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ON THE 19TH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR LADY'S FIRST WEEPING TEARS OF BLOOD IN
NAJU, KOREA
October 19,
2005
1. WE
SEEK UNITY IN THE CHURCH
Not false unity that is based on coercion or
compromises, but true unity that firmly stands on the uncompromised, undiluted,
undistorted, pure teachings of Our Lord – that is, the Heritage of the
authentic Catholic Faith. (In Naju, the Blessed
Mother used the word: error more than twenty times and
also repeatedly asked us to be faithful to the Heritage of the
Faith.)
The Archbishop of Kwangju, on the other hand, said
during an interview at the Naju Parish office in March 2003:
"The
objective of the Naju Investigating Committee (of the Kwangju Archdiocese) was
not to find out if the events in Naju were genuine or not but to see if they
were damaging unity in the Church community."
The purpose of the teaching authority in the Church is
to defend the truth and, thus, to protect the People of God from errors. This
authority is not something that can stand above the truth, and should never be
used for suppressing or blocking the truth. (Cf. Catechism of the
Catholic Church #86 and #890)
Using the teaching authority for forcing the faithful to
accept what is in conflict with their faith and conscience, is a grave violation
of the Church teaching and is an abuse of the ecclesiastical power.
"Man has the right to act in conscience and in freedom so
as personally to make moral decisions. He must not be forced to act contrary to
his conscience. Nor must he be prevented from acting according to his
conscience, especially in religious matters." (Catechism of the
Catholic Church #1782)
St. Francis de Sales said, "Many have been greatly
mistaken as to this condition of obedience, believing that it consisted in doing
at random whatever should be commanded, even were it contrary to the
Commandments of God and of the Holy Church. . . In all that relates to the
Commandments of God, just as Superiors have no power whatever to give any
contrary command, so in such a case inferiors have no obligation to obey –
indeed, if they did so they would sin." (The Spiritual
Conferences)
The Church Law strictly forbids misusing the
ecclesiastical authority: Canon #1389
It must always be kept in mind, however, that the
teaching authority and priesthood in the Church are from God and, therefore,
sacred. We should never forget this and should always respect and love the
shepherds and follow them humbly except when their commands or requests are
clearly in violation of the Church teachings on faith and
morals.
2.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE TRUTH
(a) The Faith that is necessary for our salvation is to
accept as certain all the truths that God has revealed for our salvation, not
because the inner truthfulness of the revelation is obvious to our natural
intellect but because God is all-knowing and infinitely
truthful.
The Council of Trent (1545-1563):
"If anyone shall say that justifying faith is nothing
else than confidence in the divine mercy which remits sins for Christ's sake, or
that it is this confidence alone by which we are justified, let him be
anathema." (DS #1562)
Pope Paul VI: "We believe all that which
is contained in the word of God, written or handed down, and which the Church
proposes for belief as divinely revealed." (Catechism of the
Catholic Church #182)
"Faith is necessary for salvation. The Lord himself
affirms: 'He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not
believe will be condemned' (Mark 16:16)." (Catechism of the
Catholic Church #183)
(b) The Faith provides us with the foundation and the
guidance for our life of sanctification. Professing the faith is only the
beginning.
Our Lord: "Not everyone who says to
me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does
the will of my Father in heaven." (Matthew
7:21)
St. Paul the Apostle: "Work out your salvation
with fear and trembling." (Philippians 2:12)
St. Paul the Apostle: "This is the will of God,
your sanctification." (1 Thessalonians 4:3)
(c) Knowing and accepting the truths is indispensable for
our faith life.
St. John Vianney: "My children, I often think
that most of the Christians who are lost are lost for want of instruction: they
do not know their religion well."
