Insight Scoop | The Ignatius Press Blog

"Where God is, there is the future" | On Benedict XVI in Austria

"Where God is, there is the future" | On Benedict XVI in Austria | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. | October 1, 2007

"Christian theology ... is never a purely human discourse about God, but always, and inseparably, the logos and 'logic' of God's self-revelation.... A theology which no longer draws its life-breath from faith ceases to be theology." -- Benedict XVI, Address at Cistercian Monastery of Heiligenkreuz, September 9, 2007.

"God has called each of us into being and gives us a personal task. God needs each of us and awaits our response." -- Benedict XVI, Vienna Konzerthaus, September 9, 2007.

"Europe cannot and must not deny her Christian roots. These represent a dynamic component of our civilization...." -- Benedict XVI, Address at the Hofburg Palace, Vienna, September 7, 2007.

I.

At the request of the Austrian government and church, Benedict XVI visited Austria from September 7 to September 9. It was the occasion of the 850^th Anniversary of the famous Marian shrine, Mariazell.  On landing at the Vienna's Schwechat airport, where he was greeted by the Austrian President and the Austrian Chancellor, together with the Cardinal Primate of Vienna, the Pope said, "I intend my Pilgrimage to Mariazell to be a journey made in the company of all the pilgrims of our time. In this spirit I will soon lead the people in pray in the center of Vienna, prayer which, like a spiritual pilgrimage, will accompany these days throughout your Country." [1] In his address to the political and diplomatic officials in Vienna, the pope, more familiarly, remarked that this is his first official visit to Austria as Bishop of Rome, but he knew the country well from his earlier visits. "It is—may I say—truly a joy for me to be here. I have many friends here and, as a Bavarian neighbor, Austria's way of life and traditions are familiar to me."

The pope often talks of Europe and its Christian heritage.

Read the entire article...

Counting the cost of culture

I recently read for the second time Roger Scruton's most recent book, Culture Counts (Encounter Books, 2007), and wrote a review of it for Saint Austin Review that will be published (I'm guessing) late this year or early next. I wrote, in part:

Scruton argues that culture is not merely “a repository of factual information or theoretical truth, nor is it a kind of training in skills, whether rhetorical or practical.” It consists of a certain kind of knowledge—“emotional knowledge”—that concerns what a person should do and should feel. This knowledge is rooted in religion, of course, but one of the great challenges of our time is that culture has been freed (or, better, rudely detached) from its religious (“cult”) moorings. This has finally led to many cultural elites, not to mention semi-literate bores, renouncing and attacking the very cultural inheritance that they feast upon. Such people argue, Scruton notes, that “anything goes, and also nothing.” There is no firm ground; there is not even agreement that ground exists. Paradoxically, this new relativism (a topic whose nefarious effects Scruton and Pope Benedict XVI largely agree upon) produces an “obstinate censoriousness.” It is this skepticism that rightly concerns—irritates!—Scruton so much, for it both ignores and denigrates the great works of Western culture, which understand and depict man in all of his glory and failure as a creature endowed with free will, capable of moral judgment, and marked with a hunger for truth: “It is precisely the aspiration toward universal truth, towards a God’s-eye perspective on the human condition, that is the hallmark of Western culture.”

A recent article, "Art, Beauty, and Judgment," by Scruton for The American Spectator draws upon a couple of the central themes/arguments in his book, including the importance and meaning of laughter and the necessity of aesthetic judgment in living a life that rises above mere philistinism:

Most American students come to college with this attitude, and are appalled to discover that there are people who do not merely disagree with their tastes in music, art, and literature (not to speak of clothes, language use, and social relations) but actually look down on their tastes, as inferior to some putative standard. This is very hard to take, and is one cause of the widespread endorsement of cultural relativism in its many forms — since cultural relativism simply lifts aesthetic experience out of the world of judgment altogether, and therefore neutralizes good taste as a value. And the preference for art that desecrates the human image or the public space is connected with this fear of aesthetic judgment. By espousing what is deliberately unlovely and unlovable, you make judgment ridiculous, my judgment as much as yours.

