On @EWTN yesterday, Professor William Thomas promoted flagrant misinformation against the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta.
He called her a “false mystic,” said “her cause has been stopped by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith,” and then recited a litany of slanderous accusations against her approved writings.
This claim that Luisa’s cause was stopped is patently fake news that went viral in February 2024 thanks to a bogus article from the leftist publication, La Croix International. Yet this claim was definitively refuted later in 2024, and for Dr. Thomas to go on national TV in the middle of 2025 and repeat the lie is completely inexcusable.
In reality, the very Dicastery that Dr. Thomas erroneously cites (the DDF) actually APPROVED Luisa last year, bestowing upon her cause its own Nihil Obstat. The Dicastery also explicitly affirmed that Luisa’s writings contain no doctrinal errors. With his accusations, therefore, Dr. Thomas is expressely contradicting the official ruling of the Church’s highest authority (under the Pope)... and he is doing so on national (or, rather, international) Catholic Television.
Luisa is a Servant of God; declared as such in 1994 with the opening of her cause. Moreover, her status as a Servant of God was affirmed by her diocese (Trani, Italy) when, in 2005, the Archbishop there finalized the Diocesan phase of her cause and sent it to the Vatican. The verifications of Luisa’s authenticity flourished in her own day as well, however. She received 19 nihil obstats from a canonized saint—Fr. Hannibal di Francia—as he was appointed by the Archbishop to be Luisa’s censor librorum and spiritual director. (Each of these nihil obstats was joined by the Archbishop’s imprimatur.) Not only did St. Hannibal approve Luisa’s writings, but he also dedicated his life to promoting them, as he was utterly convinced of their supernatural origin, and he felt that they must be made known to the world. Even St. Padre Pio knew Luisa, and he repeatedly, strongly endorsed her (for some examples of this, see www.sunofmywill.com/ ). Today, approved religious orders exist, explicitly dedicated to Luisa’s writings, such as the Benedictines of the Divine Will (benedictinesofdivinewill.org/) This order—approved as a public association of the faithful in 2011—is flourishing, attracting many holy vocations, and is now opening another monastery in America. In 2016, the Vatican itself even published Luisa’s official biography, entitled The Sun of My Will, strongly endorsing the Servant of God. Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, the Prefect of the Congregation of the Causes of Saints under both Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, wrote the preface to this book. In that preface, he too strongly endorses Luisa, even writing that the “profound testimony of Luisa Piccarreta…draws people to the deepest unity with [God]... This ‘living in the Divine Will’ is the actual way in which the Son Jesus lived on earth…[Luisa] transformed her entire heart into a dwelling place for God alone. Those who met her felt drawn to the truth of Heaven” (The Sun Of My Will. Pages 10-11) Note that this renowned Cardinal, who served as the head of the Church’s canonization efforts under two Popes (including a canonized saint Pope!), does not merely endorse Luisa’s own holiness, but he also affirms the truth of “Living in the Divine Will,” which is the primary overarching theme of Luisa’s private revelations. And again, as of 2024, Luisa has now been directly approved by the highest doctrinal office in the Church.
To put it bluntly, there has never been a single mystic in the entire history of the Church who has seen such verifications of authenticity (and those above only scratch the surface) only to be later proven a fraud. That hasn’t happened because the Holy Spirit, Who protects the Church, ensures it doesn’t happen. Luisa is authentic. Period. Of course, no Catholic is required to believe or follow her as a matter of Faith; her writings are private revelations, not a new Public Revelation. But at this point it should be clear to any person of good will that Luisa, at the minimum, should not be attacked by Catholics. She is approved. Attacking her is contradicting the Church’s judgment. Mark my words, Luisa will soon be declared Venerable, and soon thereafter Beatified and Canonized. I encourage those who now willingly platform attacks against Luisa to consider how they will feel when those developments take place, if they don't now allow those same platforms to also defend Luisa. Now that Luisa has been attacked publicly on your platform, EWTN, I hope you will have the integrity to set the record straight. My email is open.
Daniel O'Connor
On @EWTN yesterday, Professor William Thomas promoted flagrant misinformation against the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta.
He called her a “false mystic,” said “her cause has been stopped by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith,” and then recited a litany of slanderous accusations against her approved writings.
