Bishop of Cleveland – Catholic Heart and Mind

Updated links at the end of post: Aug. 13 2021

The Bishop of Cleveland has issued a decree about Holy Love Ministries - Stay away from it!

In March of 2010 I wrote a post about Holy Love Ministries in Ohio because a friend of mine gave me a “Rosary of the Unborn” from HLM and some printed material that concerned me enough to do a web search to learn more about it. What I found was that the bishop of Cleveland, Bishop Lennon, shared my concerns…and more. Links at the end of this post.

I’ve been trying to decide what to do with the rosary beads. I discussed this with a friend and she suggested that I use the beads and pray for Ms. Kyle. I’d like to pass along her request that all of us pray for the alleged visionary, that she may be reconciled with the bishop, that she may be faithful, that she may be humble, that she may be patient and accept the will of God, even if that will is not what she would like. These would be signs of the validity and veracity of her alleged apparitions or locutions. But those are not the signs that she has exhibited. In any case, I accept the bishop’s word and am not promoting Holy Love Ministries or anything associated with it unless and until the Church approves it.

To promote this organization, the alleged revelations, or anything associated with it, including the rosary beads they market, is to be disobedient to the bishop. I find it profoundly disturbing to see ads for this organization prominently displayed on pro-life websites run by people who should know better. I have tried to contact various ones about it but have never received a reply, which I find as disturbing as the ad placement itself.

Notes and Links

Bishop’s decree and letters in:
For an interesting article on Holy Love Ministries, Maureen Sweeney Kyle, the various activities of her organization, and the Bishop of Cleveland, along with some telling comments from HLM supporters, see this post on the Pro-Life Action League website.

(Update, Mar 2 2012: Here’s the link to the bishop’s decree concerning Holy Love Ministries on the website of the Diocese of Cleveland. The diocesan site was down when I originally wrote this article and I had forgotten to go back later and link directly to their page. I wrote a new post about HLM tonight, too.

After discussing this with a new friend, I’d like to pass along her request that all of us pray for the alleged visionary, that she may be reconciled with the bishop, that she may be faithful, that she may be humble, that she may be patient and accept the will of God, even if that will is not what she would like. These would be signs of the validity and veracity of her alleged visions, or locutions, whichever type of revelations they are alleged to be. But those are not the signs that she has exhibited. In any case, I accept the bishop’s word and am not promoting Holy Love Ministries or anything associated with it unless and until the Church approves it. And that means when the bishop of the diocese where HLM is, in Cleveland, approves it.)

(Update, Dec 1 2011: The title of my post now seems misleading to me. I do not want to imply that determining the validity of “Holy Love Ministries” — or of the private revelations associated with it — is the responsibility of the Catholic laity. As you will see further on in the post, their bishop spoke out about this a long time ago and gave his ruling on it. Which was No, it is not authentic and the faithful are to have nothing to do with it. Period. The people at “Holy Love Ministries” refuse to obey. That certain other people insist on spreading the “messages” and the rosary is itself disobedient and I am disgusted to see advertisements for this group prominently displayed on the right hand side of each and every page of a well-known pro-life site. I have written to them about it and have mentioned it to them several times but have never received a reply or even an acknowledgement of my concerns.)

A friend gave me a rosary a few months ago. It’s an unusual rosary: the “Hail, Mary” beads are the shape of tears and inside each one is a tiny figure of an unborn baby. The booklet that accompanies the beads contains special pro-life meditations and prayers. I’ve enjoyed using the beads while praying the rosary, but I haven’t ever used the actual book. And I’ll tell you why. Because the text is based upon “messages” that were allegedly received by someone in Ohio who claims that the Virgin Mary has appeared to her for more than 25 years. Continue reading “Holy Ministry or Wholly Marketing, You Decide” →