Pillars of Fire In My Soul

The first part of this prophecy, “the undoing” of the work , was fulfilled in 1958, with a “decree” of condemnation by the Holy See. However, this severe ban was soon ordered by Pope John XXIII to be mitigated, and four months later, in March 1959, it was replaced by a “Notification” of a discipli- nary character in which, without any explicit condemnation, the Sacred Congregation of The Holy Office in Rome prohibited all spreading of devotion to the mercy of God in the forms proposed by Sister Faustina Kowalska . The “Notification” left a certain freedom of action to the discretion of Local Ordinaries with regard to the exposition of Images of The Most Merciful Savior for public veneration in churches. As a direct result of this action, Fr. Andrasz’s Superiors placed a moratorium on his biography of Saint Faustina and locked up the part he had already finished. This prohibition of the work of mercy continued for twenty years. Fr. Andrasz died before it was lifted. In 1967, the then Archbishop of Cracow, Karol Cardinal Wojtyla, successfully completed the first informative stage in the process for the beatification of the Servant of God Sister Faustina Kowalska. The outcome of the “Process of Information” showed that the action in Rome with regard to Sister Faustina was taken (at the least) on insufficient evidence. It must be remembered, however, that official communications between Rome and the Church in Poland during those post-war years, especially with regard to religious matters, were very difficult. Relevant, authentic documents could not be made available to the investigating authorities who were being pressed to make a judgment on the matter presented to them. There exist several documents from the Holy See that show the history of the Church’s position regarding the person of Saint Faustina and the message of which she was the instrument. 16 Pillars of Fire in My Soul