12 Things That The Mainstream Media Is Being Strangely Quiet About Right Now

From http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/12-things-that-the-mainstream-media-is-being-strangely-quiet-about-right-now

As the mainstream media continues to be obsessed with Anthony Weiner and his bizarre adventures on Twitter, much more serious events are happening around the world that are getting very little attention. In America today, if the mainstream media does not cover something it is almost as if it never happened. Right now, the worst nuclear disaster in human history continues to unfold in Japan , U.S. nuclear facilities are being threatened by flood waters, the U.S. military is bombing Yemen, gigantic cracks in the earth are appearing all over the globe and the largest wildfire in Arizona history is causing immense devastation. But Anthony Weiner, Bristol Palin and Miss USA are what the mainstream media want to tell us about and most Americans are buying it.

In times like these, it is more important than ever to think for ourselves. The corporate-owned mainstream media is not interested in looking out for us. Rather, they are going to tell us whatever fits with the agenda that their owners are pushing.

That is why more Americans than ever are turning to the alternative media. Americans are hungry for the truth, and they know that the amount of truth that they get from the mainstream media continues to decline.

The following are 12 things that the mainstream media is being strangely quiet about right now....

#1 The crisis at the Fort Calhoun nuclear facility in Nebraska has received almost no attention in the national mainstream media.

Back on June 7th, there was a fire at Fort Calhoun. The official story is that the fire was in an electrical switchgear room at the plant. The facility lost power to a pump that cools the spent fuel pool for approximately 90 minutes. According to the Omaha Public Power District, the fire was quickly extinguished and no radioactive material was released.

The following sequence of events is directly from the Omaha Public Power District website....

• There was no such imminent danger with the Fort Calhoun Station spent-fuel pool.
• Due to a fire in an electrical switchgear room at FCS on the morning of June 7, the plant temporarily lost power to a pump that cools the spent-fuel pool.
• The fire-suppression system in that switchgear room operated as designed, extinguishing the fire quickly.
• FCS plant operators switched the spent-fuel pool cooling system to an installed backup pump about 90 minutes after the loss of power.
• During the interruption of cooling, temperature of the pool increased a few degrees, but the pool was never in danger of boiling.
• Due to this situation, FCS declared an Alert at about 9:40 a.m. on June 7.
• An alert is the second-least-serious of four emergency classifications established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
• At about 1:15 p.m. on June 7, FCS operators declared they had taken all appropriate measures to safely return to the previously declared Notification of Unusual Event emergency classification. (See first item above.)

But the crisis at Fort Calhoun is not over. Right now, the nuclear facility at Fort Calhoun is essentially an island. It is surrounded by rising flood waters from the Missouri River.

Officials claim that there is no danger and that they are prepared for the river to rise another ten feet.

The Cooper Nuclear Station in Brownville, Nebraska is also being threatened by rising flood waters. A "Notification of Unusual Event" was declared at Cooper Nuclear Station this morning at 4:02. This notification was issued because the Missouri River's water level reached 42.5 feet.

Right now the facility is operating normally and officials don't expect a crisis.

But considering what has been going on at Fukushima, it would be nice if we could have gotten a lot more coverage of these events by the mainstream media.

#2 Most Americans are aware that the U.S. is involved in wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. However, the truth is that the U.S. military is also regularly bombing Yemen and parts of Pakistan. If you count the countries where the U.S. has special forces and/or covert operatives on the ground, the U.S. is probably "active" in more countries in the Middle East than it is not. Now there are even persistent rumors that U.S. ground units are being prepared to go into Libya. Are we watching the early stages of World War 3 unfold before our eyes in slow motion?

#3 The crisis at Fukushima continues to get worse. Arnold Gundersen, a former nuclear industry senior vice president, recently made the following statement about the Fukushima disaster....

"Fukushima is the biggest industrial catastrophe in the history of mankind"

TEPCO has finally admitted that this disaster has released more radioactive material into the environment than Chernobyl did. That makes Fukushima the worst nuclear disaster of all time, and it is far from over.

Massive amounts of water is being poured into the spent fuel pools in order to keep them cool. This is creating "hundreds of thousands of tons of highly radioactive sea water" that has got to go somewhere. Inevitably much of it will get into the ground and into the sea.

