SW News: A new observatory or commission has been set up by the Holy See’s Pontifical International Marian Academy to scrutinize possible apparitions of Our Lady, and mystical phenomena such as stigmata, bleeding and weeping statues and crucifixes, among a few.

It was on April 15 that the observatory was inaugurated at the Academy in Rome. Mystical phenomena cases that have not been approved by Rome yet will be studied closely by the observatory. According to Fr Stefano Cecchin, a Franciscan friar who is the president of the academy, the purpose of the commission is to “provide concrete support to the study, authentication and correct disclosure of such events, always in harmony with Church teaching, relevant authorities and applicable norms of the Holy See.”

The friar said that it was imperative to provide clarity because the so-called messages sow confusion, propagate anxiety-creating apocalyptic scenes and even spread anxiety-creating apocalyptic scenarios. Sometimes the so-called apparitions cast aspersions on the Holy Father and the Church too. “How could Mary, mother of the Church, undermine (the Church’s) integrity or sow fear and conflict, she who is Mother of Mercy and Queen of Peace?” he asked. “At the same time, it is important to provide formative support because facing certain cases requires adequate preparation,” Fr Cecchin added.

The observatory will have experts from different areas, and they will include a lawyer who is trained in protecting people susceptible to criminal manipulation, fraud and deceit. The friar said that commissions at the national and international levels will be set up to evaluate and scrutinize apparitions and mystical phenomena across the Catholic world. “It will promote opportunities for keeping people updated and educated about the events and their ‘spiritual and cultural significance’,” said the priest.

Commissions at the local level will also be of assistance to the local Church and its Ordinary by acting as consultants and providing exact information while investigating a certain phenomenon.

The observatory was set up at a time when an alleged visionary near Rome is being investigated by law enforcement agencies and the local ordinary. A woman named Gisella Cardia claims to receive locutions from Our Lady on the third day of each month. She is under investigation by the attorney’s office of Civitavecchia for “abuse of public credulity”. A separate commission set up by the bishop is also conducting a probe.

The woman claims that a statue of Our Lady bought from Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina wept tears of blood. But an independent probe said that the blood came from the carcass of a pig. In any case, hundreds of people throng Trevignano Romano to hear her messages.