Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Alabama

Languages: English, Español, Hrvatski, Italiano

Keep extreme caution or totally avoid anything from this person, organization of his minions, and their websites

The people who live in Medjugorje, especially most of the visionaries, the guides and the priests, warn to stay away from Caritas of Birmingham in Sterret, Alabama. "Cult" is a word that often comes up.

Father Svetozar Kraljevic, OFM, parish of Medjugorje regarding Caritas of Birmingham, Sterret, AL: "Dear brothers and sisters, Here in Medjugorje, in the name of the priests who are working in the parish with pilgrims who are coming from all over the world, I express my deep concern for the organization called CARITAS from Birmingham, Alabama."

"It appears that the organization does not follow good practice of Church discipline as well as the discipline of its members in regard to their ways in which they are organized within. We are afraid that there might be elements of a lack of respect for family relationships, mutual respect, respect for the church authority, respect for the families where the members come from, respect for property of family members who are there now and those who were there and left the community." - Read more ...




Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), based in Irondale (a suburb of Birmingham) at Alabama regarding Caritas of Birmingham: "Despite its proximity, whenever anyone asked Mother Angelica about Caritas she never encouraged anyone to visit it." ... "The position of Mother Angelica has always been to discourage people from going there. That is also EWTN's position." - Read more ...




Icsa International Cultic Studies Association

Friend of Medjugorje (Terry Colafrancesco) fits the profile of a cult leader -- and his group “Caritas of Birmingham” can be classified as a cult according to criteria of International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) - Read more ...




Nancy Wilstach, The Birmingham News, Birmingham, Alabama regarding Caritas of Birmingham: "Former residents and parents of residents accuse the Shelby County, Alabama, Caritas of Birmingham community, led by Terry Colafrancesco, of fraud, misrepresentation, undue influence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and false imprisonment. They say Colafrancesco lures devout Catholics to Caritas and then takes all their money." ... "The community draws its membership from such people, who give up their property when they move into Caritas. The community also receives donations from the devout around the world."

Testimonies of former members (long term residents at Caritas of Birmingham), as well as their family members about practises and teachings of the Caritas of Birmingham and self-appointed "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco:

Several former Caritas of Birmingham members underwent treatment at the Wellspring Retreat & Resource Center in Albany, Ohio, the nation's only clinic specializing in the treatment of people influenced by abusive religious groups.

Caritas of Birmingham business still drains millions of dollars from gullible Catholics in donations. In recent years, it was annually $3-4 millions, according to words of the leader of Caritas of Birmingham, self-styled "A Friend of Medjugorje", Terry Colafrancesco in 2011.

Added June 2, 2013 /  Category: Marija Pavlovic-Lunetti, Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama / Author: Marek Gayer

In the beginning of July 2012, Medjugorje visionary Marija Pavlovic Lunetti has once again visited so-called Caritas of Birmingham community for 5 days. Unfortunately, some uniformed, gullible and undiscerning people understand simply Marija’s Pavlovic Lunetti visits as an endorsement and validation of so called “Friend of Medjugorje” and group of his minions Caritas of Birmingham. But in fact, already since 1988 it became obvious that persons with connections to Marija Pavlovic Lunetti are definitely not necessarily credible, and some of them can even pose a serious threat for those, who might naively trust these persons.

Added January 27, 2013 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Caritas Of Birmingham

By Regan Lee

In October of 2012, "JustinT" left the following comment on my post

Please do not link to Medjugorje com of "Friend of Medjugorje" / Caritas of Birmingham. The organisation is considered to be a cult, the priests of Medjugorje parish warned against them as well as Mother Angelica and EWTN.

Added November 4, 2012 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Caritas Of Birmingham

We have received the following question from a visitor of Medjugorje WebSite:

"I have bought close to $40,000 in the silver miraculous medal silver rounds from Global Silver Investors. This is the company that Friend of Medjugorie speaks of in his weekly computer address with Frank Williams who is with the company. Do you know if this is a fraud? I have tried looking everywhere on the internet but unable to find any "fraud" so to speak. I am very concerned since this is my husband and my life savings. If you don't feel comfortable answering on the net, is there someone I can contact about this issue? Thank you, ... ..."