It seems to me, however, that the democratic attitude is in conflict with itself. It is impossible to live as though there are no aesthetic values, while living a real life among real human beings. Manners, clothes, speech, and gestures — all require careful attention to the way things look. In every sphere of human life, from laying a table to giving a funeral speech, aesthetic choices are both necessary and noticed. Without them we cannot solve the vast problem of coordination that arises when a myriad private individuals crowd into a single public space. Hence, in the democratic culture, aesthetic judgment begins to be experienced as an affliction. It imposes an unsustainable burden, something that we must live up to, a world of ideals and aspirations that is in sharp conflict with the tawdriness and imperfection of our own improvised lives. It is perched like an owl on our shoulders, while we try to hide our pet rodents in our clothes. The temptation is to turn on it and shoo it away.

Although (as I point out in my review) I would take issue with some of Scruton's judgments, I do agree with most of his thoughts about culture, and I think that he captures, at least in Culture Counts, a sort of popular, accessible synthesis of Chesterton, Josef Pieper, and T.S. Eliot when it comes to the meaning and importance of high culture.

• Leisure and Its Threefold Opposition | Josef Pieper | From Josef Pieper: An Anthology
• Philosophy and the Sense For Mystery | Josef Pieper | An excerpt from For The Love of Wisdom: Essays On the Nature of Philosophy
• Seeing With the Eyes of G.K. Chesterton | Dale Ahlquist
• Recovering The Lost Art of Common Sense | Dale Ahlquist
• Common Sense Apostle & Cigar Smoking Mystic | Dale Ahlquist
• Chesterton and the Delight of Truth | James V. Schall, S.J.
• The Life and Theme of G.K. Chesterton | Randall Paine | An Introduction to The Autobiography of G.K. Chesterton
• Hot Water and Fresh Air: On Chesterton and His Foes | Janet E. Smith
• The Life of the Mind | An interview with cultural critic Roger Kimball

Roy Schoeman: Catholicism is fulfilled Judaism

The September 30th issue of National Catholic Register has an interview with Roy Schoeman, author of Salvation Is From the Jews and editor of the recently published Honey From The Rock: Sixteen Jews Find the Sweetness of Christ, both published by Ignatius Press. A subscription is required to read the interview online, but here is an excerpt:

What do you think is intriguing people about what you have written?

When I wrote the first book, I thought that it would appeal to a very small section of Catholics who for some reason had a similar interest in Jews and Judaism. And I was very surprised it became somewhat of a best-seller and hit such a responsive chord among a wide range of Catholics.

One reason for it I think is that Judaism and the Catholic faith are not two different faith systems. They are exactly the same religion, separated in time by the fact of the coming of the Messiah.

And therefore, looking at the relationship between the two resonates very deeply and richly, and makes somehow more concrete and more compelling for Catholic readers their own Catholic faith.

I think there is another dimension too. I think that we are living in the times that St. Paul alluded to in the Letter of the Romans when the number of the Gentiles is close to complete, when the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, the veil will be lifted from the eyes of the Jews and there will be a wave of Jewish entry into the Church, and that will be the final completion of the Church to precede the Second Coming.

I think because that supernaturally it is that time, on some level therefore God is inspiring this interest.

Related Ignatius Insight interviews and book excerpts:

• "Jews Demand Signs" | An IgnatiusInsight.com Interview with Roy Schoeman (September 2007)
• Jews Find the Sweetness of Christ | Preface to Honey From the Rock | Roy Schoeman
• Judaism Fulfilled | An Interview with Roy H. Schoeman
• The Jews and the Second Coming | Roy H. Schoeman

Father Fessio on wayward theologians

A news piece by Eric Gorski of the Associated Press (ht: Jeff Miller) takes a look at the relationship between the Vatican and certain theologians, most notably Fr. Peter Phan of Georgetown and does a predictably poor job of providing an accurate and helpful framework:

It's not easy being a Roman Catholic theologian these days. Trying to explain a centuries-old faith's place in modern times is hard enough. Now some Catholic thinkers worry the Vatican is more concerned with unity than messy debates that can lead to new ideas.

The case of the Rev. Peter Phan is the latest example of the tension between church authorities and Catholic theologians. A 2004 book by Phan, a Georgetown University professor, has come under scrutiny for going beyond the Vatican's comfort zone in suggesting that other religions might have merit.

