CATHOLIC CULTS : THE POPE’S ARMADA

The book by Gordon Urquhart – a former member of the insidious Focolare Movement - called The Pope’s Armada exposes three Roman Catholic movements as full-blown cults. The Neocatechumenate. Communion and Liberation and Focolare are the terrible threesome. Kiko Arguello, Luigi Giussani and Chiara Lubich are the founders of each respectively. These evil charlatans are enthusiastically endorsed by the most dangerous charlatan of them all, the pope. John Paul II even granted a special status to their lay members (page 20). 
 
The book tells us about Rita of Ealing Abbey Parish who joined the Neocatechumenate. It became her new family. The parishioners found her wedding mass celebrated by the movement to be hypnotic. She aggressively sought to make converts of the neighbours. Eventually, she was told to have nothing to do with her family. The movement in the parish was led by Fr Michael Hopley. The movement was very secretive. That shows it had something to hide.

Communion and Liberation and Focolare encourage people to keep away from anything that is not of the movement. Everything is thought to be a bad influence. They also insist that faith and experience are superior to reason (page 58). If you reason tells you that there can’t be a God you must ignore it if you feel that God is with you. That is evil and deceptive.
 
The author felt he was love-bombed by Focolare (page 17). He joined and it nearly cost him his personality and he stopped thinking and feeling what was normal (page 19).
 
Focolare has secret writings of the founder which are considered to be offensive to the public (page 33). This shows that the Movement is dishonest and manipulative. The author saw a secret text in which Lubich said that God gives all grace only through Mary and she said that she was the little Mary through whom all the supernatural powers that forge unity come. Lubich like all Romanists holds that that there is no real unity without holiness so she is really saying that there is no grace – the supernatural force that removes from you all that God does not like – given unless she intercedes with Mary who must in turn intercede with God. The author was told by several members that it was enough to believe in Chiara if one did not believe in God. What they must have meant was not than an atheist could believe in Chiara for you can’t believe in Chiara if you think there is no God – and especially when she says that it is only God that matters – but that we must believe in Chiara and she will lead us to God so we believe in God only because of Chiara. Chiara is still made superior to God for what God says does not matter but only what she says.
 
The Focolare and Neocatechumenate cults insist that there is a gift from God that their founders have that makes them know everything (page 35).
 
The latter urges people to publicly confess the worst sins and is not afraid to ask revolting and personal questions (page 37).
 
It tries to compel people to put it first even before families and demands total obedience (page 38). The leaders of Focolare didn’t like people thinking and told them not to do it (page 47). Any cult that does that is to be avoided.
 
The author stated that incredibly simple exams are given by Focolare. Such exams were certainly for a dishonest purpose for why ask questions as silly as who the Son of God is? They want to give the appearance of teaching while not really teaching very much.
 
At Loppiano, the Focolare members had to wear themselves out to make visitors think that it was Heaven and to do it all day (page 50).
Chiara had an unpublished book in which she commended obeying absurd orders (page 52). The author had experienced religious blackmail and was told that each person was to blame for any problems that he or she had (page 53).
 
The Information Network Focus on New Religious Movements, INFORM, claims that brainwashing does not exist for if it did nobody would leave the group. But the author correctly notes that this proves that it does not work as well as it could in such cases (page 54). Focolare tries to keep you from any influence it does not like. Members are almost forced not to leave the environment even for brief excursions into the outside world. People were made to behave as if the unnatural behaviour demanded by the Movement was natural to them. This makes an example for others and frightens them from doing anything that is disapproved. The strict demand for obedience and the fact that people are imperfect gets them sucked further into the Movement for they will want to expunge guilt and make amends for failure and to prove to themselves that they can be better members. Once a month, members would have to tell one another their sins. This practice makes them feel that they are not their own property but the property of the wily Chiara Lubich and her evil mentor, the pope.
 
The frequent use of cult jargon is a reliable method of conditioning yourself and others. Focolare does this.
 
Dogma is put before persons. But all Christians are meant to do that for their faith tells them that death is preferable to heresy or sin – what God says is wrong.
The three movements destroy the personality and are determined to make others control you (60, 61). Lubich wants people to desire suffering and anguish for themselves for the suffering Jesus is loved by loving them (page 61, 62).

The Neocatechumenal Movement says members should not protect themselves from evil (page 62). The movements urge suffering and undermine the person which causes a high level of mental and physical problems (page 62). And Focolare has a clinic in Rome run by Focolare psychiatrists for treating members with mental problems (page 63). This is dangerous for if they should leave to cure themselves they won’t be told to and will be told that the mere thought of it will be forsaking Jesus (page 62).
 
