Fr. O’Connor’s testimony

03 July 2000 16:48

As if to mark the moment, on the very day that the final dossier of testimonies prepared at Vassula’s request last year was to be sent off to Rome, the brief testimony which follows arrived. It was from Fr. Edward O’Connor, CSC, who taught theology at the University of Notre Dame in the US for over 40 years.

He added a postscript to it: „At first I didn’t think I had any testimony to offer; that’s why I didn’t answer in time for your deadline. Belatedly it occurred to me that you might be able to use a statement such as this. I offer it for whatever use you can make of it“.

There is a book by Fr. O’Connor, titled ‚Vassula and the CDF‘, which deals with the Notification of 1995 and also contains a section titled, ‚Vassula on the End Times‘. The book is published by Trinitas.

Fr. O’Connor’s testimony:

I have no dramatic testimony to offer for Vassula, but I would like to say that reading her messages puts me in a spirit of prayer. I find myself quite convinced that Jesus is indeed speaking through them.

To that, I would like to add that, as a professional theologian, I have always been watching to see if these messages diverge in any way from the teaching of the Church. Never have I found any doctrinal error in them. That is very impressive. For a lay person, with no theological training, without even any serious catechetical instruction, to write so many volumes about some of the profoundest spiritual matters, and never make a mis-step, is an extraordinary achievement. It is a powerful confirmation that it is indeed the Lord himself who is the source of these writings.

I am aware that she has been accused of doctrinal error by high authorities in the Church. After careful reflection on this matter, I am convinced that the so-called „errors“ reduce simply to the fact that she fails to use the language of professional theologians when seeking to express the divine mysteries. I don’t think she can be blamed for this, as the Scriptural authors did the same.

Edward D. O’Connor,CSC
Department of Theology
University of Notre Dame