Marian Apparitions - Apparitions Condemned By Church Authorities

Apparitions Condemned By Church Authorities

Not all reports of visions and apparitions are taken seriously by church authorities. For instance, the messages reported by Catalina Rivas were later found to correspond to exact pages of books written by others, and published instructional literature for Catholic seminarians. Claimed apparitions and miracles at Holy Love Ministries in Elyria, Ohio were denounced by local Bishop Richard Lennon as "not supernatural in origin" and "forbid members of the clergy of any ecclesiastical jurisdiction" to celebrate the Sacraments on the site. He also declared "that the Confraternity of the United Hearts of Jesus and Mary is not an approved association of the Christian faithful in the Diocese of Cleveland and may not legitimately use the name 'Catholic' or represent itself as a Catholic group.".

The reported Garabandal apparitions from 1961 to 1965 were examined by the local Bishop and were declared as not having evidence of being of supernatural origin. However the apparitions were not declared as a hoax and the possibility of future approval was left open. At Garabandal, an apparition by Saint Michael, the Archangel was reported first, announcing the arrival of the Virgin Mary (under the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel).

Among recent visions, the reported apparitions of The Virgin Mary to six children in Međugorje in 1981 have received much attention despite official condemnation by the local Bishop. The Our Lady of Međugorje messages are published and distributed worldwide and often emphasize five key elements: Daily prayer of the Holy Rosary, Fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays, Daily reading of the Bible, Monthly Confessions and Holy Communion. On March 17, 2010, the Vatican announced it was beginning a formal investigation of the apparitions at Medugorje. Cardinal Camillo Ruini is to head the commission that will study the matter.

The visions at Medjugorje have been condemned by Bishop Pavao Žanić. The Bishop affirms his complete certainty that Our Lady did not appear in Medjugorje. The Commission to investigate the apparitions has continually underlined the theological and disciplinary difficulties posed by the events and the messages of Medjugorje. The Holy See had not overturned the ruling by the Bishop at this time. In 1991, the Zadar document declaired, "On the basis of the investigations so far it can not be affirmed that one is dealing with supernatural apparitions and revelations."

Purported locutions received by the late Veronica Lueken from 1968-1994 were declared invalid by Bishop Francis Mugavero, then Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn. Similarly, reports of Our Lady of Surbiton claiming that the Virgin Mary appeared every day under a pine tree in England were flatly rejected by the Vatican as a fraud.

Some reported apparitions attract negative publicity at the location of the apparition. For instance, the latter parts of the reported messages from Gianna Talone were disapproved by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore and a group of Emmitsburg, Maryland residents started a campaign against Talone and accused her of running a cult. To date, the Holy See has let the Talone matter rest at the local level of the archdiocese.