Warning issued against Aneel Aranha’s HolySpiritInteractive ministry

MAY 19, 2013

Warning issued against Aneel Aranha’s HolySpiritInteractive ministry

Please read this report in the light of

MORELOVE-HOLYSPIRITINTERACTIVE-SOUL TIES AND ETHOS INSTITUTE 31 JANUARY/ […]/29 APRIL 2013

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/MORELOVE-HOLYSPIRITINTERACTIVE-SOUL_TIES_AND_ETHOS_INSTITUTE.doc

HOLYSPIRITINTERACTIVE ANEEL ARANHA AND NEW AGE
9 MAY 2013

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HOLYSPIRITINTERACTIVE_ANEEL_ARANHA_AND_NEW_AGE.doc

After the present [third] report, a fourth report on Aneel Aranha/HolySpiritInteractive will be published.

THE FIRST WARNING FROM CATHOLICCULTURE.ORG

From:
Austine J. Crasta
To:
prabhu ; rohitd@axes-mach01.usa.alcatel.com ; Deepak Vian Ferrao

Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2007 9:51 AM Subject:
CatholicCulture.org Cautions Against HSI

JMJ Dear Michael,

Just want to inform you that I came across Catholic Culture’s modified review for “Holy Spirit Interactive”. The once “triple green” rating has now been changed to caution visitors against HSI on grounds of fidelity to the Magisterium. 

The review is posted at: http://www.catholicculture.org/reviews/view.cfm?recnum=2458

Particular weaknesses are mentioned with examples.

Love, Austine.

Austine Crasta is the founder-moderator of Konkani Catholics [KC] list.

The cautions were regarding Protestant material being published by Mr. Aneel Aranha on the HSI site.

From:
prabhu
To:
aneel@holyspiritinteractive.net ; aneelnet@eim.ae ; aneelnet@emirates.net.ae

Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 7:35 AM Subject: PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT

Dear Aneel, I trust that all is well with you and family.

A few days ago, Austine Crasta of KC drew my attention to the “caution” issued on HolySpiritInteractive by catholicculture.com. From a triple-green rating, there is an amber light flashing on FIDELITY [to Church teaching]:

“There is much to recommend about this site but readers should be aware of charismatic elements which confuse sound Catholic theology with Protestant Biblical understanding.“

WEAKNESSES

Example(s)

Numerous articles by non-Catholic author, Marcia Montenegro (Fidelity)

Example(s)

Protestant approach

Example(s)

Omission of Catholic approach in youth section (Fidelity)

Protestant Christian music and “resources” under the youth/kids sections (Fidelity)

Example(s)

Total condemnation of any drinking of alcohol (Fidelity)

Love, Michael Prabhu

The “Examples” above in blue are hyperlinks

DETAILS [NOT INCLUDED BY ME IN ABOVE LETTER TO MR. ANEEL ARANHA]

Holy Spirit Interactive

http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/

DESCRIPTION

Holy Spirit Interactive is a Catholic internet apostolate founded by Aneel Aranha, to promote “mutual respect between people, nations, and cultures.” The site presents a number of good resources and has a lot of potential to include even more. Of special interest is the youth section, which features many good resources for youth, including an excellent section on the Popes and their words to teens. The kids section also has some great activities that will get them interested in the Bible and the Faith.

There is much to recommend about this site but readers should be aware of charismatic elements which confuse sound Catholic theology with Protestant Biblical understanding.

First Evaluated: 03/19/05
Last Updated: 03/20/07

STRENGTHS

Special sections for Youth and Kids (Resources)

Extensive “Prayer Center” (Resources)

Example(s)

Daily Bread section (Resources)

Example(s)

Special sections on featured topics (Resources)

Many good articles on the Faith and current issues (Resources)

WEAKNESSES

[As noted above in my letter to Mr. Aneel Aranha]

Website Established: 01/01/00
Vicariate of Arabia
Aneel Aranha
Post Box 25893
Dubai, UAE
+9714-2861507
NB: All reviews are current as of the Evaluation or Update Date cited above. If you notice that a review contains information that is no longer accurate, please contact us and we will be happy to amend our review.

