VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has given Roman Catholic faithful his OK to make pilgrimages to a Bosnian shrine where children said the Virgin Mary appeared to them, but the Catholic Church hasn’t yet authenticated their vision, the Vatican said Sunday. Vatican spokesman Alessandro Gisotti said in a written statement that “the Holy Father has ruled that it’s possible to organize pilgrimages to Medjugorje,” the site in Bosnia that has drawn millions of Catholic believers and visitors. In 1981, six children and teenagers said they saw apparitions of Mary on a hill in the village of Medjugorje. The Vatican statement emphasized that priests who organize pilgrimages must be prepared to ensure the visits don’t “create confusion or ambiguity regarding the doctrinal aspect” of the shrine’s significance. The shrine already has been important for the local economy.

Source: National Post May 12, 2019 09:22 UTC