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UPDATE ON NAJU
November 9, 2000
In
recent months, the number of pilgrims to Naju both from inside Korea
and from abroad has been steadily increasing. During the overnight
prayer meetings on First Saturdays and special anniversaries, not
only the Chapel but also the outside yard and alleys become filled
with pilgrims. More people now seem to understand the true facts
about Naju:
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The
local bishop’s negative declaration on Naju, announced on
January 1, 1998, lacked unity and collegiality with the Holy
Father and other bishops in the Church;
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The
negative statement on the Eucharistic miracles in Naju, which is
the backbone of the declaration, stands on a serious doctrinal
error — namely, the statement that the Eucharistic species of
bread and wine must remain unchanged, which in effect rejects
all of the Eucharistic miracles in Church history as being in
conflict with Church teaching. Our Lord uses the species of
bread and wine in the Blessed Sacrament to ease our consuming of
the Eucharist and also to give us an opportunity to profess our
faith before receiving Him, but the Kwangju declaration makes
Our Lord a permanent prisoner of the species of bread and wine.
In other words, the declaration is telling Our Lord to remain
confined to the appearances of bread and wine indefinitely.
After the declaration was announced, the chief theologian of the
investigating committee, who is believed to have composed the
declaration, explained that the real reason for rejecting the
Eucharistic miracles in Naju was to promote unity with the
Protestants. He is talking about giving up some of the Church
doctrines to appease the Protestants. In our opinion, it will
not promote unity with the Protestants, because they would laugh
at our willingness to compromise our beliefs;
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The
teaching authority in the Church is a servant for protecting the
purity of God’s teachings (cf. Catechism of the Catholic
Church #86). It is never an authority to alter, add to,
or subtract from the authentic Church teachings. Individual
bishops, priests, theologians, and lay people must always strive
to remain loyal to the Church tradition and remain in unity with
the Pope to avoid deviating from the authentic teachings of the
Church.
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“Because
the Eucharistic miracles in Naju violate the Church teaching”
according to the Kwangju declaration, the investigating
committee decided not to conduct any scientific investigation of
the evidences of the miracles in Naju. Besides, only 14
witnesses were superficially questioned by the committee. In
contrast, in Betania, Venezuela, the bishop personally
interviewed about 2,000 witnesses. When just one Eucharistic
miracle occurred in Betania, the bishop became convinced and
announced his official recognition. The Kwangju investigating
committee not only distorted Church teachings but also ignored
facts;
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Even
though the local bishop in Kwangju stated negatively on Naju, at
least five other bishops, who personally experienced miraculous
signs in Naju, recognized their authenticity: (1) Archbishop
Giovanni Bulaitis, who was the Apostolic Pro-Nuncio in Korea
until 1997; (2) Bishop Roman Danylak of Toronto, Canada; (3)
Bishop Dominic Su of Sibu, Malaysia; (4) Bishop Paul Kim of
Cheju, Korea; and (5) Bishop Daniel Chi of Wonju, Korea. We also
know that the Holy Father is well informed about the events in
Naju and is favorable on them. The Kwangju bishop should have
consulted with the Holy Father and other bishops before making
his announcement, because there cannot be such a thing as an
independent diocesan or national Catholic Church; the Catholic
Church must maintain universality and unity around the world
standing firmly on the rock of the Bishop of Rome;
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The
bishop of Kwangju will be retiring at the end of this month. We
don’t know if he will take any official action to remedy the
current uneasy situation. Anyway, he is not closing down the
Chapel in Naju; nor is he prohibiting pilgrims from gathering
and praying in Naju. We understand that the Vatican has advised
the Kwangju bishop to be more open to those who believe in the
genuineness of Naju, while several modernist priests in his
diocese, who were the leading members of the investigating
committee, have been vigorously seeking to close down the Chapel
in Naju and stop pilgrimages. The Kwangju bishop has rejected
their demands.
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On
the bottom line, the current conflict regarding Naju is a
struggle between those who want to be loyal to the Church
teachings and to the Magisterium and those others who want the
modernist reforms to continue and prevail in the Church. It is
no surprise that the leading opponents of Naju are also
proponents of what the Holy Father has been denouncing: female
priesthood, abolition of the celibacy of priests, more
democratic management of the Church, explaining away the
accounts in the Scripture as fables, and so on. Even though they
continuously assail the teaching authority in the Church in
their own publications, they are now using the teaching
authority to discourage the faithful from accessing truths and
facts.