Get it? The Vatican is opposed to debate and fresh thinking, and is certainly against saying anything positive about other religions. Which doesn't go far in explaining why the Catholic Church is consistently reaching out to dialogue with religions such as Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam, and why the Church has, in the past fifty years or so, made numerous nuanced and often positive statements about those and other religions/religious groups. Even that much reviled (and much misrepresented) document, Dominus Iesus, has no qualms about reiterating what Nostra aetate had to say about such matters:

In considering the values which these religions witness to and offer humanity, with an open and positive approach, the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on the relation of the Church to non-Christian religions states: “The Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions. She has a high regard for the manner of life and conduct, the precepts and teachings, which, although differing in many ways from her own teaching, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men”. Continuing in this line of thought, the Church's proclamation of Jesus Christ, “the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6), today also makes use of the practice of inter-religious dialogue. Such dialogue certainly does not replace, but rather accompanies the missio ad gentes, directed toward that “mystery of unity”, from which “it follows that all men and women who are saved share, though differently, in the same mystery of salvation in Jesus Christ through his Spirit”. Inter-religious dialogue, which is part of the Church's evangelizing mission, requires an attitude of understanding and a relationship of mutual knowledge and reciprocal enrichment, in obedience to the truth and with respect for freedom. (par 2)

That "obedience to the truth" is certainly a big part of the issue with various theologians; more specifically, are they correctly representing and articulating the Church's belief that Jesus Christ is unique, is the Savior, and is not merely a "symbol" of salvation or one savior figure among many? (By the way, an excellent resource for getting into the details of the Fr. Phan situation is this page, created by Christopher Blosser.)

The AP piece later gets two very different takes on the matter from two very different Jesuits:

The Rev. Thomas Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown, said the Vatican too often views the Catholic theologian as working in an echo chamber, repeating back church teachings and documents.

The process of debating theology can be messy, but better to endure the messiness than stifle thought, said Reese, who was forced to resign as editor of America magazine after it published articles challenging church teaching.

"If you knew a company where the executive leadership was not on speaking terms with the research division, would you invest in that company?" Reese said. "That's what we have in the Catholic church today. The hierarchy is very suspicious of the theologians and the theologians are very suspicious of the hierarchy. And that's a very unhealthy situation."

The Rev. Joseph Fessio, a former doctoral student of Pope Benedict whose publishing house is the primary publisher of the pope's writings in English, said the Vatican is neither heavy-handed nor close-minded in weighing questionable theology. What often fails to be disclosed, he said, is the long process allowing all sides to be heard.

"It's important for theologians to talk to each other, reflect and try to reformulate and understand more deeply what the church's belief is," Fessio said. "But if they move outside the realm of the church as soundly defined, then it's a sign that they have gone beyond their competence as a theologian."

"You can boil it down pretty simply," Fessio said. "Who has the final say in on what Catholics must believe? The answer is, 'not the theologians.'"

Frankly, it has become rather difficult to take Fr. Reese's statements seriously, especially when it comes to blaming "executive leadership" for all problems. This is, after all, a man who has mischaracterized the personality and work of Pope Benedict XVI, for whom he seems to have open disdain. Father Fessio makes an especially important point about how theological investigations are carried out. The work of the Vatican is like an iceburg: it not only moves slowly, but 90% of what is happening isn't reported or known, but is below the surface. In other words, the CDF spends much time and effort trying to resolve issues in a quiet and private manner. The MSM, of course, uses bright, bold and blinding colors in painting such investigations within the stereotypical paradigm of the Close Minded, Reactionary Authoritarians vs. the Open Minded, Brilliant Progressives.

But, as Fr. Fessio notes, the issue is one of authority and who has the final say in matters of doctrine and practice. To use Fr. Reese's analogy, it is as though the marketing department of Company RCC is stating that a particular product contains these ingredients and performs these tasks, even though the product does not contain those ingredients or perform those tasks. In a sense, it is about truth in advertising; it is about correctly explaining and articulating what the Church teaches, even in the midst of theological projects that are speculative and complex in nature. The Magisterium (and the Church as a whole) has been entrusted with taking care of "the product"—the Gospel—and cannot allow the integrity of that product to be compromised by those who are entrusted with the task of better understanding and communicating the truth about that product. Especially when it is a matter of eternal salvation.

200 million people have given up...

