Christina Gallagher - House of Prayer Achill healing of Kathleen O'Sullivan

I WAS CURED OF CANCER IN ACHILL HOUSE OF PRAYER – Reported in the The Daily Mirror (London, England) August 24, 2002

February 15, 2013 by Our Lady's Pilgrims  on their websitefrom www.voiceofourladyspilgrims.com)

What better proof could there be than this testimony backed up by medical experts? The following article by Elaine Edwards was published in the Daily Mirror in England on August 24th 2002

Kathleen O’Sullivan at the House of Prayer Achill giving witness to her cure from pancreatic cancer through the prayers of Christina Gallagher and Fr McGinnity

A WOMAN doctors said was dying of cancer told for the first time yesterday how a visit to the House of Prayer Achill cured her. Kathleen O’Sullivan believed she had only weeks to live when she went to see Christina Gallagher on Achill Island off Co Mayo. She had a tumour on her pancreas and doctors told her she was going to die. But the cancer disappeared after her visit to the island.

And a doctor, Michael Anketell, who has examined Kathleen’s medical records has hailed her recovery a “miracle”. Mother-of-six Kathleen from Listowel, Co Kerry, had wasted away to five stone when she made the trip in June 1997 shortly after she was diagnosed. She said:  “I was extremely ill with only weeks to live but I decided to go with my husband Donal to Achill.”I was so sick it took us three days to make the journey. I had to lie in the back of the car covered in a duvet. I was extremely weak and could hardly walk. Christina Gallagher, who runs the House of Prayer, put out her hands and hugged me, then a priest blessed me. I had never met her before that. I left Achill that day and felt a great sense of peace.”

She said her health improved rapidly after the visit and she knew the cancer was disappearing.

A year later, cancer consultant Dr Anketell rang her because he wanted to bring his mother to Achill. He said he was sceptical about her story, but got permission to access her medical records. He was astonished when he saw the result of a new scan which he said showed no traces of cancer. Dr Anketell is investigating the cases of three other patients who claim they were healed at the House of Prayer.  Kathleen said: “I’m speaking out to give hope to others who are suffering and to highlight the fact that the House of Prayer in Achill is a place of peace and hope.”The Daily Mirror contacted the House of Prayer yesterday to ask Christina Gallagher about the “miracle”. But a spokeswoman said: “Ms Gallagher does not come to the phone. If she did she would be here all day.”More than 5,000 people flocked to the House of Prayer last month for a day of prayer after Gallagher predicted a special vision. They believed they would see an apparition of the Virgin, but instead were given a message that the world was filled with evil and sin. People claiming miracle cures addressed the crowd, with one woman claiming her unborn baby had been pronounced dead but had come back to life after her visit.A statement from Ms Gallagher was read over loudspeakers by a female assistant. The crowd was told: “Many calamities are on the way to  purify  the stench of sin and evil from the world. Storms will affect many in the world. Storms such as the world has not seen. You must be vigilant in prayer. I will be close to each one of you who has responded to my invitation. I will always be close to your hearts. You will have great upheavals in the world. The restlessness in the world will increase each day through the work of the evil one.” [from messages of Our Lady Queen of Peace]Extra Gardai were drafted in to control the flow of visitors’ cars from all over Ireland and abroad.Kathleen, who now enjoys full health, runs a B&B with her husband.

Article by ELAINE EDWARDS

Christina Gallagher Achill

Attack on the Spiritual Mission of Christina Gallagher

The following piece is a commentary by Rev Dr Gerard McGinnity PhD

The More Powerful The Work, The Greater The Attack

In regard to the matter of attacks upon spiritual missions, research remarkably shows that the more powerful the work, the greater the attack. Studying the lives of the mystics who lived throughout the centuries of Church history, I have been invariably struck by this fact that the more significant the work given them to accomplish, the more extreme the attack upon it and upon them. Even to refer to some out of such a large number, we find such remarkable resemblances to the gratuitous attacks upon Christina...

