Firm line by Church on Garabandal

From the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle IN THE recent correspondence about Medjugorje, a number of Garabandal supporters have said that the Church has made no judgement on its claims, and that Rome and Santander, the local diocese, have an open mind on whether or not Our Lady actually appeared there in the early 1960s.
That is not the case. The Holy See sent a warning letter to diocesan bishops back in 1970. It drew our attention to the Santander diocesan decision regarding 'the lack of supernatural character of the events of Garabandal'. It stated that the Holy See 'has often praised the prudence that characterised the method followed in the examination'.
It repeated that 'the Holy See has no intention of examining this question any further since it holds that the examinations already carried out are sufficient'. It 'deplored the movement in obvious contradiction with the dispositions of ecclesiastical authority'.
On several occasions since then, the supporters of Garabandal have claimed that the situation has changed. I have checked regularly with the Holy See and with the present Bishop of Santander, and they have assured me on each occasion in some detail that the 1970 letter still holds.
Further, the words of approval attributed to Pope Paul VI in 1968 would have been spoken long after the Santander decision against Garabandal had been approved by the Holy See! The claim that the Holy Father said these words has often been challenged but never vindicated. Hugh Lindsay Bishop's House East Denton Halt Newcastle-on-Tyne NE5 2BJ