The event was presided over by four faith healers, all of whom are Catholic. NewsChanel5's Ted Henry said that doesn't seem to matter much to those who attend the events.
However, he said, there is one question being asked about these services: What does the bishop of Cleveland have to say about all of this?
Hands-On Healing
St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Westlake was standing room only three days ago. More than 1,200 people showed up for a daylong ecumenical faith-healing service, which didn't end until 10 p.m. All of it just by word of mouth, Henry said.
Vivian Joyce believes her daughter, Jill, was healed of terminal cancer by one of the faith healers, Dr. Issam Nemeh. Now she's bringing her sister in from out of town who also has fourth stage cancer.
"You get to a point where you've got nothing to lose," Joyce said. "Do I believe that my sister can be healed? With all my heart."
The Catholic Church in the Cleveland Diocese has moved slowly and cautiously on claims of miraculous healing. Until recently, they’ve offered little comment on such matters, Henry said.
SLIDESHOW: Faith Healers
SCHEDULE: Healing ServicesBut that is changing. The head of the diocese, Bishop Anthony Pilla, attended the healing service mass at St. Ignatius High School.
"It's clear in Catholic teaching that miracles are possible, that healing can take place," Pilla said.
There are skeptics of faith healing. People who don't buy any of it are critical of such claims, Henry said. To them, it represents false hope. Pilla said that's not so.
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Pilla wrestles with the idea that some may hear this the wrong way and forsake medicine, which he says is a mistake. However, regarding faith, the bishop's presence and talk at the healing service signals approval, not just for this form of healing, but also for the healing team, including Nemeh.
"The ones who do it appropriately, like the group you saw at Ignatius, it's all in the context of a very legitimate spirituality, of very faithful Catholic people who understand this," Pillas said.
"They’re not looking for any sensationalism. They’re not looking for any personal reward or praise or adulation. They’re just doing this as part of their faith commitment, their belief that God can heal and that every person can be an instrument of that healing."
Dramatic spiritual healings are reported after only one visit, Henry said. Tamie Sajewich, of Youngstown, had chronic back pain for 10 years following surgery. But now after one visit it was gone.
"I feel no pain. It’s unbelievable. It’s just like the pain has vanished from me. And how long has this happened? This has never happened," Sajewich said.
Caren O’Donnel suffered serious chronic pain from fiber myalgia for eight years.
"The pain that I started out with today was probably, on a scale of one to 10, an eight. Now I am at a three," O'Donnel said.
And then there’s the amazing story of Randy Zinn, who said Nemeh healed him of a ruptured disc by using prayer.
"And he sat down in front of me and he began to pray, he didn’t touch me, he didn’t take the X-rays," Zinn said.
After praying for him, Nemeh then asked Zinn how he felt.
"I said I opened my mouth to speak, and my neck snapped and I could turn my head. I said I feel really very good," Zinn said.
Nemeh then prayed about the numbness in Zinn's arm.
"Two and a half hours later when I left his office, I had all of the feeling back in my arm, I had complete mobility in my neck, I could turn my head both ways and a surgery didn’t have to be performed and I’ve been healed," Zinn said.
Healed of excruciating pain and numbness, Zinn now joins the healing services himself.
"If you limit yourself by only the things you can believe and you can prove, then you rob yourself of all the mysteries and glories of God," Zinn said.
"As surely as he gives surgeons and doctors the skill to heal, he also gives others the skill to heal, through a gift. Dr. Nemeh is one of those persons to whom that gift has been given."
Zinn believes his son was once healed miraculously, and now his own healing only reaffirms his belief in God.
"I know there’s a God. So I am no longer surprised. If he could do that, what can’t he do?" asked Zinn.
The next healing service is at St. Peter and Paul in Garfield Heights at noon on March 13. Get the list of healing services, here.
You can share your experiences with Ted by e-mailing him at henry@newsnet5.com.
Previous Stories:
- February 22, 2005: Doctor Says He Changed Thousands Of Lives With Healing Services
- February 22, 2005: Men, Woman Say They Were Cured by Faith Healings
- February 21, 2005: Hundreds Come To Cleveland For Hands-On Healing
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