RWANDA BISHOP APPROVES MARIAN APPARITIONS

GIKONGORO, Rwanda, (CWNews.com) -- An African archbishop has announced that he is satisfied that the Virgin Mary has appeared in the town of Kibeho, Rwanda.

Archbishop Augustin Misago of Gikongoro, Rwanda, has released a statement indicating his "definitive judgment" that the reported apparitions in Kibeho are authentic. The Vatican made the archbishop's statement public on June 29,.

Vatican officials privately point out that the Holy See does not ordinarily take a stand on the authenticity of extraordinary events such as apparitions; such determinations are always left to the diocesan bishops. So the publication of Archbishop Misago's statement was an indirect sign of Vatican support for his findings.

The apparitions of the Virgin were first reported at Kibeho in November 1981. With the passage of time there were many subsequent reports of apparitions there, involving dozens of alleged witnesses. Archbishop Misago stressed that he was satisfied that three original seers had truly encountered the Virgin; his report suggested that he had strong reservations about some other alleged sightings.

The Gikongoro archdiocese had appointed two commissions-- one of doctors, the other theologians-- to look into the Kibeho reports. In 1988, based on preliminary reports from these commissions, Archbishop Misago had given his approval for the cult of the Virgin of Kibeho, while still making no statement on the authenticity of the alleged apparitions.

Now, however, the archbishop reports that the evidence is sufficient to allow a clear finding that the apparitions "deserve to be treated as authentic." He added that his finding is not infallible, and the faithful are not obliged to believe that the Virgin Mary appeared in the African country, but he that belief and devotion.

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