Keeping an open Medjugorje mind

From the Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle THE CLAIM that several young people have seen and heard Our Lady at Medjugorje has been gravely damaged by what Fr Richard Foley has said in his article, "Officially unoffical visions," December 7 and what he has omitted from it.
He left out most of the statements published in the Osservatore Romano on Nov 11. Although publication there does not make them Roman statements, it does indicate that the Holy See is in accord with what is being said.
The Bishops' Conference of Yugoslavia, Oct 12, is quoted, "Therefore, official pilgrimages to Medjugorje must not be organised; the verdict of those who have responsibility for the life of the Church must not be prejudged".
The Commission appointed by the local bishop made a statement on Oct 11 and is also quoted. It recalls their request last March that there should not be organised pilgrimages nor any public appearances of the seers "before the Church has given its judgement on the authenticity of the visions". It adds that both the local pastoral workers and the seers themselves were asked in writing not to make statements in public nor in the press" on the content of the visions and the presumed miraculous cures".
The Commission records that, nevertheless, organised pilgrimages continue and that statements are being released, also by cassettes. In particular, alleged cures are being reported without basic scientific documentary evidence. The Commission says that it is continuing its detailed work "although already it sees certain difficulties of a disciplinary and theological nature in the messages of Medjugorje". Finally, the Commission "has recommended to the bishop to continue the thorough examination of the phenomena and to ponder very carefully the final judgement".
This seems a far cry from the picture Fr Foley has given of a prejudiced, unsympathetic and severe Bishop of Mostar and of a commission "selected by him on the basis of their known Opposition to the Medjugorje claims".
1 am horrified to read Fr Foley's suggestion that people can get round the Church's offical ban on these pilgrimages by claiming to be "adventitious groupings of pilgrims" which "do not amount to official pilgrimages inasmuch as they arise from private enterprise".
Like any other simple Catholic I shall have an open mind on Medjugorje until the local Church gives its judgement. In the meantime, the evident devotion of the local people inclines me to believe that Our Lady does appear there. However, the disobedience over pilgrimages and publications, and the personal attacks which are being made on the local bishop and the Commission which is assisting him to weigh the claims of the seers, cause me grave doubts because they are in no way signs of true devotion to Our Blessed Lady.
Hugh Lindsay Bishops House East Denton Hall Newcastle upon Tyne.