"Offenses against the truth express by word or deed a
refusal to commit oneself to moral uprightness: they are fundamental
infidelities to God and, in this sense, they undermine the foundations of the
covenant." (Catechism of the Catholic Church
#2464)
"A human being must always obey the certain judgment of
his conscience. If he were deliberately to act against it, he would condemn
himself." (Catechism of the Catholic Church
#1790)
"God wills the salvation of everyone through the
knowledge of the truth. Salvation is found in the truth. Those who obey the
prompting of the Spirit of truth are already on the way of
salvation." (Catechism of the Catholic Church
#851)
"Heresy is the obstinate post-baptismal denial of some
truth which must be believed with divine and catholic faith, or it is likewise
an obstinate doubt concerning the same; apostasy is the total repudiation of the
Christian faith; schism is the refusal of submission to the Roman Pontiff or of
communion with the members of the Church subject to
him." (Canon #751)
"An apostate from the faith, a heretic or a schismatic
incurs automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication and if a cleric, he can also
be punished by the penalties mentioned in can. 1336 #1, nn. 1, 2 and
3)." (Canon #1364)
3. DISTORTIONS
OF THE TRUTHS MUST NOT BE TOLERATED BUT MUST BE CORRECTED
Especially when the errors were officially announced by
the shepherds in the Church, they must be corrected promptly, totally, and
officially. This is because the errors and the abuses of power committed by the
shepherds not only are serious failures to be loyal to the Lord and damages to
His honor but also are causes of serious spiritual harms to the whole Church.
When the shepherds teach errors, numerous people under their care can go
astray.
What we seek is not a condemnation or punishment of the
shepherds who are in errors and publicize them. On the other hand, we are
keenly aware that it is far more important and urgent to restore the Lord's
honor, that has been severely damaged, and defend his truths than trying to help
these shepherds save their faces.
St. Paul the Apostle said, "The wrath of God is indeed
being revealed from heaven against every impiety and wickedness of those who
suppress the truth by their wickedness." (Rome
1:18)
Thus, we are seeking that the Catholic Church in Korea
will be in harmony and unity with the universal Church in truth and also
obedient to and in unity with the Holy Father in Rome.
The ecumenical movement also must be guided by the
truths revealed by God. The truths from God can be the most powerful unifying
force. As we are not the authors of these truths, we absolutely have no right
to make concessions or changes in these truths.
Teaching of the Second Vatican Council on ecumenism:
"Nothing is so foreign to the spirit of ecumenism as a
false irenicism which harms the purity of catholic doctrine and obscures its
genuine and certain meaning." (Unitatis Redintegratio,
Nov. 21, 1964)
Despite this Church teaching, Fr. Peter Soon-Sung Ri,
the secretary general of the Naju Investigating Committee of the Kwangju
Archdiocese in Korea and also a dogmatic theologian, wrote in an article he
contributed to "Pastoral Care", the March 1998 issue, (a
monthly magazine published by the Korean Bishops' Conference):
"The real reason for rejecting the Eucharistic phenomena
in Naju was to pursue the grand proposition of promoting unity with our
separated brethren."
4. THE
EVILS OF MODERNISM
We alert ourselves to the dangers of modernism and seek
to defend the authentic Catholic Faith from the errors of modernism that have
infiltrated the Church. St. Pius X said, "Modernism is a synthesis of
all errors." (Lamentabili, 1907)
Contents of Modernism:
a. Rejection of the supernatural. Accordingly,
despises all miracles as superstitions or effects of preternatural
powers.
b. Denial of the divinity of Jesus
Christ.
c. Accordingly, denial of the divine motherhood of
Mary.
d. Denial of the reality of sin. Thus, rejection of
penance and alienation of the Sacrament of Confession.
e. Insists that the Church dogmas can and must evolve to
keep pace with the advancement of human knowledge and the changes in
human preferences.
f. Rejection of the teaching authority and the hierarchy in
the Church. (However, the teaching authority is often used to repress
those who disagree with the modernist ideas.)
g. Denial of any real supernatural effects of the
Sacraments.
h. Denial of the Real Presence of Our Lord in the
Eucharist.
i. Seeks local election of the bishops.
j. Insists on the abolishment of celibacy for
priests.
k. Advocates the ordination of women to
priesthood.
l. Seeks a national church with more independence from
Rome.
m. Willing to adopt some of the indigenous religious and
shamanistic beliefs and practices.
