Show Me the Naju Fact

SHOW ME THE NAJU FACT ! #1 
Is the Pilgrimage to Naju Allowed or Disallowed? 

Maria : False news and evil editing are prolific these days. We let you know what’s true and what’s false, on the basis of objective grounds. Hello, everyone!

Mr. Peter Kim, Sr. Michaella : Hello!

Maria : Welcome to this ‘Show Me the Naju Fact’. I’m your host, Maria Kwon. Let me briefly introduce our broadcast which has just launched today.

In an age that faces rampant false news and evil editing, to satisfy your ‘right-to-know’, ‘Show Me the Naju Fact’ will show what’s true and what’s false, on the basis of objective grounds. So, anyone who is interested in “Truth”, search the keyword ‘Show Me the Naju Fact’ on YouTube and join us.

Today, we are set to air, and we have two guests here who are expert panelists that will separate the truth from the fake news. Mr. Peter Kim, sitting next to me, will first provide an introduction and his aspiration for this program. Let us listen.

Mr. Peter Kim : Thank you for the introduction, this is Peter Kim.

Let me tell you why I came and began to volunteer to ‘The Blessed Mother’s House of Naju.’ 23 years ago, I was serving as chairman on The Department of Liturgy of the faithful in the Catholic Archdiocese of Daegu, and as the head of the organization department of Cursillo. I have served a lot for the diocese.

At that time, I heard that the Tears of Blood and the Fragrant Oil were flowing from a statue of a Virgin Mary in Naju, and that the Eucharist changed into Flesh and Blood. The faithful of Daegu Archdiocese visited Naju by renting a tour bus. At the time, from the Gwangju Archdiocese, it was told that Naju and its Messages are false; that it’s not the Tears of Blood, but rather pig’s blood on the statue.

Some priests, who agreed with that, prevented the faithful from going to Naju. As I was a volunteer in the association of the faithful, I believed what they said. I also persecuted Naju pilgrims telling them not to go there. ‘To catch a tiger, you have to enter the tiger’s den.’ I came to Naju to reaffirm my convictions on its falsehood. It was May 5, 1997, the first Saturday of the month. There were two things I was surprised about. The first thing was that the Chapel for the Blessed Mother was in poor condition. The prayer meeting began and Julia Kim spoke to pilgrims.

Until then, I had heard many lectures and homilies from many well-known lecturers and priests. But when I heard the testimony of Julia Kim, I thought, ‘Oh, this is it! This is the living word! That’s why the faithful are coming here.’ Later I decided to visit again with my wife. Three days later, during ‘The holy hour on Thursday’, at around 3:00 a.m., I was praying before the big picture of the Blessed Mother’s shedding Tears of Blood. At that moment, I witnessed the Tears of Blood shedding from the image of the Virgin Mary.

I was so surprised that I began crying many tears. ‘She is shedding Tears of Blood because I’ve been living wrong. I thought I’ve lived well, but my life was full of arrogance and sins.’ The Blessed Mother made me realize it.

When I looked back at Her after crying for a long time, I felt that She was looking at me with sympathy, so I told her. “If You want, I’ll do Your work.” I was amazed when I made this promise. We have to keep our promises to people. ‘How can I keep this promise to the Blessed Mother?’ I was frightened and fearful. For the first time in my life, I truly repented.

For over the past 23 years since then, I’ve been working here with gratitude for the Messages given to us through Julia Kim and all the signs earned by the redemptive suffering of Julia Kim. And I give thanks that the Blessed Mother has chosen me.

I couldn’t make Naju’s 34-year history actively known because of the extreme opposition, but now I have come here to tell the truth within my heart, at the risk of my own life. So, if you watch this broadcast series, it will be a definite help to your faith life.

Maria : Yes, while listening to him, I am reminded of St. Paul the Apostle. Next let us invite Sr. Michaella.

Sr. Michaella : Hello, my name is Michaella Kim Ji-eun. I came to know Our Lady of Naju when I was a university student. At the time, I was seeking my own dreams and honor in the secular world, full of luxury and vanity. However, since my first visit to Naju, I came to know Our Lady of Naju and Julia Kim. And indeed, I found the truth here. Ever since then, my life completely changed 180 degrees.

