DEBUNKING PASTOR ANTHONY PEZZOTA ON THE APPARITION OF MARY IN FATIMA by Bro. Marwil N. Llasos, O.P.

The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in Cova da Iria, Fatima in Portugal before the three children: Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco.

Aegis-Judex said...

Pax tecum, Father Abe!

Interrogative: What can you say viz. the accsations that the BVM of the appartitions (e.g. Our Lady of Fatima) is really the Antichrist? I've been wondering what your response to those kuffar from rev1911.webs.com would be.

Gloria in Excelsis Deo!

Aegis-Judex

October 9, 2010 6:59 PM

Bro. Marwil N. Llasos said...

Bro. Aeigis-Judex:

Accusations of that sort are nothing but recycled garbage. "Dr." Anthony Pezzotta, author of Truth Encounter also had that claim. We already debunked Pezzotta's allegation. Please visit my article on The Truth About Appariitons in this site:

http://bromarwilnllasos.blogspot.com/2009/03/truth-about-apparitions-part-one.html

Thank you.

October 12, 2010 1:19 PM

Bro. Marwil N. Llasos said...

Let me post here an excerpt from my article:

In page 155 of his book, Dr. Pezzotta asks: “Who really appeared [at Fatima], Mary or an impostor?" Pezzotta claims that –

"While some would never dare to ask, “Who really appeared to the children, Mary of an impostor?” the question must be asked in the interest of truth."

Pezzotta suggests that the Catholic Church never asked the question of who really appeared to the children at Fatima. The sly innuendo of Pezzotta is that the Church never bothered to raise that question “in the interest of truth.” I am sorry to say that aside from being intellectually dishonest, Dr. Anthony Pezzotta seems to be totally ignorant of the facts regarding the events at Fatima. The commission that inquired into the events of Fatima asked that question first and foremost. After a thorough and grueling investigation by the commission of the events at Fatima, the Bishop of Leiria-Fatima pronounced that it was indeed Mary, the Mother of Jesus, who appeared to the three children at the hamlets Fatima. In so doing, the Church follows the Biblical standards in its discernment of private revelations:

"Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (1 Thess. 5:20-21).

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world" (1 Jn. 4:1).

"Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit; neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them" (Mt. 7:16-20).

Of course, Dr. Pezzotta has already made up is mind that the Lady who appeared at Fatima was an impostor. Having made up his mind, he doesn’t want to be bothered anymore by evidence to the contrary. Hence, when he asked the question of who really appeared to the children allegedly in “in the interest of truth,” Pezzotta was actually not interested in the answer because he already prejudged the case. For Dr. Anthony Pezzotta, it was already a foregone conclusion: it was an impostor who appeared at Fatima. Is that intellectual honesty?

Pezzotta argues that the “fact that she brought down a “ball of fire” from heaven proves nothing. I am amazed why despite the proliferation of Fatima literature, this scholar and expect on Catholicism fails to cite any reference that Our Lady of Fatima “brought down a ‘ball of fire’ from heaven.” What Pezzotta must have in mind is the “dancing sun” phenomenon witnessed by more than 70,000 people – some of whom are unbelievers. Of course, the “ball of fire” from heaven, by itself, proves nothing. The Church based its pronouncement on the authenticity of the apparitions at Fatima on the totality of factors – the message, the supernatural events, etc.

The Baptist pastor identifies Our Lady of Fatima with the false prophet in Revelation 13:13. According to Pezzotta –

"The Bible specifically states that a false prophet in the last days will cause fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of man in order to commend worship of the antichrist" (Rev. 13:13) x x x x

Notice that Pezzotta does not directly quote Revelation 13:13 and merely paraphrases it. I believe that Pezzotta does that on purpose because he doesn’t want his readers to discover that he is distorting God’s Word. I shudder at how this Baptist pastor twists the Word of God. To misuse God’s sacred Word is rank sacrilege. Dr. Pezzotta exhibits no qualms in perverting God’s Word just to suit his own interest or advance his personal agenda. I invite the reader to read the complete context in Revelation 13:11-18 –

"And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 15And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six."

The verse refers to the “beast,” a real historical person who will appear at the end time. I have a problem with Pezzotta’s exegesis. How the apparition at Fatima could qualify as the fulfillment of the prophecy above is beyond me.

At Fatima, Our Lady did not “cause fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of man in order to commend worship of the antichrist” as Pezzotta would have us believe. What happened there at Fatima was a solar phenomenon (popularly known as the “dancing sun”) predicted three months earlier to occur at a particular place at the particular time. This solar phenomenon was witnessed by more than 70,000 people (some of whom were atheists) and not “in full view of man” [all humanity].

Furthermore, Our Lady of Fatima never commended worship of the antichrist. On the contrary, she asked all to “stop offending the Lord Our God because He is already too much offended.”

Here we see how Rev. Anthony Pezzotta distorts facts and the Bible just to discredit the apparition of the Blessed Mother at Fatima

October 12, 2010 1:25 PM