When Strangers Come Knocking---Part 17

 

This is the next installment of my series to be published the first Monday of each month.

There are members of false sects, like Jehovah's Witnesses, that come knocking door-to-door hoping to convert you. Instead of ignoring them, it is we who should try and convert them. In 1 Peter 3:16, our first Pope writes, "But in thy hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks thee to give the reason for the hope that thou hast. But do this with gentleness and respect,..." Before the Great Apostasy, the Church would send missionaries to the ends of the Earth to make as many converts as possible. 

Those in false religions don't always come (literally) knocking at your door. It may be a Hindu at work who wants you to try yoga. It could be a "Christian Scientist" who lives next door and invites you to come to their reading room. Each month, I will present a false sect. Unlike the Vatican II sect, I do not see them as a "means of salvation" or possessing "elements of truth" that lead to salvation. That is heresy. They lead to damnation, and the adherents of the various sects must be converted so they may be saved.

In each month's post, I will present one false sect and give an overview of:  

• The sect's history
• Their theology
• Tips on how to share the True Faith with them

The Palmarian Catholic Church and Conclavism

Sometimes life surprises you. I was 17 years old and had been a Traditionalist for almost one year. I had just gotten home from Mass and my neighbor called me to come over. He handed me an ad in a local New York paper and said, "It looks like your Traditional priest [Fr. DePauw] has some competition!" I couldn't believe my eyes. The ad read, "Looking for the True Catholic Church and Traditional Latin Mass? Write for more information" There was a P.O. Box listed to send a letter. I sent a simple note asking for their information. One week later, a large envelope arrived. 

When I opened it, there was a picture of a man with no eyes wearing a papal tiara. Below the picture were the words "Habemus Papam! Pope Gregory XVII.”The enclosed literature claimed that one Clemente Dominguez of Spain had been "mystically coronated" pope by Christ Himself upon the death of Montini ("Pope" Paul VI). Paul VI was a "good and holy pope" who had been drugged and locked in a closet most of the time, forced to do what he did by Masonic agents in the Vatican. Basically, the material read like a bad Malachi Martin novel.

I was skeptical (to say the least) and brought the material to Father DePauw the Sunday after it arrived. I asked him if he had ever heard of this guy, and if there was any validity to his claims. When Father finished laughing and composed himself, he said, "That joker has about as much validity as the Novus Bogus so-called 'Mass.'" He went on to tell me that over a year ago, a teenager rang the bell at the Ave Maria Chapel wearing the clerical garb of a Catholic Cardinal. "I asked him what he was doing since Halloween wasn't for another six months," Fr. DePauw said in his characteristic deadpan humor and Flemish accent. "The young man identified himself as Cardinal Jose Mary. [The Palmarian clergy gave themselves fake names all ending in "Mary" to emphasize their false devotion to the Mother of God---Introibo]. He said he was an 'emissary' of 'Pope' Gregory, and I was to go with him immediately back to Spain and the 'New Vatican' where I would also become a 'cardinal." 

"What did you do?" I asked. "I tried to politely tell this young man exactly why Dominquez is either disturbed, a charlatan, or of the devil, but not Catholic, let alone the pope. The young man threw a fit, started calling me an apostate, and demanded that I call him "Your Eminence." I asked, "What did you do then?" He looked at me and continued, "Oh, I got angry and called him something, but it wasn't 'Your Eminence.' I then said I would pray for him to know the truth and to tell his so-called pope never to contact me again before shutting the door on him."[All dialogue to the best of my recollection---Introibo] This was my first encounter with Conclavism. It has been used to attack the Traditionalist sedevacantist position. 

Conclavists are those who think they can just "hold a conclave" without researching what must be done and seeing if such is possible. Others claim "divine appointment" directly by God, such as Domingues. Sedevacantism does not lead to this nonsense. While it is true Conclavists had to have believed the Holy See was vacant, it does not mean all those who believe the See is vacant will attempt "electing" or "declaring" a pope. I have written on the topic of getting a pope back before; this post will focus on the dangers of what can happen--creating a non-Catholic sect or even a cult. Many consider the Palmarian "Church" a cult as it has now developed. I agree. Yet they still succeed in getting converts from those anxious for a pope to end sedevacante. To this end, this post will expose Palmarianism and hopefully prevent them and other Conclavists from adding to their ranks. If you know someone in such a sect, you will hopefully be able to convince them to leave using this information.

For the information on Palmarianism, I have used extensively the research in the book by Magnus Lundberg,  A Pope of Their Own: Palmar de Troya and the Palmarian Church published by Uppsala Studies in Church History, 2017, to which I give full attribution. 