Added December 10, 2011 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Caritas Of Birmingham

Caritas of Birmingham - Question from Roberta on 6/18/2001:

Is Caritas of Birmingham a legitimate place to get Our Lady's messages? This group mails out blue post cards with the monthly message. The disturbing part is the coomentary by the "Founder", who will not reveal who he or she is. The group claims to have an inside line to the happenings at Medjugorge. Some of the commentary seems overly strict and somewhat outlandish. Can you let me know whether I should continue receiving their mailings?

Added October 1, 2011 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Caritas Of Birmingham

Faithful Catholic women posted their following reviews of the book How to Change Your Husband by self-styled "A Friend of Medjugorje", leader of his group Caritas of Birmingham on Amazon bookstore. The concerned women found the book to be "un-catholic", "dangerous" and "extreme."

You can also read the review made for priests of St. James Parish, Medjugorje by Adrian Reimers, Ph.D. from University of Notre Dame.

Added March 31, 2011 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Italiano
Caritas Of Birmingham

by Prof. Marco Corvaglia

The community Caritas of Birmingham (Alabama) has gained much publicity and visibility in the U.S. by hosting many times (162 from 1988 to 2011), year after year, Marija Pavlović's, the Medjugorje visionary, daily apparitions.

So it is particularly interesting and significant to know the doctrines that are observed in the community and are spread by its founder and owner, Terry Colafrancesco.

He published in the mid-nineties, under his usual pseudonym of Friend of Medjugorje, the book How to Change Your Husband [Caritas, Sterrett (AL), 1996], printed by the community itself and now also downloadable from its official website.

Reading the book one is astonished by the male chauvinism, sometimes grotesque, that seems to characterize it: for example, he writes that the devil, in order to hide to people the potentially destructive nature of women, got persons to quit the right habit of giving female names to hurricanes that each year lash the shores of the Atlantic.

Actually, this isn’t simply absurd male chauvinism, but rather adhesion to well-known religious ideologies.

Added March 12, 2011 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Español
Dr. Richard Geraghty of EWTN on Caritas of Birmingham: "group sounds to me very much like a cult"

Caritas of Birmingham - Question from anonymous on 12-23-2010:

Dear Dr. Geraghty, Concerning the upcoming apparition at Caritas of Birmingham with a visionary from Medjudgorje (Marija) March 19 - March 23, 2010, advertised on their website, okay for Roman Catholics to attend? Thank you!

Added March 7, 2011 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama / Author: Marek Gayer
Other languages: English, Español
Caritas Of Birmingham

Edward and Patricia Locks are now for over 10 years concerned parents of their daughters Erin and Jenny living in Caritas of Birmingham.

Recently someone attempting to defend Caritas of Birmingham and its leader, self-styled "A Friend of Medjugorje" (Terry Colafrancesco), posted a letter attributed to Edward and Patricia Locks. This letter was not posted or written by the Locks. The originator of this letter is guilty of fraud.

Added January 8, 2011 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Italiano
Caritas Of Birmingham
Icsa International Cultic Studies Association

At the May 2001 American Family Foundation Conference in Newark, New Jersey, several ex-members of Caritas of Birmingham offered their stories to a distinguished panel of psychologists and cult exit counselors. It was the overwhelming opinion of the panel that the leader of Caritas of Birmingham, Terry Colafrancesco (self-styled “A Friend of Medjugorje”), fits the profile of a cult leader, much the same as David Koresh and Jim Jones were leaders of their groups. There are several factors that determine whether a group can be classified as a true cult.

Added December 27, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Español, Italiano
Caritas Of Birmingham

By Jeb Phillips, Birmingham Post-Herald

The woman who helped catapult a Shelby County religious community into a multimillion-dollar operation will make a return appearance next month.