From:
Aneel Aranha
To:
prabhu
Sent: Wednesday, October 17, 2007 10:10 AM

Subject: Re: PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT

Dear Michael,
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. As you pointed out, from a Triple Green rating, HSI has suddenly been issued a caution for fidelity. I don’t know why the inclusions of a non-Catholic author who doesn’t contradict Catholic teachings, or the omission of a mention of Sacraments in an article, should result in a Caution. But I guess they want to make sure that everything is totally legit! It is a real pity. I’ll get in touch with them and see what they can do to reverse their decision.

God bless, Aneel

I forwarded/copied the above to a few selected Catholics one of whom passed it on to Aneel Aranha resulting in this correspondence:

From:
Aneel Aranha
To:
michaelprabhu@vsnl.net
Cc:
Name Withheld

Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2007 2:30 PM Subject: Fw: PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT

Dear Michael,

Why are you sending this out to people? Are you trying to tell them to be cautious of the HSI ministry? As I told you there is nothing in the points Catholic Culture raised in their objections that goes against the Catholic Church or their teachings. Go though the material. If you believe there is, do let me know exactly what is wrong and I will rectify it if you are right, but please don’t try to damage my ministry unnecessarily. We are doing enough damage to God’s kingdom as it is.

Aneel

From:
prabhu
To:
Aneel Aranha
Cc:
Name Withheld
Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2007 11:01 PM

Subject: Re: PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT
EXTRACT

Dear Aneel, I can understand your concern. Please let me explain.

The information was forwarded to me by a Catholic ministry with whom you are familiar.

I later learned that it was they who “tipped” off CatholicCulture.org.

Informing Name Withheld was a matter of routine. Over the years, a few Catholics have written to me suggesting that I get in touch with you as your international reach could boost the awareness of my ministry. If I did not respond to them, it might be curious. So I had to explain the background of your decision to open a column on New Age after you contacted me in May 2004; then you posted my article on Conybio, but soon after switched to using Marcia Montenegro extensively. I do not deny having expressed my concern over that, because there are so many other good overseas Catholic writers on New Age, especially those associated with EWTN.

I have already expressed my misgivings about the recent trends in the very site that tipped off CatholicCulture.org. Here, the issue is compromise for the sake of popularity and numbers. I know that it will eventually catch up with them.

I did pass the CatholicCulture.org caution to the very few persons who had specifically suggested that you and I would make a good team. Again, if I did not do so, and they asked me about it at a later time, it would be curious that I had not.

In my outlook express, I permanently maintain a standard letter on HSI along with that on another popular Catholic site that also avoids supporting my ministry. I try my best not to be partial or biased. Every now and then I direct my new contacts to HSI and the other one. In fact, one of my sons is a member of both. I did not forward the “caution” either to him or to anyone else. […]

I try hard to speak the truth in charity. Sometimes, because of the very nature of our calling and mission, I fail miserably, or people misunderstand. But I pray that people never believe that we have any personal agenda.

Your ministry does not anywhere compare to the pseudo-catholic ministries that I have exposed. I can assure you that if it were anything like that, I would not hesitate to do so, but what CatholicCulture.org pointed out, as another of my friends highlighted to me, is the difficulty is of some omissions [rather than commissions of error on your part]. I would definitely agree that you should not have used Marcia Montenegro on your site.

Again, I was one of those who used to say that even sipping alcohol is a mortal sin. That stand was Potta-influenced. I changed my position only when I understood that that is not what the Church teaches. […] As Catholics, we cannot teach that drinking alcoholic beverages is a mortal sin. […]

If there is anything that I can do for you, please let me know. Love, Michael

THE RATING SYSTEM USED FOR WEB SITES BY CatholicCulture.org

Web Site Reviews: The Rating System
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/reviews/ratings.cfm
[What do these ratings mean?]

The Catholic Culture staff assigns grades to each web site it reviews. Individual grades are given in three distinct areas: Fidelity (to the Magisterium), Resources (Quality and Quantity), and Usability.