Apparitions Before Dogma

Palmar de Troya, located about twenty-five miles south of Seville, Spain, had approximately 2,000 inhabitants in the late 1960s. It was an anomaly for solidly Catholic Spain, even prior to Vatican II. It had no Church or resident priest; when a priest arrived for Sunday Mass, it was offered in private homes. Most people did not attend Mass, and the inhabitants were looked upon askance by the rest of the country with their great devotion to Christ and His Church.

During the ravages of World War II, there began in the world a surge of alleged apparitions, most especially of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They were, for the most part, not merely false, but dangerous to the Faith by spreading superstitious beliefs and even heresy. The Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office issued the following decree in 1951 warning of the dangers that come from such:

For the past ten years, while the religious authorities have shown restraint, the people have hastily busied themselves with wonders which, to say the least, have not been verified.

To be honest, we must admit that such events may be simply the expression of natural religious enthusiasm. They are not Christian events, and they give a dangerous pretext to those who are ready to discover at all costs the mingling and survival of paganism and superstition in Christian belief and life, and especially in Catholicism. Just as wrongdoing may find its way into our daily lives, so we may error. We must know it for what it is. Just as the Church has the power to forgive sins, so has it also been commended by God to keep us from error. (See Lundberg, pgs. 34-35). 

 

On March 30, 1968, four school girls between the ages of eleven and thirteen (Ana Aguilera, Ana Garcia, Rafaela Gordo and Josefa Guzman) reported seeing a “very beautiful lady” when picking flowers by a tree on the Alcaparrosa field, less than a mile from the town center in Palmar de Troya. From April 1968 onwards, other people asserted to have mystical experiences close to the mastic tree. Several women and men fell into trances, claiming that the Virgin Mary appeared and spoke to them. Most of the ecstatic were not natives of Palmar de Troya, but rather came from other locations in the nearby area. The heavenly messages received at Palmar de Troya at this early stage were often very brief and general. Then all kinds of strange phenomena were claimed to have taken place. These involved occurrences  such as a local woman seeming to glow from within, a man running around on his knees at an incredible speed, hosts materializing on people’s tongues, and miraculous healings.

By the end of 1969, Clemente Domínguez y Gómez (1946-2005) had become one of the most influential seers at Palmar de Troya. Dominguez was a functional illiterate who was denied admission to the seminary. Clemente was not one of the pioneer seers, but beginning in the summer of 1969, and on an almost daily basis, he went to Palmar de Troya together with his friend, Manuel Alonso Corral (1934-2011) a lawyer. They were an unlikely duo, but Dominguez was charismatic, while Corral was the brains who could plan things well.  Eventually, Dominguez claimed to have received the "stigmata" (Wounds of Christ), but one only need to look at the photos to see it looks like he squirted himself with ketchup.

In various apparitions, the "Virgin and Christ" let him know that there was only one true Mass, the Traditional Latin Rite, and the Novus Ordo was blasphemous.  "Pope" Paul VI was free of guilt as he was drugged and held hostage by Masons.(Some accounts claim he was replaced by a doppleganger while the "real Pope Paul" was locked away in a closet somewhere in the Vatican). Corral was successful in getting some wealthy Traditionalists to contribute, and spread the messages. They were despised by the Modernist hierarchy, which only made them more liked by Traditionalists. By the early 1970s, Dominguez was attracting approximately 40,000 people to Palmar de Troya. He was then "told by Christ and Mary" to start a new religious order, "The Carmelites of the Holy Face." They needed clergy and made a pitch to Archbishop Lefebvre, who was sympathetic to the alleged messages, but did not want to get involved with apparitions. He suggested the Palmarian seers contact Archbishop Peter Thuc. The group found a sympathetic SSPX priest who believed them, and was willing to contact Abp. Thuc on their behalf.

Having been approached by a representative of Abp. Lefebvre, and being told by the SSPX priest that the apparitions were real, he went to Palmar de Troya, ordaining Dominguez and three other "seers" as priests on January 1, 1976, and then consecrated them bishops on January 11th. Thuc thought they would be like the SSPX, but was soon proven wrong.

The Lunacy Begins

Within two years (1976-1978), Dominguez and his three followers "consecrated " ninety-one bishops.

 (I put the word consecrated in quotation marks because they were canonically unfit and did not possess the requisite training to ensure valid ordinations/consecrations. Moreover, since Dominguez had no training and attempted to translate the rites into Spanish, his ordinations and consecrations are dubious at best. If all that weren't bad enough, some of the "bishops" chosen by "Mary" to be consecrated were as young as 13 years old! I do not impugn the validity of the Thuc consecrations--only the ones that come from Palmar de Troya---Introibo). In 1976, Dominguez was involved in a car crash in which he lost both eyes. The "seer" was rendered blind, and I can't help but think it was Divine Justice for his lies. 