Marija Pavlovic Lunetti, who said that as a teenager she saw the Virgin Mary in Bosnia-Herzegovina and as an adult saw her in Sterrett, will come again to the small Shelby County town for a prayer celebration from Dec. 8 through Dec. 14. The event, dubbed the "Seven Days of Prayer," will occur at Caritas of Birmingham, a small farming community that has been accused in recent years of being a cult. Lunetti's last visit to Caritas in 1999 drew a crowd of between 20,000 to 30,000.

Added October 16, 2010 , Last update October 18, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Español, Italiano
"Scammed - I didn t think it could happen to me" (Illustration picture)

"On our pilgrimages to Medjugorje, Terry would have us try to find out who in the group had lots of money. Then we or Terry, if he was there, would try to focus on them specifically to get large donations. Terry would try to get them into an apparition. (Obviously with the permission of a Franciscan). On the pilgrimage in June 1998, Terry got a business owner and his wife aside and convinced them to give him $50,000.00 to buy land in Medjugorje. On that same trip, Terry got another wealthy man into an apparition and then on Paolo and Marija's back Porch, tried to get the money to buy the lot next to Marija's house."

Added July 7, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama / Author: Marek Gayer

Important notice regarding information about self-styled "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco and "Caritas of Birmingham"

Other languages: English, Español, Italiano
Warning Caritas Of Birmingham Friend Of Medjugorje

Important: We strongly encourage you to make sure that all your friends and fellows interested in Medjugorje that you know were notified about disturbing information and activities related to the self-styled "A Friend of Medjugorje" (Terry Colafrancesco) and his organization "Caritas of Birmingham" in Sterret, Alabama, described in detail in documents of this web page: https://www.medjugorje.ws/en/articles/caritas-of-birmingham/ . Please help to warn and protect in this way the Medjugorje movement, its people, their families and property. Out of love and compassion for them, keep concern on their protection.

"Evil does not need large numbers of followers; it merely needs a lot of good people to keep quiet and inactive. When good people of faith remain silent and do nothing to stop or even diminish evil, then it is a sin of omission of the highest proportion."

Rev. John Triglio, PhD, ThD

Webmasters, bloggers, people on social networking websites, publishers, etc. - please inform about this page, preferably also by links on sidebars of all your pages. For that purpose, you can also use the following code:

<b><a href='https://www.medjugorje.ws/en/articles/caritas-of-birmingham/'>Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Alabama</a></b>
 
Added April 24, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Italiano
Caritas Of Birmingham
  • Patrick Flynn and family - after almost 9 years of experiences with Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco
  • Carole Conrique, who worked two years at Caritas of Birmingham wrote the following on Caritas of Birmingham and Terry Colafrancesco - the self-styled "A Friend of Medjugorje"
  • Excerpt from a letter by Patricia Locks about her children Greg, Erin and Jenny living for many years at Caritas of Birmingham under the guidance of Terry Colafrancesco - self-styled "A Friend of Medjugorje"
  • Former member of Caritas of Birmingham for over ten years testifies about the "Caritas" and the self-styled "A Friend of Medjugorje" as "a destructive group lead by a TRULY NARCISSISTIC man who deceives in the beginning especially if money is involved."
  • Another former member testifies about the Caritas of Birmingham as "isolated cult outside Catholicism, not associated in any way or form with the Roman Catholic Church nor its local authority, the Catholic Diocese of Birmingham, Alabama". He testifies about disturbing teachings, manipulation and practises of Terry Colafrancesco (i.e. the self-styled "A Friend of Medjugorje") and concludes that "if someone supports Caritas of Birmingham, they are supporting a strange, religious sect and this potentially, which may cause serious damage in an individual's personal and family life".
Added April 17, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Español, Italiano
Caritas Of Birmingham

Your Excellency,

For the purpose of having a clearer picture of Caritas, I feel that, you should know the following which Jacquie and I did not have an opportunity to relate.

