As we noted in our opening article we were troubled by the negative implications of the latest 'message'
delivered by the pretend prophetess Gianna Talone Sullivan to her followers on June 1st.
Following the publishing of the article, we were rather surprised by the number of e-mails from her followers that backed the authenticity of
the recent pretend message, as well as other past messages that refer to the coming 'Two Suns' based upon a mythical Planet X, also know as Nemeses and its
ties to Mayan Culture.
One e-mail pointed us to a web site called www.2012WARNING.COM that opened with the following:
Desk of Steve Price: (2012WARNING.COM/WEBMASTER) -
"The message you are about to read is from the Blessed Mother, through Gianna Talone Sullivan. Reading it has caused a chain of events that has changed my life
forever. I received it via email on June 6, 2008, directly from the
Our Lady of Emmitsburg website's
newsletter. The message was received through Gianna Talone Sullivan, at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, in
Emmitsburg, Maryland, in front of a large congregation of parishioners. It is authentic! It has inspired me to design and build this website (in a matter of days),
to aid in informing the world of inevitable Earth changes to come in the next few years... Absorb all of the information on this website, then decide for yourself
the best action to take for YOU, in this time of tribulation. The Earth changes have already begun."
[Note: Contrary to Mr. Price's claim Gianna did not receive the message at St. Joseph's in front of
a large congregation of parishioners but at the Lynchfield Complex. But that as you will soon see, this is the least of his factual errors.]
After repeating the pretend message on his web page Mr. Price then adds:
"I wanted to see if there was anything to this "two suns" event in the message, so I did some research. I uncovered an
unbelievable amount of information concerning the future of mankind, and our current way of life. In the next few years, we will see Earth changes that will be
devastating to all living creatures on the Earth. There will be compound crisis' happening at the same time in our cosmos. Planet X will be returning from its 3600
mile orbit around our solar system. Which will bring with it six orbiting satellites with it. This return of Planet X will disrupt our solar system, and especially
Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, Venus, and the Earth. Planet X will Enter our solar system at the edge and cross orbits with Jupiter. Nibiru will pass between the Earth
on the Sun. This will cause the two suns to be seen by everyone in the world. Everyday people will be able to view the two suns by May of 2011 the latest."
Mr. Price's web page then provides a litany of material presented as scientific fact. Never
one to shirk a challenge, we decided to look more deeply in the section of the June 1st pretended message related to the two suns, specifically:
"Children, God did not create only the Earth. God is the Creator of the cosmos, with its many galaxies, many orbits, different stars and
different planets. God is the Creator! There are other planets like earth, far beyond your understanding.
I can tell you this: Even your governments and the Church authorities already have knowledge of the stars aligning and its implications
upon you. You must not fear but must be prepared, primarily spiritually.
After awhile, you will see a time when there is another body in orbit around your solar system, coming between Earth and the Sun and
leading to tremendous devastation."
As the mythical Planet X and ties to Mayan Culture seemed to be the foundation of follower's support for the pretended messages of 'Our
Lady of Emmitsburg' over the years related to the coming of 'two suns,' we contacted several notable astronomers (none of which work for the government) to see if
they had, as Gianna's message claims, "knowledge of the stars aligning and its implications upon you."
Here's what they said:
"After the perturbations of Uranus' orbit by Neptune lead to its discovery in 1846, physicists naturally wanted to find if another major
planet lay still farther out. Minor discrepancies in the motions of Uranus and Neptune lead Percival Lowell in 1905 to predict that such a massive planet, his
"Planet X", lay still farther out, in the direction of Gemini. He died in 1914, not realizing that one of his search photos had in fact recorded Pluto; he had
predicted a much larger and brighter body, and had not searched for anything that faint. When the search resumed at Lowell Observatory in 1930, Clyde Tombaugh did
find Pluto at last, close to where Lowell expected it to be. One reason for the choice of this name was the initials "PL" to commemorate the man who began the
search for it.
But Pluto was a big disappointment. It is smaller and less massive than our own Moon, and has an orbit more like that of a short period comet
than any planet. The expected deviations in the large planet's orbits disappeared once more accurate data from the Voyager II was plugged into their motions. And
Pluto was not alone out there; beginning in 1992 thousands of similar bodies, called KBOs or Kuiper Belt Objects, were found, many with orbits so similar to Pluto's
they were nicknamed "Plutinos". In 2004 a new discovery, now named Eris for the goddess of discord, was found, bigger but farther out than Pluto, hence the
International Astronomical Union's new "dwarf" classification and cause of great concern to school teachers and school children. If we are going by Roman numerals,
then Eris is indeed "Planet X".
But the idea that another big jovian lay waaay out there has been slow to die. Various writers have speculated that the Sun has a brown
dwarf companion, some call "Nemesis" with a highly elliptical orbit that might stir up a swarm of comets inbound, or even venture occasionally into the inner solar
system itself. The term "planet X" seems to have been loosely applied to this hypothetical world as well.
