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Filipino Catholics warned against fake Marian apparition

University of Santo Tomas reprimands Dominican priest for promoting novena booklets related to fake Marian apparition of 1948
The Marian apparitions at Lipa city in Batangas province of Philippines in 1948 are not recognized by the Church

The Marian apparitions at Lipa city in Batangas province of Philippines in 1948 are not recognized by the Church. (Archdiocese of Lipa)

Published: July 11, 2022 09:53 AM GMT
Updated: July 11, 2022 10:07 AM GMT

A leading Catholic university in the Philippines has warned people about the alleged promotion of an apparition of the Virgin Mary that the Vatican had dismissed as “not of supernatural origin.”

Dominican-run University of Santo Thomas (UST), at the same time, reprimanded a Dominican priest for printing novena booklets that promotes “unauthentic” miracles attributed to the so-called Marian apparitions at Lipa city in Batangas province, south of Manila, in 1948.

The university issued the warnings to Catholics on July 10, shortly after the Dominican priest and teacher, Father Roland Mactal, was caught linking a novena to the unrecognized Lipa apparitions    

The University’s Faculty of Theology said Father Mactal’s novena violated the “Pastoral Guidelines for Bishops on Private Devotions to Our Blessed Mother Mary, Mediatrix of Grace [All Graces]” issued by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

The bishops’ guidelines said no clergyman should make any attempt to connect or revive a Marian devotion such as the recitation of a novena or the rosary to a series of purported apparitions in Batangas for being inauthentic.

Father Mactal violated the directive when he printed the texts of the novena and used the image of the Our Lady of Lipa on the cover, the UST said.

“A deliberate attempt to connect the devotion to our Lady of Mediatrix Grace (All Graces) to the alleged Lipa apparitions is evidenced by the following: 1). The use of the image of ‘Our Lady of Lipa’ on the cover and inside pages of the booklet; 2). The mention of the publisher as the ‘Carmel of Our Lady, Mary Mediatrix of All Grace Monastery,’ Lipa City 4217, Batangas, Philippines, as well as by the back cover of the booklet with picture of the monastery,” the University said in its message.

In 1948, a Filipina named Teresita Castillo joined a Carmelite monastery in Lipa City. Soon afterward, she claimed she heard a voice instructing her to go back to the same location around 15 days thereafter.

Castillo obeyed and on Sept. 15, 1948, she once again heard the voice who she described as “mother” and later, believed was the voice of the Virgin Mary.

In 2015, the Vatican ruled that the series of apparitions including the visions of Castillo were inauthentic and were not of divine or supernatural origin.

Archbishop Socrates Villegas, then president of the bishops’ conference, said the case was closed and must not be revisited by any clergyman or churchgoer.

“Rome has spoken. The case is closed. We all obey the Holy See,” Archbishop Villegas told reporters in 2015.

Archbishop Villegas also said that Filipino Catholics did not need the Lipa apparitions to honor Mary.

“We do not need apparitions to honor her,” Archbishop Villegas added.

The Dominican university also clarified that although Father Mactal mentioned some Church authorities in the printed novena, it did not mean that they had endorsed the devotion of the fake apparition.

“The faculty wishes to clarify that it has not endorsed the publication of the booklet. While Father Mactal appears to buttress his personal efforts by including personalities as well as messages of Church authorities in the booklet, the faculty considers it necessary to make the following clarifications…”

The Faculty of Sacred Theology said that it had reprimanded Father Mactal for using the letterhead of the Faculty in the publication of his message and sternly admonished him to cease using the letterhead unless with the explicit permission of the Dean of the Faculty of Sacred Theology.