Arnold Gundersen says that the scope of this problem is almost unimaginable....

"TEPCO announced they had a melt through. A melt down is when the fuel collapses to the bottom of the reactor, and a melt through means it has melted through some layers. That blob is incredibly radioactive, and now you have water on top of it. The water picks up enormous amounts of radiation, so you add more water and you are generating hundreds of thousands of tons of highly radioactive water."

The mainstream media is not paying as much attention to Fukushima these days, but that doesn't mean that it is not a major league nightmare.

Elevated levels of radiation are being reported by Japanese bloggers all over eastern Japan. There are reports of sick children all over the region. One adviser to the government of Japan says that an area approximately 17 times the size of Manhattan is probably going to be uninhabitable.

Of course the mainstream media has been telling us all along that Fukushima is nothing to be too concerned about and that authorities in Japan have everything under control.

If the mainstream media is not going to tell us the truth, how are they going to continue to have credibility?

#4 Members of Congress continue to mention Christians as a threat to national security. For example, during a recent Congressional hearing U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee warned that "Christian militants" might try to "bring down the country" and that such groups need to be investigated.

#5 China's eastern province of Zhejiang has experienced that worst flooding that it has seen in 55 years. 2 million people have already been forced to leave their homes. China has already been having huge problems with their crops over the past few years and this is only going to make things worse.

#6 Thanks to the Dodd-Frank Act, over the counter trading of gold and silver is going to be illegal starting on July 15th. Or at least that is what some companies apparently now believe. The following is an excerpt from an email that Forex.com recently sent out to their customers....

Important Account Notice Re: Metals Trading

We wanted to make you aware of some upcoming changes to FOREX.com’s product offering. As a result of the Dodd-Frank Act enacted by US Congress, a new regulation prohibiting US residents from trading over the counter precious metals, including gold and silver, will go into effect on Friday, July 15, 2011.

In conjunction with this new regulation, FOREX.com must discontinue metals trading for US residents on Friday, July 15, 2011 at the close of trading at 5pm ET. As a result, all open metals positions must be closed by July 15, 2011 at 5pm ET.

We encourage you to wind down your trading activity in these products over the next month in anticipation of the new rule, as any open XAU or XAG positions that remain open prior to July 15, 2011 at approximately 5:00 pm ET will be automatically liquidated.

We sincerely regret any inconvenience complying with the new U.S. regulation may cause you. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact our customer service team.

Sincerely,
The Team at FOREX.com

Apparently, Section 742(a) of the Dodd-Frank Act prohibits anyone "from entering into, or offering to enter into, a transaction in any commodity with a person that is not an eligible contract participant or an eligible commercial entity, on a leveraged or margined basis."

So what impact is this going to have on the gold and silver markets?

Nobody is quite sure yet.

#7 All over the world, huge cracks are appearing for no discernible reason. For example, a massive crack that is approximately 3 kilometers long recent appeared in southern Peru. Also, a 500 foot long crack suddenly appeared recently in the state of Michigan. When you also throw in all of the gigantic sinkholes that have been opening all over the world, it is easy to conclude that the planet is becoming very unstable.

#8 According to U.S. Forest Service officials, the largest wildfire in Arizona state history has now covered more than 500,000 acres. But based on the coverage it is being given by the mainstream media you would think that it is a non-event.

#9 There are reports that North Korea has tested a "super EMP weapon" which would be capable of taking out most of the U.S. power grid in a single shot. The North Koreans are apparently about to conduct another nuclear test and that has some Obama administration officials very concerned.

#10 All over the United States, "active shooter drills" are being conducted in our public schools. Often, most of the students are not told that these drills are fake. Instead, students often go through hours of terror as they think a hostage situation or a shooting spree is really taking place.

#11 NASA has just launched a "major" preparedness initiative for all NASA personnel. The following is an excerpt about this plan from NASA's own website....

A major initiative has been placed on Family/Personal Preparedness for all NASA personnel. The NASA Family/Personal Preparedness Program is designed to provide awareness, resources, and tools to the NASA Family (civil servants and contractors) to prepare for an emergency situation. The most important assets in the successful completion of NASA’s mission are our employees’ and their families. We are taking the steps to prepare our workforce, but it is your personal obligation to prepare yourself and your families for emergencies.

