KARL KEATING'S E-LETTER
TOPICS:
THE MIRACLE OF THE SPLOTCHES
"CONSCIENCE" HAS NO CONSCIENCE
LAST CALL FOR MY BACKPACKING TRIP
Dear Friend of Catholic Answers:
Veronica Lueken died some years ago, but her visions live on in Our Lady of
the Roses, the apostolate she founded in Bayside, New York.
Between 1970 and 1995, Lueken claimed to receive apparitions of the Blessed
Virgin and of Christ. Her apparitions were declared false by successive
local bishops, but that did not stop her from garnering a following among
pious Catholics.
The most recent newsletter from Our Lady of the Roses reproduces a 1973
photograph showing, it is said, a place where Lueken knelt, apparently on a
carpet. "You can clearly see the wet ground where the waters came up in the
shape of a fish and bread in front of Veronica symbolizing the priesthood
and Eucharist."
The photograph shows two splotches of water. Each splotch is oval, and one
has a triangular appendage. If you are told that the latter splotch is a
fish, you can see a fish. (Turned sideways, the splotch looks more like a
vase.) The other splotch doesn't look like bread, even if you are told that
is what it is supposed to be. There are other, smaller splotches surrounding
the main two. Maybe they are crumbs from the bread?
The newsletter claims the splotches are "miraculous," which is hooey. They
aren't miracles. They're just splotches of water seeping up through a
carpet, nothing more. This will be evident immediately to anyone who is not
a devotee of Veronica Lueken, but the miraculous origin of the splotches
will be evident to those who thinks her apparitions were true.
But they weren't true--and could not have been. The best proof of that came
from Lueken's Virgin Mary. The real Virgin Mary of course must teach truly.
A Virgin Mary who teaches falsely immediately is known to be a fake Virgin
Mary.
Lueken's Virgin Mary taught, for example, that test-tube babies do not have
souls. This is impossible, since children conceived artificially are alive,
and all living persons have souls. It is not possible for a person to be
alive and soulless.
This should be enough to disabuse anyone of the notion that Lueken's visions
were authentic, but true believers are not dissuaded by facts. That's too
bad, because Lueken's followers probably are fine people otherwise. They
strive to be conscientious Catholics, but they have fallen, as credulous
people do, for a charlatan.
They have invested so much of themselves in her apparitions that they refuse
to believe that the apparitions were false. It doesn't matter what the local
bishops said. It doesn't matter that Lueken's Virgin Mary taught nonsense.
Lueken's followers just keep following.
It's a pity, really.
FAKE CATHOLICS
One can be saddened by people being taken in by fake apparitions, but one
should be angered by people being taken in by fake Catholic organizations
such as Catholics for a Free Choice.
That organization publishes a quarterly magazine called "Conscience." It is
described as "offering in-depth, cutting-edge coverage of vital contemporary
issues, including reproductive rights, sexuality and gender, feminism, the
Religious Right, church and state issues, and U.S. politics."
The executive editor is Frances Kissling, founder of CFFC. The editorial
advisor is Rosemary Radford Ruether, who, so far as I know, does not accept
a single Catholic teaching on sexual morality. Kate Michelman, the
soon-to-retire head of NARAL Pro-Choice America, is on the board of
directors.
The people behind "Conscience" do not think the Church is a divine
institution. To them, it is a human construct led by a recalcitrant
hierarchy, and they think the hierarchy is not paying enough attention to
the folks in the pews, most of whom supposedly want the rules changed:
"The hierarchy seems to be in a constant battle with its followers regarding
its positions on women as well as on sexuality, reproduction, and the
family. While there are Catholics who wholly agree with and abide by the
policies set forth by the church hierarchy, there are many more who question
its dictates as they relate to their personal lives and the role played by
the church in public policy."
Note that there is not the slightest hint that the hierarchy of the Church
exists not so much to establish arbitrary "policies" as to pass on the truth
handed down from the beginning. The magisterium of the Church is not the
inventor of the faith but its protector. Sure, the application of timeless
truths to time-bound situations results in the formulation of "policies,"
but the existence of policies does not imply that the policies are pulled
out of thin air.
"Conscience" is an ironic title, since no one with a well-formed conscience
could support the things that the magazine promotes: abortion,
contraception, fetal stem cell research, the destruction (in all sorts of
ways) of human embryos, "assisted suicide," euthanasia. But not to
worry--"Conscience" makes all these things acceptable because it also
promotes "equity and justice" (at least for the survivors).
BACKPACKING WITH FRIENDS OF CATHOLIC ANSWERS
I already have heard from people saying they're interested in joining me
July 12-16 on a hike in the Sierra Nevada. If you missed my earlier
announcements, this is final your chance to get your name on the list.
I have a permit that will allow 15 of us to hit the Cottonwood Lakes
trailhead, which is located a few miles from Lone Pine, California. Lone
Pine, on Highway 395 on the east side of the Sierra, is best known as the
gateway to Mt. Whitney.
Our loop hike will take us through alpine country a few miles south of that
peak. We will begin at 10,000 feet and will go as high as 12,300 feet. We
will be on the trail for four days and will cover 22 miles, making this a
leisurely outing. Camping will be primitive, since we will be in a
wilderness area. We will visit several lakes where the trout fishing is said
to be first rate.
For more information on the trip, and to learn how to put your name in the
hopper, visit http://www.catholic.com/backpacking. Participants will be
chosen in early April by lottery.
p.s., Montreal! Quebec City! Halifax! Cairo! (Well, not Cairo.)
Join Jimmy Akin, Rosalind Moss, Tim Staples, Thomas Howard, Bishop Colin
Campbell, and me for a week of beautiful fall scenery and invigorating
large- and small-group events, including daily Mass, rosaries, and fun
on-shore excursions.
The 2004 Catholic Answers apologetics cruise runs from October 2-9, starting
in Montreal and ending in Boston.
For more information, go to:
http://catholicanswerscruise.com
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