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While Fort Worth bishop says apparition is not real, alleged visionary blames demonic attack

August 27, 2019 CNA Daily News 0

Fort Worth, Texas, Aug 27, 2019 / 02:40 pm (CNA).- The Bishop of Fort Worth, Texas, said Monday that alleged local appearances of the Blessed Virgin Mary are not real apparitions, and that alleged evidence of the visions is fake. But supporters of the alleged apparitions say that Satan is trying to discredit their visions.
 
“It is my sad responsibility to inform you that last week the Diocese of Fort Worth received irrefutable evidence that these purported apparitions, messages, and miracles are, in fact, a fabrication,” Bishop Michael Olson wrote in an Aug. 26 letter.

Earlier this month, Olson warned in a letter that the apparent apparitions, which were said to be taking placing in Argyle, Texas, should not be considered authenticated by the Church. But his letter this week was more direct.

The bishop said that he had reviewed a security tape from Loreto House, a pro-life apostolate where both apparitions of Mary and the miraculous appearance of roses were said to occur.

“The videotape clearly reveals the alleged visionary surreptitiously dropping a rose on the floor of a room; she would later make the claim that the rose was a miraculous gift of the Virgin Mary.”

“After viewing the video and consulting with diocesan advisors and others, I have concluded that the Mystical Rose—Our Lady of Argyle is a fabrication and not true.”

The woman who claims to see visions of the Blessed Mother says on her website that she was under a demonic attack when she dropped the rose on the floor, and then acted surprised by its discovery.

An Aug. 23 post on the site reports “a recent severe demonic attack in which demons influenced the visionary to act in such a way as to potentially discredit the messages.”

After that alleged demonic attack, “the visionary immediately sought the counsel of a holy priest and bishop who confirmed the deception as being of demonic origin and also gave assurance that the messages were authentic and of God.”

The site claims that the visionary has had several “frightening and unnerving demonic attacks where the fallen have sought to have her act against her will in an attempt to discredit the messages.”

Supporters of the alleged visionary claim that the Blessed Virgin Mary began appearing in May 2017 to her. They claim the first such apparition was in Arkansas, and subsequent appearances allegedly took place at St. Mark Catholic Church in Argyle, Texas.

The alleged visionary claims to have received seven messages from the Blessed Virgin Mary in 2017, and in 2018 and 2019 to have received more than 30 “warning messages for the Church…from saints, angels, the Blessed Mother, and even from Christ Himself.”

The website, still active Aug. 27, says that “The creators of this website, the visionary, and all involved with this apparition believe and profess all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God.  All are members in good standing of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.”

Olson’s letter added that while he had tried to arrange a meeting with the alleged visionary and another Catholic involved in the apparitions, they agreed to do so only in the presence of their canon lawyer, Mr. Philip Gray. It does not appear that a meeting has been scheduled.

Gray, president of the St. Joseph’s Foundation, is also the canon lawyer behind a petition sponsored by some Fort Worth Catholics to have Olson removed from his post as diocesan bishop. In June, Gray told web site Churchmilitant that the effort to have Olson removed was his idea.

In a July 29 letter to supporters, Gray wrote that Olson “touts his ordination to the priesthood, his consecration as a bishop, his position as a rector in a seminary, and he claims a preparation for the unique situation of the Church in North Texas. He recognizes himself for the collar and the miter he wears, but not for the justice and charity he is to practice.”

Gray claims that Olson’s “ineffective and even harmful acts,” have had “grave effects on the priests and faithful of the Diocese of Fort Worth.”

Gray did not respond to requests for comment before deadline.

According to Olson, the effort to have him removed is the work of a small group of Catholics dissatisfied with his handling of administrative and personnel matters in the diocese. The online petition has some 1,500 signatures.  There are approximately 1,200,000 Catholics in the Diocese of Forth Worth.

Olson told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in December that the petitioners are “a handful of people with their own agenda.”

I think people have a right to be critical. I don’t think people have a right to slander or be destructive or say untrue things. I think people have a right to be happy and a right to be unhappy, and if you are, pray for me, pray for themselves. This is about the salvation of souls … it’s not a hobby. It’s centered on Christ,” the bishop added.