Fidelity

The Fidelity grade is used by Catholic Culture to indicate the degree to which a web site represents sound, authentic Catholicism — or fidelity to the mind of the Church. This is by far the most important grade given by Catholic Culture. If a site is not characterized by this fidelity, users deserve to be forewarned. The fidelity grade includes four elements:

Orthodoxy: Fidelity to the Church as Teacher
The sine qua non of a Catholic web site is orthodoxy, or fidelity to the official teachings of the Church. Sites which reveal a pattern of dissent or which place error on an equal footing with Truth will have the lowest Fidelity grades.

Obedience: Fidelity to the Church as Ruler
The next most important factor is obedience, or fidelity to the Church’s governing or disciplinary authority. Again, sites which refuse to accept the authority of the Holy See (including its liturgical authority) will have low Fidelity grades, even if their materials are, strictly speaking, orthodox.

Fortitude: Fidelity to the Church’s Prophetic Mission
The third element in the Fidelity grade is Fortitude — a site’s willingness to advance or defend the Faith in the face of a hostile culture. Sites which are characterized by theological minimism, devotion to fashionable causes, or failure to state the Faith clearly in areas opposed by the modern world will have mediocre Catholic Culture grades even if they are, strictly speaking, both orthodox and obedient.

Prudence: Fidelity to the Church as Sanctifier
Finally, the prudence of a site must be taken into account. It is possible for a web site to devote itself to its subject matter in such a way that the mind of the Church in spiritual matters is not honored. One common example would be the lack of spiritual discretion shown by sites which uncritically promote alleged apparitions and locutions before the Church herself has reached a judgment. Such sites cannot win the highest Catholic Culture grade for Fidelity.

It is impossible to anticipate and list here every combination of these four elements along with a chart of their corresponding grades. Our general approach is indicated in the following table, but users are advised to refer to the actual text of the evaluations to learn the particular considerations which resulted in a given grade for a given site.

The grades that are given for Fidelity are:

• EXCELLENT (Green Light)
  The site excels in all four Fidelity categories: orthodoxy, obedience, fortitude and prudence.
  
• CAUTION (Yellow Light)
  The site’s otherwise high quality is marred by lack of prudence, lack of fortitude or very minor and apparently inadvertent lapses in orthodoxy or obedience (such as an occasional weak link or a very small number of documentary resources which have not been carefully screened); or the site exhibits minor problems in several areas, or a significant minority of its resources reveal an unfortunate disregard of orthodoxy or obedience; or the site represents all so-called Catholic viewpoints equally, in effect placing error on the same footing as Truth.
  
• DANGER (Red Light)
  The site tends toward disobedience to ecclesiastical authority, schism or heresy. There is repeated emphasis on views which contradict or undermine either the teachings of the Church or her disciplinary authority.
  

Resources

The value of a site’s resources is probably the most important factor after Fidelity. The Resources grade measures how worthwhile a site is from this point of view. The highest grades go to sites which self-generate a substantial amount of useful Catholic material; but sites which devote themselves to external links can also earn high grades if their links are well-organized and well-presented enough to make the site an especially valuable resource gateway.

Grades for Resources are also defined fairly precisely, as follows:

• EXCELLENT
  The site self-generates a substantial number of valuable Catholic resources; or the site self-generates some significant valuable Catholic resources combined with a large number of well-organized and well-managed links which constitute a valuable resource gateway.
  
• GOOD
  The site self-generates a small but significant number of valuable Catholic resources combined with significant links appropriate to its purpose; or the site doesn’t self-generate many resources, but it presents a large number of well-managed and well-organized links which make it a valuable resource gateway.
  
• FAIR
  The site self-generates only a small number of significant resources and its links do not constitute an important resource gateway.
  
• POOR
  The site has virtually no significant resources of any kind; or the site self-generates virtually no significant resources AND it uses framing or other techniques to present material from other sites as if it were its own.
  

Usability

The grade for Usability takes into account the following elements:

Purpose
If the site has a stated Purpose, does it follow that purpose in a consistent and organized manner?