On August 4, 1976, Dominguez is told by "Mary" that he will become the next pope after Paul VI. Dominguez claimed God would publicly restore his sight after he became "pope," and it would be seen on TV so all would know he was the true pontiff. Two years and two days later, on August 6, 1978, Montini died, and Dominguez claimed that while in Columbia proselytizing, Christ "Mystically coronated" him as Pope Gregory XVII. He declared that Rome was no longer the Apostolic See, but was transferred to Palmar de Troya, hence "The One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Palmarian Church" was created. They started out with the pre-Vatican II Traditional Mass, but no one understood Latin. Conveniently, "Mary" said Spanish was God's favorite language after Latin, so they could use Spanish in the Mass and Sacraments. Then, in 1983, the "Mass" was truncated to a few sentences in Latin and (some of) the Words of Consecration, so it would be easy to learn. 

Even though they have "Cardinals" there are no conclaves. Each "pope" appoints his successor while alive. I suppose if said replacement dies after the "pope" and before he can appoint his own successor, they use the "cardinals." They are currently on "pope" number 4, although the Palmarians repudiate one of them as an "apostate" and do not list him on their official website (See https://www.palmarianchurch.org/).  Here is a bit about each:

• Gregory XVII (Clemente Dominguez) from 1978-2005. Relied on visions and apparitions to promulgate heresy and bizarre teachings as "dogma." The "Creed of the First Palmarian Ecumenical Council" is loaded with heresy (as will be shown later on). In 1997 he admitted to molesting some of the nuns and being a glutton. Nevertheless, he was "canonized" as "Pope St. Gregory the Very Great."

• Peter II (Manuel Alonso Corral) from 2005-2011. Continued the strange doctrines and forbade Palmarians to talk to non-Palmarians except when trying to convert them. 

• Gregory XVIII (Gines Jesus Hernandez Martinez) From 2011 until he resigned April 22, 2016 to get married. He claimed that the sect was based on lies and deception. He joined the Vatican II sect which (correctly) recognized him as only a layman. In 2018, Martinez and Trivino ("nun" and later "wife"of Martinez) climbed over the walls of the church compound at Palmar de Troya, masked and armed. They were apprehended and charged with armed robbery. I was unable to find a final disposition on the case

• Peter III (Eliseo Maria‒Markus Josef Odermatt) From April 23, 2016-Present. The lunacy continues

Heresy in the Name of Mary

Many Palmarian teachings are based on a false and exaggerated devotion to Mary, which teachings are both heretical and blasphemous. The so-called "Palmarian Creed" declared "infallibly" that Mary is to be called the "Irredeemed" because "she who is without sin has no need of redemption." Pure heresy and culpable theological ignorance. Mary was redeemed by Christ in a special way. As Pope Pius IX taught in his infallible definition of the Immaculate Conception, We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful. (See Ineffabilis Deus; Emphasis mine). Mary was preserved peremptorily, because God knows all things with apodictic certainty past, present, and future. God the Father knew what Christ would do and applied the merits of His death to Mary before the event, as God is outside time.

Here is just some of The Palmarian Catholic Church's perverse doctrines as compiled by Lundberg (with full credit to his scholarship and research which I reproduce below with some minor additions of material elsewhere):

Palmarians hold that Christ instituted seven sacraments. Nevertheless, they also teach that in this end-time the election to the papacy is an eighth, invisible sacrament, directly conferred by Christ

The One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, Palmarian church is the mystical body of Christ and the Virgin Mary. You must be a practicing member of the sect to be saved

 The Blessed Mother “enthrones” a drop of her blood into the faithful at baptism or conversion. This drop can be strengthened, diminished or disappear altogether according to the moral status of the individual, and its presence contributes to sanctification. The sacraments also “enthrone” and strengthen a piece of Christ’s Sacred Heart in the faithful 

Baptism is the door to the church and the other sacraments. Children should preferably be baptized within eight days of their birth and not later than fifteen days. Through baptism, the child (or adult) receives Mary’s blood drop, which takes away original sin. The Palmarian baptism has an indelible character, but the strength of the drop can be weakened. The sacrament of Confirmation should ideally be administered very shortly after baptism. It strengthens the blood drop and makes the individual stronger in his or her fight against Satan. Only a bishop can confirm. If a person commits a mortal sin, the blood drop of Mary disappears. The blood drop is restored by Confession to a Palmarian priest

