--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <no_re...@...> wrote: > > Since stories about the Vatican have been in > the air on FFL today, here´s another one.
Vaguely related... The BBC recently ran a rather odd supernatural drama called "Apparitions" starring Martin Shaw as a maverick exorcist battling demons. I suppose not many folks on FFL could have seen it. http://tinyurl.com/5aqkaw I say "odd" because it seemed to presuppose in the viewer a Catholic metaphysics of exorcism, demons, the End of Days and so forth. I have to say I found it all very unpleasant and unattractive - an oppressive atmosphere of the "religion of blood" replete with the threat of hell and damnation, the torments of the soul, demons, the Devil, and horrific suffering (in one scene some poor sod is skinned alive). My missus was brought up Catholic in Liverpool, which is a place where the divide with Protestants is very keenly felt. Nowadays she would describe herself as Pagan (lucky me!), and pretty much spits blood whenever the poor old Pope comes on the box. Yet for my part I think if I were to take to Christianity, it would probably be to Catholicism (notwithstanding my comments on "Apparitions". I'm a sucker for incense). I have a sister who is a happy, clappy, fundamentalist Baptist - so you can imagine how horrified she would be. Anyway, what I'm coming to is that whilst watching this Apparitions thing, Barbara declares forthrightly that "this just shows that the Catholics are in the ascendancy!" - which I pooh-poohed initially. But I wonder? Though this may just be a UK thing, we have had Tony Blair famously converting. Then we have had a member of Opus Dei in the Cabinet. Quite a few of the "Great & Good" have converted in recent times (in large part over the issue of the ordination of women in the Church of England). And then there's this odd program on prime-time TV. It all adds up, don't you know! Not that it matters I suppose. > For personal reasons having to do with my > interest in the medieval period, I follow > the history of the Office of the Holy > Inquisition with some interest. It lasted > for *600 years* and was only eliminated > from the Church in 1950. It was *brought > back* to the Church by the current Pope, > when he was still a Cardinal. I´ve been > watching to see what he would do with the > renamed Inquisition ever since. This article > is about one of the first things he intends > to do with it -- silence those who report > visions and miracles. Fascinating how sim- > ilar it is to how the TMO treats those who > claimm to have achieved the goals that the > TMO sells (e.g., enlightenment), and talk > about those claims openly. > > http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/13/catholics-forced-to-keep_n_157422.html > > Catholics Forced To Keep Quiet Over Virgin Visions > The Independent | Jerome Taylor and Simon Caldwell > > Catholics who claim they have seen the Virgin Mary will be forced to > remain silent about the apparitions until a team of psychologists, > theologians, priests and exorcists have fully investigated their > claims under new Vatican guidelines aimed at stamping out false claims > of miracles. > > The Pope has instructed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the > Faith, formerly the Holy Office of the Inquisition, to draw up a new > handbook to help bishops snuff out an explosion of bogus heavenly > apparitions. > > Benedict XVI plans to update the Vatican's current rules on > investigating apparitions to help distinguish between true and false > claims of visions of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, messages, stigmata > (the appearances of the five wounds of Christ), weeping and bleeding > statues and Eucharistic miracles. > > Monsignor Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer, a respected Spanish Jesuit > archbishop, has been placed in charge of drawing up the handbook, > known as a "vademecum", which will update the current rules set in 1978. > > According to Petrus, an Italian online magazine which leans towards > conservative elements in the Vatican, anyone who claims to have seen > an apparition will only be believed as long as they remain silent and > do not court publicity over their claims. If they refuse to obey, this > will be taken as a sign that their claims are false. > > The visionaries will then be visited by a team of psychiatrists, > either atheists or Catholics, to certify their mental health while > theologians will assess the content of any heavenly messages to see if > they contravene Church teachings. > > If the visionary is considered credible they will ultimately be > questioned by one or more demonologists and exorcists to exclude the > possibility that Satan is hiding behind the apparitions in order to > deceive the faithful. > > Guidelines for the approval of apparitions and revelations were last > issued in 1978. They lay down that a diocesan bishop can "either on > his own initiative or at the request of the faithful" choose to > investigate an alleged apparition. He then submits a report to the > Vatican for approval. >
