WHY WERE THE EARLY BISHOPS AND FIRST COMMISSION
BIASED AGAISNT GARABANDAL ?

I could write a book on all the outrageous treatment of the girls and shenanigans the First Commission pulled in order to discredit the apparitions and the girls. (Thank God they failed). The only thing they did accomplish was to create confusion and some doubts about the apparitions, that still last to this day, because people haven’t researched what actually happen, and not enough people who know the truth speak about it. I AM HERE TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, SO YOU CAN TELL OTHERS TOO.

Let’s start with the people who caused the confusion, the early Bishops, during the apparition years.

Bishop Doroteo Fernandez- May 1961-January 1962 . Based on the findings of the “Commission” that he appointed to examine the events occurring in Garabandal that summarily dismissed the happening as “child’s play, after on two visits to the village, he issued two “ notas” advising priests and faithful to abstain from going up to the village.

Bishop Eugenio Beitia Aldazbal - January 1962 - January 1965. He placed restrictions on priests going up to the village without diocesan permission, but did not condemn the events. *He authorized a private investigation by three doctors whose findings did not coincide with those of the Commission.

Bishop Vincente Puchol Montis – July 1965 – May 1967. He tried to put an end to Garabandal. He died in an automotive accident on May 8, 1967.

Bishop Puchol Montis- threatened the girls Mother’s with excommunication

Bishop Puchol was quoted as saying “ We know that after what Jesus Christ brought, there can be no more apparitions or revelations “. Really ?? This shows you the mentality of the man.

Now let’s talk about the “ WHY “. Why in God’s name would a Bishop, or several, try to silence our Blessed Mother ?

The Answer is “ Ezkioga” ( APPARITONS IN SPAIN 1931-1933 )

Most striking were the prophecies: the apparitions at Ezkioga predicted chastising calamities for mankind, including a world war and three days in which the earth would be plunged into a horrendous darkness. There would also be a "great miracle" that would be seen at Ezkioga but noted in the entire world. SOUND FAMILIAR ???

For those who are interested here is the history of that apparition and its events. If not, you can skip this section and go on to what happened at Garabandal by the Bishops and the First Commission.

The Ezkioga apparitions

On 29 June 1931, a brother and sister of the Bereciartua family, ages 7 and 11, monolingual Basque speakers, claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary clad in a black mantle on a hillside known as Anduaga, which lay above a church and school in Ezquioga. Their own father did not believe them, but hundreds of others came to the hillside to see for themselves.

Eventually, hundreds of thousands of mostly Basque devotees came to Ezquioga expecting to witness and perhaps even experience visions, and hundreds did. On the nights of July 12, 16, and 18, and October 16, up to eighty thousand persons turned out. In the first month there were over a hundred alleged seers. Occasional visions continued until the fall of 1933. Seers described blinding light, convulsed, many fell unconscious, and some bled. In 1933, bleeding crucifixes were reported around Ezquioga, seemingly as a retort to negative reports about the visionaries.

On April 14, 1931, the Second Spanish Republic was declared after anti-monarchist candidates won elections in urban areas throughout Spain, King Alfonso XIII of Spain abdicated. Many of the new government were Socialist or otherwise anti-clerical. However this did not spread to the religious Basque Country. In the elections on June 28, rightist coalitions won handily in Gipuzkoa and Navarra.

Many rightist Basque nationalists, preparing for a civil war against the Republic, supported the visionaries, believing the visions were a sign that the Virgin Mary supported them. It also draw a certain amount of attention among the Catholics of Catalonia. The official church, on the other hand, soon turned against the seers. At the invitation of the diocese, Jose Antonio Laburu, a , preached against the "mental contagion" of the Ezquioga visions at San Sebastian in April and June 1932, contrasting them against the "true" visions of Teresa of Avila and Thomas Aquinas. Similarly the Republican government tried to suppress the visions. Rumor had it that the President Manuel Azaña had sent Dr Gregorio Marañón (then vacationing at San Sebastián) to investigate. In the fall of 1932, Pedro del Pozo Rodríguez, the governor of Gipuzkoa, briefly interned those who claimed to see visions at the provincial psychiatric hospital of >Santa Águeda, Mondragón. The visions became a taboo subject in the region, and the visionaries went underground, meeting in small groups with loyal followers. In 1936, the Spanish Civil War came. It was not among Catholic and non-Catholics as many Ezquioga followers had expected: the Catholic Basque nationalists took the side of the Republic, while the also Catholic Navarrese Carlists took the side of the Francoist rebellion. Nevertheless, the Ezquioga visionaries keep meeting in secret and they were still doing so seventy years later.