First, I am not sure how long it was that you told Terry that Mass was not allowed to be said at Caritas, but Terry interpreted it to our needs. Since 1995 or 1996, a priest from Phoenix, Alabama, came on a fairly regular basis and said Mass either in the field or the Tabernacle building. Terry always explained that as long as the priest was from outside the Diocese, you give permission for Mass. What your instructions were regarding this we had no idea. We only knew what Terry told us.

As I said in our discussion on 10/13/00, after I left Caritas a lot of the FBI came out in me and I did some of my own investigation and came up with some interesting facts. I say facts because the two people I talked to have absolutely no "ax to grind" with Terry or Caritas.

Added April 17, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama

Caritas of Birmingham: Accused of "Brainwashing"

Other languages: English, Italiano

By Nancy Wilstach, The Birmingham News, Birmingham, Alabama, 12/28/04

Former residents and parents of residents accuse the Shelby County, Alabama, Caritas of Birmingham community, led by Terry Colafrancesco, of fraud, misrepresentation, undue influence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and false imprisonment. They say Colafrancesco lures devout Catholics to Caritas and then takes all their money. A judge has ordered principals in the three-year-old suit to submit to mediation.

Colafrancesco created Caritas following the 1988 vision of a woman from Bossnia-Herzegovina who reported experiencing visitations from the Virgin Mary while standing in Colafrancesco’s pasture. She continues to have visions during her periodic returns to the US, and her most recent visit drew thousands of pilgrims. The community draws its membership from such people, who give up their property when they move into Caritas. The community also receives donations from the devout around the world. Caritas, which the Roman Catholic Church does not recognize, operates a school, sawmill, gift shop, and farm.

 
Added April 10, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Español
Caritas Of Birmingham

By Stephen K. Ryan

Who is the man behind the mask known as the "Friend of Medjugorje"? The founder and operator of Medjugorje.com/ Caritas of Birmingham insists on calling himself "A friend of Medjugorje" rather than by his own name. Maybe it is just us but this curious business of referring to oneself in the third person, as the "Friend of Medjugorje" does throughout his web site, is beginning to creep us out. From the onset the third person references on his web site create an aura of obfuscation and an unsettling lack of transparency.

The "Friend of Medjugorje" as it turns out is named Terry Colafrancesco. He may refer to himself as a friend of Medjugorje but the more we peel away the layers we are beginning to discover that many people who are devoted to the Medjugorje movement think he is anything but a friend.

Added April 10, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Italiano
Caritas Of Birmingham

By Daniel Jackson, Birmingham Post-Herald

Patrick J. Flynn said the founder of a Shelby County religious compound no longer has any control over him, but other people should be warned.

Last week Flynn was sitting 3 feet away from Terry Colafrancesco, founder of the Caritas Community, during depositions in a lawsuit filed by some of his former followers.

Colafrancesco had his deposition and bank records sealed in the lawsuit.

Flynn, one of the original 12 inhabitants of the Caritas Community, questioned Shelby County Circuit Judge J. Michael Joiner's confidentiality order, which bars discussion of the details in the three-year-old suit.

A group of former Caritas residents and parents of residents have accused Colafrancesco of operating a cult that preys on devout Catholics and drains them of their assets. Parties in the case will begin court-ordered mediation on March 30.

Added March 27, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Español, Italiano
Caritas Of Birmingham

By Sara Foss, Birmingham Post-Herald

Accusations of brainwashing and money laundering plague an area religious group as some unhappy members leave

Terry Colafrancesco started Caritas in Shelby County in 1987 to promote the experience of Medjugorje, the Eastern European village where six youngsters reported seeing the Virgin Mary.

Today, Caritas has grown into a multimillion-dollar enterprise, complete with families who live there year-round, a travel agency that offers trips to Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina, a publishing arm and even a farm. Caritas' mission of educating people about Medjugorje remains unchanged.