As to the alleged apparitions, Olson’s Aug. 26 letter asked Catholics to “pray for the healing and conversion of all involved in these matters that have brought about discord and disunity where there should be peace and communion. I am asking the clergy of our Diocese to be especially aware of anyone who seeks healing because of this scandal and to provide compassionate spiritual counseling.”

 

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Put human dignity not profit first, Rubio says

August 27, 2019 CNA Daily News 0

Washington D.C., Aug 27, 2019 / 02:30 pm (CNA).- Economic policy and debate should prioritize people and the dignity of work, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) argued in an article published Monday. 

Writing for the magazine First Things, Rubio cited Catho… […]

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Death row inmates appeal to North Carolina Supreme Court, citing racial bias

August 26, 2019 CNA Daily News 1

Raleigh, N.C., Aug 26, 2019 / 07:25 pm (CNA).- The Supreme Court of North Carolina is set to hear the case of six death row inmates who say a repealed state law should still allow them to be resentenced to life without parole, since they were able to successfully demonstrate that racial bias was a factor in their death sentences.

The court is scheduled to hear arguments Monday and Tuesday in the cases of four death row inmates who briefly were resentenced to life without parole when state legislators approved the Racial Justice Act in 2009, the AP reports.

Under the Racial Justice Act, four inmates had used statistics to prove that their race was a “significant factor” in their trials, thus leading to a judge converting their sentences to life without parole.

Legislators repealed the Act in 2013, and the four inmates were sent back to death row without a new hearing.

North Carolina’s Supreme Court justices also will hear from attorneys for two other death row prisoners whose Racial Justice Act claims were not decided before the law was repealed, the AP says.

More than 130 inmates brought claims under the Act when it was law, but these four were the only cases adjudicated successfully and then mooted, Slate reported.

A statistical study conducted by Michigan State University’s College of Law found that prosecutors struck qualified black jurors in North Carolina at far higher rates than white jurors, AP reported.

North Carolina currently has 142 people on death row, 63% of whom are non-white in a state that is 29% non-white, the AP reports.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the death penalty is today “inadmissable,” because “there is an increasing awareness that the dignity of the person is not lost even after the commission of very serious crimes,” and “more effective systems of detention have been developed, which ensure the due protection of citizens but, at the same time, do not definitively deprive the guilty of the possibility of redemption.”

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Lawsuit claims Knights of Columbus broke $100m ‘verbal contract’

August 26, 2019 CNA Daily News 0

Denver, Colo., Aug 26, 2019 / 05:25 pm (CNA).- Jury selection began Monday in a lawsuit that accuses the Knights of Columbus of violating a verbal contract with a vendor who claims that the Catholic fraternal organization inflate its membership numbers, and has destroyed his business.

The lawsuit claims that the Knights of Columbus gave a software company, UKnight Interactive, a $100 million verbal contract to make it a designated web services vendor to KofC local and regional organizations.

UKnight alleges that its services would have provided local councils with a “complex interactive system” of linked websites designed to attract and engage members, increase fundraising, and increase sales of Knights of Columbus insurance policies.   

However, the company alleges that in 2016, the Knights of Columbus “fraudulently” denied the verbal contract, and later used the company’s proprietary design elements to seek contracts with other technology companies.

UKnight claims that Knights of Columbus executives “acted…maliciously” with the “specific intent” of destroying the company.

In a 2018 court filing, the Knights of Columbus disputed that account.

“The true nature of this action is that Plaintiff is a disappointed prospective vendor that offered the Order inferior and outdated website services that the Order refused to endorse. UKnight is now trying to accomplish through this lawsuit what it could not get through product development and sales negotiations,” the Knights argued.

The Knights argued that Labriola has “raised preposterous legal claims in an attempt to force the other side to pay money that is neither owed nor deserved. One of these claims is that the Order supposedly gave UKnight an oral contract in which it would, on a single day, endorse UKnight’s services and thereby confer on UKnight a $100 million value.”