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20 Comments on this Story
VENANCIO JR. BALANSAG
Oh not too quick to judge pls. Sensus fidelium or sense of the faithful is the 3rd pillar of faith after bible and tradition. Most of our dogmas stemmed from sensus fidelium, after they were condemned by church authorities as heretical. There are places for recourse and appeal in the church.
THOMAS
Which dogmas were declared heresies before being accepted as dogmas?
PEACHY SARMIENTO
I concur with your statement. Deathbed confessions confirming its authenticity by Bishop Cesar Ma. Guerrero, and other Bishops who signed under duress that it is a fake apparition proves beyond doubt it is really a true apparition. The title of Our Lady, Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace, was given a feast proper every Nov. 9, and a corresponding liturgy attached to the feast. ST. Alphonsus de Ligouri, Bishop, Civil, and Canon Lawyer, Founder of Redemptorists,and Doctor of the Church, exponds on a treatise of this title of the BVM at his book, The Glories of Mary.Fact is that modernism, liberalism, naturalism, and freemasonry infiltrated the Church after Pope Pius IX, that everything was inverted. True apparitions were condemned while false apparition's messages were spread. At La Salette, several bishops that opposed the Virgin's message suddenly died.Today, they die spiritually.
DANILO P. DELFIN
Our Lady Mary Mediatrix of All Grace, Pray for Us. ????????????????♥️????????????????
ROLAND CASTILLO HERRERA
What is wrong to pray and have a devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary through whatever title is give her? What is important is one's faith and belief. I am an alumnus of the Pontifical University (UST) and I am surprised that its Theology Dept. is reacting this way. Who are you to judge and dictate to people who just want to live with and express their faith/belief?
AMIEL ROBBY RELOX
Sir, there is danger in believing a supposed apparition without blessings from the Vatican. The Church is careful to grant authority over these apparitions since it may confuse the faithful or worse be of demonic origin. The warnings are not to discourage the people to have a devotion to the Blessed Mother. Obedience is a virtue.
MARY
there is no God such as Jesus, Allah, etc. but yes there is a "CREATOR" and nobody knows who or what he/it is
THOMAS MARMI
Yes you are right.. why do we need the church if we can believe what we want anyway...
I.A. BAUTISTA
The only country where abortion and divorce are illegal and still no Vatican-approved Marian apparitions to date. And yet,it was during one of the apparitions to Teresing that the Virgin Mary said, 'Pray hard for China’s dream to invade the whole world. The Philippines is one of its favorites. Money is the evil force that will lead the people of the world to destruction.'
JOAN DIAZ
With intricate pictures of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Fatima, Holy Family, among others, St. Pope JohnPaul 2 ( that fell in 1948) is amazing! Please see for yourselves. Wish they havent had her diaries and the Mother Superior diaries burnt immediately unlike the nuns of St Faustina who kept it hidden and was opened and overturned. Could have been a very similar scenario. I'm praying for the Church to re-open it.
DELL EVENSEN
politics, division in the church, sign of the devil who silence the priest not good
JEHANNE
"fake apparition"---- yeah, sure. Says who? But more importantly WHY is it fake? Many amazing apparitions or manifestations may not be Church approved, but the Vatican does not call them false or fake. They leave it at no ruling or no decision. Such as Garabandal --- even though in my way of thinking Garabandal is still "Evidence that demands a verdict." Something clearly supernatural occurred to those 4 girls, many many times. But back to Lipa. We have all seen the amazing, intricate paintings or pictures on those rose petals from 1948. Many of them! So I ask the Vatican what have you said about those rose petals? Did someone prove to you they were man made? Who? If not, then I want an explanation before I join in with your "fake" declaration. The Philippines is one of the most Catholic people on earth who have suffered so much, yet their faith appears so humble and blessed.
REYNALDO FLORES
What about the apparitions at Cabra Islet in Mindoro in 1966 or 1967? Has Rome verified it yet?
REYNALDO FLORES
What about the apparitions at Cabra Islet in Mindoro in 1966 or 1967? What does the Vatican say?
BOY NEGRO
Patawarin nyo po sila hindi nila alam ang kanilang sinasabi. Sa tinagaltagal ng dinadayo ang carmel bakit ngayon lang kayo nag sabi ng ganyan baka isa ka sa bulaan
ANJEL A.
Download her typewritten diary and read the last entry, which may indicate why this apparition was so decisively shut down by the Vatican: https://ourladymarymediatrixofallgrace.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/I-AM-MARY-MEDIATRIX-OF-ALL-GRACE-by-Teresita-Castillo.pdf
ROJS SUREL
That why we experience the pandemic because we dont accept the the graces from the mother of our savior. We hope and pray to you our savior Jesus Christ.
ANGELA CASTILLO
Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces was instituted by Pope Benedict XV in 1921; it is worthy of true devotion. What UST is warning against is devotion to the "apparition" in Lipa, Batangas. In truth, Mary as the mother of Jesus, needs no other title than Mama Mary, and as such we can pray to her with full trust. What greater name does she need than "Mother".
CHARMAINE ROMANO LUISTRO
i believe in Marian Apparition 101 percent, I came to talk to Sis Teresing several times when she is alive, and she really is a visionary. Lipa Apparition is real that is why I choose to buy a lot near the apparition site.
ROBERT CHANG
Yeah! Let the Vatican MAFIA group attest to the authenticity of this LIPA apparition of the Virgin Mary first, so that they can completely bedevil the issue then pronounce it the work of the Devil (themselves)!!!!!
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