"THE TRUTH ABOUT THE SECRET OF LA SALETTE

THE COUNTERFEIT VERSION OF OUR LADY'S SECRET

It is this secret, already several times printed, distributed, commented on and recommended by various authors, both ecclesiastical and lay, that M. Mariavi has thought fit to give to the public, presenting it as 'The Gospel of the Virgin Mary', to accompany and complement the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

"In order to answer your question Monseigneur, I have just read the two pamphlets concerning which you desire to know my opinion. It is absolutely unfavourable. The authors of previous publications, to do with this secret, were condemned, if not because of the secret itself, at least because of the scope and the consequences they gave it. A similar fate awaits this present publication.

" I. - It seems, in fact, that we do not have here the secret handed by the Bishop of Grenoble's envoys to HH Pope Pius IX in 1851. In its present form, it was written by Milanie Calvat, but on various occasions and in successive fragments, and seems rather to be the result of a personal composition than an exact repetition of the original text given to Pius IX, and which is said to be no longer in the Vatican.

" II. - As it stands, this secret has no value other than as Milanie Calvat's personal statement, supported by the signature of two bishops from around Naples. Milanie seems to have been sincerely pious, but she may have been deluded, and it seems that her 'mission', instead of extending to our period, ended with the Church's recognition of the reality of the Apparition.

" III. - What is certain, according to a well informed author, is that the first versions of the secret were less developed than the last; it is probable, therefore, that under the influence of the setting in which her life ended, Milanie amplified the first form of the writing she had had sent to the Pope; for certain, we do not have here an official copy of the secret handed to Pius IX. Only the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office could, with the Pope's consent, seek out the original and so determine, against the original contents, its true authority.

" IV. - The nature of this secret, as we read it today, is so strange, arranged in such a confused manner, containing particular allusions to politics, it seems to favour, in such a very precise way, the errors of the ancient millenarists - in that it announces a renovation to be accomplished in time and on earth, unlike the teaching of the true religion about the general resurrection at the end of the world, and about the eternal happiness of the elect - that one necessarily hesitates to ascribe it a heavenly origin. Finally, and more especially, the commentator has taken such liberty in evaluating and judging the Catholic hierarchy, in all its degrees, that one wonders what basis there is for the severity of his words, which would not be out of place in the pages of a newspaper most hostile to the Christian faith. One also wonders how he allies the true piety he professes with the harshness he displays towards persons worthy of every respect.

"What aggravates the rashness of these judgements is that they are, on several occasions, given in a form that is both mocking and insulting, which is belied by the character and dignity of the persons the author sees fit to denounce.

"The holy pope Pius IX, venerable cardinals such as Mgr Perraud, Mgr Lugon and Mgr Sevin, bishops like Mgr Maurin of Grenoble, and all his predecessors down to Mgr Ginoulhiac, of such learned memory: all are included in the hurtful reproaches, which the commentator dares to attribute in the first place to the Most Blessed Virgin Herself!

"And all this is written and published, offered and distributed for those who would like to find in these pages food for their curiosity. Would they learn charity and love by learning to despise the legitimate authority of the priesthood? For, the remarkable thing is that this Christian, this Catholic, seems to savour a sort of enjoyment in scourging the leaders of holy Church, those whom he mocks in calling them 'our princes'

"You will not, therefore be surprised, Monseigneur, if I condemn these two pamphlets by Dr Mariavi, if I rebuke their spirit and their character, and if I advise the faithful not to read them.

"With my affectionate respect,

A., cardinal de Cabrihres

Bishop of Montpellier.

(Le Hidec, Les secrets de La Salette, p. 164-167)

ACCOUNT OF THE APPARITION OF OUR LADY OF LA SALETTE

"...All sensational publications, therefore, produced to feed public curiosity with the supposed Secrets of La Salette and their fanciful interpretations, must be regarded as suspect. This rash diffusion of literature was condemned by the Holy Office in 1880. All pamphlets or reviews, books or memoirs, emanating from these obstinate visionaries, were successively banned by the competent authorities..."

http://www.crc-internet.org/salette2.htm

Message from the Mountain, by John Hauf

...Melanie Calvat made many attempts at the religious life, but had become opinionated by her celebrity status and associated with people obsessed with popular prophecies, pseudo-apocalyptic and pseudo-mystical phenomena. She issued prophecies and linked them to the secret given to her by Our Lady. This became such a problem that in 1854, Bishop Ginoulhiac of Grenoble wrote, "the predictions attributed to Melanie . . . have no basis in fact; they have no importance with regard to La Salette . . . they have come after La Salette and have nothing to do with it." On September l9, 1855, on the mountain at La Salette, the bishop proclaimed, "The mission of the shepherds is here- with ended, that of the Church begins.'

