Tuesday, September 19, 2006
OPUS ANGELORUM
"Fidelity" July/August 1992 has a short article about OA titled "Fallen Angels: Rome Condemns the Opus Angelorum". The article focuses on Cardinal Ratzinger's document, approved by John Paul II, and the statement of Bishop Reinhold Stecher, ordinary of the Diocese of Innsbruck where the interntional headquarters of the Opus Angelorum is located, who "expressed relief and satisfaction over the decision from Rome."
According to the article the "Austrian bishops...banned Opus Angelorum from the use of diocesan facilities".
Norms added to the strictures given by Cdl. Ratzinger in 1983 are the following:
1) The theories which derive from the alleged revelations of Gabriele Bitterlich concerning the work of the angels, their personal names, their rank and function may no longer be either taught or in any way, either explicitly or implicitly, made use of in the organizational structures of the Opus Angelorum or in any cult or in prayer or in spiritual formation or in any public or private spirituality. The use and the dissemination of books and other writings which contain the above-mentioned theories is forbidden both within the above-mentioned organization as well as outside its formal structures.
2) The various forms of consecration to the angels as practiced in the Opus Angelorum are prohibited.
3) Also forbidden are the so-called remote dispensing of the sacraments as well as the interpolation of texts, prayers and rituals into the eucharistic liturgy or the liturgy of the hours, which are related either directly or indirectly to the above-mentioned theories.
4) Exorcism may only be performed according to the norms and discipline of the Church and only according to the use of ecclesiastically approved formulae.
5) A delegate with plenipotentiary powers appointed by the Vatican will work together with the local bishops to ensure that the above-mentioned norms are put into force. He will also strive to regulate and clarify the relationship between the Opus Angelorum and the Order of the Holy Cross.
The article also indicates that "Fidelity" was criticized by Rev. Robert J. Fox, of "Fatima Family Messenger", a promoter of OA, for "irresponsible journalism for reporting the concerns of the Austrian and German bishops"; and that Rev. John A. Hardon, S.J., in the same issue of "Fatima Family Messenger" accused "Fidelity" of not verifying the credibility of the author of the article. However when Fr. Fox was contacted by "Fidelity" he indicated that he planned to stop promoting both the revelations of Bitterlich and the consecrations.
OA still mentions Gabriele Bitterlich in their website. The history of this movement is given at the website, and it is clear that Bitterlich's visionary experience is prominent in that history. Judge for yourself whether that history together with the following which appears on that webpage violates the strictures issued by Cdl. Ratzinger, as reported in "Fidelity", in number 1) above:
The result of the final examination was issued in the Decree of the Holy Office from June 6th, 1992 in which it was declared that only the certain deposit of the Faith could constitute the spiritual foundation for any institute within the Church. This is simply a theological principle which is valid for all times and places in the Church. Now from the examination of Gabriele’s writings it was determined that they contained the names of individual Angels and a certain body of particularized doctrine on their ministries and rankings which are extraneous to Scripture and Tradition; hence, this portion of her writings could not be used as the basis for the spirituality or practices of any institute of the Catholic Church. At the same time, the Congregation, aside from several clear and particular restrictions, left a large body of Gabriele Bitterlich’s writings untouched.
The decree, moreover, acknowledged the ecclesial status of the Work of the Holy Angels. In fact, the Congregation made no judgment on either the personal life of Gabriele Bitterlich or even upon the origin or veracity of her writings, but only maintained that a part of what stands written in her manuscripts goes beyond what is verifiable in Scripture and tradition.
Names of angels are not the sole province of Gabriele Bitterlich.
In reading Gnostic literature, I came upon an article by Tau Mikhael which appeared in "New Dawn" magazine, Special Issue No. 2, copyright 2006. The article is titled "The Hidden History of the Secret Church", and can be read online. The following appears in the article:
In 1842, under pressure from the Catholic Church, Vintras was arrested by the French authorities and imprisoned for five years on the trumped-up charge of soliciting donations from people to whom he claimed to reveal the name of their guardian angel.
Last March Stephen Hoeller presented a lecture to the Gnostic Society about angels, including Guardian Angels.
March 24: Angel Magic: Who are the Angels and by what practices may we effectively approach them? An evaluation of the major hierarchies of Angels, including Guardian Angels.
The question, as always, comes down to "What spirit is it?" For a Roman Catholic the judgment rests in the hands of the Church. It would appear from the "Fidelity" article that the Church has made a judgment. After decades of poor catechesis and a flight from liberalism on the left, Roman Catholics are primed to accept any spirituality that comes cloaked in the language of Christianity. But not all who say "Lord, Lord" shall enter the kingdom of heaven.
Be very very cautious where visionaries are concerned. Scripture tells us there are four angels, Gabriel, Michael, Raphael...and Lucifer, the Lightbearer.
