The Vatican affirmed this Wednesday that Jesus can answer prayers, but that he did not appear in a small town in northern France.
In a new instruction approved by Pope Leo
A Catholic mother in the town claimed to have seen Jesus 49 times during the 1970s, and that he dictated a series of messages to her and asked her to build a 24-foot cross on a hillside in the town.
“The phenomenon of the alleged apparitions… must be considered, definitively, as of non-supernatural origin, with all the consequences that arise from it,” states the text issued by the doctrinal office.
Catholics believe that religious figures such as Jesus and Mary can make supernatural appearances to offer religious messages, create new devotional practices, or make general calls for peace.
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Religious appearances approved by the Vatican
The Vatican has a formal evaluation process to evaluate alleged apparitions and warns against using these phenomena for profit.
The Vatican also recently issued a decree clarifying the titles Catholics can use to refer to Mary. This text indicates that Mary cannot be called the “runner” of the world, since Catholics believe that only Jesus redeemed humanity with his crucifixion and death.
Notable apparitions approved by the Vatican include Mary’s appearance in Mexico as Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1531 and Jesus’ appearances to Polish nun Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s.
“The Cross does not need 738 meters of steel or concrete to be recognized: it is raised every time a heart, moved by grace, opens to forgiveness,” the Vatican declared Wednesday regarding the alleged apparitions in Dozule.
The instruction also noted that the supposed appearance of Jesus had said that the world would end before the year 2000. “Clearly, this supposed prophecy was not fulfilled,” it said.
With information from Reuters
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