I have lived here full of happiness every day. That is why I came here to share with many people the truth that I found, and the happiness I am experiencing in this Holy Place.

Maria : As both panelists mentioned, we are making this broadcast to let you know the facts, and to hit the right spots! We hope you may look forward to it and join us! If you have any questions while watching this broadcast, such as any of the discussed facts which are hidden by false news, please leave a comment. The experts in the field will answer your questions.

Well, the first theme that we will talk over today is about “The Pilgrimage to Naju”. Many people wonder about this part. So do I! Well, we will check the facts in detail. I will ask Peter Kim directly. According to the position of the Vatican, is the pilgrimage to Naju Allowed or Disallowed?

Mr. Peter Kim : Needless to say, ALLOWED.

Maria : You just said that the Pilgrimage to Naju is allowed without a doubt. On what basis, can we listen to your explanation?

Mr. Peter Kim : To say that Naju was condemned by the Holy See was caused by false news. The Vatican determines all private revelations within three categories.

The first category is “Confirmed as supernatural phenomenon”. To confirm means to approve it. There are Shrines of the Blessed Mother which are included in this category; Lourdes of France, Fatima of Portugal and Guadalupe of Mexico. These are the three major Marian apparition sites. The Vatican has confirmed them as supernatural phenomena.

The second one is “Confirmed as not supernatural”. This means that the Vatican concludes the phenomenon is not a private revelation after investigation by the Holy See. And the third one, let us pay attention to this: “Not confirmed as supernatural” It means the ‘investigation is ongoing.’ Now, the official stance on the phenomenon in Naju is this third one. Let us review the official letter written by the Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith in the Vatican on April 24, 2008.

There is “Non Constat de Supernaturalitate”. It means that “It’s not confirmed as supernatural.” The position on Naju Shrine falls in this category. 

In other words, we can say, “Anybody freely can make a pilgrimage to Naju.”

Maria : Yes, then, what you have just said is a “key point of today’s theme”

It means “Not yet confirmed whether it is supernatural or not”. This means that it is still under investigation, and judgment is temporarily suspended. Then, on what basis can we find out that Naju is under temporarily suspended judgment?

Sr. Michaella : Yes, many people ask, “Isn’t this just coming from Naju’s side”? or “how can we find out the facts?” So, if you check out the official website of Gwangju Archdiocese, you can find what is written through “The Position of Archdiocese of Gwangju” issued on Feb 24, 2009 and May 1, 2011.

When you check “The Position of Archdiocese of Gwangju” issued in 2009, His Grace published his conclusion “non constat de supernaturalitate” concerning the events occurring at Naju. The Congregation continues to accept the decision as the official position of the Church.”(No. 112/1993-27066) It is open to everyone and anybody who wants to check this on their website.

Maria : Yes, it would be good if we check it out for ourselves.

Sr. Michaella : When people first encounter “It is not confirmed as supernatural”, they may consider that it implies ‘the alleged apparition is not supernatural phenomena.’ But it is definitely different.

‘Non’ in Latin means ‘No’ in English. The meaning varies by the location of where “Non” appears. For the decision on the apparition in Naju, ‘Non’ is attached to ‘constat’ : “Non constat de supernaturalitate” This translates as “It is NOT confirmed as Supernatural”

To justify condemnation and heresy, it would have been instead “Constat de non supernaturalitate” As you see in this case, ‘Non’ is attached to ‘supernaturalitate.’ Therefore, this would mean “It is confirmed as NOT Supernatural”

Mr. Peter Kim : With this subtle difference, some clergy misled many faithful with their cunning, confusing the facts of the matter.

Maria : Yes, then is there any example of what was confirmed as not supernatural?

Sr. Michaella : Yes, for example, there was an alleged apparition in St. Joseph’s Church, Emmitsburg in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, USA. The Archbishop of Baltimore, USA condemned the alleged apparition as a heresy. In the official decree, there mentioned “Constat de Non Supernaturalitate” : Confirmed as not supernatural.

And this message followed: “Accordingly, there is to be no public activity” regarding the alleged apparition. Therefore, the case (in Baltimore) and Naju are definitely different.

