American Fatima Center Reasserts Itself With Fr. Kramer as President
Here is the latest sent out from the Servants of Jesus and Mary to Donors.
September: Month of Our Lady of Sorrows
Dear Devotee of Our Lady of Fatima,
By now most of you may have received communications from
the National Committee for the National Pilgrim Virgin of Canada -‐-‐ its Board of
Directors, Committee of Priests and managers headquartered in Fort Erie,
Ontario, Canada. These letters contain unsubstantiated allegations supporting
their reasons for severing ties with the Servants of Jesus and Mary, Inc. They
give the false impression that some of the directors of SJM have taken a new
direction, and that Father Gruner only used this apostolate to mail and receive
mail for his apostolate (NPV) in Canada.
The devotees of Our Lady of Fatima should know of the
Servants of Jesus and Mary’s incorporation in 1978 under the direction of
Father Michael Jarecki. Father served as a spiritual director to men and women
wishing to live a holy life of prayer, and adhering to the total Fatima
message. In the early 1980’s Father Michael introduced the members of the
Servants to Father Gruner, and these members then began volunteering to help
Father with his work of putting out the Fatima
Crusader. In 1988 Father Gruner asked to use the name of this spiritual
apostolate to do his work in the United States. On August 10, 1988, David
Lamica (an original Servant of Jesus and Mary) signed as the incorporator to do
Father Gruner’s work in the United States. Thus, SJM apostolate agreed to
collaborate with Father Gruner’s apostolic work for Our Lady of Fatima,
remaining an independent corporate entity, and never becoming a subsidiary of
the National Committee for the National Pilgrim Virgin of Canada or any other
corporation.
The mission of the Servants of Jesus and Mary was set forth in its by-‐laws, and was not set up only to receive and process mail. Article II of the Servants of Jesus and Mary by-‐laws states that the purpose for
which SJM was
incorporated, and has
continued to be
its purpose, is
to spread and promote knowledge of and obedience to the
message of Our Lady of Fatima and related matters; and to promote the spiritual, intellectual
and apostolic formation of workers for the
message of Fatima throughout the United States
and the world.
Father Gruner never
went forward with any important decision without first obtaining the
approval of both the NPV and SJM Boards. His closest advisers were Father
Michael Jarecki and Father Victor Soroka (both directors on the SJM Board). This created a checks-‐and-‐balances relationship between the two, with
Father Gruner being the President of both boards, acting as mediator. Employees of SJM and vendors paid by SJM were
definitely involved in the production of the Fatima Center literature.
After Father Gruner’s death on April 29, 2015, the board
of SJM stressed the importance of finding a priest to serve as the head of the
Fatima Center which encompassed both boards. This has been SJM’s main concern
for the apostolate, and after two years of not acting upon our request, SJM
choose to place Father Paul Kramer, on May 1, 2017, as President of SJM , thus
fulfilling our mission to have a priest as the head of our corporation.
The
Servants of Jesus and Mary's mission is to continue to promote the Fatima
message under the direction and leadership of Father Paul Kramer whose work and
collaboration with Father Gruner, and devotion to the Fatima
message, spanned a 30-‐year period. We are committed to promoting, for the salvation
of souls, the whole truth about Fatima and
devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
We will use all means,
including spiritual, apostolic and educational, to foster, encourage and
promote to an even greater degree,
among devotees of
Our Lady of
Fatima, the knowledge
and practice of the
Fatima message.
Our immediate plans
include:
·
To promote authors’ books and literature that reflect our
Fatima Mission and Catholic Faith
·
To educate men and
women throughout the world on the Fatima message through direct teaching,
published works and any means of mass communication.
·
To continue
petitioning the Pope for the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
·
To continue petitioning the Pope to reveal the Third
Secret of Fatima
·
To offer prayers and
Masses for the intention of our donors, and the revealing of the Third Secret
of Fatima
·
To continue our volunteer program that makes rosaries and
scapulars sent throughout the world
·
To continue the sale of religious items and books
·
To offer, in time, pilgrimages to Fatima and other
religious sites
The truth of our beginnings, as a spiritual group of men
and women striving to follow the Fatima Message, has never
been altered
and we
pray our
long-‐time devotees
of Our
Lady’s apostolate will continue to support our work and know that they
have aided Our Lady in achieving her final triumph.
In the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts, Servants of Jesus and
Mary Board: Father Paul Kramer – President
Ellen Montgomery (an
original Servant of Jesus and Mary), David Skelton, and Tom Massett
P.S. Presently we are designing a web site that will serve
as a venue for our donors to ask and receive answers to any questions regarding
SJM’s apostolate.