... on blogging, according to a study cited by Ted Olsen in a Christianity Today post titled, "The Death of Blogs." Olsen writes:

"A lot of people have been in and out of this thing," Gartner analyst Daryl Plummer told reporters. "Everyone thinks they have something to say, until they're put on stage and asked to say it." Given the average lifespan of a blogger and the current growth rate of blogs, Gartner says blogging has probably peaked.

Which isn't to say that blogging is dead. Quite the opposite. Blog aggregator Technoratiestimates that 3 million new blogs are launched every month. The site's tongue-in-cheek slogan: "Zillions of photos, videos, blogs, and more. Some of them have to be good."

Actually, some Christian blogs are very good. What tired bloggers are increasingly discovering, however, is that it's not necessarily the quality of their blog posts that matter. It's matching their quality with frequency.

As conservative political blogger Glenn Reynolds told Wired News in 2004, "I know that if I go more than about five or six hours without posting or telling people that I'm not going to be blogging for the rest of the day, [I'll get worried messages asking,] 'You haven't posted anything in five or six hours. Are you okay?'"

"Good bloggers work like dogs," says Michael Parsons, editor of the tech site CNet.co.uk. "You can't expect readers to show up unless you show up. And the Internet never closes. … Every successful blogger I've come across is the same. Eat, sleep, and drink the work. No time out; no holidays."

That's not a recipe for healthy living, especially if you're working a day job that's not paying you to blog. When Catholic blogger Amy Welborn shut downOpen Book in August to focus on writing books, she wrote: "I want to do good, and I want to do lasting good — the kind of good that people carry around, share, put on their bookshelves and reflect on — rather than the kind of good that sparks a momentary flash until we surf to the next website and the next and the next."

As Olsen rightly notes, blogging can become an obsession that causes bloggers to feel as though they must comment on nearly everything. And, conversely, to think that if they didn't post about That Hot Topic or This Breaking Story (Olsen: "The blog world risks becoming one giant midrash on The New York Times front page."), they've somehow failed, let down their readers, become irrelevant. One of the nice things about doing most of the blogging on the Insight Scoop is that I always have in mind (okay, nearly always) that this blog is primarily about Ignatius Press and related issues, which helps keep things in some sort of focus. Sure, I go off on little tangents (witness what you are currently reading) and undoubtedly raise some eyebrows now and then in the home office. But, frankly, I'm rather glad I don't have a CarlOlson.Blog.com. If I did, I'd probably lose everything: my mind, my family, my house, my Jeff Buckley boxed sets collection, and my ultra-high level of physical fitness (the last one was a joke, unfortunately). I'd post madly about everything; blogging would soon supplant reality, and life would end up consisting of blogging about a life I actually wouldn't be living.

So, what is my point? Well, I don't really have one. I just felt like I needed to post something before people started wondering if I was doing alright.

Can priestettes understand simple English?

Do they know the difference between a man and a woman? We've seen this on a regular basis lately but, hey, why not let yet another reporter/priestette team explain how it is that women who are "ordained" are Catholic even though they aren't recognized as such by the Catholic Church. From the San Jose Mercury Times (ht: GetReligion.org):

Like many devout Catholics, Juanita and Don Cordero kicked off their Sept. 15 wedding anniversary by attending Mass. Four of the couple's five grown children were in attendance, helping to mark the occasion of the Corderos' marriage 36 years ago.

But the entire family wasn't sitting in the front pew during the service. Instead, the Rev. Juanita Cordero, an ordained Catholic priest, was up on the altar, celebrating the Mass.

Cordero, a Los Gatos resident, has been a priest since July. Prior to her ordination she spent 10 years as a Holy Names nun. Though extremely happy in the order, she still felt that something was missing in her life.

"God kept calling me to something else," she explains. "I didn't know what it was, or rather, what I thought it might be was something that just wasn't possible for women at the time."

After a decade in the convent, she left to try to figure out what God had in store for her. She met and fell in love with Don, a former Jesuit priest. The couple married, settled in town and started a family. Their lives were full: For three decades Don taught astronomy and was a counselor at West Valley College in Saratoga, while Juanita began her career as a teacher in the child development/education division at De Anza College in Cupertino. She also works as a nurse and Don serves on the board of trustees for the West Valley/Mission College District.

