Talk Three: Wounds of the Church

Fr Pat Collins C.M.

Empowering the Laity for Mission

Talk Three: Wounds of the Church

23rd September 2026 

Back in 1977 Ralph Martin received these memorable prophetic words during a conference in Kansas.

“Come before me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit for the body of my Son is broken. Come before me with tears and mourning for the body of my Son is broken. The light is dim; my people are scattered – the body of my Son is broken. I gave all I had in the Body and Blood of my Son. It spilt on the earth. The body of my Son is broken. Turn from the sins of your fathers and walk in the ways of my Son. Return to the plan of your father. Return to the purpose of your God. The body of my Son is broken.”

Half a century later, one could say that the body of Christ in the world is even more wounded. I want to begin this input by drawing attention to some, but by no means all, of the wounds in the Catholic Church, some of which afflict other Christian churches. 

Firstly, there has been the deep wound inflicted by the twin scandals of financial mismanagement and child sex abuse, especially those offences which were committed by priests and religious and how the crisis was mishandled by many of those in authority, including bishops, abbots and provincial superiors. Not only have the victims been traumatised and, in many instances, alienated from the Church, the bonds of trust have also been badly weakened at every level in the church. As a result, many Catholics have stopped receiving the sacraments, especially in Europe, Australia and the United States. 

Secondly, there is the obvious wound of division and polarisation in the Church. Often there is a split into two main ideological camps. On one side these are the so-called progressives and on the other traditionalists.  Sr Agnes Sasagawa of Akita Japan said in an approved prophetic message she received in October 1973,  

“The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their colleagues. 

The fulfilment of that prophecy was evident during the pontificate of Pope Francis when he was severely criticised by some cardinals, priests and lay people. Among them were Cardinals Robert Sarah, Raymond Burke, George Pell, and Archbishops Carlo Maria Viganò, Georg Gänswein and Charles Chaput. They often challenged his reforms, theological emphases, governance style and questioned his orthodoxy and even the legitimacy of his election. Polarization is not just disagreement; it’s a breakdown of communion that could lead to schism. 

Thirdly, in the Western world, in particular, there is the decline of Catholicism which is evident in such things as fewer vocations. At the same time practice rates are dropping. In 1979, when St John Paul came to Ireland, the practice rate was about 85%, now it is around 31%.

How will the Church’s wounds be healed?

It is my belief, based on prophetic messages received in the Church, that the Lord is going to purify and heal the Catholic community by means of a painful process of purifying tribulation, firstly in the Church and later during a time of purifying tribulation in the secular world. 

1)   In 1969 Joseph Ratzinger, who would later become Pope Benedict XVI, spoke about the future of the Church on German radio. He foresaw a Church stripped of social power, wealth, and cultural prestige. It would lose institutions, influence, and numbers—but this loss would be a purification, not a defeat. Renewal would come not come from those who chase trends or dilute the faith, nor from those who merely criticise. Instead, it would come from “those whose roots are deep and who live from the pure fullness of their faith.” Ratzinger went on to predict that, “Then they [i.e. lonely and disillusioned people in the secular world] will discover the little flock of believers as something wholly new. They will discover it as a hope that is meant for them, an answer for which they have always been searching in secret. And so it seems certain to me that the Church is facing very hard times. . . she may well no longer be the dominant social power to the extent that she was until recently; but she will enjoy a fresh blossoming and be seen as man’s home, where he will find life and hope beyond death."

2)   In 1975 a well-known prophecy was proclaimed in the presence of Pope St Paul VI. It stated that God would lead his people into the desert, a biblical image of purification and dependence. Believers would be stripped of everything they depended on, except God Himself. Instead of being a punishment, there would be a time of purification as a preparation for a return of radical trust. Despite the darkness, the prophecy promised a forthcoming time of dramatic renewal. “I will lead you into the desert…. I will strip you of everything that you are depending on now, so you depend just on me. A time of darkness is coming on the world, but a time of glory is coming for my church; a time of glory is coming for my people. I will pour out on you all the gifts of My Spirit. I will prepare you for spiritual combat; I will prepare you for a time of evangelism that the world has never seen.”

3)   In 1980 Pope St John Paul II said that the world was threatened by an immense danger. Later that year he chatted with a group of Catholics in Fulda, Germany. In response to a question about the secrets of Fatima, he seemed to amplify what he had already said. "We must prepare ourselves,” he warned, “to suffer great trials before long, such as will demand of us a disposition to give up even life, and a total dedication to Christ and for Christ. With your and my prayer it is possible to mitigate this tribulation, but it is no longer possible to avert it, because only thus can the Church be effectively renewed."  John Paul intimated that the time of painful purification, which we are enduring at present would lead to a new Springtime for Christianity.

In the light of those prophecies, I’m not surprised that we have been enduring a long period of purifying darkness in the Church and that we may be about to endure a purifying darkness in the secular world as a result of World War III which could lead to appalling levels of death and destruction.

How should we respond?

An important point needs to be made about genuine prophecies. Because they come directly from God, they are reliable. Does that mean that what they predict is inevitable? Surprising as it may seem, the answer is “yes” and “no.” When they are revealed by God, prophecies are utterly reliable.

That said, all prophetic utterances are addressed to people who are free and therefore capable of responding to the word of God in a way that either mitigates or cancels what is foretold. In Jer 18:7-8 the Lord said in a more general way,

“If at any time I say that I am going to uproot, break down, or destroy any nation or kingdom, but then that nation turns from its evil, I will not do what I said I would.”

Echoing those words, Pope Francis described the present era as,

“A bitter time, filled with the rumbling of war, growing injustice, famine, poverty and suffering. Step by step, we are moving towards catastrophe. Piece by piece the world risks becoming the theater of a unique Third World War. We are moving towards it as if it were unavoidable. But we must forcefully repeat no, it is not inevitable! No, war is not inescapable!”

Those who are disturbed by the current state of things, need to engage in regular periods of intercessory prayer alone and with others, together with prudent forms of fasting. As Jesus once said, sometimes the devil can only be defeated in this way, “This kind (of demon) can come out only by prayer and fasting"(Mk 9:29). It should be noted that not all translations add the word fasting. Speaking about intercession Pope St John Paul II said, in par. 15 of his Encyclical on The Mercy of God,

“The Church has the right and the duty to appeal to the God of mercy "with loud cries." These "loud cries" should be the mark of the Church of our times, cries uttered to God to implore His mercy, the certain manifestation of which she professes and proclaims as having already come in Jesus crucified and risen.” As we read in 2 Chron 7:14 are interesting, “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

 Intercessory group in the New Springtime Community, and our daily prayer for evangelizers.