Catholic Conspiracy theories

[Questioner28]

What are some the scary conspiracy theories that you have heard regarding the church ?

I’ve heard that a fake Sr. Lucia (The seer from Fatima) was the one that interviewed Pope John Paul II. Photographs to happen to show that the shape of the teeth and face differ from the ‘fake’ Sr. Lucia.
Then I’ve heard that Pope John Paul II was an antipope , critics tend to point at his ecumenical efforts and Assisi. The theorists pointed out that Pope Benedict XVI wore stars of David and Pope Paul VI used black magic to get to his position (Critics pointed at his repeated use of the term ‘magic’). The theorists also claim that the staff of the crucified Christ that Pope John Paul II used was demonic.

Fascinating but scary and unsettling
What your thoughts on these theories ?
I’ve found them by watching videos by ‘mhfm1’ a ‘Catholic’ user on youtube.com. His site is called vaticancatholic.com

 

[Bookcat]

To be ignored. Dismissed.

 

[Margie9]

Oh, I’ve been hearing this sort of nonsense for decades. You can tell how contrived it is by the excruciating level of detail…but usually meaningless detail. Hey, maybe St. Lucia got some new and improved dentures, OK? Pope Benedict had a Star of David on a vestment or something? So what? Does that mean he’s the anti-Christ? This stuff is made up by paranoids who hate the Church and cannot see the forest for the trees.

 

[Joe_5859]

I think seeking out Catholic conspiracy theories on YouTube is probably not the best use of time – especially if they leave you feeling scared and unsettled.

There is not even a grain of truth to such rubbish. To freely place one’s self in a position to view such materials and wonder “what if…” with regards to their veracity could potentially be sinful. We are not to endanger our faith through the things we read, watch, and listen to.

Now, if one is viewing the videos for a cheap laugh or in order to respond to them in an apologetics environment, then it is a different matter. But if one is feeling scared and unsettled by it, that is a sign that one is taking it too seriously and needs to avoid such things.

 

[raaucoin]

my favorite is that theVatican is hiding the body of an alien that crash landed!

 

[Julia_Mae]

What are some the scary conspiracy theories that you have heard regarding the church ?

I’ve heard that a fake Sr. Lucia (The seer from Fatima) was the one that interviewed Pope John Paul II. Photographs to happen to show that the shape of the teeth and face differ from the ‘fake’ Sr. Lucia.

What’s true, I believe, is that the older picture is not dentures. But what’s also true, is that the front teeth are so flat, they look filed. Now, this is a not-uncommon procedure when dealing with the kind of crooked “horsey” teeth Sr Lucy had if she needed a major reconstruction. This is expensive dental work, but when necessary, certainly could have been done. The two pictures furthest apart look very dissimilar. But I saw a picture of her in a mid-age where you see shades of both. There is also online, a “death announcement” from her order, supposedly, in 1949. It has no provenance but the site it originally appeared on. It gets copied, but you can’t get back to the Order and find it. Here’s a link to a copy of it: sites.google.com/site/medjugorjeincontext/sr-lucy-died-when

But it’s just a bunch of html someone posted on their site, there’s no way to know where it came from or if they didn’t make it up themselves.

There are conspiracies in the world and some involve the Vatican, and there was infiltration by Russian agents, I believe, and they did steal half a billion dollars from the Church unless the book I read is all wrong. There may be other things not kosher, but I think there are two important considerations:

You always want to know HOW DO YOU KNOW when someone makes an argument. They look convincing, they post images, but really, most people aren’t doing the kind of investigation that can lead them to any sort of reasonable discernment. There are a few sites with an image of a supposed photocopy of some sort of Sr Lucy’s original 3rd secret. It has a fingerprint!!!

Uh - so what? Has some forensic expert compared this fingerprint to someone and made a match? No. Srsly? The nun put her fingerprint on the letter in 1944? I never heard that about anything else she ever wrote. Seems like specious nonsense to me.

Here’s the other thing: can you do anything about it? Does it have much to do with following Jesus? Can you still pray and receive the Eucharist? Does this have any actual import?

There are conspiracys I believe happened and those I do not. This is a do not. Anyone making a video or writing a book has a point of view and an agenda. That’s okay. All are trying to sell you something: their point of view. That’s okay, I s’pose if they aren’t lying. There’s just never a reason to believe “because they said so.”

 

[thistle]

What are some the scary conspiracy theories that you have heard regarding the church ?

I’ve heard that a fake Sr. Lucia (The seer from Fatima) was the one that interviewed Pope John Paul II. Photographs to happen to show that the shape of the teeth and face differ from the ‘fake’ Sr. Lucia.
Then I’ve heard that Pope John Paul II was an antipope , critics tend to point at his ecumenical efforts and Assisi. The theorists pointed out that Pope Benedict XVI wore stars of David and Pope Paul VI used black magic to get to his position (Critics pointed at his repeated use of the term ‘magic’). The theorists also claim that the staff of the crucified Christ that Pope John Paul II used was demonic.

Fascinating but scary and unsettling
What your thoughts on these theories ?
I’ve found them by watching videos by ‘mhfm1’ a ‘Catholic’ user on youtube.com. His site is called vaticancatholic.com

Waste of time discussing rubbish like conspiracy theories.

 

[kesto4]

While there have been “odd” and “shady” things going on in the Vatican for quite sometime, it’s usually better not to get too involved or caught up in it. Yes, there are a lot of things we don’t know about, or at least aren’t supposed to. There are conspiracy theories, and there are truth’s about the Vatican. For example, when the Vatican released the alleged Third Secret, they represented a false impression that it was the whole secret, and made a bridge for people to create conspiracy theories of it. The Truth is out there, and eventually it will come to fruition, but for now it’s just best to focus on your life and saving others.

All the recent popes have been elected under proper rites and conditions, and though some may have made mistakes (whether misguided or forced or taught wrong), they are still popes, and we must respect their authority. I think we can all agree that the “Assisi gatherings” were awful and damaging to God, but we must know that he said His Church would never die. That being said, if things got bad enough, God will make a way to change them. Mary is pleading with him to give us more time everyday, and her apparitions are her best attempts to save us. It never hurts to send up a prayer to God, or pray a Hail Mary for all of us.

 

[Questioner28]

I think seeking out Catholic conspiracy theories on YouTube is probably not the best use of time – especially if they leave you feeling scared and unsettled.

There is not even a grain of truth to such rubbish. To freely place one’s self in a position to view such materials and wonder “what if…” with regards to their veracity could potentially be sinful. We are not to endanger our faith through the things we read, watch, and listen to.

Now, if one is viewing the videos for a cheap laugh or in order to respond to them in an apologetics environment, then it is a different matter. But if one is feeling scared and unsettled by it, that is a sign that one is taking it too seriously and needs to avoid such things.

I think I’ll stop reading up on conspiracy theories for the sake of my faith. I get scared too easily.

 

[CB_Catholic]

I think I’ll stop reading up on conspiracy theories for the sake of my faith. I get scared too easily.

Not just for the sake of your faith, but for the sake of your sanity, too. There are a lot of loonies out there caught up in conspiracy theories, whether religious or secular. Be careful of what you fill your mind with.