Bishop warns against Knock apparition ‘mass hysteria’

THE Bishop of Killaloe has warned against people in Clare getting caught up in what he termed “mass hysteria” associated with a supposedly predicted apparition at Knock Shrine on December 5 next.
The prediction, which has been made by clairvoyants Joe Coleman and Keith Henderson, last month led to throngs of people gathering at the Mayo shrine expecting to see a vision of Our Lady.
While many claimed to have seen her, Dr Willie Walsh has dismissed any such visions and said he believed that “this sort of thing can bring religion into disrepute”.
Speaking to The Clare Champion Bishop Walsh said, “My reaction generally to visions is one of scepticism. Traditionally, our Church has always treated visionaries with a certain scepticism. In saying that, I’m not suggesting that there never has been such visionaries but my immediate reaction has been one of scepticism. Unless there is strong evidence there, we would generally treat them with a lack of credibility. We had the moving statues some years ago and this is not the sort of religion that appeals to me.”
He added, “I fully support the Archbishop of Tuam in suggesting that this sort of thing can bring religion into disrepute. Very often with these so-called visions, it is in some way suggested that if you don’t go along with this that you’re really aren’t a proper Christian at all but that is far away from the core of what our Christian faith is about.
“It certainly doesn’t do anything for the faith, in fact, it very easily subjects religion to ridicule and it lends strength to those who are in some way critical of our Church and it brings religion into disrepute.”
Asked about issues surrounding the disregard shown for the Basilica in Knock last weekend, Bishop Walsh said he could understand on some level why things were left and discarded.
“If people are gripped by mass hysteria, I could understand that whatever they’re holding in their hands becomes very unimportant and I think people get caught up in it, in a way, lose responsibility for life,” he said.
The Bishop of Killaloe added that while he would not normally discourage people from visiting Knock Shrine, he felt that people should stay away on December 5, the date that Mr Coleman has said Our Lady is to allegedly appear.
“I would be unhappy about people dashing off to Knock just because the rumour goes out that there will be a vision. It has been proven time and time again that there is auto-suggestion going on. For instance, like the moving statues, quite intelligent, normally sane people can believe they saw something. It’s like anything, if you look long enough at any object, you’re going to use your imagination and are liable to see something you hadn’t noticed before. If it is already suggested that this is a vision then you can in some way, unconsciously, convince yourself. I would much prefer if anybody said to me they were going to go to Knock on December 5, I would say if you want to go, go on a different day,” he revealed.
Asked if he thought the recession had led to people believing in these visions, Bishop Walsh replied, “That view has been expressed before but I don’t know whether this happens in times of depression”.
He added that a feeling that was coming across throughout the Céifin Conference in Ennis was that a holistic approach was needed in relation to resolving the current economic crisis.
“I was taken aback as people were saying it’s much more than just about returning to economic prosperity, it’s about community solidarity and about values of truth and justice. Some of the economists were saying that as well, not just a change of economics but in some way a sense of values, that we need a whole new vision of what’s important in life and that it’s not just a matter of economics,” he reflected.