Philippine Daily Inquirer
As the world awaits the beatification of Pope John Paul II on May 1, I remember my unforgettable encounter with this great man
POPE BENEDICT XVI recently announced the beatification of Pope John Paul II on May 1. It is an event eagerly awaited by Filipinos and by all Christendom. The late Polish head of the Catholic Church was definitely the most admired and loved Pope of the modern era. His affection for the Philippines, the only Christian country in Asia, was demonstrated when he visited the country twice, something no other Pope had done before.
Beatification is the last in a usually long and tedious process before a person is canonized or declared a saint by the Vatican. Pope John Paul II’s beatification was announced almost immediately after the first miracle attributed to the late Pope had been declared authentic by medical specialists. It was reported that a Catholic nun suffering from Parkinson’s Disease was cured after praying to Pope John Paul II. Doctors declared that the healing could not be explained medically.
Only one more miracle is waiting to be authenticated before Pope John Paul II is finally declared a saint. But in Poland, people have been venerating the late Pope like a saint since he died. I witnessed this myself two years ago. I held a seminar at the Pope John Paul II Museum in Warsaw, where a large bronze statue stands at the entrance. I saw people lighting candles, kneeling and praying before the statue with great reverence and devotion.
The announcement of Pope John Paul II’s beatification made me recall my unforgettable experience meeting this great Pope at the Vatican in 1986. I was one of several foreign speakers invited to give a lecture during an international conference on alternative healing in Milan, Italy. More than 600 delegates attended.
After the conference, where I spoke about faith healing and the phenomenon of psychic surgery in the Philippines, our host asked if we would want to meet the Pope at the Vatican. We of course said yes, although I thought he was just joking. It was too good to be true.
There were 15 of us who flew to Rome. At a special hall where the Pope greets thousands of people, about six of the foreign speakers, including myself, were given special passes to talk to the Pope after the ceremony.
Before the Pope appeared, there were thousands of people from all over the world who waited to see and hear him. He greeted each of the delegations gathered there, and that took about an hour. As the Pope greeted each group, they would excitedly shout and clap their hands to acknowledge his greeting. I was only half listening when the Pope said, “And we would also like to greet those gathered here who are doing psychotronic research, for they are also doing their part to help humanity.” I found myself spontaneously clapping and shouting “Viva il Papa!” together with the rest of my delegation.
I was completely taken by surprise by the Pope’s greeting. I didn’t realize that the Pope believed in psychic research, because here in the Philippines, the Catholic priests (with a few exceptions) look at my work with great suspicion, if not disapproval. So that statement by no less than the supreme head of the Catholic Church was a welcome vindication for me.
The next part had the Pope giving special audience to selected groups. We were given passes to go to the front of the big hall to talk to the Pope for a few seconds. The other members of our group were all trying to catch his attention, so I shouted, “Your Holiness, I come from the Philippines.” When the Pope heard this, he turned towards me and approached me smiling. I felt his energy so strongly, I almost went into a trance. I was holding a copy of the German edition of my book about the faith healers of the Philippines. I told the Pope, “I would like to give you this book that I wrote about the faith healers of the Philippines.”
The Pope acknowledged the gift and said, “Faith is what we need most in the world today.” And when the Pope saw the cover of my book, showing a faith healer performing psychic surgery on a patient, he automatically made the sign of the cross on the book, as though blessing the patient. Then he handed the book to an aide beside him as he turned to other people in the front row.
As we were leaving, I saw a good number of sick people, some of them in wheelchairs, who were lining up for healing, and the Pope started healing each one of them by blowing and laying his hands on them, just like what Jesus Christ did.
My meeting with this great Pope who will soon be declared a saint lasted only a few seconds, but I will never forget the awesome experience. I never imagined I would ever meet a saint in my lifetime, and I have two pictures with him to prove it.
Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer
POPE BENEDICT XVI recently announced the beatification of Pope John Paul II on May 1. It is an event eagerly awaited by Filipinos and by all Christendom. The late Polish head of the Catholic Church was definitely the most admired and loved Pope of the modern era. His affection for the Philippines, the only Christian country in Asia, was demonstrated when he visited the country twice, something no other Pope had done before.
Beatification is the last in a usually long and tedious process before a person is canonized or declared a saint by the Vatican. Pope John Paul II’s beatification was announced almost immediately after the first miracle attributed to the late Pope had been declared authentic by medical specialists. It was reported that a Catholic nun suffering from Parkinson’s Disease was cured after praying to Pope John Paul II. Doctors declared that the healing could not be explained medically.
Only one more miracle is waiting to be authenticated before Pope John Paul II is finally declared a saint. But in Poland, people have been venerating the late Pope like a saint since he died. I witnessed this myself two years ago. I held a seminar at the Pope John Paul II Museum in Warsaw, where a large bronze statue stands at the entrance. I saw people lighting candles, kneeling and praying before the statue with great reverence and devotion.
The announcement of Pope John Paul II’s beatification made me recall my unforgettable experience meeting this great Pope at the Vatican in 1986. I was one of several foreign speakers invited to give a lecture during an international conference on alternative healing in Milan, Italy. More than 600 delegates attended.
After the conference, where I spoke about faith healing and the phenomenon of psychic surgery in the Philippines, our host asked if we would want to meet the Pope at the Vatican. We of course said yes, although I thought he was just joking. It was too good to be true.
There were 15 of us who flew to Rome. At a special hall where the Pope greets thousands of people, about six of the foreign speakers, including myself, were given special passes to talk to the Pope after the ceremony.
Before the Pope appeared, there were thousands of people from all over the world who waited to see and hear him. He greeted each of the delegations gathered there, and that took about an hour. As the Pope greeted each group, they would excitedly shout and clap their hands to acknowledge his greeting. I was only half listening when the Pope said, “And we would also like to greet those gathered here who are doing psychotronic research, for they are also doing their part to help humanity.” I found myself spontaneously clapping and shouting “Viva il Papa!” together with the rest of my delegation.
I was completely taken by surprise by the Pope’s greeting. I didn’t realize that the Pope believed in psychic research, because here in the Philippines, the Catholic priests (with a few exceptions) look at my work with great suspicion, if not disapproval. So that statement by no less than the supreme head of the Catholic Church was a welcome vindication for me.
The next part had the Pope giving special audience to selected groups. We were given passes to go to the front of the big hall to talk to the Pope for a few seconds. The other members of our group were all trying to catch his attention, so I shouted, “Your Holiness, I come from the Philippines.” When the Pope heard this, he turned towards me and approached me smiling. I felt his energy so strongly, I almost went into a trance. I was holding a copy of the German edition of my book about the faith healers of the Philippines. I told the Pope, “I would like to give you this book that I wrote about the faith healers of the Philippines.”
The Pope acknowledged the gift and said, “Faith is what we need most in the world today.” And when the Pope saw the cover of my book, showing a faith healer performing psychic surgery on a patient, he automatically made the sign of the cross on the book, as though blessing the patient. Then he handed the book to an aide beside him as he turned to other people in the front row.
As we were leaving, I saw a good number of sick people, some of them in wheelchairs, who were lining up for healing, and the Pope started healing each one of them by blowing and laying his hands on them, just like what Jesus Christ did.
My meeting with this great Pope who will soon be declared a saint lasted only a few seconds, but I will never forget the awesome experience. I never imagined I would ever meet a saint in my lifetime, and I have two pictures with him to prove it.
Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer
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