Vatican Probes Visions of the Virgin Mary

(AP)  The Vatican has begun formally investigating reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary at the Medjugorje shrine in southern Bosnia.

An international commission of inquiry headed by Italian Cardinal Camillo Ruini - a top adviser to the late Pope John Paul II - has been formed to study the case and report back to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican said in a statement Wednesday.

The Medjugorje apparition has been disputed since 1981, when six youths said they had regularly seen visions of the Virgin there. Unlike Fatima in Portugal or Lourdes in France, the Vatican has been cautious about calling the sightings authentic, and neither Rome nor the local diocese has formally approved Medjugorje as an official shrine site.

But the lack of official recognition hasn't stopped the remote village 70 miles southwest of Sarajevo from thriving. More than 30 million faithful have visited the area since 1981.

One of the highest-ranking recent pilgrims was Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, who visited over New Year's, sparking a minor diplomatic incident since official church pilgrimages to Medjugorje are barred.

Schoenborn stressed that he traveled to the shrine in a private capacity. But he celebrated Mass there, met with the visionaries, and granted several interviews afterward in which he called for Medjugorje pilgrims to receive the pastoral care - both physical and spiritual - that they would need there.

He also called the shrine a tree that "bore many fruits," in terms of vocations, conversions and rediscovery of faith.

His comments prompted the local bishop of Mostar, Monsignor Ratko Peric, to write him a letter Jan. 2, sharply criticizing his visit and stressing that his presence there was by no means a formal recognition of the apparitions. The local church has cast doubt on the claims, in part because one of the visionaries says the apparitions have continued monthly for over a quarter century.

Schoenborn met with the pope on Jan. 15 and wrote to Peric saying he regretted "if you have the impression that my pilgrimage to Medjugorje did a disservice to peace. Rest assured this was not my intention."

Schoenborn is close to Pope Benedict XVI, and the decision to launch an official investigation into Medjugorje could be read as the pontiff's response to suggestions by the Vienna archbishop.

The current Vatican No. 2, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, wrote in 1996 that official pilgrimages to Medjugorje weren't to be organized at parish or diocesan levels since bishops from the former Yugoslavia had affirmed in 1991 that there was no way to confirm that "supernatural apparitions and revelations" had taken place.

[motym1162]

pls do take time watch on youtube this images of "virgin mary found inside a mangos pit" you will be amazed of the images cause nature carved it .do watch the vids...adel villena philippines

[dontknowitall]

The Vatican should be spending less time on this sort of crap and more time on it's PEDOPHELIA problem.

[Suzannaquanashawn]

When I was a young Catholic girl I was taught to respect the faith. Studying in the church about Jesus or their many saints gave me a very firm foundation for the trials of life yet to come. For years I have heard so many disgusting comments about the faith. I don't know where the priests fell out of their heads and did those dirty deeds. I wasn't taught by this crowd and I have NO idea where they came from. These are not the true teachings or the faithful.I was raised in the faith by nuns who sternly gave me a backround. Femininity, motherliness, modesty, non-lustful thought, the 10 Commandments, and Jesus's many miracles were my foundation. If you really want to hear some spacey stuff look up Fatima. I think the church did okay by me. And one more thing: Words that I didn't learn the meanings to were porno, lesbianism, homosexuality, theft, murder, rated X, polygamy,incest, bigamy, rape, Nazi, racism, etc. Female training works for me..........................

[rwsmith29456]

Do visions of the Virgin Mary appear to non-Catholics?

[yerhumps]

I once saw an image of the virgin in a pile of d.ogshit.

[yerhumps]

I once saw an image of the virgin in a pile of d.ogshit. True story!

[Scimajor]

I once had a Cheeto that looked like Barney the dinosaur. It's the second coming of Barney man!!! I probably should have sold it on eBay. I'm cool with taking advantage of the gullibility of the general populous.

[dwilson94]

Church of Satan, lol. You obviously don't know much about the Catholic religion or faith. You don't have to agree or pretend to agree with the faith, but what you are saying by using that term is that all Catholics worship satan, that it is some kind of cult? Or are you saying that it has made some bad mistakes in the past and that you are intolerant of that. Are you calling people like Mother Teresa or Pope John Paul II evil? Just curious

[marcodele]

Thank God the apparitions took the spotlight off of the organized pedophilia relocation network.

[curse914]

Indeed, it sure seems strangely coincidental.

[mjlewis6]

While I do not mock any faith, be it Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Woden, Buddist or the path of Inner Enlightenment..., Hindi or American Indian or others, the only one that has my disdain is that accorded the Church of Satan. Unlike the latter, all seek the road to a just and good Creator for people.

It is hard to consider such an antithetical as it presupposes the reality of the Almighty and has as its prime goal the obverse of good.
Mimics are to be investigated for either heresy or miraculous apparition.