Maintenance
Is outdated materials cleaned out in a timely manner? Is time-sensitive material kept up-to-date? Are new materials or services added on a regular basis? Are broken links extremely rare?

Organization
Are the site’s features and options clear to the user? Is easy to navigate, and is its structure clean and sensible?

Appearance
Does the site have a visually-pleasing design that is well-suited to its purpose?

Catholic Culture gives one of the following ratings for Usability:

• EXCELLENT
  
• NORMAL
  
• DIFFICULT
  

I WROTE TO MR. ANEEL ARANHA PROVIDING HIM WITH THE LINK TO MY REPORT ON HIS AFFILIATION WITH MR. DOMINIC DIXON‘S MORELOVE MINISTRIES, BANGALORE

From:
Michael Prabhu
To:
aneel@holyspiritinteractive.net ; aneelrnr@gmail.com ; Prayer Team

Sent: Sunday, March 24, 2013 11:12 PM Subject: Report on HSI/MORELOVE from Michael Prabhu

Dear Mr. Aneel Aranha,

Please find herewith the link to my report on the HolySpiritInteractive/MoreLove ministries combine.

MORELOVE-HOLYSPIRITINTERACTIVE-SOUL TIES
AND
ETHOS
INSTITUTE

31 JANUARY/12/15/17/18/22/23 MARCH 2013

http://ephesians-511.net/docs/MORELOVE-HOLYSPIRITINTERACTIVE-SOUL_TIES_AND_ETHOS_INSTITUTE.doc

Michael Prabhu

THE SECOND AND CURRENTLY-IN-FORCE WARNING FROM CATHOLICCULTURE.ORG

http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/reviews/view.cfm?recnum=2458

Website Review: Holy Spirit Interactive

Site on which this review was based: http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net

Description

Holy Spirit Interactive was founded by Aneel Aranha, and is dedicated to strengthening the faith of Christians and spreading the Word of God around the world through its various ministries and activities, which include publishing, retreats and seminars, radio and TV.

While there is much to recommend on this site (especially the articles by some excellent Catholic priests and apologists such as: Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Fr. John McCloskey, Fr. William Saunders, Mark Shea, Mike Aquilina, etc.) the main organizers of the site, Aneel Aranha and Dominic Dixon, promote Protestants and Protestant teachings over the nine sites that their ministry utilizes.
These various sites are all part of Holy Spirit Interactive.

Since Protestantism is so intertwined with authentic Catholic teaching on these sites we feel that we must give Holy Spirit Interactive a “yellow” rating even though parts of it are very good. We feel that there is too much for Catholics to have to sift through to find what’s worthwhile.

Holy Spirit Interactive ministry is spread across these various websites: http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/

http://www.holyspiritinteractive.org/

http://holyspiritinteractive.blogspot.in/

http://aneelaranha.blogspot.in/

http://veritastv.net/  
http://www.moreloveradio.com/mlplayer.html

http://www.morelove.in/index.php

http://ethosinstitute.org/

Review Ratings

What do these ratings mean?

First Evaluated: 03/19/2005; Last Updated: 05/10/2013

1. Fidelity: Caution
   
2. Resources: Excellent
   
3. Useability: Excellent
   

Strengths

• Special sections for Youth and Kids  Resources 
  
• Extensive “Prayer Center”  Resources 
  
• Daily Bread section  Resources 
  Example(s)
  
• Library sections on featured topics  Resources 
  
• Many good articles on the Faith and current issues  Resources 
  

Weaknesses

• Fidelity: Protestant approach to moral issues in youth section Example(s)
  ¹
  
• Fidelity: Protestant Christian music and “resources” under the youth/kids sections
  
• Fidelity: Total condemnation of any drinking of alcohol Example(s)
  ²
  
• Fidelity: Ministry spread across various websites that promote Protestant teachings Example(s)
  ³
  

Website Established: 02/20/04
Vicariate of Arabia
Aneel Aranha
Post Box 25893
Dubai,
UAE
+9714-2861507
NB: All reviews are current as of the Evaluation or Update Date cited above. If you notice that a review contains information that is no longer accurate, please contact us and we will be happy to amend our review.