Latest data suggests such a world does not exist. Anything with the mass of Pluto would have caused the four star bound probes (Pioneers X
and XI, Voyagers I and II) to veer off their very carefully monitored course. Our new infrared sky surveys would easily have picked up a nearby brown dwarf such as
Nemesis by now as well. As we study our own solar system compared to other newly found ones, ours seems unusually stable, suggesting the periodic sunward sweeps
popular in science fiction are just that.
So why 2012? The Mayans had the most accurate calendar of antiquity, based on carefully observations of the motion of Venus. They even knew
when Venus would pass directly between us and the Sun, in transit; she does this very rare deed on June 5, 2012, and the start of the transit will be seen in late
afternoon in the eastern US; only Alaska and Hawaii get to see the whole show, start to finish about seven hours later. To the Mayans, this event was not a
prediction of the end of the world, but the start of another millennium style reckoning of time, much like January 1, 2000 ( or more properly, 2001) began our own
set of celebrations. Again, science fiction writers picked up on this, much like May 5, 2000 (another end of world event, with rare planetary alignment which they
quickly forgot, once nothing happened!) and will use it in the next four years to sell copies of paperbacks, articles for National Enquirer, and kill a lot of trees
for no scientific justification whatsoever...now you know...."
Another noted Astronomer weighted in with:
|
The scene at Rancho Santa Fe, CA on April 7, 1997. 39 identically laid out bodies were found, in the United States' larges mass
suicide to date. |
"Heaven's Gate all over again. It's an old story being resurrected
once again. There are enough gullible people out there who don't know about the previous failed prediction, otherwise this time around the prediction would have no
legs.
Yes, this isn't the first time such doomsday predictions have been made, blaming some rogue planet for the destruction. Back in the 1990s, it was Nancy Lieder, among others, who was spreading the word. She even had her puppy put to sleep (so she claimed), because she believed that food was
going to be scarce after the destruction, and there wouldn't be enough to feed pets. Obviously, she felt that the event was imminent!
Of course, back then, the predictions were for the calamity taking place in 2002, but it obviously never happened. Poor puppy! For a while, Nancy Lieder tried to claim that the predicted "pole shift" had happened, saying that the times of sunrise and sunset had been greatly altered by the
close passage of Planet X, but that the government had tried to cover it up via their control of the atomic clocks. Now that it's obvious that it never happened, the predictions are resurfacing again, only with a later date. Nancy is only saying "2003 or shortly thereafter" and "after May 15, 2003" on her web
site; it's safer being ambiguous like that, having been burned by her previous failed prediction. I don't know what explanation the doomsday people are using for why it didn't happen in 2002, but they'll probably reuse that same explanation after it doesn't happen in 2012. Then after a short lull, the predictions
will probably resurface with a date in 2022 or thereabouts. By then, the supply of gullible people will be replenished, and we'll see history repeat itself.
[Regarding www.2012warning.com] Gad, they're even making money via the sale of advertising!
Shame on Circuit City! Here's a quotation from that web site that I really find amusing:
'Also at that time, the Milky Way Galaxy, the earth, and the sun will all be in exact galactic alignment, which happens only every 26,000
years.'
Actually, that's not true. The so-called "alignment" happens EVERY YEAR, not every 26000 years. What happens every 26000 years is that the
"day" of the "alignment" occurs on December 21, the same day as the winter solstice. But think about it for a moment. With 365 days in a year, the "alignment" day
shifts by one day in about 70 years (26000 divided by 365 is about 70). In other words, the "alignment" will be on December 21, the same day as the winter solstice,
for SEVENTY YEARS, so what's so special about 2012? Well, the only "exact galactic alignment" that can take place with the Earth and Sun is with the galactic plane,
but in that case, 2012 isn't special; the alignment will happen on the same day for 70 years. Without actually checking, it may be that the minimum separation
between the winter solstice and the galactic center will occur in 2012, thereby making 2012 special, but in that case the alignment isn't "exact" (the galactic
center has a declination of about -29 degrees, whereas the ecliptic gets no farther south than -23.5 degrees, so an "exact galactic alignment" with the Earth, Sun,
and galactic center will NEVER occur). And what makes December 21 so special as the alignment day, other than coinciding with the solstice? The "exact" alignment
with the galactic plane occurred on December 20 for about 70 years, and then on December 19 for 70 years before that, and if you back up 6500 years, the alignment
occurred on September 22, the day of the autumnal equinox, just as special as the winter solstice. And 13000 years ago, the alignment occurred on June 21, the day
of the summer solstice (or the winter solstice for our friends in Australia and the rest of the southern hemisphere). Did you notice anything unusual last December
21 during the exact alignment with the galactic plane? How about the year before that? The "alignment" happens every year, just 20 minutes later each year.
There's your ammunition."
Mt. Palomar Observatory checked in with:
As you know there is no such object and nothing at all to worry about. Here at Palomar we have observers who are actively searching
for objects in the outer solar system. You can read about some of the objects that have been discovered here
http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~mbrown/
We haven't found anything like people have been talking about, nor has any other observatory. That seems to be because there is no "planet x". There is no known
object in the outer solar system of any appreciable mass headed into the inner solar system. And as such there is no possibility of any known astronomical object
causing any calamity.