The visions at Ezkioga reached a peak during the discussions leading to the separation of Church and State in October of 1931, and flared in the following spring when the government disbanded the Jesuits. The author perceives the Church's vulnerability as the reason why the visions were tolerated for so long but, ultimately, were suppressed. Jose Antonio Laburu, one of the Jesuits' most eloquent preachers, used his specialized talents in psychology, psychobiology, and characterology to lecture with great success at San Sebastian in April and June of 1932 against the mental contagion at Ezkioga. In his qualified opinion, the visions of Ezkioga did not measure up to the true visions of Teresa of Avila and Thomas Aquinas and he enumerated all the aspects that disqualified the visions. These criticisms were reiterated by major regional newspapers and, a week after the lectures, hardly anyone believed in the visions at Ezkioga. In September 1932, it was clear that the next offensive against the seers would come from the government. When the Republic did act, the visions were less of a threat. The Mayor of Ezkioga, on the behalf of the government, announced that all seers who had visions would be jailed. Burguera was imprisoned for a few days, which consecrated him as defender of the seers, many of whom had been sent to mental institutions. Beginning in 1933, there was an escalation, in the form of bleeding crucifixes in and around Ezkioga, to maintain the allegiance of believers and to convert doubters.

You can now see how the Bishops didn’t want a repeat of the “Ezkioga apparitions” and tried to shut down Garabandal any way they could. The Bishops were dead set against approving this apparition from day one ! Did you know that the very priest who they sent to investigate, came back a believer! Then RESIGNED! When that didn't work, they sent doctors, but the doctors were dumb founded as to how the girls in ecstasy were impervious to pain ! They were burned with matches, stuck with needles, pinched, has sand thrown in their eyes, and also camera flash bulb (but didn't blink) darn near torture ! But they too failed to explain this as a "natural event" or the girl’s imagination. Now the Bishop is so mad, he even REFUSED the testimony OF POLICE CIVIL GUARDS. The worst part, they REFUSED to interview A SINGLE PERSON ! HOW CAN YOU CALL THIS A VALID INVESTIGATION WHEN THEY NEVER INTERVIEWED THE GIRLS, THE PARISH PRIESTS, the girl’s parents, family, friends, other villagers ??? There were hundreds of witnesses who begged to testify, and they would not hear them for fear of convincing the public it WAS TRUE ! There was such a LACK OF EVIDENCE to support his position, that NO REPORT WAS EVER SENT TO THE VATICAN !! So when the original Bishop's finding is not favorable for approval, many lost interest in Garabandal and worse yet, our Blessed Mother's messages.

A second and a third study (1986-91) were commissioned by Bishop Juan Antonio del Val Gallo (who was the priest who resigned from the original commission). The findings of the first of these two commissions were neither finalized nor sent to the Vatican. The results of the third investigation - started by Bishop del Val and transferred, upon his retirement in 1991, to the current bishop - Jose Vilaplana, eventually were sent to Cardinal Ratzinger at the Vatican but have not yet been made public. Thus, no official pronouncement has been made yet, as they wait for the fulfillment of the Warning and Miracle.

Bishops offended ! Now add the second message of the Blessed Mother that said "Many cardinals, many bishops and many priests are on the road to perdition and are taking many souls with them" WOW, so the very people in charge of the investigation, are being called out by Mary, and they don't like being "knocked off their pedestal" of reverence in the people’s eyes. And you wonder why the approval did not happen then.

CONCHITA HAIR CUT OFF The Commission was so desperate to discredit the apparitions, and especially Conchita that they actually removed Conchita from her home, brought her to another town, CUT MOST OF HER HAIR OFF, and had a priest ( Fr. Luis Gonzalez ) threaten her by saying: “If you persist in talking about apparitions, you will be disgraced. We will declare you crazy and lock you in a mad house. And your parents will go to jail.”

Dr. Pinal ,the Commission appointed doctor ,and Dr. Morales, tried to “Hypnotize “ her ! They forced her to sign A BLANK PIECE OF PAPER ! (which the Commission conveniently filled in later, admitting to her guilt) This happen to a freighted 12 year old, separated from family or counsel. Can you imagine this happening in today’s age ?

This outrageous behavior would be called “Child abuse AND criminal” !

Thank God, that the likes of Pope Paul VI, Padre Pio, kept hope alive because of their belief in the early days, or this would have been dead and buried. As the evidence mounted that Mary was appearing, the best that they could do is say that the apparitions were "Non-constat de supernaturalitate - It is not certain that the events are of supernatural origin." It was neither approved or condemned. This is just a few reasons the early generations had little interest, until Joey Lomangino went to confession to Padre Pio, and came back to America and started his apostolate, telling the world about the truth of Mary’s appearances and her messages.

GOOD NEWS ! On May 6, 2012, Bishop of Santander, Vecente Jimenez Zamora (installed in 2007) celebrated a Mass in Garabandal in commemoration of the completion of a restoration project of the village church. In a refreshments period after Mass, he was open and most cordial with all the villagers and visitors. On May 1, 2013, the Bishop again celebrated Mass in the village church of Garabandal and prior to the Mass, kissed a crucifix belonging to villager David Toribio that was kissed by the Blessed Virgin at Garabandal.
Bishop Jimenez's Masses in Garabandal were firsts, since no Bishop of Santander had ever said Mass in the village church from the time the apparitions began in 1961.

COMMISSION PRIEST RESIGNS !