This claim that Luisa’s cause was stopped is patently fake news that went viral in February 2024 thanks to a bogus article from the leftist publication, La Croix International. Yet this claim was definitively refuted later in 2024, and for Dr. Thomas to go on national TV in the middle of 2025 and repeat the lie is completely inexcusable.
For the truth, see my video from August 2024: https://youtu.be/YeemKjHjGEs?feature=...
In reality, the very Dicastery that Dr. Thomas erroneously cites (the DDF) actually APPROVED Luisa last year, bestowing upon her cause its own Nihil Obstat. The Dicastery also explicitly affirmed that Luisa’s writings contain no doctrinal errors. With his accusations, therefore, Dr. Thomas is expressely contradicting the official ruling of the Church’s highest authority (under the Pope)... and he is doing so on national (or, rather, international) Catholic Television.
I’be happy to come on EWTN any time to set the record straight: @ArroyoGrandeShow @WomenofGrace @DeaconHaroldBurkeSivers @cominghomenetwork @dr.rayguarendi
In the meantime, let’s again review the facts:
Luisa is a Servant of God; declared as such in 1994 with the opening of her cause. Moreover, her status as a Servant of God was affirmed by her diocese (Trani, Italy) when, in 2005, the Archbishop there finalized the Diocesan phase of her cause and sent it to the Vatican. The verifications of Luisa’s authenticity flourished in her own day as well, however. She received 19 nihil obstats from a canonized saint—Fr. Hannibal di Francia—as he was appointed by the Archbishop to be Luisa’s censor librorum and spiritual director. (Each of these nihil obstats was joined by the Archbishop’s imprimatur.) Not only did St. Hannibal approve Luisa’s writings, but he also dedicated his life to promoting them, as he was utterly convinced of their supernatural origin, and he felt that they must be made known to the world. Even St. Padre Pio knew Luisa, and he repeatedly, strongly endorsed her (for some examples of this, see www.sunofmywill.com/ ). Today, approved religious orders exist, explicitly dedicated to Luisa’s writings, such as the Benedictines of the Divine Will (benedictinesofdivinewill.org/) This order—approved as a public association of the faithful in 2011—is flourishing, attracting many holy vocations, and is now opening another monastery in America. In 2016, the Vatican itself even published Luisa’s official biography, entitled The Sun of My Will, strongly endorsing the Servant of God. Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, the Prefect of the Congregation of the Causes of Saints under both Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, wrote the preface to this book. In that preface, he too strongly endorses Luisa, even writing that the “profound testimony of Luisa Piccarreta…draws people to the deepest unity with [God]... This ‘living in the Divine Will’ is the actual way in which the Son Jesus lived on earth…[Luisa] transformed her entire heart into a dwelling place for God alone. Those who met her felt drawn to the truth of Heaven” (The Sun Of My Will. Pages 10-11) Note that this renowned Cardinal, who served as the head of the Church’s canonization efforts under two Popes (including a canonized saint Pope!), does not merely endorse Luisa’s own holiness, but he also affirms the truth of “Living in the Divine Will,” which is the primary overarching theme of Luisa’s private revelations. And again, as of 2024, Luisa has now been directly approved by the highest doctrinal office in the Church.
To put it bluntly, there has never been a single mystic in the entire history of the Church who has seen such verifications of authenticity (and those above only scratch the surface) only to be later proven a fraud. That hasn’t happened because the Holy Spirit, Who protects the Church, ensures it doesn’t happen. Luisa is authentic. Period. Of course, no Catholic is required to believe or follow her as a matter of Faith; her writings are private revelations, not a new Public Revelation. But at this point it should be clear to any person of good will that Luisa, at the minimum, should not be attacked by Catholics. She is approved. Attacking her is contradicting the Church’s judgment. Mark my words, Luisa will soon be declared Venerable, and soon thereafter Beatified and Canonized. I encourage those who now willingly platform attacks against Luisa to consider how they will feel when those developments take place, if they don't now allow those same platforms to also defend Luisa. Now that Luisa has been attacked publicly on your platform, EWTN, I hope you will have the integrity to set the record straight. My email is open.
7 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 94