This is one aspect of the phenomena of Marian Apparitions that intrigues me: the Church's history of denial and suppression around Marian apparitions. Currently, the Vatican is exercising its power by mandating Catholics stay mum about visitations:"Catholics who claim they have seen the Virgin Mary will be forced to remain silent..." waiting until the visitations have been investigated by "psychologists, theologians, priests and exorcists." The goal of this renewed effort is to "stamp out false claims of miracles."
Obvious questions come to mind. Why is the Vatican so focused on this now? What is it about the timing of these "new guidelines" in terms of BVM apparitions? Why have "new guidelines" at all? Who decides what's a "false claim" and what isn't?
I can't keep from thinking that there is a connection between this and the Vatican's positive acknowledgement that ET exists. An odd juxtaposition: the BVM, and the effort put forth by the Church to keep her hidden, and the overt acknowledgement that aliens are real. Not angels, demons and Satan, which are also acknowledged to exist of course, but literal ET, aliens, from outer space. The distinction between aliens and angels is made by the Church.
"It is entirely credible that in the enormous distance between Angels and humans, there could be found some middle stage, that is beings with a body like ours but more elevated spiritually. If such intelligent beings really exist on other planets, only science will be able to prove; but in spite of what some people think, we would be in a position to reconcile their existence with the Redemption that Christ has brought us." (Vatican theologian Monsignor Corrado Balducci)
This new directive from the Vatican is called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. That may sound reasonable enough,except this used to be known as the Holy Office Of The Inquisition. This update will renew the version from 1978s. In other words, the Inquisition has been kept alive in various forms right up to the present.
Aside from the relationship between Mary and ET, a comparison can be made between the image of "The Lady" and witches. During the Inquisition, women were tortured and killed under the premise that they were witches.
Witnesses to miracles, including Marian apparitions, can talk about it and "will be believed" as long as they stay quiet and don't seek a public forum. If they don't keep quiet, they won't be believed, according to this new mandate. The person making the claim of miracle, stigmata, or BVM visit, will have to endure examinations by psychiatrists, exorcists, etc. to: exclude the possibility that Satan is hiding behind the apparitions in order to deceive the faithful.
This is chilling on a lot of levels of course. From the context of the new guidelines itself,(Inquisition) to the suppression of the individuals mystical/paranormal experience, the war between authoritarian keepers of experience (whether it's the Vatican, the JREF, Skeptical Inquirer, CSI, or the government) and the "folk" continues.
Dialogue in Bellaria:
SITCHIN AND VATICAN THEOLOGIAN DISCUSS UFO's,
EXTRATERRESTRIALS, ANGELS, CREATION OF MAN, Report by Zecharia Sitchin
