What happened?
A US radio station has claimed to have received a new message from the convent of Sister Agnes Sasagawa of Akita, a Japanese nun who claimed to have received a message from Mary in 1973. WQPH claims that, last month, Sister Agnes said an angel had urged her to ask Catholics to say a “penitential rosary” daily and do penance.Why was it under-reported?
Stories of apparitions are not that uncommon, and are often ignored – with good reason, since they generally turn out to be bogus. But the local bishop pronounced the 1973 visions genuine. The Vatican approved his statement without explicitly endorsing it.The 1973 visions have often been cited in recent years for their prediction that “The work of the Devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals.” Mary supposedly said that a terrible punishment would fall on the world unless humanity repented.
What will happen next?
WQPH has defended the story, saying that the station has “no reason to take on the risks associated with publishing a sensational story such as this new message … other than on behalf of sources, who are both reliable and courageous, and who have asked us directly to spread her message.”
Fr Richard Heilman, a Wisconsin priest, wrote that while there was still no definite confirmation, “I believe it … I am planning to add very strict fasting to my daily rosary that will be prayed in reparation for all the sins against the will of God in our times.”