Melanie died on December 14, 1904, at Altamura, near Bari, Italy. She is buried beneath a marble column with a bas-relief depiction of Our Lady welcoming her into heaven. In spite of her unapproved writings, Melanie was always faithful to her original account of the apparition and message of La Salette. She demonstrated this at the Shrine of La Salette during her last visit there September 8-19,1902.

"... obsessed ... pseudo-apocalyptic and pseudo-mystical phenomena ... ... issued prophecies ... such a problem ... Bishop ... wrote, "the predictions attributed to Melanie . . . have no basis in fact; they have no importance with regard to La Salette . . . they have come after La Salette and have nothing to do with it."

"...- 1846 La Salette, France, recognized in 1851 but condemned by the Holy Office Decr. 9 1923 and included in the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (Pius XI)..."

"Salette (La). L'apparition de la Très Sainte Vierge. Decr. 9 maii 1923."

1. xx.xxxxxx enquired whether I was aware of an Integrist publication of a refutation of my position on the alleged words of Our Lady that "Rome Will Lose The Faith...". The article was said to be by an unnamed "french author".
2. He believes the "Rome will lose the Faith..." allegation.
3. But he does not believe that Our Lady "would use the vulgar metaphor for the Vatican".
4. He does not believe that the expression means that "Rome as the seat of the Antichrist is the Catholic Church.
5. He says that "Rome being the seat of Antichrist, is already the teaching of St John in the Apocalyse." When challenged to substantiate that claim, he became quite hostile, even arrogant, but would not provide substantiation.
6. He recommended that I refer my position to my "confessor". This I did, providing him with all the correspondence and files on the subject. To-day, Feb. 13th, Ash Wednesday, my Parish Priest (and "confessor"), Father Roger Ryan, gave me the spiritual advice to "continue what you are doing."
7. His response to my request of him to forward the "french author"'s article on Melanie went unanswered.
8. He asked me: are you "being uncharitable, or have you set out on a self-imposed witch-hunt for 'Integrists', and caught me in your sights unjustly?" Well, I have not identified him except as xx.xxxxxx!
9. His response to my request for assistance in the translation of the Acts of The Apostolic See Decretums and Declaration on "La Salette" was ingnored. Read the Latin Texts and English translations here.

"There are many who cast doubt on the lawfulness of documents signed by "only" a Notary. Such doubt was actualized by Solange Hertz in the Appendix to her book - the appendix only being on the internet at http://homepages.msn.com/ReportersAlley/romcath2/melanie.html"

"Mrs. Hertz's thesis seems to me more probable, since she cites a source with an imprimatur not included in any of the decrees you sent. And she certainly does not discount the authority of the curia, only that the decrees refer to the original authentic text."

"It seems pretty obvious the prohibition would apply, since the context is clear."

"As to the facts, she quotes a book on the question by a member of the Congregation of the Index; I'd read that book before publishing documents on the Web that would call her or Melanie a liar, if I had a conscience.

"Yes, tomorrow is Ash Wednesday; and this letter of mine is a rebuke in the Lord."

"Here's the core of the problem:  when judging the argument of an author it is normal practice, in both academic and eccelsiastical circles to presume the truthfulness of the writer and to critique his reasoning out of the facts he presents as to the value of his conclusion(s); if you discount the facts presented by an author, a priori, simply because you presmue the author is not trustworthy, while having no evidence to adduce this, then you are not pursuing truth, but rather disagreement. And I see no reason to share such a quest, which is contrary to evangelical charity."

"At this juncture, when so much of what our Lady prophesied in the Secret is beginning to materialize, the enemy of mankind can be expected to utilize every means of discrediting a prophecy intended to lay open his machinations before the eyes of the faithful. Whereas the arguments which proved so effective in casting doubt on the Secret's authenticity when it was first divulged are being refurbished with a vengeance, the hard facts which demolished them then have only been reinforced by subsequent events. Most of them can be found as good as new in a 40-page brochure in defense of the Secret which was published in French in 1922, bearing the Imprimatur, dated June 6 of that year, of no less an authority than the Dominican Fr. Albert Lepidi, then Master of the Sacred Palace and Permanent Consultor to the Congregation of the Index.

