BishopAccountability.org
	Bishop Forbids Group from Spreading Material It Claims Is Divine By Terence Hegarty Catholic Online March 5, 2008 http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=27091&cb300=vocations An investigative team, charged last November with looking into the Springfield-based prayer group known as Seeds of Hope, recently completed its review. SPRINGFIELD, MA (CNS) - Stating that the authenticity of "messages, stories and devotions" being propagated by a local prayer group "has not been proven," Springfield Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell has forbidden the group from disseminating material it contends is of divine origin. An investigative team, charged last November with looking into the Springfield-based prayer group known as Seeds of Hope, recently completed its review. The results of the review prompted Bishop McDonnell to send Neil Harrington Jr., leader of the group, a letter dated Feb. 21 stating: "The content of those messages, stories and devotions is not to be disseminated by word, writing or any other means to any person." Seeds of Hope has been distributing its literature via the Internet and distributing it in parishes in various parts of the country, including Louisiana. According to Springfield diocesan spokesman Mark E. Dupont, the investigative team was formed late last fall in response to "questions and concerns of several area parishioners" that Seeds of Hope was operating in a manner that could be harmful to Catholics. The two-member team was made up of canon lawyers -- Sister Carol Cifatte, a Sister of St. Joseph, and Father Daniel Foley. Each has an extensive background in church teaching. Sister Cifatte is vice chancellor for the Diocese of Springfield and Father Foley is the former judicial vicar for the diocese. Seeds of Hope had been holding a weekly prayer cenacle and other activities focusing on messages reportedly from Mary and St. Francis of Assisi and what the group claims are miraculous phenomena. Harrington, a Springfield resident, claims that Mary appeared to him and related messages to him in his parents' Enfield, Conn., home from 1991 until 1997. Harrington distributed these messages for more than a decade in the Archdiocese of Hartford, Conn., and in the Diocese of Springfield. In 1995, Harrington was told by the archdiocese not to distribute messages. However, The Catholic Observer, Springfield's diocesan newspaper, found out through Internet searches last fall that the messages were readily available online. Also, a recent paid advertisement offering "spiritual books" promoting "traditional Catholic teachings" appeared in the Diocese of Providence, R.I., newspaper, The Providence Visitor. "Situations like this do arise in dioceses from time to time," said Dupont. "While the intentions of these groups can many times seem innocent, history has shown that abuses and misrepresentations can give way to confusion among the faithful and sometimes scandal. For this reason the church, rightfully so, exercises extreme caution in handling these matters." Seeds of Hope was in the media spotlight last September when it was reported that a priest who had been forbidden to act as a priest since 1988, as a result of credible sexual abuse allegations against him, had been celebrating sacraments at Harrington's Springfield home. Bishop McDonnell immediately sent a letter to Father John J. Szantyr, a priest of the Diocese of Worcester, Mass., and Harrington letting each of them know the situation could not continue and that Father Szantyr was forbidden to "undertake any sacramental functions." "The bishop takes quite seriously his role in giving clear guidance to the local Catholic community with regard to authentic church teaching," said Dupont. "He wants to assure the faithful that any group claiming to be in communion with the church abides by its teachings and communicates those accurately."
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