Show Me the Naju Fact #3 

The Reason of "Couldn't Obey", NOT "Didn't Obey" - Because we can't follow the ERROR.

Maria Kwon : Hello, Everyone. Welcome to ‘Show me the Naju Fact’. Many people who watched the last episode commented, “How come I didn’t know the facts until now. I realized a lot of truths through this program.” Thanks to the comments of sincere support like this, we get receive more strength and we’ll continue to check every fact on the basis of objective grounds.

Now, today as well, we’re going to reveal to you the hidden truth that you wished to know. Let me invite two panelists to check the facts together again.

Hello~ The theme of our 3rd episode today is ‘Obedience’. On the subject of ‘Obedience’, here’s the Planning Director, Peter Park who explains about ‘Naju Shrine and Messages of Love’. Let us listen to his introduction and aspiration.

Peter Park : Hello. I am Peter Park Yeong-seon, the planning director in the ‘Sodality of Mary’s Ark of Salvation’. I have been consistently making pilgrimages to Naju Shrine for 31 years.

Ms. Maria Kwon : Oh, for 31 years. You have made pilgrimages for a very long time then.

Peter Park : Yes. I have.

Ms. Maria Kwon : Even when you were in Japan, you came on pilgrimages.

Peter Park : Yes. I’ve come here since I was in my 30s. Now I’m over 60 and I’ve had some difficulties during that period. In fact, I went to Japan through the grace of the Blessed Mother. Because of that, I also spread the word about Naju Shrine there.

I made Naju known to Fr. Shimura, a writer and a great Marian devotee, who has visited Naju before. At the time, when I went on a business trip to Nagasaki, I distributed copies of the Messages of Love in Japanese, since the book was not yet published, to the faithful and the priests.

Now to this day, many pilgrims are coming from Japan. I did my part to spread it to the local people there. The reason I have been coming here for 31 years despite the declaration, oppression, and persecution is because what is being done here is the right thing done by God. So, I have been playing a role like that and I’ll continue to keep on doing it.

The Blessed Mother has appeared and given us the Messages for more than 34 years here in Naju. Because everything here is precious to us and are necessary factors for our salvation, it is my aspiration to make them known to everyone in the whole world and to let all the people participate in the God’s work of salvation.

Ms. Maria Kwon : Oh. I see.

He has made pilgrimages (to Naju) for 31 years, even when he was in Japan. I think he is a living witness to the pilgrims of Naju. Today, I think he will check more facts correctly by putting a finger on the pulse, which the viewers are curious about.

Well, first of all, in the last episode we checked the facts that it’s permitted to make pilgrimage to Naju freely according to the position of the Vatican. We learned that an automatic excommunication is not applicable (to Naju). Actually, there are a great number of people who want to go on a pilgrimage to Naju, yes. However, despite their wish, they chose not to visit in order to obey the church(Gwangju Archdiocese) which told them not to go (to Naju). So, at this time, we are going to check the facts about ‘the Obedience’ deeply and specifically.

Now, first, you have heard from some people around you that they can’t come (to Naju) because of obedience, haven’t you?

Peter Park : Yes. I’ve heard those things from others around me. What they say is that they know Naju is true, but they have to obey the church and it’s right to wait until the official recognition by the church. But this is a serious problem actually.

Ms. Maria Kwon :  Yes, it is.

Sr. Michaella : ‘Naju doesn’t obey the church’ is a dominant perception now. People believe that Naju is disobedient without having the opportunity to know the truth properly, and this hurts me. So, I hope this broadcast can be an opportunity for them to know the truth.

Ms. Maria Kwon : You just said you hope this broadcast could be an opportunity to make the truth known. Then, you mean that ‘Naju is in disobedience’ is not a fact?

Peter Park : No, It is not ‘Not obeying’, it is ‘Not able to obey’.

Ms. Maria Kwon : You just said, it is ‘Not able to obey’. I think there might be a reason in that. There’s a reason. 

Peter Park : Yes, it’s because it(Naju) was forced to a false confession. It(Naju) was forced a false confession from the parish priest since 2001.

Ms. Maria Kwon : A false confession?

Peter Park : Yes. Let me tell you how the whole story had gone until Julia was forced to make a false confession. The first declaration was issued in 1998. At that time, Julia did obey the declaration. In the Naju Chapel side, she posted the declaration at the entrance so that pilgrims may not make a pilgrimage to Naju. And Julia followed the declaration and stayed in seclusion inside the attic of her house. But, pilgrims continued making pilgrimages to Naju and praying regardless of the declaration.

