The road to sainthood is indeed a rocky one, and there is no shortage of villains, murderers, scurrilous fraudsters, and other assorted psychos and ne'er-do-wells to count amongst their number.
Francesco Forgione, popularly known as Padre Pio, is one such and whose fabulous claimed abilities (at times surpassing those of Jesus, Gandalf, and Harry Potter) transcended his more mundane, nay banal, talents of the curing of terminal illnesses or giving sight to the blind, and included the ability to fly: on one occasion swooping majestically skywards to save a downed Italian WW2 pilot. On another, using his skill for bilocating, managed to steer a car of sleeping occupants for several kilometres. Such stories, if nothing else, would surely impress almost any cute receptive cherub of a choirboy that might catch a clergyman's roving eye.
Now that the method of using carbolic acid for his famous stigmata effect has been confirmed by historian Sergio Luzzatto, here below I reprint the resounding and categorical answer from the Vatican for all you sceptics and doubting Thomases.
"We would like to remind Mr Luzzatto that, according to Catholic doctrine, canonisation carries with it papal infallibility."
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9 comments:
I have to say that it is pretty clear now (at least to all people of good judgment) that the fellow was... well, acting with questionable motives.
When right up on the issue, many have trouble stepping back to see what's really going on, no matter how damned obvious it is.
these things happen.
a lot.
and they will continue to happen,
again and again and again.
Let's not forget Ira Einhorn
(http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/famous/einhorn/index_1.html)
Wow. Who does the Vatican think they're fooling?
I read this story this morning as well, and am amused at the Vatican's typically mealy response to the irrefutable facts of the good Padre's trickery. He's a liar, alright, but he's their liar, so his (and by association, their) "truth" cannot be questioned."
Enjoyed your "roving eye" comment, William - let us not forget that it is the current pontiff, Herr Ratzinger, who did so much to assist in the cover-up of the multitude of paedophile priest scandals over at least the past 2o years.
A cathologist I knew once told me that if you have a vision of the Virgin Mary, immediately you should look at the blessed virgin's feet. If the apparition has cloven hooves, then it is NOT the real Virgin Mary.
What if she's in the form of a sandwich? :P
The sandwich apparitions are usually just head shots, so my friend's advice wouldn't be applicable.
Ira Einhorn was an advocate of humankind exercising its nascent psi-powers, public exhibitions of which, have, as with Pio, attracted accusations of sleight-of-hand trickery. Uri Geller's website contains some information on the association between Einhorn, Geller and Andrija Puharich:
http://www.uri-geller.com/articles/stargate.htm
The Twilight Zone-styled fifties TV show "One Step Beyond" had a one-time non-fiction episode wherein the show's host, John Newland, travelled to Mexico and partook of the sacred mushroom under the guidance of Puharich.
http://www.johnkennethmuir.com/JohnKennethMuirsRetroTVFile_onestepbeyond.html
Jeff, in that episode of "One Step Beyond" the show's host presented himself as one thing, and was accepted as such, and then ended up being another thing entirely, I can see how that relates.
However, i do see your point, and therefor refer you to this link:
yourethemannowdog.com
Sarah
Thanks for that link. It helped to reinforce some things I'd already been thinking about independent of their research. More mulch to mine for morsels of merit.
This is how fundamental Christian logic works: a bus full of believers going to Bible Camp misses a turn, falls off a cliff, and kills ninety-nine Jesus freaks. Only one survives and the bible-thumpers are elated over the "miracle": "See, God really does exist - he saved little Jimmy!"
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