Unity Publishing - More Dangerous Than Any False Apparition

Rick Salbato's writing is in black font, mine is in red font.

Regarding the alleged quote of the Holy Father to twelve Italian bishops: "Let the people go to Medjugorje if they convert, pray, confess, do penance and fast ..."

This statement is NOT TRUE, and is another example of the lies being spread by the promoters. Archbishop Pio Laghi, the Apostolic Pro-Nuncio on March 1, 1988, wrote to Joseph E. O'Connor:
"Although there have been made observations about Medjugorje attributed to the Holy Father and other officials of the Holy See, NONE OF THESE HAS BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED AS AUTHENTIC ... The fact that the statements have been publicized in L'Osservature Romano, the newspaper of the Vatican, indicates that the local hierarchy has the backing of the Holy See."

This is truly pathetic, quite patently pathetic. Rick insists the statement is NOT TRUE in bold caps but gives no reason, simply a statement that "none of this has been acknowledged as authentic". How stupid does Rick think we are! This statement simply means that the saying is not on record and can't be actually verified except by personal testimony, i.e. NO-ONE HAD A TAPE RECORDER RUNNING!!! The fact that Rick would stoop so low and hope that people will be fooled is quite telling. Rick will call every Bishop and Cardinal in the Vatican a liar if he has to, and if he can't prove it, he will cast aspersions on their statements. There will be no a single statement he will accept. Possibly he will find fault with an actual letter from JPII to Father Jozo. To see this plus a full list of vatican endorsements, please click here. I challenge Rick to refute each one, one at a time.

Again responding to Joseph O’Connor on August 21 the apostolic Pro-Nuncio stated that regarding the Bishop’s Conference of Yugoslavia in 1987 and the statements of Bishop Pavao Zanic,
“This office is not aware of anything issued by the Holy See which would discredit this pronouncement. While it was not issued by the Holy See, it deserves to be respected as the phenomena comes under the jurisdiction of the local hierarchy.”

Not only that, but Rick Salbato, President of Unity Publishing, Inc., went to the Vatican and talked to Edward Cardinal Gagnon, who was called the Pope's friend. He said without any qualification that no such words ever came out of the Holy Father. In fact, in 1990 both the Vatican Pro- Nuncio, Laghi and Cardinal Ratzinger referred to the statement signed in L’Osservatore Romano by Cardinal Kuharic and Bishop Zanic as the official position of the Church. So much for truth!

Rick would have us believe the voice of this Cardinal Gagnon, ahead of dozens of other reputable cardinals, bishops and clergy. Let the public decide the odds of one man being right against 50 or more others being right. I see no signed letter from this Cardinal and I also don't think Rick had his tape recorder running.

Father Robert J. Fox, the Fatima Priest, writing a review of Wayne Weible’s book, states,
“Archbishop Pio Laghi has advised that the commonly quoted favorable remarks attributed to the Pope encouraging people to go to Medjugorje, cannot be substantiated.”

Another case of NOT HAVING THE TAPE RECORDER RUNNING and therefore cannot be 100% validated. People, please see through this guy Rick Salbato.

Why then are these reports going out all over the world? Because the promoters of Medjugorje hired a retired bishop, who just happened to retire in Rome, Bishop Paul Hnilica, to promote Medjugorje in Rome. Most of these statements of the Holy Father came from Hnilica in 1989. What we know about him is that he has been accused of embezzling millions of dollars, and has been convicted by the Italian court system of stealing documents from Rome. Over 100 million dollars was skimmed out of Medjugorje and “laundered through an Italian bank. This was then used as collateral to float loans from 10 European banks for a billion dollars. This caused some smaller banks in Europe to collapse because the loans were not paid back because of the war and lack of pilgrims to Medjugorje.

Another Salbato "villain". Rick won't stop at villifying JPII in his grave if he has to. Where is he getting all this? Where is the evidence for these huge claims?