And God is thought by all the cults to be experienced only through the members of the group (page 63). So, when the cult controls your perception of God and his seemingly odd commands it follows that the cult can get you to do anything. And when feelings and stories are made to determine what God is like and who he is and not reason it is obvious that the cult is made superior to God. What is says is what matters to you and not the truth.
 
At least we have to give the Neocatechumenate credit for saying that if we are sinners then we are all murderers, thieves and perverts (page 85). This is true for we are as good as in that case but then it says we hit rock bottom (page 85). It is heavy on the guilt thing. The Movement took over a parish near Cheltenham where it taught these things and divided that parish. It wants to have total control wherever it spreads its tentacles and will ruthlessly treat anybody who stands up to it like dirt (page 95).
 
The Movement grabbed plenty of money and priests were known to be big spenders even though the ideal was giving what you had for God (page 97).
Laura received much mental cruelty from Fr. John who was a Neocatechumenal priest. He once told her that God made her depressed to prevent her becoming a worse prostitute than her sister. He called the sister that because she lived with her boyfriend. He also let bad lots run riot in Church and did not care that the worshippers were annoyed and endangered (page 98, 99). Laura gave £1, 600 to purchase a crucifix for the priest and he bought her a cheap one with it and would not return the remaining money when requested. He gave her a heap of verbal abuse. 
 
In Italy, the Neos make a dash for houses were corpses are laid out to evangelise (page 103). It is said that their cult does not believe that holiness is possible so one is not losing anything by sin (page 104).
 
The cult has not defended itself against accusations of heresy (page 106) probably because they are true! It has attacked Fr Zoffoli who wrote books on its heresies but that is as close as it gets to proving itself orthodox.
 
The movement is so powerful in the Vatican that priests and bishops in Italy are afraid that exposing its wickedness could cost them everything they have worked for (page 107).
 
It was not in the list of organisations approved by the French Church which was compiled by the French bishops at the time the book was published (page 109).
 
The pope refuses to listen to criticisms of the movement and many Italian bishops have let him know about the dark side of the movement (page 133).
 
The Neos carry on as if they were a parallel Church and their priests tend to mostly neglect parishioners who are not members (page 135). Clergy who are non-members are even called Pharaohs (page 137). Moses the so-called man of God was antagonised by Pharaoh which is the meaning of this. There are testimonies from even Catholic bishops that the cult does not really respect Episcopal authority as much as it boasts (page 137).
 
Focolare judges the clergy as if it were the supreme authority (page 138). Focolare has contempt for the clergy because it thinks it is the true Church. Priests tend to be left out of intimate union with the cult. Focolare is evilly deceitful. The Church approval the movements have got has been won by deceit.
John Paul II advised all the laity to join the movements in Christifideles laici in 1987.
 
Focolare like the Roman Church herself chooses leaders who are orthodox and useful. Their holiness is not as important (page 150). Focolarinos give their salaries to the superior and cannot buy or meet anybody without their permission or do anything that is not geared towards missions and the movement (page 153). Everything they do is recorded even down to the names of the people they speak to. The leaders would tell them to walk out of their job and leave their boss stranded (page 154).
 
The pope in a letter to Mar Cordes wrote that he recognised the Neos as being good for the Church (page 159). The letter has errors in it which show that it was not corrected by the pope’s aides who always make his corrections. And it was not mentioned until September 1990 though it should have been mentioned before that. And then a ridiculous footnote claimed that the pope did not mean to give unqualified approval! This implies that not everybody at the Vatican likes the Neos. It also implies that the pope lied to save face when he regretted giving approval. Also, the pope must have wanted to get the movement approved better by sending a letter outside the normal channels to avoid his scheme being stopped. Religion is just for making slaves and if you do that for the pope and can get away with it then he will lie to get you accepted.
 
Page 171 does not give us much confidence in the pope. Paul VI laicised 30,000 priests and let them get married in Church but John Paul II makes them wed out side the Church and then apply to be laicised. And he then regards marriage outside the Church and the forcing of a person to sin as a terrible sin! When the pope was bishop of Cracow he furthered the three movements (page 173). 
 
The pope declared that the movements are necessary for growth in holiness inferring that anybody who does not join is not a great Catholic or fully Catholic (page 185).
 
During the papal visit to Denver 1993, a Neo song, “We are the Way, the Truth and the Life” was sung (page 196). This is a blasphemous attack on Jesus who said he was the Way, Truth and Life. Only God or his perfect son could make such a claim.
 
The cults like Romanism despise and condemn sexual sin the most (page 219). That is a very dishonest and uncaring and unfair approach.
 