In
the mean time, Julia continues her life of prayer and intense
suffering, and the amazing miracles continue in Naju, especially
through the water from the Blessed Mother’s spring on the mountain
near Naju. In several cases, the water turned into real mother’s
milk, and, on numerous occasions, the water has been an instrument
for spiritual and physical healings. So many people are experiencing
the fragrance of roses.
A
Testimony
by Ms. Yolanda
Chankuo of San Francisco
after her pilgrimage to Naju in October 2000
We had a very good pilgrimage — many healings, miracles
and conversions. First we went to the spring on October 19 for the
anniversary Mass with Fr. Francis Su from Malaysia and eleven
pilgrims from Singapore. There were 17 of us from the United States.
A man by the name of Prudentio had an illness in his
knees. As he dropped to the ground, he started screaming. We
surrounded him and prayed for him. When Julia was informed of his
illness, she asked someone to bring water from the spring and prayed
over him. He was shaking and covered his eyes with his hands. I
asked him what he felt. He said that he was not sure. Eventually, he
calmed down and was able to get up. He described seeing a very
bright red light around him like fire. He was frightened thinking
that it might have been caused by the devil. Pictures taken by
another pilgrim showed what appeared like flames. Julia said that he
was healed. He stopped taking his medicine from then on. The pains
have subsided. He will see his doctor when he returns. He gave his
testimony during the overnight prayer meeting.
About ten minutes after Mass, Julia started suffering
intensely and had to be carried to the van. She continued suffering
for the rest of the day at home. She called Fr. Su to bless her
again and to give her the last rites thinking that she was dying.
Fr. Su told us that this was because one of the pilgrims had not
confessed her sin of abortion or had not made a confession for a
long time. Everyone then went to confession. Some have not gone for
3 years; some for 10 years. After the overnight prayer service,
Julia was better and waved at us from her upstairs bedroom window.
The following days were more relaxing. Pilgrims went to
the annual kimchee festival in Kwangju and saw a traditional Korean
wedding ceremony. We had Mass on the mountain again with Fr. Ai as
the celebrant. He spoke about the great importance of Julia. He said
that we need to realize God’s will to reveal the truth of the Real
Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. He explained in detail what
occurs during the process of Transubstantiation; how in appearance
the Host still looks like bread, and the consecrated wine like wine.
But, in reality, the substance has been transformed into the real
flesh of Jesus and the substance of wine into the blood of Jesus.
Only on Julia’s tongue was this truth externally revealed. Sadly,
a great percentage of Catholics and even some priests do not believe
this truth any more. Hence, the great importance of all that is
happening in Naju.
On our last day on October 23, we went back to the
mountain and Julia came also. She prayed and sang by the spring and
was crying. There were also some Japanese pilgrims with Mr. Park.
Julia wiped her tears with her handkerchief. On the handkerchief,
brown stains like old blood appeared, even though she was not
bleeding. She passed it around and it was intensely fragrant. Peter
told me later that when he looked at the handkerchief again, the
stains had disappeared.
The same pilgrim who took pictures of Prudentio took
pictures of the sun, which appeared on film like a big blood spot.
Julia then blessed each pilgrim with a cloth pouch containing the
Blessed Mother’s tears. She said that she was praying in the
Chapel on June 12 of this year, when she heard a loud thud. She
looked at the Blessed Mother’s statue and two big tear drops fell
at the foot of the statue. It also had a very intense fragrance.
Many pilgrims fell down when Julia prayed for them. They reported
feeling like they were floating and felt very peaceful. For many it
was their first experience of “resting in the Spirit.” Peter
then gave us a tour up to the very top of the mountain taking a
completely new route back to the Chapel. It was very beautiful and
scenic. In the Chapel, we prayed ten more decades of the Rosary and
said our private good-bye to the Blessed Mother. Some pilgrims
became very sad and were crying. When we last saw Julia, she still
looked like she was eight months pregnant, suffering for the sins of
abortion in the world.
In the bus back to Seoul, Fr. Ai talked about how we
should really live the Mass to imitate Our Lord. Then, each pilgrim
gave a testimony of his or her meaningful experiences in Naju. I
pray that, for each one, the miracles, healings, and other
supernatural phenomena they experienced, will not just be beautiful
and pious memories but will truly bear fruits to spread the messages
of love given by our Blessed Mother and thus to hasten the
establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth as was His original plan
in creating mankind.
God bless you.
Yolanda
November 4, 2000
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