Disseminated by the St. Augustine Society under the title "The Apparition of the Most Blessed Virgin on the Mountain of La Salette," it bears a facsimile of the Imprimatur with Fr. Lepidi's signature, plus the following words in his own hand: "These pages have been written solely in the interests of truth." The first half of the brochure contains Melanie's own account of the apparition, together with the full text of the Secret, which she set in writing in Castellamare, Italy on the feast of our Lady's Presentation, November 21, 1878 and which received an Imprimatur the following year from the local Ordinary, Bishop Zola. The second half is devoted to contemporary testimonials in defense of the Secret, the whole closing with an ecclesiastically approved Prayer to the Most Blessed Trinity for the canonization of Melanie Calvat.

Seven letters from Bishop Zola to various dignitaries figure among the contents. Privileged to authorize the first publication of the Secret in its entirety with his Imprimatur, he never wavered in his convictions concerning La Salette, nor in his veneration for its messenger. Not only have his letters lost nothing of their force with passing time, but hindsight considerably sharpens their focus. A sampling of the longest and most informative one are offered here in translation. The Bishop wrote it May 24, 1880 in reply to questions addressed to him by Fr. Isidore Roubaud, one of the few French priests who dared undertake Melanie's defense in the face of the dogged opposition mounted by Masonically influenced bishops like Mgr. Ginoulhiac of Grenoble, successor to the saintly Mgr. Bruillard, in whose diocese the apparition had taken place and had been originally approved.
About La Salette, by Solange Strong Hertz

"40-page brochure in defense of the Secret which was published in French in 1922, bearing the Imprimatur, dated June 6 of that year, of no less an authority than the Dominican Fr. Albert Lepidi, then Master of the Sacred Palace and Permanent Consultor to the Congregation of the Index.

Disseminated by the St. Augustine Society under the title 'The Apparition of the Most Blessed Virgin on the Mountain of La Salette' "

"Following a short stay at Corps and La Salette, she went to live at Castellamare di Stabia, near Naples in Italy. She resided there seventeen years, writing her "secrets" as well as a rule for a future foundation. The Vatican urged the local bishop to forbid her this type of publication, but she persisted in their search for approbation and an imprimatur, even extracting a hearing from a papal official, Bishop Lepidi. This, however, never constituted even a veiled approval. The authority invoked by Mélanie is incompetent in the matter. After a stay at Cannes in the south of France, Mélanie traveled to Chalon-sur-Saône, seeking to found a community with the sponsorship of the Canon de Brandt of Amiens. Eventually she entered into litigation with Bishop Perraud, the ordinary of Autum. The Holy See, brought into the matter, decided in favor of the bishop. In 1892, Mélanie returned to a place near Lecce, Italy, then journeyed to Messina in Sicily on the invitation of Canon Annibale di Francia. Following a few months in the Piedmont region, she was invited by the abbé Combe, pastor of Diou, a priest much taken up with politico-religious prophecies, to settle in the Allier region. She finished a contrived autobiography, wherein she created an extraordinary childhood enriched with pseudo-mystical wanderings, her own imaginings and the chimera provided by her correspondents. The message Mélanie attempts to link to La Salette during this period has nothing whatever in common with the testimony she gave about the Apparition in the early years.

"After Melanie's death in 1904 the enemies of La Salette hoped to deal the final blow to the Secret. Putting the capstone on the falsehoods and misrepresentations already in circulation, a decree was promulgated on December 21, 1915 which ordered "the faithful of all countries to abstain from treating or discussing this said question under whatsoever pretext or form, either in books, pamphlets or articles signed or anonymous, or in any other way." Although the action is duly recorded in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis for December 31 of that year, certain irregularities were soon noted in its regard.

To begin with, it carries signatures of no Cardinals or members of the Sacred Congregation, but only that of its notary, Luigi Castellano. There is moreover no mention of the date on which the Holy Office presumably met to vote this piece of legislation, nor any reference to its ever having been submitted to Pope Benedict XV for final approval. Although the decree forbids all discussion of the Secret and specifies penalties to be imposed on transgressors, no censure whatever is attached to the work itself, as would be expected in the circumstances.There is not even a prohibition against possessing, reading or distributing it!

In other words the alleged 'decree' which has been brandished like a club over the heads of the faithful for over eighty years to prevent their hearing a message addressed 'to all our Lady's people,' has apparently never enjoyed the force of law.

