Anne, A Lay Apostle

Anne, A Lay Apostle


What exactly is, a lay apostle? Wikipedia notes references to lay apostolate as a group of non-ordained people along with some who are consecrated, "who exercise a ministry in cooperation with the Catholic Church". That seems innocuous enough. The lay apostles function with the blessing of the diocese, adding to the sum total of those willing and able to provide help in some fashion within the region they live. Often, lay apostles lend their specialized skills in medicine, hospice or childcare, technology or whatever is needed most. They may or may not be funded by their local church. These groups did not just spring up recently. In fact, it turns out they have been around for hundreds of years in some form or another. But, it wasn't until the 2nd Vatican Council in 1965 that they received official church recognition by decree.

"Direction For Our Times", is one such lay apostolate with offices in Illinois and Ireland. Anne, who chooses to limit her identity to one name only, is a lay apostle for that organization. Her story is an interesting one.

It appears that for some reason known only to him, a man named Richard Salbato with an outfit known as Unity Publishing felt compelled to slander Anne with a letter circulated over the Internet. The extent of the damage to a person's reputation with letters like this becomes a fascinating story in itself. Suffice it to say, his goals appear to have been accomplished. This particular letter, interestingly, offers no sources or corroboration of any of his malicious inferences. On the other hand, Anne has secured the permission of Bishop Leo O'Reilly of the diocese of Kilmore in Ireland, as well as her parish priest. Both have written extensively of their unqualified endorsements of Anne, a lay apostle. Dr. Mark Miravalle, Professor of Theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville has also provided assistance in this matter, essentially debunking Salbato's commentary as unprovoked vindictiveness.

What is intriguing it that Salbato's website is quite pedestrian, without a single word of input from anyone else. He claims to have, "studied the style and personality of the True Virgin Mary and they are always simple, to the point and never cajoling." How, precisely, does one study the style and personality of a person who has been dead for over 1900 years? That might be at least possible in a vicarious sense if Mary had left any personal writings for historical reflection. But no, there is not a single recorded word that she ever uttered except hearsay, which appears to be Mr. Salbato's hallmark.

It is quite evident from evaluating all available sources regarding the behavior of Anne, a lay apostle, that Anne has experienced a calling to minister to others. Everything she has published is done do with the permission of her Bishop and parish priest. She has gone to the effort of seeking church authority for all of her work and has received it unconditionally each time. Her life's work has been one of compassionate concern for others followed up by the necessary work to assist. It is impossible to find anything negative about Anne, a lay apostle other than those emanating from Richard Salbato. It is well past time to stop expending any effort whatsoever attempting to denigrate this woman, who appears beyond reproach.