Posted on 03/05/2002 4:15:56 AM PST by damnlimey
Stigmata Priest Has
Church Buzzing
By JOYCE SHELBY
Daily News Staff Writer
he young Croat-born cleric known as the stigmata priest is due at a Bensonhurst church next week, and the pastor says he's getting nervous.
Rev. Zlatko Sudac |
"We're getting a lot of calls," said Msgr. David Cassato, pastor of St. Athanasius Catholic Church. "Everyone wants to meet him and have him pray over them because of his giftedness. I hear he brings in very big crowds."
The Rev. Zlatko Sudac, 31, has attracted large audiences since he arrived on a Mass tour of the metropolitan area more than five months ago.
Last month, thousands went to Our Lady of Pompeii Church in Greenwich Village, where Sudac celebrated two Masses instead of the one that had been scheduled.
Incredible Claims Made
Sudac claims to have supernatural gifts, including stigmata, or marks, on his body that resemble those on the body of Jesus Christ when he was crucified.
The priest claims that the marks bleed spontaneously and that he can heal, levitate, be in two places at once and know the future.
Sudac does not give interviews, but the Rev. Giordano Belanich, a priest in the Newark Archdiocese, said Sudac received the stigmata on his forehead in 1999, a year after his ordination, and other gifts followed soon after.
Cassato said: "I heard about him just recently. A friend who knows of his work called and asked if I would be interested in having him come to our church. I said, 'Of course.' I thought it would be a nice Lenten reflection to have a spiritual uplift for all of us."
Last month, a Long Island church canceled an appearance by Sudac, citing limited sanctuary space.
Cassato said he had not met Sudac but did not question accounts of the stigmata. "It's a gift," he said. "It's a very unusual, extraordinary gift that has been given at times in our church history to St. Francis of Assisi, to Padre Pio."
The Catholic Church has permitted Sudac to continue his tour until May, when he returns to his homeland, but has remained silent on his sensational claims.
Frank DeRosa, spokesman for the Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, said: "From what I understand, Father Sudac is a priest in good standing. He's been speaking at various parishes in the metropolitan area, and there's been a rather substantial following.
"There's no indication he's been anything but a good priest. As far as the stigmata is concerned, there has been no position taken on that," DeRosa said.
Cassato said Sudac would celebrate a Mass and conduct a healing service March 13.
Original Publication Date: 3/5/02
I know this because a good friend of mine (& colleague) was a member of his parish. It was a fascinating story, and last I remember the church was investigating his case vigorously. The only thing that they could attribute (possibly) it to was that the priest was at his sixth or seventh year in service and that he had doubts about continuing his entire life as a priest (seven year itch).
Babylonian, the article posted at the top causes me to be skeptical too, since the priest seems to be enjoying his new found fame rather than acting like a scared sheep.
I have another thought... but maybe not here. I'll FRemail you.
Dan
AB
There's the problem, and it's as old as Simon Magus. He, at least, repented when rebuked.
Something about your post reminded me of these:
Heh heh heh.Why don't blind people skydive?
Because it scares the crap out of their dogs.What do you call a blind rabbit sitting on your face?
An unsightly facial hare!A blind man walks into a shop with his guide dog. He puts the lead on the dog and starts swinging it round through the air by it. The shop assistant is horrified by this cruelty and runs to fetch the manager. The manager rushes up to the blind man saying: "What the h___ are you doing? Put that dog down immediately." The blind man replied, "I'm only having a look around."
On a very hot day, the housekeeper of a home decided to take off all her clothes to do the housework. There was a knock at the door, and she asks: "Who's there?" A man answers: "The blind man". Thinking that he couldn't see, there was no need to get dressed and she opens the door. The blind man says: "nice body, where do you want me to hang the blinds?"
A blind man and his guide dog enter a Bar and find their way to a bar stool. After ordering a drink, and sitting there for a while, the blind guy yells to the bartender "Hey, you wanna hear a blonde joke?"
The bar immediately becomes absolutely quiet.
In a husky, deep voice, the woman next to him says, "Before you tell that joke, you should know something. The bartender is blonde, the bouncer is blonde and I'm a 6' tall, 200 lb. blonde with a black belt in karate. What's more, the woman sitting next to me is blonde and she's a weight lifter. The lady to your right is a blonde, and she's a pro wrestler. Think about it seriously, Mister. You still wanna tell that joke?"
The blind guy says, "Nah, not if I'm gonna have to explain it five times."
The fact that he is running all over the place, calling attention to himself, and talking about his "gifts" make me dislike him intensely, "gifts" or no.
Of course, stigmatas can also be self-induced, psychologically.
Assume he's a fraud, but lots of gullible people will turn out to see him.
Amen. Padre Pio was ordered not to show his wounds to anyone. He took this order so seriously that he had surgery without anesthesia, because he was afraid the surgeons or nurses would try to examine his wounds while he was unconscious!
Because the Catholic Church has not supported them.
And, there are two or three priests who seem to be pumping them up for financial gain.
The truly humble and gifted don't usually trumpet their gifts. They usually try to hide them.
Tell it to Benny Hinn, Jim and Tammy Bakker, or Jimmy Swaggart.
I realize you don't consider them to be "Biblical Christians," either, but that's irrelevant. They claim they are, and so do millions of deluded souls who listen(ed) to them.
I think it's really hilarious that you look down your nose at Catholics who look for signs, though. Aren't you a big proponent of the pretrib "rapture"? That's the biggest "searching for signs" of all.
Vatican Astronomer - 'It's Madness To Believe Man Is Alone'
Levitation to star cluster NGC-3532 would be practical if this is an information or disinformation message from the Vatican
If the apparitions were real, the "seers" would lead lives more like the children of Fatima and less like Hollywood stars. If the apparitions were real, the priests would be humble and obedient, not arrogant and defiant. If the apparitions were real, Our Lady would proclaim the same Gospel truths that she proclaimed at Guadelupe, Lourdes and Fatima.
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