In Cathleen Medwick's well-known biography (1999) entitled Teresa of Avila: The Progress of a Soul , we read that when Teresa of Avila was pressing onwith the establishment of the houses of her foundation in Spain, she had left Villanueva after working hard to transform a hermitage into something resembling a convent and with her companions was passing through a small town where they stopped to visit the church. Teresa's fame had gone before her -but not the truth about her, rather a poisonous defamation of her character. The townspeople were incited to hatred: they were outraged that she presumed to enter their church and they were becoming increasingly violent when Antonio (one of the men who was helping her) fended them off, allowing Teresa to reach her coach. Soon after she arrived at Toledo on that journey, she became seriously ill.

When Pope Benedict was canonising Mary McKillop in Rome on October 17, 2010, how many people realised that during her earthly lifetime, as she went about establishing the houses for her mission in Australia, she was actually excommunicated by Bishop Sheil of Adelaide on September 22, 1871? In his biography Blessed Mary MacKillop A Woman Before Her Time, a priest of the diocese of Adelaide, Fr.Modystack wrote in 1982, "It was sad that the sick Bishop had had his mind so poisoned by the malicious tongues of those who were supposed to be loyal, honest people that he should have reacted so unreasonably towards the Sisters" (page 62) (He accused her of disobedience when she could not accept his making himself superior and changing their rule as he chose. She was canonically entitled not to accept this imposition but he wronged her and expelled 43 sisters from his diocese when they chose not to accept the imposition. The following year, on his death-bed the bishop repented and withdrew the excommunication.). In his preface to the biography Archbishop James Gleeson of Adelaide remarks of his predecessors in that era (ie. bishop and priest-advisors), "It is even more difficult for us to understand how they could seemingly be so unjust and outrageous in their judgements and actions towards Mary MacKillop... 

In his book Padre Pio Man of Hope, Renzo Allegri relates in a chapter entitled 'The Second Persecution' (page 218) how his superors wanted Padre Pio to hand over to them control of the money donated at his appeal to build a House for the Relief of Suffering when the Capuchin order was facing financial disaster. When he "refused, new accusations were made against Padre Pio, and new criticisms were invented. In an effort to destroy him, hidden microphones were placed in his confessional, violating the seal" of the sacrament and also "in his cell" (page 219). Allegri himself observes, "Unfortunately, these poor souls, who felt threatened by such a pure and holy man, found a ready audience when they denounced the humble monk as a hypocritical exhibitionist, and denounced the charismatic gifts that evoked so much faith from his followers as deceptive and fraudulent."

Allegri goes on to quote words from Cardinal Siri, "The ones who should have first recognised Jesus Christ are those who sentenced him to be crucified. The same thing happened also to Padre Pio...He was made an outcast, stripped...and made and isolated..."

At least Christina, as she is subjected to the same vituperative treatment, is 'in good company', although she would never dream of considering herself worthy of sharing his rank.

Biographers of John Vianney such as Fr. Francis Trochu in his The Cure D'ARS when describing how he too was unjustly persecuted by way of slander and false accusation, notes how the works used to draw back souls in the greatest danger are sometimes "allowed by God to become victims of the vilest calumnies". He describes how "John Vianney's front door was splashed with dirt and night after night, under his windows stood a miserable creature insulting and reproaching him as if he had been guilty of leading a disorderly life. Apparently, he was to be spared no humiliation, no anguish of mind. Anonymous letters, full of venom were sent to his bishop... Not surprising that towards the end of his life, he one day remarked, 'If on my arrival at Ars I had foreseen all that I was to suffer there, I would have died on the spot!'" 



In Conclusion

God cannot bring about enormous miracles such as giving back life to a child medically certified dead in the womb, healing cancer of the pancreas, thyroid gland, liver, stomach,bladder, lung,breast, tongue and mouth, leukaemia, rheumatoid arthritis, deep vein thrombosis, brain tumor, brain haemmorage, brain death, heart failure, multiple sclerosis, blindness, chronic asthma and countless other conditions leading to over 700 testimonies, including psychiatric and nevous healings, conversions, vocations to religious life and priesthood drawing such abundant fruitfuless from a tree that is not good! As Jesus says in the Gospel, "A bad tree cannot produce good fruit and a good tree cannot produce bad fruit. By their fruits you shall know them". 