#12 Over the past week over 40 temporary "no fly zones" have been declared by the FAA. This is very highly unusual. Nobody seems to know exactly why this is happening.

So what do all of these things mean?

It would be nice if the mainstream media would examine some of these important issues more closely and do some honest reporting on them.

Rally for Life in Dublin tomorrow at 2pm

This summer, the most important date on the pro-life calendar is 2nd July. That’s when we hope you join with thousands of others to speak up for the right to life. Meet us at the Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square @ 2pm.

Ireland - north and south - is one of the last remaining places in Europe where abortion is still illegal. But our unborn children are under threat. Powerful pro-abortion campaigners in Ireland, the UK, European Union and United Nations are attacking our pro-life laws. That’s why it’s so important we show our opposition to abortion. On 2nd July 2011 lets do that!

They say...

"Life is our most precious gift. "The All-Ireland Rally for Life" is a celebration of life. To attend or take part in it in any way is a worthwhile endeavour to pursue as Catholics. We stand up for God's gift of life."

Philip Boyce O.C.D. Bishop of Raphoe

“His Holiness will remember you and your associates in his prayers, and invokes upon you God’s abundant blessings.”
Message to the Rally for Life from the Vatican Secretary of State

"The people of the Diocese of Clogher are happy to join you in celebrating and cherishing the gift of life in all its forms and wish every success to your Rally for Life on 2 July in Dublin.
Liam S. MacDaid, Bishop of Clogher

I commend the All Ireland Rally for Life Committee on the marvellous work you are doing. Supporting the fundamental right of life for the unborn child is so important and it is good to gather people to celebrate the precious gift of life. I send you my best wishes as you celebrate the Rally for Life, in Dublin on 2 July 2011, and wish the event every success.

+Seán Brady, Archbishop of Armagh

Many thanks for your letter describing the atmosphere, success and enthusiasm generated by last July’s “Rally for Life” celebration in Belfast. I am confident that this year’s rally in Dublin on 2nd July will be equally successful in highlighting the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death.

Modern western culture has enshrined and secured many just liberties for peoples from many various faith and culture backgrounds but those liberties, when they contravene gospel values, cannot be accepted if they compromise and endanger the very essence of our common humanity, the right to life. I am happy and honoured to give my unequivocal support to this year’s “Rally for Life” in Dublin on 2nd July

+Noel Treanor, Bishop of Down and Connor

Thanks you for your letter of 13th of May 2011. In a rapidly changing society one of the values we need to uphold with constant vigilance is respect for life at every stage of its existence. Life is a very precious gift. It deserves reverence, nurturing, protection. I support those values and I support those who share these ideals. May I wish every blessing on your rally in Dublin in 2nd July. I hope that it will, like last year, be a festive occasion, a true celebration of the great gift of life that God has given us.

+Martin Drennan, Diocese of Galway

Feast of the Sacred Heart

Pontiff Spiritually United With Pilgrims at Knock

KNOCK, Ireland, JUNE 30, 2011 (Zenit.org).

In a letter addressed to Cardinal Sean Brady, Archbishop of Armagh, Benedict XVI sent his "warm and prayerful best wishes" to the nearly 13,000 pilgrims who attended the National Eucharistic Congress last weekend at the Marian Shrine in Knock.

In the letter, issued on behalf of the Holy Father by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s secretary of state, the Pope said that he was "spiritually united to all who … offer adoration, thanksgiving and praise to the living God for the saving sacrifice of Christ on the Cross."

He stated that with "the frequent and worthy reception of the Bread of Life," he was confident that the faithful would be led down a path of "conversion, in truth, justice and charity."

The letter concluded with the Pope imparting his apostolic blessing on "all the faithful people in Ireland [seeking] the intercession of Mary, the Mother of the Church."

Fr Gobbi, head of Marian Movement of Priests has Died

An Italian locutionist, Father Stefano Gobbi, 81, of Milan, reportedly died at three p.m. today after spending several days in “very critical condition” in a coma that was induced after he suffered a heart attack on June 19.