Reaction on the part of the Holy Office was swift. On May 10, 1923 a decree was issued "proscribing and condemning" the entire brochure, designated by the title "The Apparition of the Most Holy Virgin on the Mountain of La Salette on Saturday, September 19, 1845." That the apparition took place in 1846 and not in 1845 would alone serve to invalidate the decree, besides the fact that for over 43 years Melanie's account of the happening had incurred no condemnation whatsoever from any authorized quarter. To make matters worse, the Holy Office took its fateful action in a session held on the previous day, when Fr. Lepidi was ill and unable to make an appearance, either to defend the Imprimatur he had accorded the original publication or to repudiate the unauthorized letter which had been attached to it.

• First of all, the pages of the Acts of The Apostolic See are FULL of Decrees signed solely by a Notary. (See following examples.)
  1. Decree prohibiting the work of M. Mir and I de Recalde; 4 May 1923. Aloisius Castellano, Notary.
     
     
  2. Decree excommunicating the priest Michael Collin, alias Gregory XVII; 30 May, 1951. Marinus Marani, Notary.
     
     
  3. Decree excommunicating Fr. Leonard Feeney; 13 Feb. 1953. Marius Crovini, Notary.
     
     
  4. Warning prohibiting publication of "promises" attributed to the 15 Prayers of St Briget; 28 Jan. 1954. Marius Crovini, Notary.
     
     
• Secondly, (at least in the document on line), she names the Notary who signed the 1915 Decree as "Luigi Castellano." The fact is that the correct name of that Notary (as is frequently demonstrated in the AAS pages) is Aloisius Castellano.!

"If it is the reference to which you referred, I would ask you what degree of trust do you place in Solange Hertz' accuracy in detail? Is she to be trusted in all that she reports and writes about?

"...when judging the argument of an author it is normal practice, in both academic and eccelsiastical circles to presume the truthfulness of the writer and to critique his reasoning out of the facts he presents as to the value of his conclusion(s); if you discount the facts presented by an author, a priori, simply because you presmue the author is not trustworthy, while having no evidence to adduce this, then you are not pursuing truth, but rather disagreement. And I see no reason to share such a quest, which is contrary to evangelical charity.

1. The Interpretation given by some individuals to a Decision approved by Paul VI on 14 October 1966 and promulgated on 15 November of that year, in virtue of which writings and messages resulting from alleged revelations could be freely circulated in the Church, is absolutely groundless. This decision actually referred to the "abolition of the Index of Forbidden Books" and determined that --- after the relevant censures were lifted --- the moral obligation still remained of not circulating or reading those writings which endanger faith and morals.
   
   
2. In should be recalled however that with regard to the circulation of texts of alleged private revelations, Canon 623 #1 of the current Code remains in force: "the Pastors of the Church have the … right to demand that writings to be published by the Christian faithful which touch upon faith or morals be submitted to their judgement".
   
   
3. Alleged supernatural revelations and writings concerning them are submitted in first instance to the judgement of the diocesan Bishop, and, in particular cases, to the judgement of the Episcopal Conference and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
   
   

Footnotes

1. "yelling" or "screaming" is when the sender types in very large case that is overly large for printing, even in smallest browser mode! It was sent by the founder and International Director of "Catholic Action" is New Zealander, Arthur R. Skinner. Mr. Skinner is also International Director of the "Society for the Consecration of Russia" - which group disbelieves statements and documents from the Vatican and Sr. Lucy of Fatima which claim that Russia WAS consecrated in accordance with the wishes of Our Lady of Fatima.
   
   It is interesting to note who are Mr Skinner's associates on these two groups:
   
   

   "Catholic Action" Position held	Officer (in alphabetical order)	"Society for the Consecration of Russia" Position held
   Committee Member	Bennett, Kevin
   Committee Member	D'Souza, C.
   Committee Member	Hill, Ph.D., Kevin
   	Meuli, S.T.D., U.J.D., Ph.L., LL.B., Rev. Fr. Denzil	Ecclesiastical Consultant
   	Pickford, Ph.D, D.Tech., Timothy Edsall	Associate & Publisher
   	Piggin, Felicity Mary	Secretary
   Founder and International Director	Skinner, Arthur R.	International Director

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Whether the International Director has other than New Zealand associates is unknown.
   However, articles by him, under cover of both groups, have been published in Fr. Nicholas Gruner's "Fatima Crusader." Fr. Gruner has been suspended "a divinis." "No, I haven't, says Fr. Gruner. So, what's new? Archbishop Lefebvre, when he was suspended "a divinis" said: "Suspended? Suspended from what?"
   