If they say that Naju is ‘not confirmed as Supernatural’, yet still ban people from visiting Naju at the same time, then this would be contradictory and false.

Maria : Yes, those two sentences are clearly different. It will be good to check them if anybody is curious. So I think it’s right for us to translate what Gwangju Archdiocese issued about the position of the Vatican is suspended judgement.

Mr. Peter Kim : You said that ‘The judgement is reserved for now.’ The reason why it’s important is that it’s related directly to Naju Pilgrimage. With the statement of ‘Not confirmed as supernatural’, the Gwangju Archdiocese cunningly made people think as if Naju was banned. Even though many people may have been preparing a pilgrimage to Naju, as they want to see the Blessed Mother and to pray here, it’s really heartbreaking that many lay people and clergy do not come to Naju because of the word of Gwangju Archdiocese.

We hope our faithful know about this clearly and we’d like to say once again, Naju is “the place that anybody can make a pilgrimage and pray freely.”

Sr. Michaella : Archbishop Andrew Choi, who issued the 2nd and 3rd declaration on Naju, also mentioned it on the air of PBC broadcast. “Miracles (of Naju) have not been confirmed, but we don’t mean it is ‘not a Miracle’. We can say it is under suspended judgment.”

That is Archbishop Choi himself spoke about Naju “Non Constat de Supernaturalitate”

Maria : Has he appeared in the PBC broadcasting?

Sr. Michaella : Yes that is right.

Maria : Do you happen to have a footage for it?

PD : Yes~ We do.

Maria : Then, let us listen to that broadcast together for the ‘right-to-know’.

< Telephone interview during Broadcast >

Maria : Oh, he really appeared in the broadcasting and mentioned exactly what you said.

Sr. Michaella : Yes, he also visited the Blessed Mother’s Chapel and the Blessed Mother’s Mountain.

Mr. Peter Kim : Yes, right. He came to the Chapel and looked around carefully. I saw him looking at the photo of the Eucharistic Miracle meaningfully for a long time.

Sr. Michaella : Dr. Joaquin Navarro-Valls, Vatican Press Office spokesman noted, “You cannot say people cannot go there until it has been proven false. This has not been said, so anyone can go if they want ...”

Before a final judgment is confirmed, to decide whether it is true or false, we need to observe the fruits. However, if pilgrimages are banned, how can we observe the fruits from it? Therefore, if they say “The alleged apparition is not confirmed as supernatural, and also, the pilgrimage (to Naju) is banned”, they are making the mistake in interpretation, or showing they have no knowledge about it and giving false information intently.

Maria : As this is the first day of our program, we dealt with an essential topic and checked the facts with our two expert panelists.

In conclusion, Naju Shrine is under investigation. Suspended judgment. The Congregation continues to accept this position. Therefore anyone can freely make their pilgrimage to Naju. we can make a pilgrimage to Naju freely.

Mr. Peter Kim : Naju Shrine is a place where anyone can freely make their pilgrimage. I’d like to stress this once more. I came to Naju and saw, heard, checked and trusted with confidence. I recommend you to come and see it for yourself also.

It will not be too late for you to decide after seeing it for yourself. Please ask yourself whether you are doing the right thing, or if you have understood something incorrectly and are doing the persecution. I sincerely ask you to check it for yourself once again.

Maria : Yes, in your words just before, the part ‘Anyone, freely’ touches me a lot. We checked the facts together today, including the evidence in both original and reputable translations. Today I realized this important fact has been buried by so much false news, and many people lost the opportunity to make the pilgrimage (to Naju). I’m so sorry for that. There are many damages coming from false news in our society these days. I wish that in the society and the church, the truth to be known as it really is.

In the future, I wish you may make pilgrimage to Naju, freely, and receive graces abundantly by coming to know the truth through future broadcasting of our programs. I really appreciate the both of your great works today. We will be with you again with another theme next time. Please look forward to it.

Maria : “Show Me the Naju Fact” Like!

Mr. Peter Kim : Subscribe!

Sr. Michaella : Comment!

Maria : Please don’t forget! See you next time! Good Bye~!

Mr. Peter Kim : Thank you~!