In the June 30, 1996 issue of The National Catholic Register (a pro-Medjugorje Magazine), it was stated,
“Vatican spokesman Jauquin Navarro-Valis said in a June 19 note to the press that the Church retains its official position of skepticism toward the alleged Marian apparitions at Medjugorje. Navarro-Valis’ message said “no new facts’ had been presented on the validity of the alleged apparitions that have attracted 20 million pilgrims in the last 15 years. The message said that for now the Vatican ‘must respect the competence of the local bishops’ regarding the matter.”

I think that Rick has already passed his peak and it's going sharply downhill now. The best material was up front. The statement that the Vatican retains its official position of skepticism is just another way of saying "Wait and see because nobody's 100% sure yet". This has always been the Vatican's unwavering opinion despite Rick's desperate hope that he can gain a swing in favour of the Bishops of Mostar (for whatever inane reason).

The truth about Rome’s position is best stated by Fr. Philip Pavich (OFM).

Rick has deliberately picked someone who will justify his case. Rome's true position has been stated MANY TIMES clearly and succinctly. We do not need to hear the testimony of a disillusioned priest.

Father Philip Pavich has been living and hearing confessions in Medjugorje for 15 years. In the beginning he was a believer. He told us how the new Bishop of Medjugorje was picked by the Vatican. It turns out that he was living and working in Rome when Bishop Zanic was taking his case to the Vatican. When Bishop Zanic visited the Vatican he stayed with the present Bishop, who was his best friend and shared his opinions on the apparitions. When Bishop Zanic retired, the Vatican made sure that a Bishop already sharing Bishop Zanic’s views was appointed.

“This being the case,” said Father Pavich, “how can we say that Rome does not share Bishop Zanic’s opinions?”

I can think of at least three reasons: 1) The Vatican wants to have a "devil's advocate" in the mix, 2) This is a gesture to give face to Bishop Zanic, 3) The Vatican wants to keep the local diocesan clergy out of the picture because of the long-running disputes with the Franciscans. Having a Bishop with exactly the same view as his predecessor allows them to keep the muzzle on Mostar.

Father Pavich remains in Medjugorje at the direction of his superiors in Rome. He wants to leave. He does not believe in the apparitions. He is forced to hear confessions up to 10 hours a day, because the other Franciscan priests are too busy studying marshal arts [New Age] against direct orders of their superiors.

What can we say about a priest who doesn't want to, or enjoy, hearing confessions. If what Rick says is true, his apparent disillusionment with his vocation appears to have affected his judgement of his brothers. I wonder how Father Pavich would be feel to be going down on record as honestly believing that the Franciscans spend all their time doing martial arts. As I said before, Rick is running out of ammo and he is really trawling the deep blue depths at this point.

Not one of the 42 bishops of Yugoslavia nor one of the diocesan priests in the area believe in the apparitions. Why then do those who are not in the area and do not know all the facts hold on to their beliefs even to the disobedience to the Church? The new bishop has not only condemned the apparitions but he has made a blistering attack against the new film, “Gospa”. When he restated his positions regarding the Franciscans leaving the Church, he was kidnapped and held as a prisoner. The Nuncio to the Vatican had to go get him out.

Rick should provide signed letters from the 42 bishops stating the fact of their unbelief and the reasons for it. Of course the new bishop would attack the film "Gospa" because it shows his predecessor in a poor light. The relevant point is not that 42 Yuglosav bishops allegedly don't believe in Medjugorje, but that THE VATICAN DOES NOT SHARE THEIR ALLEGED OPINION.

Although there is no written index anymore, [there are so many books on the market today it would not be possible], the Catholic Directory states in part,

“It is not necessary that a book be listed in the index to be forbidden. There are twelve classes of publications that are forbidden by general law (cc. 831, 832). In brief, these are: --- 2) books that by argument defend heresy or schism or tend to undermine religion; 5) also works on visions and other supernatural phenomena published without approval; 6) books that attack Catholic dogma or the hierarchy or defend errors condemned by the Holy See; 11) books propagating false indulgences; 12) printed images of Our Lord, the Blessed Virgin, the angels, saints, or other servants of God, which are not in keeping with the teaching of the Church.”