But recently the organization has come under fire by longtime residents who have left the community and others interested in Medjugorje. A lawsuit filed in California accuses Colafrancesco, the president of Caritas, of brainwashing residents and using funds raised from donors to purchase heavy equipment for himself.

Added March 27, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Italiano
Caritas Of Birmingham

By Sara Foss, Birmingham Post-Herald

In 1986, a man with a great enthusiasm for Medjugorje began visiting Jack Sacco in his office at the Eternal Word Television Network, a Roman Catholic television network based in Irondale.

At that time, Sacco was organizing one of the first trips from Alabama to Medjugorje, a rural village in Bosnia-Herzegovina where six youths had reported receiving messages from the Virgin Mary in 1981.

"I convinced two friends to go with me," said Sacco, a Birmingham native who now runs Michelangelo Films, a film production company based in Marina del Rey, Calif. "Before we left, this guy Terry is showing up in my office every day, all enthusiastic. He would talk about Medjugorje."

Sacco was referring to Terry Colafrancesco, then a landscaper who ran his business out of his home in Sterrett in Shelby County.

Today Colafrancesco is the president and founder of Caritas of Birmingham, a religious organization in Sterrett dedicated to promoting devotion to the visions of Medjugorje.

Added March 27, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Italiano
Caritas Of Birmingham

By Sara Foss, Birmingham Post-Herald

When the Flynn and the Littiken families moved to Caritas of Birmingham, they did it for their children.

The idea of a wholesome farming community, where devout Roman Catholics worshipped together and worked side by side, appealed to them.

Added March 27, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Español, Italiano
Caritas Of Birmingham

By Andy Treinen, Fox News 19

Faith is defined as a complete acceptance of a truth which cannot be proved by the process of logical thought. All of us have faith in something, but sometimes our faith is betrayed. That's exactly what happened to a local man who after nine years, came to the realization that he was in a cult.

Tom O'Neill, a Xavier graduate and former teacher at LaSalle High School, was also in the FBI for 20 years. But none of his past work prevented him from making one of the biggest mistakes of his life. Now, his daughter is the one at risk.

"What is happening at Caritas is exactly the same as Waco, Texas," claimed O'Neill.

Added March 27, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Italiano
Caritas Of Birmingham

By Associated Press

A multimillion dollar religious mission in rural Shelby County is under fire from critics and former residents who accuse the leader of brainwashing and financial mismanagement.

Longtime members have left Caritas of Birmingham after becoming disenchanted with the operation, and the organization is named in a federal lawsuit over its work to promote visions of the Virgin Mary.

The disputes center around Terry Colafrancesco, the founder and leader of Caritas, which has a publishing house and operates a travel service to Europe.

Complaints about the organization were revealed Monday in a story by the Birmingham Post-Herald, which said Colafrancesco did not respond to repeated interview requests.

An attorney who has done legal work for Caritas said Colafrancesco and his followers are good people with a "positive mission."

"Terry has always had the philosophy that he doesn't respond to people who say bad things about him," said lawyer Joseph Ritchey.

Added March 27, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Italiano
Caritas Of Birmingham

By Jay Reeves, Montgomery Advertiser

Sterrett -- A multimillion-dollar organization that promotes visions of the Virgin Mary is fighting charges of being a destructive cult as religious pilgrims from across the nation arrive at its Alabama compound seeking spiritual renewal.

Five former residents of Caritas of Birmingham have filed suit in state court seeking an unspecified amount of money from the group and its founder, Terry Colafrancesco.

The suit claims Colafrancesco lures people into Caritas with promises of spiritual enrichment and then drains them of money. Families are made to live in nasty trailers at the group's compound, and Colafrancesco controls their lives almost totally, the suit claims.

Added March 27, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Hrvatski, Italiano
Caritas Of Birmingham

"Considering the above, it can be concluded that if someone supports Caritas of Birmingham, they are supporting a strange, religious sect and this potentially, which may cause serious damage in an individual's personal and family life.

