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Church in the WorldVatican cautious on Medjugorje anniversaryBosnia and Herzegovina Jonathan uxmoore - 1 July 2006AS MANY AS 100,000 pilgrims converged on Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina last week to mark the 25th anniversary of the shrine's first reported Marian apparitions, writes Jonathan Luxmoore. But a local bishop cautioned that the Catholic Church had not officially accepted the allegedly miraculous events. Six local teenagers claimed to have seen the Blessed Virgin on 24 June 1981 while herding sheep and have continued to report regular messages from Mary at Medjugorje, which has since been visited by over 30 million people. The village, which was promoted internationally as a pilgrimage centre by the Bosnian Franciscan order, now contains numerous hotels and tourist facilities and was largely untouched by the 1992-5 war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. But Bishop Ratko Peric of Mostar, who has repeatedly criticised the Medjugorje cult, warned that the Pope himself had recently also expressed doubts about the centre. |
 In this week’s issueMaking markets moral Iron and velvet Love in a Catholic climate Someone to talk to A good Lent takes planning South American surprise Can the Church support abuse victims on its own terms? Elena Curti Is the Church too slow in recognising that academies are the future for Catholic schools? Christopher Lamb Goodwin the scapegoat Elena Curti The pain of being a coeliac Catholic Sr M, guest contributor The Church's moral obligation to victims of clerical sexual abuse Speeches from this week's conference in Rome This week in Rome bishops and religious superiors met at the first Vatican-backed symposium devoted to forging a global response to the crisis of clerical sexual abuse that has disgraced ... Archbishop voices 'shame and sorrow' after priest's abuse trial Longley to visit parishes 'damaged' by Walsh Today, Tuesday 7 February, Bede Walsh, who served as a Catholic priest in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, has been convicted by a jury, following a 10-day trial at Stoke-on-Trent ...
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