 On October 9, 1983, the pope instituted a new, much briefer Mass order, which is concentrated to offertory, consecration and sacrificial communion taken by the priest. Making it very brief, every cleric could and should read several masses a day; in fact, they read turns of "masses," not individual masses. The service lasts about five minutes, and priests should offer 12 an hour. Palmarians can receive Communion as often as they want

According to Palmarian doctrine the body, blood, soul, Divinity of Christ and the body and blood of  Mary are present in the consecrated bread and wine. To communicate a person must be in a state of grace; otherwise, it constitutes a sacrilege. Communion should only be taken on the tongue and the recipient must be kneeling when receiving the sacrament. The communion of the faithful is only received in one species; they only receive the Eucharistic bread

The fifth sacrament of the church, the last unction strengthens the faithful’s relationship with Christ and Mary, and increases the Virgin’s blood drop. Holy Orders and Marriage have no major changes in doctrine, but the ceremonies of each has dramatically changed. Holy Orders was invalidated, and Matrimony can only be between two Palmarians, no exceptions. 

St. Joseph, St. Anne, and St. Joachim were all assumed body and soul into Heaven like Mary

The Palmarian Bible completed in 2000 is the only authentic bible. Palmarians must burn any other version in their possession

Mary existed with God from all eternity and was Co-Creator of the Universe

Over 2,000 people were "canonized" saints including: Pope Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI, all their "popes" except Gregory XVIII as he is still alive, and he left the sect. Jose Escrivera of Opus Dei was "canonized," as was Padre Pio, Francisco Franco, and Fascist leader Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera. Franco was actually named "Co-Patron of Spain" along with St. James and St. Teresa of Avila

False Prophesy: The following was infallibly pronounced:

But the Russian sway will not last for long, for as the Communist forces make to enter Spain to place her beneath their yoke, they will come up against the irresistible strength of the army of the Lord, captained by the Virgin Mary by means of the Great Leader of the Tagus, Gregory XVII who, brandishing his noble and invincible sword, will hurl himself with all strength into the reconquest of every territory seized by the invader, passing from triumph to triumph right into the heart of imperial Russia, there to plant the glorious standard of victory, the Sacred Face of Jesus, in the very centre of Moscow. His sword will not rest until he has formed the Holy and Great Palmarian- Hispanic Empire, whose enormous territory will include nations from every continent. (See http://homepage.eircom.net/~palmardetroya/pdf/t5_72.pdf) Obviously, this never happened. 

Proselytizing Conclavists

For the "mysticalists" like Palmar de Troya, their whole sect hinges on private revelations. Remind them of Church teaching on that subject. According to  Visions, Revelations, and the Church [1961] by theologian Volken, here is the Church's criteria for discerning private revelations worthy of belief:

1. Every revelation must be rejected a priori if its context is opposed to Church teaching. In places where the Scripture speaks most explicitly of the discernment of spirits and where it urges Christians to "try the spirits if they be of God," it gives only one criterion which is of a doctrinal nature. "By this the spirit of God is known:every spirit which confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God: and every spirit that dissolveth Jesus is not of God." (1 John 4: 2-3). That must be understood as teaching that every private revelation which does not confess Christ as God, and in anyway derogates ("dissolveth") Him by rejecting the teaching of His One True Church, is not of God and must be rejected.

2. A medical examination of all seers should be had to determine physical and psychological soundness. If the seers are healthy in mind and body, this constitutes support for a favorable judgement. If it can be established that the seer(s) showed all the symptoms of hysteria or other mental illness when receiving the revelations, a favorable judgement cannot be reached.

3. The seers should have deep humility (not seeking self-glorification), be obedient to proper ecclesiastical authority, and have fortitude. Fortitude is necessary, as the seer(s) will be pressured to recant and in many cases persecuted/threatened (e.g., St. Bernadette and the three children of Fatima). While they need not be saints, they should display innocence and piety.

4. The revelations must be of a serious nature and not frivolous or overly concerned with mundane things.

5. Any indication of natural explanations and/or fraud must be ruled out to allow for a supernatural character.

Palmar de Troya fails miserably in being worthy of belief. 

As to those "popes" elected by a "conclave:"

1. Yes, there have been different ways popes have been elected throughout the centuries. However, if you are going to hold a conclave  then you must have the authority to call one, and you must follow the rules in place in 1958 when we last had a true pope. In the case of "Pope" Michael, he thinks you can "call a conclave" consisting of his daddy, his mommy, two nice neighbors and a "female theologian" who came up with the crackpot idea. 

2. The so-called pope must prove that he had the authority beyond a reasonable doubt. Bawden ("Pope" Michael) has even been repudiated by the very female "theologian" (Theresa Benns) who thought it up.