Focolare is strict in its rules about the segregation of the sexes (page 222). The practice of keeping men and women apart in case they have sex will fail for it will make men fancy men and women fancy women! The message is that it is fine to make heterosexuals go that way for a while or whatever presumably because they will be disgusted with themselves and hate themselves forever. Focolare encourages childish behaviour and thinking (page 224). Marriage is thought to be inferior to celibate virginity. Focolare pressures married couples to serve it more than they should (page 230). Feelings of affections are banned for God is to be loved with the love that should bind man and wife (page 230). Arranged marriages have been engineered by the movement (page 232).
 
Chiara told a homosexual that she would rather have it if he were killed by a car than if he committed a homosexual act (page 237). People were made for faith then and not faith for people. It is wholly vindictive to harbour a belief like hers for there are countless nicer things she could have believed. The movement wasted much money on trying to “cure” this man. She told him he was not to blame for his orientation which was insincere for she really thought that he could be turned heterosexual. What about Romans 1 where God’s mouthpiece Paul says that gay people all want to be gay and that homosexuality is a punishment for sin?
 
The Neos will command the break-up of a marriage for religious reasons - when there is a partner who does not want the other to practice her or his Catholic faith (page 245). They want married people to love God alone instead of being in love with their partners (page 250). Marriages won’t be hard to break up if that is the case. Teachings like this imply that only very spiritual and religious people should get married. The movement is only concerned with converting others and neglects to relieve suffering (page 275).
 
We read that the movements do not like interest in material things and yet their leaders are all interested in wealth and buy expensive items (page 297).
Arguello, the founder of the Neos, declared that God wants people to be rich instead of being poor (page 299). They even try to get their hands on their victims’ wealth (page 300). People have been invited to secret weekend classes and when they are over they are forced to pay dearly. One man and his wife were harassed until they gave up £160 though they could not afford to (page 301). If not enough is collected in the collection they will pass the bag or whatever around again.
 
Tithes, one tenth of the income, are even extorted from promoted members and how the money is spent is something that is kept from everyone (page 302). Members are expected to sell all and the pressure to do this could not be stronger (page 302). Loads of cash is given out to bishops and priests probably to deter them from exposing the dangers of the cult.
 
Focolare does oppose people having possessions (page 304). Members are expected to live for themselves and just take all the time (page 305). Members still have a life of comfort and can stay for nothing in glorious holiday resorts (page 307). Yet they make an ideal of poverty. Obviously, Chiara and her movement are just thieving. She has several swish houses and holidays all the time (page 308). This system ensures that members will stay in the movement rather than leave with nothing.

Focolare sees funerals as celebrations which is dangerous for losing the person and feeling the loss are papered over (page 332).
In 1949, Lubich had the first of several visions near Trento in which she saw Heaven and entered it. Pity she didn’t stay there. She said she destroyed accounts of her visions in obedience to Rome but they are still distributed in her cult (page 337, 338). The visions told her that her cult was the mystical body of Mary (page 339).
The Neos have secret rites and doctrines that they are not allowed to reveal even to other members who are on a lower level of trust (page 343).
The movement claims that its heretical Guidelines volume was given to Rome and approved by it! (page 346). This is certainly a lie.
 
Arguello claimed that the Church did not really exist until he founded the movement and that it alone is the fulfilment of Vatican II (page 348). No true Catholic can believe either that or that man is totally evil and sinful like Arguello taught (page 352).
 
It is opposed to reserving the Eucharist in Chruches for it is argued that if Jesus meant that to be done he would have turned stone into himself for that does not rot (page 358). And it seems to be held that Jesus leaves the Eucharist when the mass finishes. Neocatechumenal priests trampled on Holy Communion in St John Lateran in Rome. The movement is not Roman Catholic for it boasts that it is the true Church (page 358). Also, they are excommunicated under canon law for desecrating Holy Communion.
 
It does not like people doing anything for the world (page 361).
 
Arguello also claims to have visions (page 369). He thinks he saw Jesus and Mary. The revelations may have given him his doctrine that the door of salvation is closed.
 
The movement regards anybody who leaves as a traitor who has abounded the faith (page 371).
 
Focolare does not give good news about lost members (page 373). It was often implied that those who left were as bad as the Devil for leaving Heaven. However, it does not treat them as lepers like the Neos do (page 396).
 
Urquhart asserts that the pope must know of the accusations against the movements (page 418). That is correct for the pope meets all his bishops.
 
For Rome to denounce such popular and powerful movements would be devastating for the Church. Could that be why no condemnation comes? This shows a profound absence of belief in the providence of God. Jesus did not shy away from the cross or from condemning the popular beliefs because it would demoralise his followers. The movements are scandalous and attacking them would be the best thing to do for they will only get more outrageous and harmful. But the pope does not care about people only controlling them.