A Catholic archbishop has called on devotees to follow Mary’s example of humility, following a Vatican instruction disallowing the 75th-anniversary celebration of the alleged Marian apparition in Lipa.
Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of Lipa said that in “filial devotion” to the Vatican, the archdiocese cannot permit any activities for the alleged apparition.
“I acknowledge that this decision may be difficult for many of you, but I trust that, in your love for our Blessed Mother, you will look to her example of humble obedience to the will of God,” Garcera said.
“Recall that our Lord has entrusted the care of the Church to the Apostles and to the bishops as their successors; and, hear the words of Mary, our Mother, ‘Do whatever he tells you’,” he said.
The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith earlier instructed the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines not to authorize activities “in any form” related to the supposed Marian apparitions in 1948.
A Marian organization has planned specific events for Sept. 12, which incidentally marks 75 years since the alleged Marian apparition at the Carmelite Monastery in Lipa.
Garcera reiterated the Vatican’s “definite decision” in 1951 that the alleged apparition has “no supernatural origin and character”.
However, he noted that the decision does not prohibit devotion to Mary as Mediatrix of Grace.
