Matt C. Abbott: "Seminary professor speaks on Marian apparitions and the Catholic Church"

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Seminary professor speaks on Marian apparitions and the Catholic Church

Matt C. Abbott

Matt C. Abbott
March 10, 2010

The following is the text of a talk — unedited and without commentary — given on March 8, 2010 by Father Emery de Gaál, Ph.D., chairman and associate professor of systematic theology at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Ill., at Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral. The talk was part of a mini-conference that featured one of the alleged seers of Medjugorje, Ivan Dragicevic. Many thanks to Father de Gaál for providing me with the text of his talk.

I should like to thank Father Matt Compton for inviting me to speak to you today and Mr. Dennis Johnson for kindly introducing me to you.

Dear Friends of Our Lady,

Christian, Catholic Faith is always something joyful and objective. The incarnation of Our Savior Jesus Christ, the annunciation in Nazareth, his supernatural birth in Bethlehem, his preaching; they all constitute an objective reality; likewise Our Lord's crucifixion and resurrection are objective, tangible facts, accessible to the senses.

For this reason we Catholics want our faith experience to be not a mere premonition, a subjective sentiment or a private feeling or experience, but something the Church universal can verify and confirm for us. Thus all Catholics the world over can celebrate a particular aspect of our faith. This includes Marian visions and apparitions.

The apparitions in Medjugorje are an ongoing phenomenon that has yet to come to an end. Only when they have been completed, can the proper Church authorities pass judgment on them. The Italian weekly Panorama reports Cardinal Ruini will head a commission exploring a recognition of the Medjugorje apparitions. Yet, there is no gainsaying, already now we, as Catholic faithful, can state that there are numerous and bountiful blessings originating in the small town of Medjugorje since the year 1981. The renowned Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar considered Medjugorje authentic. So does the most noted living Mariologist, the French theologian Father René Laurentin.

Continue reading here: http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/abbott/100310

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Matt C. Abbott is a Catholic columnist with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication, Media and Theatre from Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago, and an Associate in Applied Science degree in Business Management from Triton College in River Grove, Ill. He has worked in the right-to-life movement and is a published writer focused on Catholic and social issues. He can be reached at mattcabbott@gmail.com

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