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Irish bishop tells pilgrims to stay away from apparitions site
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
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A senior west of Ireland bishop has strongly appealed to Catholics intending to travel to Knock next month to stay away from a predicted apparition of the Virgin Mary on December 5.
Speaking yesterday in Ennis, Co Clare, the Bishop of Killaloe, Dr Willie Walsh, said he would not like to see a large number of people going to Knock on that day expecting "strange visions".
The bishop was responding to the announcement by Dublin self-styled visionaries Joe Coleman and Keith Henderson that Our Lady will appear on Saturday, December 5, at 3pm.
Bishop Walsh is the first member of the Catholic hierarchy to voice public support for the beleaguered Archbishop of Tuam, Michael Neary, who has warned that such predictions were misleading the faithful and have threatened to bring the internationally renowned Marian Shrine under his jurisdiction into disrepute.
Last Saturday up to 15,000 pilgrims defied Archbishop Neary by thronging Knock in expectation of seeing the Virgin, causing crowd hysteria and a dangerous stampede when people claimed a sighting of her in "the dancing sun".
Asked for his views during the Ceifin conference, Bishop Walsh expressed his worry that so many people suddenly would turn up at Knock because someone said that Our Lady was going to appear there.
"It doesn't make sense to me that Our Lady, in some way, would tell someone 'I'll see you in Knock on the 5th of December'," Bishop Walsh said, scathingly. "That goes away from the rational."
"I'm not going to say to people that they shouldn't go to Knock. Knock is a place of prayer, but I would discourage the idea of going off to Knock expecting strange visions," added Bishop Walsh.
"I would certainly discourage that in every way".
Dr Walsh, who said he had no personal experience of visions over the past 70 years, questioned this approach to religion.
"The Church has always been very careful about the idea of special visions. I would like to think, by and large, our faith is based upon something deeper than this kind of thing.
"Ultimately, our religion and our practise of religion for me is found somewhere in the Gospel and the life and teaching and example of Jesus Christ. That is the foundation, not the visions, not the moving statues."
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"It doesn't make sense to me that Our Lady, in some way, would tell someone 'I'll see you in Knock on the 5th of December'," Bishop Walsh said, scathingly. "That goes away from the rational."
Editors, in the interests of accuracy can I suggest that 'scathingly' is replaced in the quote above by 'with unwitting irony'.
Thank you
Posted by PJ | 05.11.09, 13:15 GMT
Not that I believe in any of the many Marian apparitions (inc. Knock, Lourdes and Fatima) but a number of years ago I did visit Knock with a cousin from County Mayo. It seemed a humble place and not in the league of other Hollywood-like Marian apparition sites like Fatima and Lourdes. So, I am surprised that in this day, despite RC episcopal warnings against hysterical futuristic Marian apparitions at Knock, thousands of fundy Catholics showed up there and will continue to show up for yet another Marian hoax.
Posted by Jim Guinnessey | 04.11.09, 16:04 GMT
This article is tongue-in-cheek - otherwise it would be an illegal sectarian article. However this article fits in with the trend of the Belfast Telegraph printing disingenuous stories on the Catholic religion.
Posted by Andrew | 04.11.09, 14:00 GMT
'that goes away from the rational', said the bishop to the masses. since when did 'rational' and faith have anything in common. if 15,000 people want to see 'their lady' dancing in the sun, well why not, if you believe your little book of myths, mysterious healings, apparitions, waking from the dead, parting seas, walking on water, god bless the poor bishop and his fear of loosing control of his flock, the sheep should always fear the dog, unfortunately for the church they have created a problem that expects the dumb acceptance of nonsense and then gets upset at the dumb acceptance of nonsense, somehow i don't think this lot are scared of the dog anymore, long live the church, long live ignorance, long live the cancer of religion
Posted by anarchos | 04.11.09, 10:14 GMT
In other words, "Don't go and listen to their fantastical stories, come and listen to ours instead."
Posted by McD | 04.11.09, 09:30 GMT
"It doesn't make sense to me that Our Lady, in some way, would tell someone 'I'll see you in Knock on the 5th of December'," Bishop Walsh said, scathingly. "That goes away from the rational."
Goes away from the rational??? That's rich from a man who believes in the Assumption of Mary, transubstantiation and until recently, Limbo. How's that in the "goes away from the rational" stakes, then?
Posted by John | 04.11.09, 09:22 GMT
The Archbishop is starting to sound like Ian Paisley.
Are we not supposed to rub the feet of a holy statue any more either, to find a lost handbag?
Posted by Sharon Owens | 04.11.09, 09:03 GMT
If these people want to waste their time on superstitious drivel, then who is Mr Walsh to demand that only his particular approved form of supertitious drivel is allowed.
Posted by John Dale | 04.11.09, 08:39 GMT