Pope John Paul has a challenger.
Papal pretender "Gregorio XVII" is leader of a self-styled church in Spain who says God crowned him after Pope Paul VI's 1978 death, that Satan controls the Vatican and that the devil will crucify him at the start of an apocalyptic end of an era.
There were some 300 worshippers attending services on a recent visit to Gregorio's church in El Palmar de Troya, a vast cathedral-like complex of domes, columns and arches perched on a hill in Spain's dusty southern Andalusia region.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Church members say followers number several thousand and come from as far away as the Americas. But membership is clearly dwarfed by the 1 billion Roman Catholics around the world who recognize John Paul as head of the church.
"Rome ... is no longer the capital of Christianity; the new Rome is the Sacred Place of El Palmar de Troya," a booklet from Gregorio's church quotes God as telling him.
Gregorio's church has conferred sainthood on former Spanish dictator Francisco Franco for defending Catholicism in Spain's Civil War and four subsequent decades of fascist rule.
PHOTO: REUTER
Followers call 58-year-old Gregorio the last Pope and say he will be crucified. An electronic information package handed out at the church shows gory pictures of Gregorio with bleeding wounds in the hands, torso and forehead similar to those of Christ on the cross.
"At the end of his reign the anti-Christ appears and he will put the Pope to death, he will crucify him, and then Christ will appear and destroy the anti-Christ and a new era will begin," a middle-aged Irish man said on his way to mass.
Gregorio's congregation rejects reforms made by the Catholic Church at the 1962 to 1965 Second Vatican Council, such as saying mass in local languages instead of Latin and dialogue with other religions and branches of Christianity.
"We believe that he is the true Pope. We believe this is where the true church is," said a 21-year-old Irish man, who was visiting the parched, dusty village on a pilgrimage.
Faith no more
Pope John Paul has taken unprecedented steps toward reconciliation with Jews. He is the first pope to visit a synagogue, a mosque or a protestant church.
Mass is said in Latin and members of the congregation -- all wearing pictures of Christ's face and two bleeding hearts around their necks -- spend most of the service on their knees.
Men and women are separated in the nave and women dressed like nuns and wearing long black veils over their heads and faces sit behind a latticed wall.
A doorman in addition to the "nuns" and "priests," 150 people live in the complex. Followers are forbidden from visiting other churches. The faithful worship in their homes and traveling priests visit members of the church who live outside El Palmar.
Women must cover their heads, wrists and necks and wear skirts that come "at least four fingers below the knee." Trousers for women are
forbidden.
A "nun" posted at the entrance to the church checks women's skirts for transparency.
The dress code must also be
followed outside church.
"We can't go to the beach. We'd probably fall into sin if we went to the beach," the middle-aged Irish man said.
Before crowning himself "pope", the man formerly known as Clemente Dominguez said he had visions of the Virgin Mary and messages from God that the church in Rome, and Pope Paul VI, were being misled.
"Satan is governing in the Vatican," Gregorio was told in a vision in 1971, according to one booklet. A year later he was told, "Masons and Communism have infiltrated the Vatican."
Gregorio lost his sight in a 1976 car crash but the Virgin Mary promised he will regain it one day, church documents say.
Two years later Paul VI died and Clemente Dominguez, on a trip to Colombia, proclaimed himself pope.
Most of his followers -- who say their donations built the church -- come from abroad, where they say they heard about the movement in books or by word-of-mouth.
Spanish locals say they are unimpressed although some believe the Virgin Mary appeared there before the basilica -- which dwarfs the parish church -- was founded.
visions
Church documents say the young Clemente Dominguez went to El Palmar initially because he heard about the apparitions.
"The people in the village don't believe in these things although there are 70 witnesses, serious people, who have seen apparitions," said a 51-year-old man who declined to be named.
The Roman Catholic church in Seville takes neither the church nor the apparitions seriously.
These days "Pope Gregorio" rarely ventures beyond his walled complex although he used to be seen in bars and restaurants around town in El Palmar and nearby Seville, locals say.
The corpulent leader does not always lead services but appears for special occasions.
But Pura Hernandez, a 76-year-old woman from Barcelona, said that his presence was overwhelming.
"I saw him once in ecstasy. There were so many angels," she whispered piously.
That US assistance was a model for Taiwan’s spectacular development success was early recognized by policymakers and analysts. In a report to the US Congress for the fiscal year 1962, former President John F. Kennedy noted Taiwan’s “rapid economic growth,” was “producing a substantial net gain in living.” Kennedy had a stake in Taiwan’s achievements and the US’ official development assistance (ODA) in general: In September 1961, his entreaty to make the 1960s a “decade of development,” and an accompanying proposal for dedicated legislation to this end, had been formalized by congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act. Two
Despite the intense sunshine, we were hardly breaking a sweat as we cruised along the flat, dedicated bike lane, well protected from the heat by a canopy of trees. The electric assist on the bikes likely made a difference, too. Far removed from the bustle and noise of the Taichung traffic, we admired the serene rural scenery, making our way over rivers, alongside rice paddies and through pear orchards. Our route for the day covered two bike paths that connect in Fengyuan District (豐原) and are best done together. The Hou-Feng Bike Path (后豐鐵馬道) runs southward from Houli District (后里) while the
President William Lai’s (賴清德) March 13 national security speech marked a turning point. He signaled that the government was finally getting serious about a whole-of-society approach to defending the nation. The presidential office summarized his speech succinctly: “President Lai introduced 17 major strategies to respond to five major national security and united front threats Taiwan now faces: China’s threat to national sovereignty, its threats from infiltration and espionage activities targeting Taiwan’s military, its threats aimed at obscuring the national identity of the people of Taiwan, its threats from united front infiltration into Taiwanese society through cross-strait exchanges, and its threats from
March 31 to April 6 On May 13, 1950, National Taiwan University Hospital otolaryngologist Su You-peng (蘇友鵬) was summoned to the director’s office. He thought someone had complained about him practicing the violin at night, but when he entered the room, he knew something was terribly wrong. He saw several burly men who appeared to be government secret agents, and three other resident doctors: internist Hsu Chiang (許強), dermatologist Hu Pao-chen (胡寶珍) and ophthalmologist Hu Hsin-lin (胡鑫麟). They were handcuffed, herded onto two jeeps and taken to the Secrecy Bureau (保密局) for questioning. Su was still in his doctor’s robes at
RSS