If you are Roman Catholic perhaps you should first seek spiritual direction from the recognized and historic Catholic Church, before becoming involved with Caritas of Birmingham and/or the Community of Caritas."

Added March 27, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Italiano
Caritas Of Birmingham

By Jason Deegan, Ann Arbor News Staff Reporter

The Flynns say they are focused on moving on with their new lives, but they feel obligated to talk about their experiences to warn others. Their terrifying tale started in 1991, when the family sold everything, moving from Jacksonville, Fla., to Birmingham, Ala., to join Caritas, a group the family thought was a religious mission.

Caritas, founded in 1988 by Terry Colafrancesco, claims to be a spiritual community dedicated to promoting the apparitions of the Virgin Mary, which six youths say they witnessed in Medjugorje, Bosnia, in 1981.

Flynn said the family lived in a trailer inside a compound where roughly 50 people of Roman Catholic faith live. The Flynns stayed with Caritas for nine years, despite living under the control of its leaders.

Added March 27, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Caritas Of Birmingham

By Covenant Community Blog

"I am very familiar with covenant communities, however, have had some inquiries regarding Caritas located in Birmingham, Alabama. This group seems to have some similarities to abusive covenant communities."

"What I know is that the group is governed by a former KKK member who believes that his purpose is to have the folks in his group live according to the "teachings" of Mary - related to apparitions in Medjugorje. While most folks whom I know who are involved in Medjugorje prayer groups have a healthy relationship with one another and the Church, Caritas seems over the top."

Added March 27, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Español, Hrvatski, Italiano
Mother Angelica, founder of EWTN

Despite its proximity, whenever anyone asked Mother Angelica about Caritas she never encouraged anyone to visit it.

As for Caritas of Birmingham, the recent bishops of the Birmingham diocese (Boland and Foley) have done nothing to favor this site, and have forbid the celebration of Mass there (though not confessions).

The position of Mother Angelica has always been to discourage people from going there. That is also EWTN's position.

Added March 27, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Español, Italiano
Caritas Of Birmingham

November 25, 2000

Terry Colafrancesco
Caritas of Birmingham
100 Our Lady Queen of Peace Drive
Sterrett, Alabama 35147

Dear Terry,

It has been brought to my attention that in response to questions coming to Caritas about Fr. Svetozar's recent fax expressing the concerns of the Franciscans of St. James in Medjugorje about your community, people are being told:

1. Sr. Emmanuel has been asked to leave Medjugorje.
2. The priests of the parish are trying to stop the messages from going out.

Added March 27, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Español, Italiano
Caritas Of Birmingham

By Adrian J. Reimers, Ph.D., University of Notre Dame for St. James Parish, Medjugorje

Dear Fr. Svetozar,

Here at last are my observations and analysis of the book you sent me, How to Change Your Husband: Owner’s Manual for the Family, by “a Friend of Medjugorje”. The author, as I can recognize from his earlier writings, is Terry Colafrancesco of Caritas of Birmingham. You may feel free to share this letter with Fr. Ivan Sesar, OFM, or with any other person you desire.

Added March 27, 2010 /  Category: Caritas of Birmingham and "A Friend of Medjugorje" Terry Colafrancesco, Sterrett (AL), Alabama
Other languages: English, Español, Italiano
James Francis Cardinal Stafford Letter Caritas Of Birmingham

Dear Ed,

Your letter arrived today. The news you shared with me is distressing. I can barely imagine what Patsy, Tori and you are experiencing.

I have reviewed the requests for recognition as a lay organization with Pontifical approval and found nothing for Caritas in our files. Nor has the priest any knowledge of this group who is responsible in the Pontifical Council for the process of such recognition.

Pontifical recognition can only be given with the recommendations of the local bishop. Groups seeking such recognition also must be international in extent and have letters of support from each bishop in whose diocese they are found. From what you have told me, Bishop Foley not only doesn't support Caritas but has many preoccupations about it. That would stop any formal process for approval at zero.

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For God to live in your hearts, you must love.

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