UKnight filed its lawsuit in January 2017. The suit was dismissed in July of that year, and UKnight refiled the lawsuit in January 2018.

The plaintiff, List Interactive, also known as UKnight Interactive, claims that “broken promises” by the Knights of Columbus have destroyed its business. That business is owned by Colorado resident Leonard Labriola.

The Knights of Columbus say the lawsuit is over a simple business dispute that has been exagerrated for publicity.

In a February 2017 motion requesting that the suit be dismissed, the Knights argued that a “garden variety business dispute” had been “repackaged…to extort a settlement through damaging publicity having nothing to do with the Plaintiffs’ core allegations.”

UKnight and Labriola had “festooned their complaint with baseless, scandalous allegations that are designed only to inflame and attract publicity,” the Knights said.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, seeks $100 million in damages, and a court order invalidating the Knight’s tax-exempt status.

Among the suit’s claims is the allegation that the Knights of Columbus deceptively inflates its membership numbers in order to increase its life insurance ratings.

While Judge Brooke Jackson allowed UKnight to review membership data last year, the Knights have rejected claims that they inflate their numbers.

“The Knights of Columbus has a long-standing, thoughtful, and well-conceived membership retention process in place that reflects sound practices and the values of the Order,” a spokesperson told Buzzfeed last week.

“One of those values is to ensure that members of the Knights provide mutual aid and assistance to fellow members of our organization.”

Labriola could not be reached for comment. But the plaintiff is no stranger to litigation.

In 1993, Eller Industries, a company owned by Labriola, attempted to revitalize the bankrupt Indian Motorcycle brand by purchasing the defunct company’s trademarks. Labriola signed a contract to purchase the trademarks in 1997, but a court battle began in 1998, after the brand’s legal custodian said that Eller had failed to obtain financing or meet the terms of its contract.

Eller’s contract with Indian Motorcycles was terminated by a federal judge on Dec. 7, 1998.

Labriola subsequently sued the brand’s custodian for $2.7 million, and in the midst of the lawsuit requested that two judges recuse themselves, accusing them of “corruption, duplicity, ineptitude, hubris, and abject indifference.”

In the same motion, Labriola accused Indian Motorcycle’s legal custodian of “brazen temerity” and “outright lies and distortions.” 

Before founding UKnight, Labriola founded at least three additional companies.

In 2002, he founded the Backyard Drills Foundation, which produced DVDs teaching sports skills.  According to a 2007 article in BizWest, the DVD sets were marketed through revenue-sharing fundraising arrangements with youth football leagues. Backyard Drills was dissolved in 2007.   

Two months after dissolving Backyard Drills, Labriola founded Quvico, a clean energy enterprise, which was dissolved less than a year after it was founded.

In September of 2007, Labriola founded Dinner Party Dot Com, LLC. The company was cited by the Secretary of State for failing to file required annual reports, and was dissolved in November of 2016.

According to the Colorado Secretary of State, UKnight Interactive was registered in 2011 as a trade name of LiST Interactive, a company founded by Labriola on the same day. In 2012 and 2015, LiST Interactive was cited by the Secretary of State for failing to file required periodic reports.

The UKnight lawuit has made several allegations dismissed by the court.

Among the dismissed claim’s is UKnight’s charge that the IRS fraudulently maintains the tax-exempt status of the Knights of Columbus, allowing the organization to commit acts of racketeering forbidden by federal law.

Also dismissed is UKnight’s initial accusation that the Knights engaged in “racketeering,” in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO.

Jackson dismissed the suit’s first filing on July 28, 2017. His order determined that the plaintiffs’ RICO allegations were unfounded, and noted that the suit seemed actually to misunderstand racketeering laws. 

“If plaintiffs’ description of how jurisdiction under RICO works were correct it would mean that Congress could effectively override the Constitution,” Jackson wrote.  

Jackson also criticized UKnight and Labriola for the lawsuit’s “excessively aggressive phrasing and histrionics.”

Sources have told CNA that UKnight’s lawsuit is partially funded through LexShares, an online platform that connects plaintiffs with investors, who buy a stake in any settlement or judgment rendered in the suit.

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