Readers are told what a sincere and passionate person that Juanita is, since everyone knows that sincerity and doing what you think is right trumps oppressive male power every time:

Ever committed to her faith, Cordero remained in close contact with clergy members from various religions. She even contemplated becoming an Episcopalian minister when that role became available to women. But, she says, "In my bones I'm Catholic, and the Lord kept calling me back to that faith."

Then she attended a conference of Women's Ordination Worldwide, an international organization that advocates for the ordination of women as deacons, priests and bishops. She met members of Roman Catholic Womenpriests, whose numbers included Bishop Patricia Fresen. Fresen had been ordained a priest in 2003 by three German bishops. The trio chose to hold Fresen's ordination ceremony aboard a boat on Germany's Danube River.

"Not only was this a symbol of 'baptism,' it also happened to be outside of the jurisdiction of other bishops who might try to put a stop to it," Cordero says with a laugh. But all three of the bishops were in good standing with the Vatican, which Cordero says is the key to the "validity" of Fresen's ordination. Fresen herself was then elevated to bishop two years later.

"The Vatican, of course, doesn't recognize women as priests," Cordero notes. "We now have a pope who'd like to return the Mass to Latin, so that's not likely to change anytime soon. But throughout history, if a bishop or priest had been validly ordained by another bishop, even if that new bishop or priest did something wrong he was still validly ordained. My succession line comes from those male bishops so we are validly ordained, even if the Vatican considers us 'illicit.' "

No, the Catholic Church considers these "ordinations" to be both illicit and invalid; that is, what transpired was not only illegal according to Church law, it didn't even transpire. I know that the following paragraph from the Catechism of the Catholic Church is quite theologically involved and complex, but if we carefully read the big words (i.e., "not possible" and "only a baptized man") and concentrate reeeeeeeeeeeally hard, I think the meaning is fairly obvious:

"Only a baptized man (vir) validly receives sacred ordination." The Lord Jesus chose men (viri) to form the college of the twelve apostles, and the apostles did the same when they chose collaborators to succeed them in their ministry. The college of bishops, with whom the priests are united in the priesthood, makes the college of the twelve an ever-present and ever-active reality until Christ's return. The Church recognizes herself to be bound by this choice made by the Lord himself. For this reason the ordination of women is not possible. (par 1577)

For more details, read the pertinent section in the Code of Canon Law.

Finally:

After several years of study and earning a degree in theology, Cordero became the first woman in California to be ordained as a Catholic priest (another of Cordero's colleagues, Victoria Rue, was ordained earlier in Pittsburgh, Pa.; Rue teaches comparative religious studies, women's studies and theater at San Jose State University). Says Cordero, "The ordinations in Pittsburgh, where I became a deacon, were the first to take place in the United States. There were only four protestors, which we thought was a good thing. One person's sign said, 'Jesus was a man.' Well, duh! We all just laughed."

Yes, "duh!" indeed. After all, everyone knows the difference between a man and a woman. Right?

Focus Groups and Marriage: A Match Made for Heartache

           
      
Focus Groups and Marriage: A Match Made for Heartache | Mary Beth Bonacci | IgnatiusInsight.com

The Church bases her teachings on truth, not market research

I just read a very interesting article in U.S. Catholic magazine ("A Betrothal Proposal" by Michael G. Lawler and Gail S. Risch.) In it, Lawler and Risch argue that modern marital "practice" (co-habitation, then marriage) resembles ancient marital practice (betrothal, then marriage), and that as a Church we should return to a marital "rite" wherein couple become betrothed, then live together as husband and wife, then celebrate the wedding.

These people are Catholic, but it seems to me they know very little about the Catholic understanding of human sexuality.

Read the entire column...

Mary in Byzantine Doctrine and Devotion

Mary in Byzantine Doctrine and Devotion | Brother John M. Samaha, S.M.                
       