According to Tammy Ouellette, national secretary for the U.S. Marian Movement of Priests in Maine (which was founded on Father Gobbi’s reputed locutions), the priest’s heart has been “very damaged.” He underwent a bypass operation in 1998 but doctors have been unable to operate further. The death has been officially confirmed. Funeral arrangements are pending.

Father Gobbi rose to renown in Marian circles during the late 1980s as he released messages said to come from the Blessed Mother that addressed the world and the Church, including prophetic messages. His last public one was on December 31, 1997.

Rhode Island governor pardons Catholic man executed in 1800s

Providence, R.I., Jun 30, 2011 (CNA).

Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee signed an official pardon on June 29 for an Irish Catholic man who was hanged in the state for a crime he didn't commit in 1845.

The move closes an ugly chapter in the long history of discrimination against Catholics in the U.S. and follows the May 4 decision by the Rhode Island legislature to pardon John Gordon – a 29 year-old Irish immigrant who was executed for a murder many say he was falsely accused of.

“Rhode Island is reaffirming its commitment to religious tolerance,” Nancy Schultz, Ph.D of Salem State University in Massachusetts told CNA on June 29.

Schultz said the pardon is evidence of a growing consciousness about the nation's history of anti-Catholic prejudice.

“U.S. Catholic historians have done an admirable job bringing some of this history to light, and it has deepened national awareness of our past,” she said.

Gordon was convicted in 1843 and hanged two years later for allegedly killing a wealthy Rhode Island mill owner who had political connections.

Historians now believe that the evidence against Gordon was tainted and indicative of widespread discrimination against Irish Catholics. During trial, witnesses failed to positively identify Gordon and a judge instructed jurors to take “Yankee” witnesses more seriously than Irish ones.

“Anti-Catholicism was certainly one of the first religious prejudices brought to the New World, and it became widespread” in the 19th century, Schultz told CNA in a May 10 interview.

“Catholics had difficulty getting a fair trial in New England during the nineteenth century.”

Schultz is an authority in English and American Literature and is author of several books on historical religious discrimination in America.

Her new book, “Mrs. Mattingly's Miracle,” (Yale, $30) traces how the more tolerant Maryland tradition in the nation’s capital of accepting Catholicism during the 1820s began to decline into “full-fledged, New England-style anti-Catholicism.”

She said that from 1830 to 1860 in particular, movements such as the “Protestant Crusade” attempted to stop the spread of Catholicism in the United States.

Schultz pointed to examples of public discrimination against Catholics such as the case involving arsonists who burned down a Massachusetts convent in 1834. The trials, she said, “were an occasion for anti-Catholic mockery.”

When the mob leaders who destroyed the Charlestown convent were acquitted, there was “great rejoicing in the streets of Boston.”

Schultz also noted that Gordon’s hanging in 1845 came just nine years before a gift of a block of marble from Pope Pius IX for the construction of the Washington Monument “was thrown into the Potomac River” by members of the anti-Catholic “Know-Nothing” party.

She explained that “large numbers of Irish fleeing economic turmoil in nineteenth-century Ireland and immigrating to America” helped give rise to the nativist, or “Know-Nothing” party, which rose to national prominence in the mid-19th century.

The name came from the response of members of this anti-Catholic secret society. When asked about their activities, they would say, “I know nothing.”

According to Schultz, the roots of anti-Catholicism in the U.S. can be traced back to the Puritans, who came to New England several centuries ago.

A Return to Traditional Ways of Receiving Communion

Offerimus Tibi Domine June 22, 2011:

Among other things, the papal Master of Ceremonies [Msgr. Guido Marini] spoke of the ancient tradition of focusing on Christ in a physical way in the sacred liturgy, either though the eastwards orientation of the Eucharistic Prayer or where the crucifix or other image of Christ (the great panto-creator images on the apse of ancient churches) stood in for the eastward orientation. He thought that recently we have been in danger of losing this and that this is not a small detail but something of central importance, for in the past everyone (including the priest) prayed towards the same point - showing that the Lord was coming and that together we all looked towards Him.

Mgr Marini also posited that kneeling before the presence of the Lord makes it all the clearer that it really is Jesus and implies our adoration of Him. Not that we just receive Him but that we kneel before Him. To kneel accomplishes the truth of our relationship with Him - we adore. This is true freedom because man submits to slavery to many other earthly things - we bow down before these false gods - but to kneel before Christ expressses the truth and therefore reveals the dignity of man before the Lord of Life. Kneeling is the TYPICAL sign of offering our hearts and lives. The Church that kneels in the body will adore in the heart.