Discover Magazine check in with:
"Our resident astronomy debunker, Bad Astronomer Phil Plait, recommends checking out the series of blog posts available at
http://www.universetoday.com/2008/06/19/2012-planet-x-is-not-nibiru/ for
some good scientific information confronting the 2012 scam.
The first posting in the series is this one:
http://www.universetoday.com/2008/05/19/no-doomsday-in-2012/
Also keep an eye on Phil’s blog at http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/ He
plans to tackle the 2012 claims himself sometime soon.
The Astronomy Department at UC Berkeley checked in with:
I have heard similar ideas about the Earth/Solar System/Universe ending in 2012 (due to the Mayan calendar running out and a variety of other
such nonsense). After scouring the literature and doing some digging on the web it seems that Wikipedia actually has a pretty concise and very accurate and
well-documented version of the whole story behind the Undiscovered Planet and the destruction of Earth (or lack thereof). I recommend reading these two pages on
Wikipedia:
The first one is very scientific and presents both sides of the argument, as well as the final conclusion of astronomers today ("Today the
overwhelming consensus among astronomers is that Planet X, as Lowell defined it, does not exist" -- i.e. there is no extra planet that we don't know about or that
is being kept secret from most humans and thus nothing will crash into Earth and destroy life in 2012). The second one is more about some of the history of these
wild claims. I hope these articles are helpful.
Note: We encourage you to click on the second link... it sure sounds like that what Gianna did!
Lastly, one Astronomer could barely hide his disdain on the subject of the 'two suns':
"Here's one flaw: The website says:
"Planet X will be returning from its 3600 mile orbit around our solar system."
Since all evidence points to the fact that Earth is about 8000 mi in diameter, that makes the assertion logically untenable.
Less obvious is that the following assertion...
"This return of Planet X will disrupt our solar system, and especially Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, Venus, and the Earth."
...the chances of even a very large planet-sized body traveling through the solar system and interacting with ALL those other planets is
extremely small. No doubt there are other fallacious statements in the page you cited, but I haven't the time or inclination to uncover them all, especially since
the general tone of the piece [www.2012warning.com] indicates that its advocates are not likely to listen to reason
to any great extent."
Now many of Gianna's cult followers will point to this section of the
June message:
"I can tell you this: Even your governments and the Church authorities already have knowledge of the stars aligning and its implications
upon you."
to justify ignoring the facts provide by these astronomers, and some will even go so far as to claim they are part of the conspiracy to
hiding the truth.
Knowing this will be a response by embraced by some, we would sure like to hear the answer to the question raised by another reader's e-mail
who asked the following, very reasonable, question:
"After reading this End of the World article I have one question. Has Sullivan cashed in her stocks, bonds, 401K's or is so convinced
she will be one of the chosen?
This kind of histrionics could cause a mass backlash. Between the Mayan Calendar predictions (just in case Sullivan thinks she thought this up) and the
predictions of Nostradamus (interrupted by however many "saints" of predictions), there is beginning to be a certain doomsday feeling.
Here we go again with the same thing that happened at the turn of this century where everything as we know it was to end. Hey, I even stayed up until midnight
to see if my computer would turn over."
So has Gianna or her cult followers sold their stocks?
In our opening article we noted how the 'Our Lady of Emmitsburg Cult'
resembled many other end of the world cults, all of which required the followers to give their money to the pretend prophet or prophetess to ensure their
salvation.
Imposters like Joanna Southcott, who in 1750, assumed the pretensions of a prophetess, and declared herself to be the woman mentioned in the
twelfth chapter of the Book of Revelation. She scribbled much mystic and unintelligible nonsense as visions and prophecy, and for a time carried on a lucrative trade
in the sale of seals, which were, under certain conditions, to secure the salvation of the purchasers. Or Ludovick Muggleton, who in time of extraordinary religious
fervor in 1650, announced himself the last witness of God that would ever be appointed on earth: professed a prophetic gift, and pretended to have been invested with
an exclusive power over the gates of heaven and hell.
We can only wonder how may followers of the Our Lady of Emmitsburg Cult have been duped to part with their hard earned savings in hopes of
being one of the 'chosen few.'
Lastly, of all the e-mails we received in reply to our first article on the cult, we particularly enjoyed the one sent by Kathleen B., who
noted:
"...Mayan's expert knowledge of astronomy and planetary movement. forecast a devastating planetary event All she [Gianna] had to
do was watch the History Channel ...to come up with said prophecy."
"All she [Gianna] had to do was watch the History Channel ...to come up with said prophecy" ????? What???????
Could the source of all the pretend message delivered by Gianna over the years be that simple? TV? Or as the first astronomer mussed,
the National Enquirer? You've got to admit, her messages do sound like something one would read in a trashy drug store tabloid, or better yet, something you
could download at the Virgin Mary End-time Prophecies web site - a handy one stop shop for all your prophecy needs for
pretended Prophet and Prophetess.
"People who expect the world as it is to end soon
do a lot of very strange things."
Have your own stories or thoughts about the Our Lady of Emmitsburg Cult?
If so, send them to us as cultwatch@emmitsburg.net
Other Articles on the 'Our Lady of Emmitsburg' Doomsday Cult