In the various Christian traditions Marian doctrine and devotion take shape in manifold and diverse ways. Since the Second Vatican Council the Church has striven to promote a new and more careful study of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, in the mystery of Christ and of the Church; to encourage theological faculties in the pursuit of knowledge, research, and piety with regard to Mary of Nazareth. The Mother of the Lord is understood as a "datum of revelation" and a "maternal presence" always operative in the life of the Church. [1]

The history of theological reflection witnesses to the Church's faith and attention regarding the Virgin Mary and her mission in the history of salvation. Especially is this evident in the Western Church. [2]

The deeper understanding of the mystery of the Theotokos, the more profound is the understanding of the mystery of Christ, of the Church, and of the vocation of humanity. Concerning Mary, everything is relative to Christ; only in the mystery of Christ is her mystery fully clear. Conversely it may generally be said that knowing Mary illuminates our appreciation of the mystery of Christ and of the Church. [3]

Read the entire article...

Evangelicals and Catholics in Dialogue in San Diego

From the Stand to Reason blog, this news:

The Evangelical Philosophical Society will have their annual meeting on November 14, 15, and 16, 2007 in San Diego.  The event will be held at the Town and Country Convention Center in Mission Valley.

On Friday, November 16th, there will be a panel discussion, Evangelicals and Catholics in Dialogue from 2:10-3:50 p.m. in Room 200.  Evangelicals involved are Timothy George, Dean of Beeson Divinity School and Ralph MacKenzie, Director of San Diego Christian Forum.  Catholic participants will be Mark Brumley, President of Ignatius Press and Fr. Anthony Saroki, Director for Priestly Vocations, Diocese of San Diego.

Events and documents involving both groups including the Declaration Dominus Iesus and the recent statement from the Vatican on the view of itself in relation to Protestant Churches will be addressed.  There will be opportunity for questions from the floor and the event is open to the public.  The event will be chaired by Paul Copan, President of EPS.

For those readers who might not be familiar with Mark Brumley, he is (in addition to being my boss) a former Evangelical who is not only president of Ignatius Press, but teaches theology, writes (when he has time), and has been quite involved in a number of Catholic-Evangelical dialogues. One example of the latter is his 2003 article for This Rock titled, "What Catholics Can Learn From Evangelicals."

Six nuns in Ark excommunicated for joining the Army

Okay, that's somewhat misleading. The actual story, as reported by the Pine Bluff Commercial:

LITTLE ROCK - Six Arkansas nuns have been excommunicated from the Catholic Church for heresy for embracing the movement of a Canadian group, the Catholic Diocese of Little Rock announced Wednesday.

The diocese said the six from the Good Shepherd Monastery of Our Lady of Charity and Refuge in Hot Springs were excommunicated for "knowingly and deliberately" embracing the teachings of the Community of the Lady of All Peoples, also known as the Army of Mary.

And, from the September 14th edition of Catholic News Agency:

The Vatican has excommunicated members of the controversial Community of the Lady of All Nations, better known as the Army of Mary, based in the Archdiocese of Quebec.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued the declaration of excommunication on July 11, after extensive consultations with the Canadian bishops and the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. Pope Benedict XVI approved the declaration, which was only announced by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops on Sept. 12.

Despite repeated warnings by the Canadian bishops, including their local bishop, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, members of the Army of Mary participated in ordinations forbidden by the Catholic Church.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said it was forced to issue the declaration because of “the very grave situation” and because there was no “hope of another solution.” The investigation into the Army of Mary has been going on for six years.

Those excommunicated include Fr. Jean-Pierre Mastropietro for having attempted to perform ordinations as well as the six “priests” and “deacons” claiming to have been ordained by him.

And from a recent Catholic News Service piece:

In 2001, the Canadian bishops issued a doctrinal note confirming that the teachings promoted by the Army of Mary were contrary to fundamental doctrines of the church.

It identified several specific problem areas:

-- The supposed revelations received by the Army of Mary's founder demonstrates a mistaken understanding of the purpose and function of private revelation in the church, which cannot introduce new doctrinal truths, it said.

-- Some of the group's teaching about "redemption, the Virgin Mary and reincarnation are profoundly at variance with the teaching and profession of the faith of the Catholic Church," it said.

Specifically, it said, the group erroneously affirms that although Mary was once the historical mother of Jesus, she is now "reincarnated" and "dwells" in the very person of the recipient of these presumed private revelations.

-- The group's Marian devotion contains "many elements that are patently contrary to the teaching of the church, especially with regards to Mary's place in God's plan of redemption and her nonrepeatable, irreplaceable role in salvation history," it said.