What position does the Catholic Church have on the apparitions in Birmingham Alabama?

Answer 1

The alleged apparitions in Birmingham, Alabama are from the same woman who was one of the alleged seers in Medjugorje. The Catholic Church position thus far has been in the negative. No one is forbidden to travel to Medjugorje or to Birmingham but the Bishops in question have issued rulings to the point that nothing supernatural is taking place there. So the official position of the Catholic Church at this point rests with the local bishop and he has definitely not issued approval, here is the statement from the Bishop of Medjugorje under whose ruling Marija Lunetti was at the time of the "apparitions. She was one of six Croatian youths who reported that the mother of Jesus began visiting them in 1981, will stay for the week at the home of Terry Colafrancesco, founder of Caritas of Birmingham.

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Bishop's ruling:

More recently in a letter to the Bishop of St. Denis, Archbishop Bertone commented on a statement by the current Bishop of Mostar that the alleged apparitions were not simply lacking evidence of supernaturality but were in fact NOT supernatural (i.e. definitively so). He stated:

The main thing I would like to point out is that the Holy See does not ordinarily take a position of its own regarding supposed supernatural phenomena as a court of first instance. As for the credibility of the "apparitions" in question, this Dicastery respects what was decided by the bishops of the former Yugoslavia in the Declaration of Zadar, April 10, 1991: "On the basis of the investigations so far, it can not be affirmed that one is dealing with supernatural apparitions and revelations." Since the division of Yugoslavia into different independent nations it would now pertain to the members of the Episcopal Conference of Bosnia-Herzegovina to eventually reopen the examination of this case, and to make any new pronouncements that might be called for.

What Bishop Peric said in his letter to the Secretary General of FamilleChretienne, declaring: "My conviction and my position is not only non constat de supernaturalitate, but likewise, constat de non supernaturalitate of the apparitions or revelations in Medjugorje", should be considered the expression of the personal conviction of the Bishop of Mostar which he has the right to express as Ordinary of the place, but which is and remains his personal opinion.

Finally, as regards pilgrimages to Medjugorje, which are conducted privately, this Congregation points out that they are permitted on condition that they are not regarded as an authentication of events still taking place and which still call for an examination by the Church. Letter to Bishop Aubrey