Vatican's Medjugorje commission meets

(April 14, 2010) The Vatican commission studying the alleged Marian apparitions at Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina, held its first meeting in late March. While the Vatican press office provided no details about the meeting, it published the names of the commission members on Tuesday .
The Vatican had announced on March 17, that at the request of the bishops of Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had established an international commission to investigate the claims of six young people, who said Mary appeared to them daily, beginning in 1981. Although the apparitions apparently are continuing and thousands of people travel to the small town each month, to meet the alleged seers and to pray, the Catholic Church has never made a formal declaration about the authenticity of the apparitions.
The doctrinal congregation appointed retired Cardinal Camillo Ruini, former papal vicar of Rome, to head the commission, which includes four cardinals, among them Cardinal Vinko Puljic of Sarajevo,Bosnia-Herzegovina. The other members include an archbishop, two bishops, seven priests and a nun. Vatican’s statement said the work of the commission will be carried out with the utmost reserve and its conclusions will be submitted to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith for study.