There has been some association between the leading
modernist priests in Korea and the WAC (We Are
Church) movement in Europe.
5.
PROBLEMS IN THE KWANGJU ARCHDIOCESE'S HANDLING OF THE NAJU
QUESTION
a. Because of the modernist influences, the Kwangju
Archdiocese has been opposing the messages and signs in Naju totally,
unconditionally, and fundamentally. Whether the messages and signs are
truly coming from God or not seems to be totally outside its
interest.
b. Ignored the testimonies, opinions and judgments of the
Holy Father and many bishops in different countries who personally
witnessed miraculous signs through Julia Kim. John Paul II's repeated
urgings to the Korean bishops to take Naju more seriously have been
ignored.
c. Almost all of the hundreds of thousands of witnesses
have been ignored.
d. Refused to order scientific tests of the numerous
physical evidences of miracles in Naju
e. Calumnies and defamations against Julia Kim and many
others with groundless accusations and rumors to discredit
them.
f. Distortion of the Church doctrines, especially those on
the Holy Eucharist and God's Omnipotence.
g. The clergy in Kwangju and other diocese in Korea have
coerced the faithful to accept the errors contained in the Kwangju
declarations, and deprived those who refuse to comply of their rights to
attend Mass, receive the Sacraments, and serve in various church
committees.
h. The Kwangju Archdiocese has been totally silent
concerning the appeals from many of the faithful to properly address the
problems of doctrinal errors in the declarations, prejudiced and
faulty investigation of Naju, and abuses of the church authority.
Instead, it has only continued its demand that people accept the
declarations unconditionally.
6.
WHAT WE NEED TO DO NOW
a. We need to offer up more fervent and persistent prayers
for the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the conversion of all –
especially, the Holy Rosary and turning the entirety of our lives into prayers.
As there is the devil behind all these difficulties with his terrible power and
violence, it is essential that we always and totally rely on the power of the
Blessed Mother who was conceived without sin and has been filled with the graces
from God.
b. By reading the Bible, the Catechism, the Lives of the
Saints, and other good Church books and meditating on them, we need to acquire a
deeper knowledge, understanding, and acceptance of the authentic Church
teachings. In addition, we need to diligently study the messages from Our Lord
and Our Lady in Naju, put them into practice, and spread them to
others.
c. Deeply realizing our mission as lay people for
preserving the purity of the truths and propagating them and also uniting with
and following the clergy who are faithful to the truth, we need to spread the
authentic Catholic Faith and the messages and signs in Naju more
zealously.
Catechism of the Catholic Church #900:
"Since, like all the faithful, lay Christians are
entrusted by God with the apostolate by virtue of their Baptism and
Confirmation, they have the right and duty, individually or grouped in
associations, to work so that the divine message of salvation may be known and
accepted by all men throughout the earth."
Catechism of the Catholic Church #91:
"All the faithful share in understanding and handing on
revealed truth. They have received the anointing of the Holy Spirit, who
instructs them and guides them into all truth."
Consider the deplorable condition of the work of
catechetical formation especially since the end of Vatican Council
II.
7. THE
BLESSED MOTHER IMPLORES US TO BE FAITHFUL TO THE DOGMAS AND TO CORRECT DISORDERS
IN THE LITURGY AND THE CHURCH LAWS
"Numerous children, who have gone far away from my Son
Jesus and me, have been swept away by storms and have fallen into errors and,
because of the resulting lack of faith, are not able to accept the Dogmas and
are causing a great disorder in the Liturgy and Laws of the Church. Even many
shepherds have fallen into this disorder and are walking along the way to hell.
The gates of hell are wide open to receive them." (February 2,
1995)
St. Paul the Apostle: "'As I live, says the Lord,
every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall give praise to
God." (Romans 14:11)
8.
