers; I'm going through a bad time in my life.'"

Thursday morning Gibson arrived at the Maronite Church Pastoral Center near downtown to attend Mass with the bishops. He shared breakfast with them and then left to ride home on his private plane."

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St. Louis bishop: Lax Catholics, Satan behind pro-abortion officials

Bishop Robert Hermann, administrator of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, says that the election of President Barack Obama would not have occurred without the support of lax Catholics.

“If at this stage our anger is directed at President Obama, our anger is misdirected,” Bishop Hermann writes. “Obama is not the enemy. He needs and deserves our prayers, not our condemnation. As Catholics, we are not guiltless. It seems to me that when President Kennedy compromised Catholic teachings and accommodated political pressures in order to be elected to the highest office in the land, he set the tone for many Catholic leaders to follow and to compromise their Catholic principles to get ahead. In our Supreme Court and in our Congress, we have a plethora of so-called Catholics who are failing to live their Catholic identity. Over 50 percent of our electorate voted for a president who is one of the most pro-culture-of-death candidates from a major party to run for the highest office of the land. Yes, we can thank one-half of our Catholics for bailing out on their faith!”

“In order to bring about a transformation from a culture of death to a culture of life,” Bishop Hermann continues, “we have to restore our Catholic identity. This means that all of us, as Catholics, have to undergo a profound transformation. It means that we have to take a good look at every facet of our Catholic life, including the serious study of life issues, the regular and devout use of our Sacramental system, especially the devout and weekly attendance at Mass, the regular reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the devout praying of the daily Rosary, and then the faithful, loving and firm witness to lax Catholics about our Catholic beliefs and practices … Until we are willing to be politically incorrect in order to be biblically correct, we will never convince anyone that our religion is worth living.”

Ultimately, writes Bishop Hermann, Satan is behind the positions of pro-abortion officials. “President Obama, pro-choice legislators and Planned Parenthood are not our enemies. Our enemies are the invisible forces masked behind these people … They are used by our common enemy, Satan, and his evil forces, to get us to hate so that we, too, will end up in a culture of death … We owe all of them prayers and fasting for their conversion. At one point, Gov. Reagan was California's very pro-abortion governor. Yet he became a very pro-life president. He repented and regretted the evil he supported. We must bravely witness against supporting pro-choice and pro-abortion candidates in political elections, but pray daily for their conversion.”

“This is a great time to be a Catholic,” Bishop Hermann concludes. “This is a great time to witness to such a clear choice, the choice of Christ or the anti-Christ.”

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Son of Pius X’s personal butler won gold medal in 1904 Olympic Games

David Bratton, George Van Cleaf, Leo Goodwin, Louis Handley, David Hesser, Joseph Ruddy and James Steen

Rome, Aug 11, 2008 / 09:12 pm (CNA).- Luigi de Breda, a U.S. citizen of Italian origin, was the son of the personal butler of Popes Leo XIII and Pius X. In 1904 he participated in the sport of water polo in the Olympic Games at St. Louis in the United States, where he won the gold medal. The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano recently published an article recounting the story of Breda, who “at least ideally, made Vatican City present at the Games.”

Amidst the expectations over the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing, L’Osservatore recalled the story of the son of Francis Montague Handley, who was the private butler of Pope Leo XIII and Pope Pius X.

Luigi was born on February 14, 1874 in Rome. According to the article by Maria Maggi, “He was friendly, with ruffled hair, physically well-built and a gentleman. He spoke Italian, English, French, Spanish and a little Latin and Greek.”

Luigi de Breda was not able to participate in the St. Louis Games as an Italian, despite having lived in Italy for 22 years, but only as an American under the name of Lou Handley.

Luigi, or Lou, used to swim in the Tevere River when it was still uncontaminated by pollution, Maggi explained, since at that time there were no swimming pools. “Historian Bill Mallon in his Encyclopedia of American Olympians would later recall that Lou triumphed in a mixed competition that consisted of six tests: walking, water polo, horsemanship, cycling, canoeing and swimming. Lou had already set a US swimming record in the 440-yard freestyle.”

“He was exceptional, above all, in water polo. He perfected a new shot, raising himself out of the water, which came to be known as ‘the salmon jump’,” Maggi wrote.

She noted that Lou “played water polo very well much before Johnny Weismuller—famous for playing the role of Tarzan—who won the bronze at the Paris Games of 1924, or Carlo Pedersoli—known more by the Italians as Bud Spencer—who was a key player in Italy’s 5-0 victory over Spain in 1955.”

Luigi Breda was the first coach for women’s water polo at the Anveres Games of 1920 and again at the Paris Games in 1924. He also joined the Swimming Association of New York and remained a member for 40 years. He wrote five books on sports and contributed to writing the section on swimming for the Encyclopedia Britannica. He died in New York on December 28, 1956.

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St. Louis archdiocese sues rebellious parish

St. Louis, Jul. 24, 2008 (CWNews.com) - The St. Louis archdiocese has filed a civil lawsuit against the board of a rebellious parish, in an effort to restore archdiocesan control.

The archdiocese argues that the leaders of St. Stanislaus Kostka parish has violated their own corporate bylaws by rejecting the authority of the local archbishop. Former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke excommunicated the board members of the parish after they defied the archbishop and appointed a pastor who was not in good standing with the Church. The archdiocese has announced that if the lawsuit is successful, a new administrator will be appointed to lead St. Stanislaus Kostka parish.

In the suit filed in Missouri court on July 23, the archdiocese is joined by six parishioners, including three former members of the board of St. Stanislaus Kostka parish. The former board members-- Bernice Krauze, Stanley Rozanski, and Robert Zabielski -- have all been reconciled with the Church.

The priest currently heading the parish, Father Marek Bozek, was also excommunicated by Archbishop Burke. Father Bozek, a priest of the neighboring Springfield-Cape Girardeau diocese, came to the parish without ecclesiastical approval, having been suspended by his own bishop there. A native of Poland, Father Bozek has a checkered career that includes participating in a feminist "ordination" ceremony-- another offense that would bring automatic excommunication.

Father Bozek is one of the two named defendants in the lawsuit brought by the archdiocese; the other is Bill Bialczak, the chairman of the parish board.

That parish board voted in June to dissolve itself, and schedule new elections in August.

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