Well, no, Steve, the cult of the Medjugorje "apparitions" is officially discouraged by the Catholic Church, despite wide acceptance by right-wingers (and yes, there are some conservatives even in the Vatican). Some of those who claim to have seen the "apparitions," have exploited their experience for commercial purposes.

Lourdes is an approved shrine, but the Catholic Church never has and never will include any apparitions in doctrine or infallible dogma, other than those described in the Bible. The doctrine is that the church will not define any post-biblical apparition as doctrine.

I really like Lourdes and I am quite ready to believe that Bernadette had some sort of mystical experience there; but Fatima and Knock make me nervous. Lourdes has a very healthy atmosphere - everybody there seems to be having a good time.

-Joe Offer-