#37 OF 45 - THIS HAPPY BOOK REPORT ON PADRE PIO

# 37 OF 45 - THIS HAPPY BOOK REPORT ON PADRE PIO

IN PURSUIT OF THE TRUTH - BLOGGER. CINOPS BE GONE, FRI. JAN. 10, 2020

 

Chapter 16 - The Satanic War,  cont'd, p. 190-193

 

"No sooner had he received Bishop Valbonesi's letter than Padre Pietro heard from an alarmed Padre Giuseppantonio Bussoloari of Persicet, the minister general of the Capuchin Order. He had learned of Gagliardi' charges and did not know what to believe. He questioned Pietro about the charges that the friars were having fistfights over the mountains of money. Indignant, Padre Pietro wrote back, telling the minister general that the goodness of the friars at San Giovanni Retondo "is such as not to leave me a moment's doubt as to even a possibility of a crime of such gravity. The most perfect peace has reigned among them, and the spirit of love renders them incapable of resorting even to an offensive word. let alone the crime of which they are accused, which is as unbelievable as the motive said to cause it is false and stupid!"...

 

"Of course, Padre Giuseppantonio did not reveal the name of the "crafty and malevolent liar" (which Pietro knew anyway), who was far from finished. Throughout 1922, Gagleardi encouraged hostile priests to forward anonymous letter of denunciation to Rome...

 

"One of the most shocking libels came from Don Giovanni Miscio, who had been the first to complain about Padre Pio to Gagliardi. Miscio wrote a long letter to the Holy Office alleging that Padre Pio was suffering from tuberculosis, nervous disorders, epilepsy, and venereal disease. Like Gagliardi, he claimed, he claimed that Padre Pio took sexual advantage of his spiritual daughters, going into luridly obscene detail in making his allegations. ...

 

"Moreover, the Holy Office directed the minister general of the Capuchin Order to transfer Padre Pio from San Giovanni Rotondo to a friary outside of the province of Foggia, preferably in northern Italy. In addition, Padre Pio was ordered not to answer letters from "devout people seeking counsel, graces, and other things." This effectively ended his correspondence with his spiritual children.

 

"Perhaps the hardest of Merry del VAl's dispositions concerned Padre Benedetto. For reasons never made clear, the Holy Office decided that Benedetto's spiritual directions left something to be desired, that the former provincial, "under pretense of zeal," had actually been sowing "spiritual confusion."... The two priests were forbidden to communicate. Padre Pio was heartbroken over the loss of his spiritual father. Pio and Benedetto were never again to meet on earth. ...

 

"By now the minister general, Padre Giuseppantonio, was furious, convinced that Padre Pietro was purposely dragging his feet in carrying out the instructions of the previous year. Although Merry del Val had never insisted that Padre Pio's Mass be celebrated privately, he stated in his directives that he preferred that this be the case. Moreover, it was clear that his intention was that Padre Pietro was to follow his instructions for the purpose of eliminating the crowds and the publicity....

 

Even though Padre Pio was supposed to be celebrating Mass at irregular times, the faithful seemed to have a good idea when to expect him, for, on June 25, 1923, a crowd was waiting for him to appear in church... "Padre Pio did not come to church. He had received the order to celebrate Holy Mass behind closed doors in the inner chapel o the friary, without anyone assisting him...

 

"Led by Mayor Morcaldi, the Sanglovannese responded quickly, forming a People Association and staging a massive demonstration the next day in which nearly five thousand people - half of the population of the metropolitan - took part....

 

"During the next few days, members of the People's Association sent telegrams to every ecclesiastical and civil authority they could think of, expressing their support for Padre Pio and their displeasure at the attempts to restricts his ministry.... 

George H. Kubeck