“The McGinnity Affair” by Fr Martin Tierney

Article by Fr Martin Tierney about Fr Gerard McGinnity -
published in The Irish Catholic  on Thursday 7th September 2006

I listened with incredulity to Fr Gerard McGinnity, former Dean at Maynooth College, speaking on RTE One of his appalling experience at the hands of Church leadership.  The pimitiveness of the abuse of power was painfully exposed.

Here is a man who was grievously wronged, and no restitution was made for a reputation left in tatters at the hands of certain bishops.  They apparently preferred the ‘status quo’  to the exposure of possible evil.  Not only that, but the breach of a serious confidence by the then Papal Nuncio, was inexcusable.  If ever the cliche ‘mind boggling’ could be applied to any event, this one qualified as mind boggling by any standard.  Listen to this Whistleblower series by keying into RTE’s website.

Play RTE Radio 1 Whistleblowers interview with Fr McGinnity | Download RTE Radio 1 Whistleblowers interview

The story in brief runs like this.  In 1984, McGinnity was approached by seminarians who had concerns about the behaviour of the college’s Vice President, Dr Michael Ledwith – these included concerns of a sexual nature.

After bringing these concerns to the attention of bishops, McGinnity was pressured into resigning his post and had to return to his diocese as a curate, while Ledwith was promoted to College President.  False rumours then circulated that McGinnity had suffered a mental breakdown.  This bizarre story would do justice to the CIA at its most devious!

Later Monsignor Ledwith left the country under a cloud, having made a settlement with a youthful accuser, without admission of guilt. He then became a lecturer in a New Age College in America, the very antithesis of what Catholicism is about and was finally laicised.  Unbelievably, he had been touted as possible Archbishop of Dublin.  To the best of my knowledge no bishop was made accountable for the injustice visited upon Fr McGinnity.  The sheer lack of  discernment by a group of men who by their very office are sometimes considered wise, is amazing but not surprising.

My hunch is that some good bishops remained silent when they should have put a stop to their more vociferous colleague, but they lacked the courage.  Who were in the epicentre of events?  Cardinal O’Fiach and Bishop Casey!

Good leaders inspire.  Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul – inspired others. Every mother or father who seeks to instill good values and moral character in their children inspires.  Every great teacher who wants his or her students to excel inspires.  As human beings we yearn to inspire and be inspired.

Leadership is a relationship of service that inspires growth and makes the world a better place.  Leadership is something you live, model and practice, not something you tell other people to do.  Pope Benedict’s skills as a leader are wonderful.  As Albert Schweister said, “example isn’t the main thing in influencing people – it is the only thing”.  What was so remarkable about people like Gandhi, Pope John Paul, Nelson Mandela, Basil Hume, was that they know why they were here on this earth.  They were in touch with themselves and  God’s plan.

It often puzzles me that when a diocese is vacant we have no campaign of prayer to seek God’s wisdom in the choice of leader.  Instead ‘important people’ play ecclesiastical politics.  A device like Papal Secrecy clouds and obscures a process that is too important to be hidden.  Good leaders know what they stand for, what they are needed to do and how to use their talents to fulfill their calling.  Inspiration isn’t about me – it is about a leaders love for people and his desire to serve them in some way. Inspiration is about love. 

In the McGinnity affair inspiration was sadly absent.  Did the bishops pray before they came to the decision to demote Fr McGinnity? What sort of process of discernment took place before the decision was reached.  Will the minutes of the Episcopal meetings that took place be made public?  If justice is to be done a lot of questions demand answers. 

I have never believed that a ‘head on a plate’ must be delivered before justice is done.  But all leadership is so dependent on those who follow that people need to have confidence in their leaders.  That confidence will take some time to restore after the McGinnity affair.  This is a very sad business that further tarnishes the image of our spiritual leaders.