Catholic Church validates Wisconsin Virgin Mary sightings

[cleanhippie]

By ERIK ECKHOLM
Published: December 23, 2010

CHAMPION, Wis. — In France, the shrine at Lourdes is surrounded by hundreds of hotels and has received as many as 45,000 pilgrims in a single day. Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Mexico, draws millions of fervent worshipers a year.

The validated site is the first of its kind in the United States.

Now, a little chapel among the dairy farms here, called Our Lady of Good Help, has joined that august company in terms of religious status, if not global fame. This month, it became one of only about a dozen sites worldwide, and the first in the United States, where apparitions of the Virgin Mary have been officially validated by the Roman Catholic Church.

--snip--

On Dec. 8, after a two-year investigation by theologians who found no evidence of fraud or heresy and a long history of shrine-related conversions, cures and other signs of divine intervention, Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay declared “with moral certainty” that Ms. Brise did indeed have encounters “of a supernatural character” that are “worthy of belief.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/24/us/24mary.html

-----------------------------

So no evidence of "fraud or heresy" was found. I wonder what evidence actually "validating" the apparition was. Funny how THAT evidence is not shared.









http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/24/us/24mary.html

[rurallib]

1. where is the phrase

"alcohol was thought to be involved?" It is the beer capitol of the US after all.

[ananda]

2. Visions of hotels and tourist/pilgrims danced in their heads.

nt

[RKP5637]

4. Ultimate fund raiser! n/t

[CBGLuthier]

3. The savages dance to their pagan gods.

See their funny voodoo rites.

[Bad Thoughts]

8. Indeed.

The headline could have read: "People get what they want from statue. Officials let it happen."

[old mark]

5. She was seen wearing a plastic cheese hat and a Packers jersey...

OH NO! I just remembered the Packers play the Eagles on Sunday in the wild card...I hope they don't have divine intervention!


mark

[somone]

6. Mary had "flowing blond locks"

[frogmarch]

7. Was she crying?

[monmouth]

9. When I lost my daughter in January of '93

http://www.angelfire.com/ky/dodone/Marlboro.html

we went to Jersey to the family plot and buried her there. A dear long-time friend took me to Marlboro which is not far from our hometown of Freehold, and took me to this site. It was bitter cold, I was upset and friend thought I would find some solace here. The first remarkable thing I noticed was the flowers. I mean flowers all over, blooming, in this bitter cold. I said a prayer at the statue and noticed the roses in full bloom. We asked the housekeeper (she would not accept any money) how did they ever keep these flowers alive? "We don't do anything to them, we just leave them alone." That's all I'm saying.

[cleanhippie]

10. I am sorry to hear about the loss of your daughter.

But I think you are "saying" much more. I am inferring from your post that those flowers are some kind of "proof" that the site has some special power? Can you elaborate on that?

[RKP5637]

11. We have flowers here all winter that look like they are blooming. On the

grounds they use a very life looking plastic type flower. It's in the 20's now and they look like they are blooming.

[cleanhippie]

12. So in your instance, there is a perfectly resonable explanation.

Nothing supernatural is going on there?

[RKP5637]

13. No, not in the least IMO.

[cleanhippie]

14. Thats what I thought.

Just wanted to be sure.

Do you have any idea what monmouth's explanation is for THOSE flowers?

[RKP5637]

15. No, not at all. Maybe it's a type of flower(s) that does well under those

conditions. I'm certainly not doubting what monmouth experienced. ... but I can not attribute it to anything, for example, supernatural. Again, that's just me and my belief system.

[monmouth]

17. I really cannot explain it, but I did feel the site was special and perhaps

beyond my comprehension as to why they were in bloom. I only mentioned this to give another perspective. Friend went back there a few weeks later and they were still in bloom.

[cleanhippie]

19. But you are, in a sense, trying to explain it, no?

Unless I am reading you wrong, you pretty much are attributing these flowers to something supernatural, no?

I guess my biggest question is, why would something that struck you as so strange and extraordinary not compel you to try and find the reason behind it, but instead chalked it up to the supernatural?

[monmouth]

20. I'm didn't feel "compelled" to find any reasoning. It was what it was...n/t

[cleanhippie]

21. Thats what I am asking.

If "it was was it was', then what do you think it was?

[monmouth]

22. I thought it was awesome....End of discussion..n/t

[cleanhippie]

23. I guess so.

[monmouth]

16. No, not at all. It just struck me in awe that the flowers (all kinds) were

in bloom at this site, at that time. Perhaps it is a sort of "proof"...it's not for me to say, I'm just relaying what happened.

[Old and In the Way]

18. Kinda sounds like a franchising opportunity.

You can't have too many of those in any one region without competing against themselves and possibly eroding the brand. How come Joseph doesn't get any of those apparition opportunities? It's always Mary...seems like God should spread the apparitions around a bit...

[DeSwiss]

24. I guess they needed......

...another cash cow to add to their coffer of ill-gotten gains.


- Sex abuse lawyers are expensive, you know?

K&R

[thereismore]

25. Obscene. nt

[edhopper]

26. I see this thread

and then I see this thread:
"Milwaukee Catholic Archdiocese files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to abuse cases"

So the Vatican okays a money making bit of bullshit just when the Wisconsin Archdiocese is in financial trouble.
Do ya think they have any relation?

[cleanhippie]

27. Wow! Great catch!

File this under Things that make you go Hmmmm.

[Bad Thoughts]

28. Perhaps

However, for more than a century the Catholic Church actively denied the "powers" of the statue and threatened those who claimed to have benefited from it with excommunication. It seems that it was only of late that the Church reversed itself after a long history of popular support for recognition.

[cleanhippie]

30. What statue?

This story discusses an apparition, not a statue.

[Bad Thoughts]

31. Apologies

I mixed up details with another post currently on the board. However, my point still stands: the Church has been particularly hostile only until recently. While there may be a profit motive, recognition nonetheless is a major reversal.

[edhopper]

32. The "modern" church

is desperately trying to crawl back into the 14th Century.

[Goblinmonger]

29. As you know, I'm no RCC apologist, but Green Bay isn't

in the Milwaukee Archdiocese (Champion--city of the Virgin Mary--is just outside Green Bay).

I live between Milwaukee and Green Bay.

[olegramps]

33. Caching!! Almost as good as winning the power ball.