Medjugorje News & Articles by month April, 2010

The many accounts of personal stories involving Medj. show how only the hand of God can get to the bottom of a person’s heart and radically change it.

This is the story of a young woman who lives in a religious community in Medj. She was born in a Catholic family; her parents practised their faith, but from when she was a little girl, she felt nauseated by everything they did. At first, out of respect, she hid these feelings from them, but when she was only 13, her heart was already distant from them, from prayer and from God.

Jim Caviezel became the world famous actor with leading role in Mel Gibson’s movie “Passion”. Who is that actor that has so impressively become one with character of Jesus? Personally, he claims that if it wasn’t for Medjugorje, he wouldn’t have ever even accepted that role. Namely, in Medjugorje he had experienced certain dimension of faith that was unknown to him up to that point. In February he came to Medjugorje for the sixth time as pilgrim, and he visited Vienna after that trip. While he was in Vienna he had interview with Christian Stelzer for magazine “Oase des Friedens”, and interview translated in Croatian can be found in new edition of “Glasnik mira” from Medjugorje.

“Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”
(John 20,21)

To all parishioners, pilgrims, friends, benefactors, and to all men of goodwill a

Blessed and Happy Easter!

Parish priest and the Franciscans

Photos

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.

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.

Fr. Carmelo, you spent two years in Medjugorje. How did you get this opportunity, and what does it mean for you now?

It was definitely a call by Our Lady, and it was through a small article precisely in the Echo of Mary which said there wasn't an Italian priest in Medjugorje to look after the Italian pilgrims. I took this as a personal call, and I asked Our Lady to provide a ticket to get there and a place to stay as a sign that it really was for me. Not long after this, whilst having dinner with friends, one of them said he had an extra ticket to go to Medjugorje and that he wanted to give it to someone. Then, at Medjugorje I asked Fr. Slavko about it and he confirmed that Our Lady had called me to stay there so I could better comprehend God's plans.

VATICAN CITY, 13 APR 2010 (VIS) - Press Office of the Holy See

The International Investigative Commission on Medjugorje met for its first session on 26 March 2010.

The Commission, presided over by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, His Holiness' vicar general emeritus for the diocese of Rome, is composed of the following members:

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.

Apart from the many Catholics who visit Medjugorje to venerate the Queen of Peace, of late there have also been an increasing number of non-Catholic Christians who visit Medjugorje to pray to Our Lady with trust and to ask for Her motherly intercession before God. A recent visit was paid by Anglican minister, Robert Llewelyn. Despite his age, he is spritely, and deeply spiritual. Peace and joy irradiate from his every word.

• 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".

The Franciscan basilica at Tomislavgrad in Herzegovina, where the Croatian king, Tomislav, was crowned 900 years ago, saw a particularly solemn ceremony this year when a group of young men took their vows. Apart from the eight seminarians from Herzegovina, who were surrounded by the whole Franciscan family and a swarm of family members and friends, there were four brothers from abroad: three Americans and one Australian.

Medjugorje, 1. - 6. 8. 2010.

„Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?“ (Mk 10:17)