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Doctrinal Errors & Contradictions in True Life in God Messages Unfounded
The 6th of October 1995 the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith issued a Notification in response to many Catholic bishops and faithful that had written for guidance. The Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith at the time decided to warn the faithful not to consider Vassula's writings as supernatural and questioned certain dogmatic expressions in them.
The Notification raised a storm of protestation from renowned theologians who were convinced of the authenticity of the writings. The last couple of years an ongoing communication has taken place between the Congregation and Vassula resulting in a document to a number of bishops' conferences that had expressed particular concern to have the Congregation's opinion of Vassula clarified.
The document is signed by Cardinal Ratzinger [now Pope Benedict XVI] himself. He mentions in the letter that Vassula in her answers to the Congregation printed in the latest volume of "True Life in God" has supplied "useful clarifications regarding her marital situation, as well as some difficulties which in the aforesaid Notification were suggested towards her writings and her participation in the sacraments". Complete chronological detailed information regarding all of these matters can be found on the website of TLIG by clicking here.
This statement sounds rather laconic, but on the basis of the 1995 Notification it means that the Congregation is satisfied with her answers and no longer holds on to the dogmatic reservations against her. Understandably, the Congregation abstains from concluding whether she is truly God's instrument, but rather leaves it to the individual bishop, priest or believer to make their own judgement, only, the document says that bishops if necessary should give indications for the ecumenical prayer groups that Vassula organizes.
There are abundant testimonies from different denominations and even from non-Christians indicating that people have come to a real and deep faith in Christ by reading and listening to Vassula. Jesus says that spiritual things are to be judged by their fruits. There can be no doubt that the fruits of Vassula's activities are good, but every one has to discern, whether she is one of Jesus Christ's instruments today. On the basis of Cardinal Ratzinger's short letter it is now without the shadow of doubt that a Catholic with a clear conscience can consider Vassula as sent from God. Of course, everyone is free not to do so, but it is no-longer possible to posit dogmatic grounds to reject her. To judge spiritual things one needs to listen to one's heart. Freedom and respect for each other's opinions are imperative when dealing with apparitions and prophesies.
Despite all of these things that have happened in favor of Vassula and TLIG, what still remains on the internet is often outdated information that was a result of and reaction to the initial notification.
Immediately after the Notification in 1995, Frane Franic, Archbishop Emeritus of Split and Makarska, wrote the following testimony:
Integrity of the truths revealed in the True Life in God messages of Vassula Rydén, very faithful daughter of the ancient and Holy Greek Orthodox Church
In reading the books of the divine messages and knowing that the author, Mrs. Vassula Rydén, is a daughter of the Greek Orthodox Church, I was very impressed to find in them a fidelity, and I am firmly convinced, an absolute fidelity to all the revealed truths as taught and expounded by the Catholic Church.
I would like to humbly point out that in 1941 I received a Ph.D. from the Gregorian University, which was at that time very faithful to Thomist theology and philosophy and that I have myself taught this theology for 38 years, from 1942 until l980, at the Interdiocesan Theological School of advanced studies in Split. I have come to know about the various objections that were formulated by certain Catholic theologians concerning the messages of the books of "True Life in God". But these objections are certainly not able to put in doubt my conviction that all these books contain authentic messages coming from Christ Himself, messages that include the truths concerning faith in the supernatural, truths in which both the ancient Byzantine Orthodox Church and the Roman Church believed, up until the painful moment of their separation. Consequently, the messages correspond well with the ancient faith of the Holy Greek Orthodox Church, which implies that Vassula does not have to formally abandon her belonging to the Orthodox Church in order to become Catholic.
I maintain this firm conviction even today, notwithstanding the "declaration" (notification) of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, published in the Osservatore Romano dated 23-24 October 1995.
I pray to the Lord that this "declaration" be clarified, thus removing any confusion in our Church as well as removing the difficulties that have cropped up because of this "declaration" in the ecumenical relations between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church.
Furthermore, I feel I must declare that in the messages of Vassula's books one finds certain truths that are today in a state of crisis in our own Church. These truths are very clearly stated in these messages and asserted in a surprisingly firm and decisive way. Truths such as the Virginity and the Holy Motherhood of the Blessed and Immaculate Virgin Mary, the real presence of the Body and of the Blood with the Soul and the Divinity of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
According to my humble but firm conviction, there is no error and there have never been any errors, either in the first books of Vassula nor in those that followed. There is no error when Vassula speaks about Christ calling him Abba or Yahweh, neither when she says that Christ will come in the world to bring a period of His peace, because it has to do with the historical return of Christ into this world through His Church, who during that period of Peace will be renewed; and then, the presence of Christ will be even more visible to all mankind in this world, as the Holy Virgin and Queen of Prophets was saying at Fatima, and as she is still prophesying now in Medjugorje.
Therefore, I unite myself to all those Catholic bishops and theologians that defend the authenticity and sincere veracity of Vassula Rydén, seer and mystic, one of the greatest of our times.
+ Frane Franic, Archbishop Emeritus of Split and Makarska
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