Promoters of Medjugorje are in violation of 2, 5, 6, 11, and 12 because they defend the heresy of “pluralism”, advocate disobedience to the bishop, publish without approval, give false claims about indulgences, and print images of the Virgin that have no Catholic approval.

We have gone over all these issues and there is nothing much more to say. They are irrelevant. If you missed the discussions, please go back to previous pages beginning here. These are examples of Rick's tragic tarring, non-sequiturs, and twisting of words.

Wayne Weible, the biggest of these promoters, in a talk at St. Francis Catholic Church in Vista, CA, October 23, 1996, gave in detail the so-called “obedient position” of the backers of Medjugorje. The following is a letter we wrote to him.

Mr. Wayne Weible,
P O Box 2647
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 29578

We attended your talk in Vista last week and we have some questions regarding some of your statements. Your main talk was very good and we were glad to see you place the main emphasis on the Mass, since it is the greatest of all miracles. However, in the question and answer period you made some statements that we would like you to back up.

You stated correctly that Rome passed judgment by stating that they could not find anything supernatural in the apparitions. You then stated that this was the same wording used in Fatima and Lourdes. We have studied every book on Fatima and Lourdes and cannot find any Bishop, priest, or even person, who ever made such a statement.

We ask that you produce the evidence of these accusations. The fact is that no condemnation of Fatima or Lourdes ever happened. The words “Consiet de non supernaturalate” (It is established that there is nothing supernatural here), and “Non constat de supernaturalitalate” - (It is not established that something supernatural is here.) have both been used at Medjugorje but never at Fatima and Lourdes. These two statements are the official method of the Church to declare a private revelation false, since if it is not supernatural (meaning “from God”), then it must be fraud or from some other spirit. For the Church of Rome to say, “not supernatural” in spite of the millions who claim to have seen miracles, makes a major statement in itself.

The next thing you stated was that the Church cannot end the investigation as long as apparitions are still going on. This is also not true. Any proof you can produce to the contrary would be appreciated. Fatima, you will agree, has been approved, and yet, the apparitions to Lucia are still going on. Mirna Nazzour of Damascus has been approved by her Bishop and three Vatican Pro Nuncios, and yet, the apparitions and miracles are still going on.

You state that the real proof of the authenticity of the apparitions is that after 15 years, millions still believe in it. By this criteria, we can say the same of Arianism, Protestantism, and the New Age.
Looking forward to your response
Unity Publishing, Inc.
10-26-1996

Answer: Not yet!

Well Rick, how about this....LET'S WAIT FOR THE ANSWER. Rick sadly overlooks the fruits of Medjugorje, knowing that this is the best argument against his detractions. In fact the fruits are what keep the Vatican excited about Medjugorje and why they will possibly NEVER pronounce negatively on Medjugorje. Cardinal Schönborn told Cardinal Ratzinger that if Medjugorje were closed, he would also have to close the Seminary in Vienna, because the majority of those candidates had received their call to the priesthood through Medjugorje. To this, by the way, Cardinal Ratzinger replied: "Closing Medjugorje is not even a question!" Read other Vatican responses to Medjugorje over the years.

By shielding his eyes to the fruits, he makes himself dangerously unsympathetic to one very dangerous fruit that he himself bears, i.e. that he is essentially preventing many people being converted and being added the the Lord's abundant harvest from Medjugorje. He is like a thief, snatching away souls that are meant for God. It looks like there will be much much more prayers and fasting from the faithful, myself included, to make up for the damage being done through detraction websites that condemn medjugorje unjustly.

SUMMARY TO DATE

It should be quite clear to most readers by now that Rick is frustrated because the Vatican have not and are not listening to what he, and others like him, are saying. One gets the impression that if Medjugorje is finally validated by the Church, poor Rick won't know what to do. His lengthy prose has been purely to build a case, not only against Medjugorje but, by inference, against the cooler heads of the Vatican. This is what it amounts to. If Medjugorje is approved, we will either end up with a more humble Rick Salbato or another disillusioned schismatic.

To Be Painfully Continued...