She kept the Virtue of Obedience to the Archbishop who had issued the declaration. Meanwhile, in November 2001, she received an invitation from a Cardinal in Mexico. As you know well, our Lady of Guadalupe is in Mexico. One of the three major Holy shrines in the world. In Monterrey Mexico, ‘The book of the Messages of the Blessed Mother of Naju’ was published in Spanish, and she was invited to the Conference of priests to celebrate the publication of the book. To respond to this official invitation, To respond to this official invitation,

Maria Kwon : Yes. If the Cardinal himself invited her to the Conference, it must have been a huge event. Could you explain more about the event in detail?

Sr. Michaella Kim : Yes. It was such a great event. 52 Cardinals and Bishops, 1,400 priests and hundreds of thousands of the faithful gathered. If Julia had attended there, it could have been a great opportunity to make the Blessed Mother of Naju known to the whole world. But when Julia, who observed the importance of obedience, asked the Archbishop, “May I attend the event?” Of course, he would not allow that. So, Julia politely declined the invitation from the Cardinal, choking down her tears.

Maria Kwon : Yes. What a truly amazing story! I learned it for the first time today that she, in spite of an invitation from Cardinal, didn’t attend such an important occasion in effort to obey the (Gwangju) Archbishop. Then, when she was making efforts in obedience, what was the reaction of the parish church in Naju at the time?

Peter Park : Despite Julia’s effort to obey, Fr. Song who appointed as Naju parish priest in 2001, made personal attacks on Julia, and insulted her character whenever he gave homilies.

Maria Kwon : You just mentioned ‘making personal attacks’ and ‘insult’. What did he say?

Peter Park : He said many things, I’ll tell you two of them in particular. 

He said this during 10 a.m. Sunday Mass on May 27, 2001.

<The footage : Excerpts from the homily of Fr. Song, the Naju parish priest at that time during Mass on May 27, 2001>

“I think the water of our parish had been clear before.  Then, a loach (referring to Julia) came in and made the water muddy.  As people have been giving the loach more water, food, and applause, it has now become a huge serpent, turning the water into the water of death. How can we simply overlook it?

Many pagans are swarming like bees (to the Naju Chapel), saying, ‘Here is such a capable person even in the Catholic Church!’ This is a disgrace for Naju, not an honor!”

And he said “The so-called messages and signs have all been fabricated. For that reason, Julia must find a mousehole, hide in it, and breathe only in there.” Whenever he gave homily, he would talk in this way. So, one day an elderly person who was listening to this kind of homily during Mass said, “I can’t listen to this kind of homily anymore! It’s not a homily,” and went out. Since then, many faithful have lapsed.

Maria Kwon : No wonder that believers reacted in that way because the priest frequently put personal attacks on others whenever he gave a homily. In addition to that, I’ve heard that the priest urged her to tell lies. Can you tell me about it in detail?

Peter Park : Yes. I will tell you. In early June of 2001, Fr. Song the parish priest said, “Come to the 10 o’clock Mass this Sunday. I will give Julia and Julio the microphone. If you confess to the congregation that you have been fabricating everything and been telling lies for the past 15 years(should be 16 years) and ask for forgiveness, I will receive you back to the Church.” He was forcing them to falsely confess that all the messages and unprecedented miracles and signs until then were false.

Maria Kwon : He asked (Julia) to confess “all the messages and miracles are lies and fabricated”. It is the same as forcing to tell lies. It obviously violates the 10 commandments: ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.’ It’s so shocking that the priest forced the faithful to bear a false testimony.

Peter Park : Yes, it is. If Julio and Julia were to follow the instruction to blindly go to Catholic Church, it means that they forsake their faith and conscience. It is the total denial of the Lord and the Blessed Mother. If they follow it, how can we say that they are true faithfuls who believe in God? Therefore, they couldn’t follow the instruction to deny the Lord and the Blessed Mother. That was the reason they could not be obedient.

Maria Kwon : I see. But many people may not have known the fact that the parish priest did such a thing. Although we confirmed the fact during our talk, it feels pathetic. By the way I heard that the parish priest also appeared on ‘PBC Broadcast’ and talked about Naju. What was it about?

