Just Plain Weird.... No, Extra, Special Weird!

I am copying this exactly as I read it...  Either a spoof by someone complaining about Call-to-Action (a rather liberal social justice group in favor of all sorts of unorthodox opinions in the Roman Church) OR it is a real story -- either way, how the ghost of Luther got involved in the internal disputes of Rome is beyond me!

Attendees at the Call-to-Action National Conference, held earlier this month in Milwaukee, were treated to a special announcement that brought cheers and tears of joy:  the apparition of “St.” Martin Luther, who had appeared to an Omaha woman over a period of seven years, has been designated as “worthy of belief” by the CTA Board of Directors.


Marjoram Fennel, a former catechist in the Diocese of Omaha, was warmly accepted by the CTA crowd, as she spoke to them about whom she calls her “special friend”.  “At first I thought I was seeing things, or going crazy,” she explained.  “But I soon discovered that we shared much in common, and his messages to me were comforting and uplifting.”

She was grateful to the Board for their pronouncement.  Fennel told the crowd about the apparition’s circumstances.

“It was 1996, shortly after Bishop Bruskewitz had declared that any Catholics in his diocese who belonged to Call-to-Action would be ex-communicated.  I was so distraught at this injustice.  I remember sitting at my kitchen table, full of fear and uncertainty.  Then, an image of a man appeared across the table from me.  It startled me!  And then the man spoke to me, told me his name, and said ‘I know what you’re going through, trust me.’  He sounded so nice.”

The visits occurred over a seven year period.  “Luther came every month.  He told me to persevere, to fight for justice and never trust the Pope.  His words were very encouraging.  He even suggested I should become a priest, and I still might.”

Fennel kept these visitations private, even from her Call-to-Action friends.  “I didn’t want them to think I was nuts,” she told the attendees.  “St. Martin asked me to write his messages down, and when the time was right, he said, I should make them public.”  Fennel felt that now was the time to publicize her private revelations.  “During his final visit, St Martin told me that a time would come when the Antichrist – that’s what he called the Pope – would change prayers and exert control over the People of God to such a degree that there would be much anger and unrest.  That would be the time to tell others about our meetings.”

That was back in 2003.  Seven years later, when the New Translation of the English Missal was released, she felt that the time had come.  “Not at first, though,” Fennel explained.  “I was still a little fearful.  But finally, about a month ago, I approached the local Call-to-Action chapter, and they immediately took my cause up to the Board of Directors.  They reviewed my journals, spoke with me over the phone, and within a week or so, they came to the decision to approve the apparitions.”

Call-to-Action intends to publish Fennel’s journal in early 2012, much to her delight.

“People need to read these messages,” she said.  And what will people get from Luther’s words?  “Two things stand out for me.  One, don’t trust the Pope.  And two, reason is the enemy of faith.”

This was not the first time CTA has reviewed a private revelation.  Back in April 2005, a purported weeping statue of Hans Kung was investigated and quickly rejected, as it was found to be the real Hans Kung really weeping.