MGR. MARINI ASKED US TO LISTEN ANEW TO WHAT THE HOLY FATHER SAYS ABOUT THESE THINGS IN HIS WRITINGS AND BY HIS EXAMPLE IN THE PAPAL LITURGIES.

Of the Holy Father's example in the Papal liturgies where Holy Communion is now always administered by Pope Benedict on the tongue to kneeling communicants he said that it was the Holy Father's practice and intention - BEYOND INDULTS AND PERMISSIONS - that this remains a law of universal character. That Holy Communion received on the tongue and kneeling was more than just the Pope's personal desire. The Holy Father's intention is that people and priests follow his example. I could not help thinking of the recent request made by the Bishops' Conference in England and Wales and how this fitted in with the Holy Father's example?

Holy Mass was offered by Cardinal Piacenza, Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy. It was much commented upon that at the canon of the Mass he dropped his voice considerably (even though microphones were used) and so the canon was not actually silent but sotto voce. It had a very dramatic effect on concentrating the mind and heart and bringing about a tangible sense of reverence and prayer.

Another of yestedays talks was given by Bishop Athanasius Schnieder (author of "Dominus Est" in which he calls for a fullsome return to receiving HolyCommunion kneeling and on the tongue).

The Bishop posited that there were some outward signs that the more ancient form of the Mass and the new Mass shared and although some of these are not always seen in the new Mass they could fruitfully be used more frequently. These are:

• Eastward orientation during the Eucharistic Prayer
  
• Kneeling at altar rails for Holy Communion
  
• Communion received on the tongue
  

Of eastward facing the said that the shared orientation of priest and people is a "great gift" leading us together towards the Lord. He also suggested that the more frequent genuflections found in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass could most helpfully be incoporated into the Ordinary Form.

He spoke of innovations that moved away from an attitude of adoration, silence and wonder as examples of a liturgy that had abandoned the meaning of the psalmist when he said, "Not to us Lord, not to us, but to your Name give the glory" and moved to an attitude of "To our name give the glory!"

He spoke of the example of the Holy Father and implored us TO THINK AND ACT WITH PETER.

When asked what we should do when people, priests and even bishops refuse to do this he said that we should see it as a call to make expiation for them and to console Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament by our acts of prayer, love and adoration. He said that he saw it as a loss of fidelity to the Holy Father by people, priests and even bishops. WHERE PETER IS, THERE IS THE CHURCH. That is why we should follow the Holy Father's example.

How I wish there were more than ten clergy from England here!

Kingdoms and Empires Have Passed Away But the Rock of Peter Still Stands

Kingdoms and empires have passed away; peoples once renowned for their history and civilization have disappeared; time and again the nations, as though overwhelmed by the weight of years, have fallen asunder; while the Church, indefectible in her essence, united by ties indissoluble with her heavenly Spouse, is here today radiant with eternal youth, strong with the same primitive vigor with which she came from the Heart of Christ dead upon the Cross. Men powerful in the world have risen up against her. They have disappeared, and she remains. Philosophical systems without number, of every form and every kind, rose up against her, arrogantly vaunting themselves her masters, as though they had at last destroyed the doctrine of the Church, refuted the dogmas of her faith, proved the absurdity of her teachings. But those systems, one after another, have passed into books of history, forgotten, bankrupt; while from the Rock of Peter the light of truth shines forth as brilliantly as on the day when Jesus first kindled it on His appearance in the world, and fed it with His Divine words: "Heaven and earth shall pass, but my words shall not pass" (Matth. xxiv. 35).

We, strengthened by this faith, firmly established on this rock, realizing to the full all the heavy duties that the Primacy imposes on Us - but also all the vigor that comes to Us from the Divine Will - calmly wait until all the voices be scattered to the winds that now shout around Us proclaiming that the Church has gone beyond her time, that her doctrines are passed away for ever, that the day is at hand when she will be condemned either to accept the tenets of a godless science and civilization or to disappear from human society. Yet at the same time We cannot but remind all, great and small, as Pope St. Gregory did, of the absolute necessity of having recourse to this Church in order to have eternal salvation, to follow the right road of reason, to feed on the truth, to obtain peace and even happiness in this life.