Peter Park : Let me explain without missing. It was Aug 15, 2001, the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. During the talk in Gwangju PBC Radio program, he said “It has been always my understanding that the Catholic Church believes that the Blessed Mother in the Gospel lived both a most ordinary as well as extraordinary life. But, suddenly in the 20th Century, in the land of Naju in the Jeolla Province, She turned into a perverted woman who is so talkative and incites people’s curiosity. I simply cannot understand this. When I go to Heaven, I will make sure to see the Blessed Mother and ask Her about it.

How can such conducts of Catholics be anything other than idolatry? If this strange statue of the Blessed Mother made of plaster and bought for 8,000 won was broken, Julia and her followers would probably ask me, their Pastor, to celebrate a funeral Mass, saying that the Blessed Mother had died.”

Maria Kwon : About Our Lady’s messages… In the 20th century, there were many apparitions of the Blessed Mother. How can he say, “She is so talkative and perverted?” It’s a shock for me to hear that. Not only that, but it was painful in my heart to hear those words spoken publicly through the media, not privately.

Sr. Michaella Kim : Unlike that parish priest, there was another parish priest who was different. He had been in charge of the Naju parish for four years until 1991 and said to Julia, “Please bring me anyone who says, 'Julia is not obedient,' I'll tell them how obedient you are.” When Julia didn’t know God, she considered love as her primary virtue. But ever since the first moment of the Blessed Mother’s weeping Tears, she has considered obedience as her utmost importance.

It has been well-known that she is so obedient. Before doing things, she always reported everything to the parish priest to receive permission. Because of that, the parish priest even said to her, ‘You don’t have to report everything.’ To that extent, she is known to have lived the life of obedience.

Maria Kwon : Yes, now it is known that there is a priest who was willing testify to others how obedient Julia has been in her life, through witnessing her attitude of obedience.

Peter Park : Yes, on May 11, 2002, Julia Kim’s mother-in-law passed away. At that time, the parish priest was Fr. Song. He not only refused to celebrate Mass for her but also told the parishioners not to visit her to say prayers. “Do not even go to pray for the dead!”

He also threatened the pastor of Julia’s mother-in-law’s parish: “If you allow even a prayer service for her, I will consider it a scandal in the Church and take appropriate measures.”  Thus, no priest was allowed to celebrate Mass or conduct a prayer service for Julia’s mother-in-law.

Sr. Michaella: If one of our neighbors passes away, even if a non-believer, we visit and pray for the dead. It’s an important duty for the faithful to pray for them to practice love. It is really heartbreaking that even the prayers for the dead are forbidden by a priest.

Maria Kwon : Yes, I’m so sorry to hear that. By the way, I heard that there was a decisive incident on why Julia, after seven years of seclusion in the attic and in accordance to obeying the declaration, restarted her public activity.

Peter Park : Yes, it was quite a big incident.

On February 4, 2005, Archbishop Choi sent a letter to Julio and Julia Kim, saying, “Present offerings to the Church and lead a normal faith life. And submit a report to me before the second Sunday of Easter.” He gave the ultimatum,

“If you fail to submit the papers, I will decide Julio and Julia do not belong to the Catholic Church community and I will publicly declare this decision.”

Julio and Julia received the letter on February 11. However, before they received the letter, it had already been sent to the Apostolic Nuncio and to the bishops in Korea.

A false and malicious letter including the above part was sent to the key people even before hearing the explanation of Julio and Julia.

In order to follow the Archbishop’s instructions, Julio and Julia tried to set ‘Denarius Cultus’ and make a Confession to live a normal faithful life. Parish priest didn’t accept them until they fulfilled the preconditions.

Maria Kwon : You mean, the priest said that he wouldn’t accept them if they didn’t carry out the preconditions. What were the preconditions?

Peter Park : Peter Park: The precondition is what Fr. Song, the Naju Parish priest, demanded in early June 2001. Let me remind you of it again.

Fr. Song demanded Julio and Julia declare that all the Naju Phenomena has been a fabrication and a lie, and that they should close down the Chapel and Blessed Mother’s Mountain.

We all knew what had happened during those years. The unprecedented miracles and signs occurred. Many of those miracles and signs were scientifically validated. The Blessed Mother shed Tears and Tears of Blood. Eucharistic Miracles and Miraculous Water were granted. The Precious Blood descended on more than 3,000 spots. We have kept all materials until now.