TRUE SPECIAL REVELATIONS DESERVE OUR UTMOST ATTENTION
Catechism of the Catholic Church #768:
"So that she can fulfill her mission, the Holy Spirit
bestows upon the Church varied hierarchic and charismatic gifts, and in this way
directs her."
Special revelations refer to the messages and miraculous
signs that God sends to the people of a particular age who are faced with
terrible dangers for the purpose of rescuing them and helping them.
The gifts of graces that God ordinarily grants to the
Church through the hierarchy and those that he specially sends by means of
special revelations are not contradictory or competitive with each other;
rather, they are complementary with each other (e.g.: The miracle and messages
brought by the Blessed Mother in Guadalupe in 1531 were followed by a massive
conversion of the Mexican people and their abandoning idolatrous human
sacrifices).
The faithful must not accept special revelations as new
truths but as promptings of the Holy Spirit to become more faithful to the
existing teachings of the Church and to repent of our sins and reform our
lives.
9. OUR
LADY IS TRULY THE CO-REDEMPTRIX
St. Paul the Apostle: "Now I rejoice in my
suffering for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in the
afflictions of Christ on behalf of his body, which is the
church." (Colossians 1:24
Catechism of the Catholic Church #306:
"God is the sovereign master of his plan. But to carry
it out he also makes use of his creatures' cooperation. This use is not a sign
of weakness, but rather a token of almighty God's greatness and goodness. For
God grants his creatures not only their existence, but also the dignity of
acting on their own, of being causes and principles for each other, and thus of
cooperating in the accomplishment of his plan."
Pope Leo XIII: "Mary was associated with
Jesus in the painful work of the redemption of
mankind" (Jucunda Sempter, September 8,
1894).
Pope St. Pius X called Our Lady
"the repairer of the fallen
world" and continues to show how she was united to the
redemptive work of her Son (Ad diem illum, Feb. 2, 1904).
Pope Pius XII: "She offered Him on Golgotha
to the Eternal Father together with the holocaust of her maternal rights and her
motherly love like a new Eve for all children of Adam" (Mystici Corporis,
1943).
Many other Popes also taught the same
doctrine.
The Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ, is
already perfect and all-holy in her head, Christ Himself, in the Blessed Mother,
who is His Mother and Associate, the Mother of the Church, and the Queen of
Heaven, and in all the Saints who have completed their earthly journey and
arrived at Heaven. We, who are members of the Church on earth, are still
imperfect and are in the difficult process of our sanctification as well as our
neighbors'. While we live on earth, we have this mission from God to pursue the
growth and perfection of the Church with the graces that flow from Christ to us
through the Blessed Mother.
This means that we have been called by God to
become little co-redeemers and co-redemptrices who work with Christ to
accomplish the salvation of the human race. The Blessed Mother has been
assisting Christ in the most intimate, effective, and noble way and, therefore,
truly deserves to be called and honored as the Co-Redemptrix in the most special
and outstanding sense. The messages and signs in Naju support this truth in the
most powerful and convincing ways.
The doctrine that the Blessed Mother is the
Co-Redemptrix does not mean that there are two Saviors for the human race.
Jesus Christ alone, as he is a man as well as the Second Person of the Holy
Trinity, is the only one who can adequately atone for the human sins committed
against the God of infinite justice and dignity. At the same time, however,
Christ, representing the whole human race, calls every member of the human
family to help him by participating in his work of human redemption. For our
salvation and for the perfection of the Church, the graces from Christ are
essential and so is our cooperation.
As we have the free will, we are always
free to accept or refuse this call of Christ to help him. St. Augustine said,
"He who has created thee without thyself, does not
justify thee without thyself." (Sermo 169, II, 13). We
can understand the merits of Our Lord's sufferings as the primary cause of human
redemption and the efforts that we can add as the secondary cause. God does not
need the secondary cause to accomplish human salvation, but wills that our
cooperation in Christ's redemptive work be added to the primary cause so that
our work is made "necessary" in the practical sense.
Our free participation in Christ's work will further magnify God's glory and
increase our joy and gratitude as well.
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