Pope Saint Pius X

US State Dept. ‘Instrumental in Sealing Deal’ For Lady Gaga’s Gay Pride Gig in Rome

From CNSNews.com

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday that the State Department played an instrumental role in “sealing the deal” for pop-rock star Lady Gaga to perform at a gay pride rally in Rome, Italy.

Clinton specifically pointed to a letter that David Thorne, the U.S. ambassador to Italy, sent to Lady Gaga urging her to participate in the event.

“And then there is the work that our embassy team in Rome has been doing,” Clinton said. “Two weeks ago they played an instrumental role in bringing Lady Gaga to Italy for a Euro Pride concert.

“Now as many of you know Lady Gaga is Italian American and a strong supporter of LGBT rights,” said Clinton. “And the organizers of the Euro Pride event desperately wanted her to perform and a letter to her from Ambassador Thorne was instrumental in sealing the deal.”

Mrs. Clinton made the remarks at the State Department at a celebration of LGBT Pride Month co-hosted by the department and Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA), a group that, according to its website, “represents lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) personnel and their families in the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Foreign Commercial Service, Foreign Agricultural Service, and other foreign affairs agencies and offices in the U.S. Government.”

On June 11, Lady Gaga performed at a rally at the ancient Circus Maximus in Rome, Italy. The rally followed a gay pride march through the city of Rome.

Gaga sparked controversy earlier this year with the release of her song “Judas” in early May. The video depicted Gaga as a Mary Magdalene figure--in a motorcycle gang—who becomes enamoured with Judas. “The video opens with a motorcycle gang cruising down a freeway, as Gaga clutches onto a Jesus-like figure who wears a golden crown of thorns,” said a Billboard.com description of the video.

“Oh, I'm in love with Judas, Judas,” says the song. “In the most Biblical sense I am beyond repentance. Fame hooker, prostitute wench, vomits her mind.”

Bishop and exorcist Andrea Gemma on Medjugorje: "Absolutely diabolical"

From http://catholiclight.stblogs.org/archives/2011/04/gemma-on-medjugorje.html

Here's a background item on the Medjugorje case, a May 2008 interview with Bishop Andrea Gemma from Gianluca Barile's website Petrus. It was reported in the press at the time, and some quotations did appear, but I never came across the full text until recently.

Medjugorje: the accusation of the bishop-exorcist Mons. Gemma: "The apparitions of the Madonna? Completely false: the seers lie under the inspiration of Satan to profit economically"

by Gianluca Barile

VATICAN CITY - A mixture of economic and diabolical interests, with the alleged seers and their collaborators directly involved in profits related to the increased flow of pilgrimages and visits in the area, and the Evil One well content to sow discord between the faithful most convinced of the validity of the apparitions of Medjugorje and the Church, sceptical as ever in the face of what she has declared more than once, through the words of two successive bishops of Mostar during that time, "a great deception". Monsignor Andrea Gemma, former bishop of Isernia-Venafro [served 1990-2006], among the greatest exorcists living, does not mince his words: instead of the Virgin, so far only rivers of money have appeared at Medjugorje, a grave accusation that sums up not only the courage but also the moral and spiritual capacity of the prelate who agreed to respond to questions from "Petrus" on such a prickly event.

So, Excellency, how do you define Medjugorje?

"It is an absolutely diabolical event, around which numerous underworld interests revolve. The Holy Church, which alone can make a pronouncement, through the words of the Bishop of Mostar, has already said publicly and officially that the Madonna never appeared in Medjugorje and that this whole production is the work of the Devil."

You speak of "underworld interests". Of what kind?

"I'm referring to 'the Devil's dung', to money, what else? At Medjugorje everything happens for the sake of money: pilgrimages, overnight stays, the sales of trinkets. In this way, abusing the good faith of the poor people who go there with the idea of meeting the Madonna, the false seers have set themselves up financially, they have married and live a wealthy life, to say the least. Just think: one of them, directly from America, with a direct economic profit, organizes tens of pilgrimages every year. These people don't seem to be really disinterested persons to me. Rather, with all the people vulnerable to this noisy swindle, they evidently have a great material interest in getting people to believe that they see and speak with the Virgin Mary."