DNA analysis was conducted on the Precious Blood. It was scientifically proven to be the blood of a human with type AB. Despite all this, Julio and Julia were asked to deny everything. Even toward the Messages of Love given to us from the Lord and Blessed Mother, he asked them to deny all by saying ‘they are all lies’. This was the precondition: To deny all of those miracles; to declare that they are all lies.

Since Julio and Julia could not follow the instructions of the priest, they wrote their reasons and sent the letter to the Archbishop.

Maria Kwon : I see.

Peter Park : The letter was sent on March 11, but the Archbishop never responded. Instead, he sent a surprise gift.

Maria Kwon : Maria Kwon: A surprise gift instead of a reply? What was it?

Peter Park : Peter Park: It was the 3rd declaration under the name of Archbishop, issued on May 5, 2005. In this declaration, he announced “What’s happening in Naju has no relation to the Catholic Church.”

Maria Kwon : Maria Kwon: Oh, I think it’s a heartbreaking act, like dropping a bombshell. It’s like getting stabbed in the back. My guess is all those processes might have been a thorough plan to prepare announcing the 3rd declaration, “What’s happening in Naju has no relation to the Catholic Church.”

Peter Park: Peter Park: I think so.

Sr. Michaella: So, at that time, there were banners, saying, ‘Julia Kim has no relation to the Catholic Church,’ in front of the Naju Parish and at the street corners. Peter, you probably saw it, because you were on a pilgrimage to Naju during that time.

Peter Park: Yes, I saw them, even the one hanging in front of the church.

Sr. Michaella : Yes, for seven years, Julia had been in a small attic where she lacked even fresh air. It was so hot in the summertime and too cold in the wintertime. She offered up her suffering there, being eager for a sincere investigation by Gwangju Archdiocese.

However, Gwangju Archdiocese concluded that Naju phenomena had no relation to the Church. As for Julia, the mission given to her by God was not something ignorable. So she became assured that she must cry out to the world again and resumed her public activity, attending prayer meetings.

Peter Park : Yes, despite such persecution after the 3rd declaration, the Lord and Blessed Mother didn’t stop giving us messages and miraculous signs. Rather, more signs were granted to Naju.

One of the remarkable Signs was the second Eucharistic miracle occurring in the Vatican (on 28 Feb, 2010).

And, as covered in the last broadcast, Gwangju Archdiocese alleged that the Teachings of the Church say that the Consecrated Host must not be transformed into (visible) Flesh and Blood.

There is a definite fact that we must know. The Doctrine of the Catholic Church never mentions “Consecrated Host must not be transformed into Flesh and Blood”

Because of this obvious error, it’s not that we don’t obey it, but we can’t obey it, because it is ERRORONEOUS.

Maria Kwon : Yes. You’re right. On this matter, we have already inspected the real facts on the last broadcast.

If such Eucharistic miracles are to be denied, it means it is denying all the Eucharistic miracles that the Church has recognized in Catholic history. If so, it’s right that we can’t obey faulty instructions.

Peter Park : Peter Park: In conclusion, I’d like to share with you what St. Francis Salesian said about ‘Obedience’.

“Many are greatly misunderstood about obedience. They think that the command of the superior is to be obeyed, even though it is against God’s commandments and the teachings of the church. The superiors have no right at all to give instructions that deviate from God’s commandments, and the faithful are not obligated to follow it. Rather, if they follow the erroneous instructions, they sin,” said St. Francis Salesian.

Sr. Michaella: The word “Rather, if they follow the erroneous instructions, they sin” is touching me a lot. I clearly learned that obedience to erroneous instructions leads us to “Denial of God the Father”, Who is truth itself.

Maria Kwon :  Yes, we have learned “(what is) True obedience” from the word of St. Francis Salesian. Thus, we can also learn, ‘Wrong obedience brings us to commit sins of “denial of God who is TRUTH.’ Hereby, now we can clearly conclude today’s topic of “What is true Obedience”.

Today’s fact check on the fake news was, “It is not ‘Not obeying’, but it is ‘Not able to obey’”

Today, we have talked in detail about true obedience. It has been an opportunity to think about “how to reach true obedience”. How nice the world would be if people in the world would just obey truth, and not error.

I appreciate your effort for today’s broadcast. Next time we will return with another item to fact check. ‘Show Me The Naju Fact’ ‘Subscribe’

Peter Park : Peter Park: ‘Like’

Sr. Michaella : ‘Comment’

Maria Kwon : Don’t forget! Bye!