Vatican City, May 13, 2017 / 12:06 pm
Asked by journalists about the alleged appearance of the Virgin Mary at Medjugorje, Pope Francis said the original apparitions more than three decades ago deserve further study, but voiced doubt in the supposed ongoing visions.
He stressed the need to distinguish between the two sets of apparitions, referencing a report submitted to the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith by a commission set up to study the apparitions by Benedict XVI in 2010.
"The first apparitions, which were to children, the report more or less says that these need to continue being studied," he said, but as for "presumed current apparitions, the report has its doubts."
"I personally am more suspicious, I prefer the Madonna as Mother, our Mother, and not a woman who's the head of an office, who every day sends a message at a certain hour. This is not the Mother of Jesus. And these presumed apparitions don't have a lot of value."