3. He must prove epikeia applies, if at all. There is no teaching of the approved theologians that in necessity all rules of a conclave can be whatever someone chooses them to be including having women participate in a conclave.

4. St Matthew 7: 15-20, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. (Emphasis mine). After 30 years, Bawden has approximately 100 followers worldwide. Do you really think God would restore the papacy with hardly any conversions in 30 years? One of his followers wrote to me that "Maybe God wants to make him nicer first." OK, so God can allow for a pope to be elected 26 years after the Great Apostasy, but it takes 30 years (and going) to make him "nice" enough for converts? 

Yeah. OK. 

Conclusion: A Story Worth Retelling

This is one of the best anecdotes of Fr. DePauw. I used it in a prior post, and it is so relevant (and interesting) I will use it again here.

Back in the late 1980s, Father told me of a most interesting event that took place in his fascinating life as founder of the Catholic Traditionalist Movement. The year was 1966, the Robber Council had just ended, and he was flying around the United States giving talks to large crowds of people urging them to stay away from "the reformed Conciliar establishment" and its Novus Bogus "mass." He was trying to convince people to give his literature to every priest they knew and hold on to the True Faith and Mass with priests who rejected the reforms.

He was in Chicago, and had just finished giving such a talk in a large hotel room. He always ended with a question and answer session, but refused to see people individually, as most just wanted to argue with him and call him "disobedient." He made one exception: he would never refuse to talk to a priest who wanted to speak with him in private hoping that the priest wanted to join him, or could be convinced to do so. The hotel manager informed Father that a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago wanted to see him in the lobby, and he told the manager he would go and talk to him. [I have redacted the names of those involved in this story, as I don't think Father wanted them made public---Introibo]

In the lobby, Father DePauw was greeted by "Fr. X," about 60 years old at the time. Standing with the priest was a very modestly dressed and attractive woman in her mid-forties, whom I'll call "Mrs. Y." The woman introduced herself to Fr. DePauw and told him that Fr. X was her confessor and spiritual advisor. "That's very nice," Fr. DePauw said. "But why are you here with Fr. X?" Fr. DePauw wasn't prepared for what she said next. "I have visions and get messages from the Blessed Virgin Mary." Stunned, as she didn't appear to be unstable, Father looked at Fr. X who was shaking his head in agreement. "Yes, she does Father DePauw."

Father then asked why they were in Chicago telling him instead of at the Vatican or explaining this to Archbishop Cody (Archbishop of Chicago at the time and to be made "cardinal" by Montini in 1967). Father really wasn't prepared for what they said next. Fr. X said, "The message is for you personally." "What might that message be?" Father DePauw inquired. Mrs. Y told him, "Paul VI has been stripped of the papacy, and you have been 'mystically anointed' pope in his place, Your Holiness. What shall be your papal name?" Fr. DePauw immediately told them not to call him "Your Holiness" and that he definitely was not the pope.

"Our Lady will not take 'no' for an answer," they told him. Father said he wasn't saying no to the Blessed Virgin, only to their crazy and false story. Certainly, God and His Mother would inform HIM of such an event (which wouldn't happen anyway), and most importantly, he castigated the priest for believing something contrary to Catholic theology. As a priest, he should know better than to believe in "secretly, divinely chosen popes." He then politely asked them to leave him alone. "We will not leave you alone until you announce to the world you are pope," they called after him. "You'll be waiting forever," he answered. For the next ten months Fr. X and Mrs. Y showed up to every public talk Father gave around the U.S., waiting for his "announcement" which, of course, never came.

Father started getting worried about their stalking him. He was going to go and get a restraining order, but he didn't want to get a priest in trouble unnecessarily. He called the chancery in Chicago to tell them about Fr. X's behavior and asked them to order him to stop the stalking or he would take legal action. Eerily, the day before Father called, Fr. X packed his belongings and left his rectory without a trace, leaving only a short note saying he would never be back. Later, it was discovered Mrs. Y and her husband abandoned their house and also were never heard from again. "Can you imagine the damage to the Church I would have caused had I fallen for such a ridiculous story?" Father said to me. "We must know Catholic theology and never abandon it. That's the means by which God preserves us in the One True Faith."

 Let us hold onto the One True Faith of the One True Church. Don't get taken in by false popes of Conclavists, and please try to get their followers out of their clutches. Let us do our best to keep and spread the Faith. Then we can pray as Fr. DePauw prayed each night: "Lord, you know I've done my best today to keep and spread the Faith. It is Thy Church. I'm going to sleep now and I trust in Thee, that Thou shalt ever take care of Her."