Let There Be "Miracles Lite"
Monday, March 13, 2006
The Roman Catholic Church at Lourdes wants the Vatican to introduce a new "Miracle Lite" category.
The Lourdes shrine in south-western France was reportedly the site of an apparition of the Virgin Mary in 1858. Today some 6 million of the faithful visit every year. Of these, dozens say that they have been cured as a result of their visit.
Unfortunately for Lourdes these cases cannot be proclaimed as miracles. Under rules laid down in 1700, healing can only constitute a Roman Catholic miracle if the medical condition was declared incurable. Today, doctors rarely call any condition 100% incurable meaning that healing miracles are hard to come by.
So Bishop Jacques Perrier is reportedly planning to petition the Vatican to introduce a new category of "miracle lite". This would allow what are called "authentic healings" to be recognised without having to change the rules for a fully fledged miracle.
The last official miracle at Lourdes was declared in 1999 after 12 years of research into the case of a man who was allegedly healed of multiple sclerosis.
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