   Fr. Meuli, of course, is well known as having been (and may still be) an Advocate for the Holy Roman Rota, and is a Barrister for the High Court of New Zealand. He is currently administering a "Non-geographical Traditional Latin Liturgy" chapel, under the auspices of the Archdiocese of Auckland. It is understood that he is a close associate of the Society of St Pius X in New Zealand.
   
   It is interesting to note that "Catholic Action" was reported in Southern Voice to have called for the replacement of all New Zealand bishops. Presumably that includes the Archbishop of Auckland who has been, I think, very tolerant of Fr. Meuli!
   
   Fr. Meuli is believed to have been the Advocate used by Dr. Tim Pickford in his attempt to "have his day" in the Vatican Court over the withdrawal of use of the Tridentine latin Liturgy - a move which was aborted due to the Ecclesia Dei Indult. He is more recently in the news over his letter "Regarding The Legal Status of the SSPX Within the Catholic Church" - a letter which has "gone the rounds", including being passed on to me by Fr. Kevin Robinson of the SSPX here in Hampton, Australia. Fr. Robinson became acquainted with Fr. Meuli while stationed with the SSPX in New Zealand. In this letter, Fr. Meuli pits himself against the "keeper of the keys"; the one who has the power to bind and loose; the lawmaker, and the law interpreter - he fobs the Pope off with an "He is no jurist". To the best of my knowledge, Fr. Meuli "is no pope"!
   
   
   
   Dr. Tim Pickford is another interesting New Zealander, now resident in Australia. His "St Hilary and Justin" page on the Veritatis website [http://www.veritatis.org.au] contains many of Fr. Meuli's Sermons. I have only had time to browse through some of them, but would be surprised if they all were not orthodox.
   
   Dr. Tim is a fervent promoter of "Garabandal". The bishops of Garabandal (I think there have been some eight over the period) have declared that there is no evidence to support claims for supernatural events having occurred at Garabandal. Tim opposes their findings, and actively promotes the site. Refer go to the Bishop's Letter in Spanish The Bishop of Santander
   
   It is further interesting to note that the Veritatis website promotes a link to another unapproved (indeed, condemned) alleged apparition - that of Veronica Leuken and Bayside. The link is to "End Times? Prophecy?", which resolves as "The End Days" at http://webcom.com/enddays/welcome.html - a site which promotes the condemned pseudo apparitions to Veronica Leuken of Bayside, Dr. Mary Jane Even, and Australia's own "Little Pebble", aka William Kamm, aka Pope Peter Romanus II.
   
   Like all the other disobedients, this site also claims that the relevant local Bishop did not have the power to condemn Bayside.
   
   
   
   Does it come as a surprise that Arthur Skinner's allegations (regarding Sr. Lucy of Fatima's signature to various writings are forgeries and that she has not spoken out in favor of the Pope's Consecration in 1984) are reproduced on another pro Bayside site, "Virgin Mary's End-Times Prophecies" at http://www.tldm.org/ - "tldm" stands for "The Last Days Ministries" - what else?
   
   Mr Skinner managed to have some of his stuff circulated on Marianland. All things are relative, I suppose - Marianland also sells Fr. Wathen, O.S.J.'s "The Great Sacrilege", which lambastes the "Novus Ordo Missae" of Pope Paul VI. A Franciscan Brother describes Fr. Wathen as follows:

   "Finally, Fr. James Wathen was once a Roman Catholic priest. He is now no longer in communion with his bishop, nor with the pope in Rome. He has an agenda - the frequently critiqued OSJ. ² He is no spokesman for the Catholic Church."

   Unfortunately, there may be real parallels with "integrists" and "visionaries"; Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre's schism became "concretized" on the occasion of the illicit consecrations of four bishops; it appears to me that many "apparitionists" (seekers after false visions or locutions - unapproved by the local bishop) are proximate to schism - a state which would become "concretized" if their favorite fancy actually WAS formally condemned by the Pope who, to the best of my knowledge, has never reversed a local bishop's negative decision on an alleged apparition. Like Lefebvre and his adherents, they would cry out "No, we are not! The pope is a prisoner in the Vatican and isn't being properly advised" - or some such thing!
   
   
2. Refer to "Oh What a Web They Weave..."