Monsignor Gemma, is there no appeal from your verdict?

"Could it be otherwise? These people claim to be in contact with the Madonna, but in reality are inspired solely and exclusively by Satan, are creating chaos and confusion among the faithful for the sake of absolutely deplorable interests and advantages. Think, then, of the disobedience they have fed in the bosom of the Church: their spiritual guide, a Franciscan friar expelled from the Order and suspended a divinis, continues to invalidly administer the sacraments. [NB: The interview took place in 2008, before the laicization of Tomislav Vlasic.] And numerous priests from all over the world, despite the express prohibition of the Holy See, continue to organize and participate in pilgrimages with Medjugorje as their destination. It's a shame! This is why I speak of a mixture between personal and diabolical interests: the false seers and their helpers are pocketing money, and the Devil creates discord between the faithful and the Church; the more fanatical faithful, in fact, aren't listening to the Church, which - I repeat - has, from the beginning, warned about the mendacity of the Medjugorje apparitions."

And if the alleged seers were really seeing the Madonna?

"In reality they would be seeing Satan under false pretenses. Because Satan has great interest in splitting the Church, setting the two currents of the 'pro' and the 'contra' Medjugorje against each other. Moreover, it wouldn't be the first time: St. Paul himself asserts that the Devil can appear as an Angel of Light and can, so to speak, camouflage himself. He did that, for example, with St. Gemma Galgani. But beyond his disguises, the Evil One has already intervened and I can assure you that it is he inspiring the false seers since the beginning with the promise of easy money."

You're not exactly fond of those seers...

"Please! It's enough to see how they act: they're disobedient to the Church, they should have withdrawn to private life and instead they keep on making propaganda for their lies, for the sake of money, and thus playing the Devil's game! My thoughts go immediately to St. Bernadette, the seer of Lourdes: that sweet creature wanted to shed her life and took up the habit of a Sister to serve the Lord. Instead, the impostors of Medjugorje continue to live comfortably in the world without showing any kind of love either for God or for the Church."

The supporters of Medjugorje emphasize that the Holy See has never expressed any position on the matter.

"That's another lie! As I pointed out before, the Vatican has forbidden pilgrimages by priests to the place and has spoken through the words of the two successive bishops of Mostar, Monsignors Zanic and Peric, with whom I have spoken personally, and who have always manifested their doubts to me. You see, even for Fatima and Lourdes, the Holy See didn't express any position directly on those Marian apparitions. So why would they have to make an exception in this case? The truth is that when the Bishop of Mostar speaks, the Church of Christ speaks, and is it to him, who speaks with the authority conferred to him by the Vatican, that we need to listen. Thus, the Holy See has already expressed itself with the words of the Bishop of Mostar, making evident that Medjugorje is a diabolical trick. But I will share a secret with you. You'll see that soon the Vatican will intervene with something explosive, to unmask once and for all who is behind this swindle."

The same supporters note that at Medjugorje every year they report a record of conversions and miracles...

"It's artificial. And who is counting all these conversions? You see, if someone has a conversion, it's because he had a certain predisposition, because he thinks to look inside himself, because he receives the gift of the Spirit. The place in which this conversion happens is completely relative. Let's think of St. Paul: he converted on the road, and now what should we do, all go out to the road and wait to be converted? As regards the miracles, I'll tell a personal anecdote. I owe the miraculous healing of a person in my family to the intercession of Our Lady of the Rosary at Pompei, but that doesn't imply that the Madonna ever appeared to me at Pompei. So, just from believing, or from being healed inside or outside, it doesn't necessarily mean that Mary is letting people see her."

To the best of your knowledge, what opinion does the Holy Father Benedict XVI have of Medjugorje?

"I'll limit myself to underscore what he did as Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to send out official notes adverse to Medjugorje, such as the one which forbade priests and religious from going on pilgrimages in that country. Do you ..."

Yet it is said that John Paul II was convinced of the goodness of the apparitions.

"An unproven legend, considering that his opinions were personal and did not in any way represent an act of the Magisterium."

[Thanks to Gianluca Barile. Translation (c) Richard Chonak, 2011, all rights reserved.]