Weaknesses

¹http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/reviews/view.cfm?Example=6953&recnum=2458&task=showexample

In an article on masturbation there is no mention of the sacraments.

The first step is to believe that you are master of your sexuality; maybe not of your imagination but certainly of your actions. From this point onwards a whole new re-education process can begin, starting with the need of forgiveness. (Forgiveness strengthens the will and instills hope.) Then gradually, you can take little steps to protect your eyes and heart (see Q.32) and develop a healthy way of life. The giving of oneself in the service of others is also important. Thus, this re-education process will become a way of life making us more steadfast, confident of ourselves and ready to love.

² http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/reviews/view.cfm?Example=6956&recnum=2458&task=showexample

From How sweet was the wine at Cana? By Aneel Aranha

I have little doubt that most of us, if not all, would consider nipping a shot of whiskey or vodka in a church an act of desecration. Yet, we would desecrate our own bodies with no second thought, unmindful of the fact that it is home to the Holy Spirit, who is God himself! The fact that God would, indeed, consider this desecration is obvious from this passage that Paul wrote to the Galatians:

“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21)

Let me abridge that in the event anyone missed out a word or two. “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: drunkenness and the like. Those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

There are those who will still continue to justify their drinking by saying this refers only to people who get intoxicated. Frankly, at this point I begin to lose the plot. Why would anybody drink a foul tasting, foul smelling liquid that has no redeemable qualities whatsoever — on the contrary, whose qualities are proven to be detrimental to mind, body and soul — unless it was to get drunk?

For a Catholic treatment of this subject see Alcohol: Biblical and Catholic Teaching

³http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/reviews/view.cfm?Example=9055&recnum=2458&task=showexample

—Dominic Dixon conducted a “Soul Ties” program at St. Patrick’s Church, Bangalore on 7th October 2012. He called a Protestant pastor, Rev. K Vasudevan, as a guest speaker to explain “Soul Ties”. During his talks Rev. Vasudevan introduced three Protestant ministries. He also distributed the pamphlets of Wellspring Ministries.

—Dominic Dixon’s website http://veritastv.net/powerofwords.html
promotes Protestant faith based approach to the Word or positive thinking.

—http://veritastv.net/ is a 24 hour Global Internet Christian Television Network controlled by Dominic Dixon and Aneel Aranha. A cursory examination of the VeritasTV pages reveals that the majority of the information made available there is sourced from Protestant ministries.

—http://www.moreloveradio.com/mlplayer.html
promotes Protestant pastors like Dr. Ravi Zacharias, Billy Graham, Franklin Graham, Nancy Leigh Demoss, Dennis Rainey, Bob Lepine.

—http://ethosinstitute.org/: Three faculties members are senior protestant Pastors: Dr. Siga Arles, Rev. K. Vasudevan, Michael Jebaraj.

From:
Michael Prabhu
To:
aneel@holyspiritinteractive.net
Sent: Sunday, May 19, 2013 4:56 PM

Subject: LATEST RATING BY CATHOLICCULTURE.ORG OF HOLYSPIRITINTERACTIVE

Dear Aneel,

Are you aware of the latest rating of your web site/ministry by CatholicCulture.org?

CatholicCulture.org has awarded you with an amber warning/caution so that Catholics may be protected against exposure to the influence of Protestant teaching [among other things] while sifting through authentic Catholic information on your site. Please see http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/reviews/view.cfm?recnum=2458. 

Apparently it is largely because of your ministry’s association with Mr. Dominic Dixon and his MoreLove ministries, Bangalore.

When I wrote on April 5 to you and a colleague of yours [in reply to a letter from him last month] about Mr. Dixon, you wrote on April 6 to your colleague: “You should not have replied to him. Do not communicate with him anymore. Just ignore his mails. We got better things to do.” But you emailed the letter to me inadvertently.

I responded to that dismissal of me immediately but you chose to ignore my letter.

I hope that I will hear from you at least now in response to this communication.

With regards, Michael