What does it say about this " Commission" when its OWN investigative Priest resigns because he is a believer ?

Don Juan Antonio Del Val Gallo later becomes the Bishop of Santandar ,and he lifts the ban on priests to say mass there, and more importantly, he initiates a new investigation Committee, who findings are much different from the first bogus Commission, and they are sent to the Vatican. ( * also note the first Commission, never sent a report to the Vatican because they could not verify their claims, because they had no witnesses interviewed, they never even interviewed the girls or their families ! )

Padre Lucio Rodrigo was consulted by the members of the "Special Commission" (except Dr. Morales), in the second half of the month of August 1961. Following this encounter with the renowned Spanish theologian, Don Juan Antonio del Val, (the future bishop of Santander). . ., resigned from the "Commission."
[Excerpted from 'Garabandal' Book, page 100]

How reliable is this First Commission ?

The main witness speaks out !

Upon presenting the memoirs of Juan Alveraz Seco, Brigadier Chief of the Civil Guard, and the man responsible for maintaining order in the village during the apparitions, Anotnio Pacio, M.S.C. Professor at the University of Barcelona writes:

“ I would like to only state one thing to forestall the objections on many based on various official communiqués coming from the Diocese of Santandar. These communiqués should have been preceded by a substantial interrogation of the myriad witnesses”

“Among these witnesses , one who stands out is Juan Alvarez Seco, Brigadier Chief of the Civil Guard,who is the author of these memoirs. He was present from the beginning to 1962,and at 1965 at the time of the Message, and he had the duty of informing his superiors and the Civil Governor and all that was going on in Garabandal, while at the same time he had to maintain order in the village. “

“Well, none of the Commissioners, who rejected the supernatural events at Garabandal, ever asked him to testify, nor did they deign to even interview him, who was the “official informant” to the authorities. This detail suffices to illustrate the “true and impartiality “ with which the various episcopal commissions endeavored to inform themselves. Juan Seco : “ THEY WERE NOT INTERESTED IN BELIEVING WITNESSES, BUT ONLY THE UNBELIEVING. THEY WANTED AT ALL COST, TO DISCREDIT THE MANIFISTATIONS, AND IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THIS, THAT HAD TO ELIMINATE ANY WITNESS,INCLINED TO BE FAVORABLE, NO MATTER WHAT HIS COMPETENCY”.

From “The Village Speaks” pgs 69 - 70.

FIRST COMMISSION MEDICAL RULING ???(and later real ones)

This was the Commission's doctor's " medical opinion" The doctor in charge of the district, Doctor Jose Luis Gullon said " that these were seizures and diseases, that all that was happening was due to an illness that the girls had."

He never said what illness it was. WOW can you believe this ?

Now you know why the Bishop Dal Val Gallo ordered a new investigation !

"This is no way supernatural. It is a psychogenic reaction to the situation . . . Vulgar hysterical phenomena . . ." Such was Dr. Morales' opinion on the one ecstasy that he had attended. His report, quickly drafted, influenced the negative verdict by the "Commission" concerning the supernatural origin of the phenomena of Garabandal.

He, who had really been the "directing head" of the "Special Commission," completely reversed his position in 1977. In May 1983, during some lectures he gave at Santander, then at Madrid, he publicly defended the authenticity of the apparitions.

[Excerpted from 'Garabandal' Book, pages 59; 61]

Dr. Luis Morales changes mind on Garabandal !

On September 3, 1978, my first visit with Dr. Morales was recorded in its totality with his consent and lasted two hours. During the interview he was somewhat reserved in explaining his change of position on Garabandal and finally, because of my insistence, he said, "Now I see the existential reality of Our Lady in Garabandal. I think of Garabandal as Fatima: a gift of Divine Providence for humanity. Garabandal truly is a gift to us from Christ through his Mother..." At the end of the interview he answered my last question by saying, "Oh, yes! Garabandal has been a manifestation of Divine Grace...!"

Dr. Ricardo Puncernau, Neuro-psychiatrist

Dr. Ricardo Puncernau is the Vice-president of the Spanish Society of Sophrology and Psychosomatic Medicine and the President of the Spanish Association of Para-Psychological Investigations.

“I have weighed, thought about, and consciously observed [the events], and I have made the following conclusion: In Garabandal, there has never existed nor exists any other acting causing factor in relation to what is happening there except the Most Holy Virgin.”

During these times, in which the world is “confused” on the ecclesiastical level, similarly on international, social, familiar, and personal levels, full of injustice and egoism, we have dared to write these lines. These are a series of simple stories that deal with the famous happenings of Garabandal as seen through the prism of a Christian doctor.

Since I am Christian, I am obligated to strictly tell the truth, without adornment, at least in the essence of the narration. What is important, I dare to say, is the adornment of the story.

At least consciously, I haven’t left out the slightest detail of what I remember. They are personal things, mine, as they relate to the history of Garabandal. They are things that I have never told before. Things that I believe are necessary to say. Next year, 1975, is the Holy Year. What better occasion to exhume events that were seemingly buried forever but, in reality, never were? It is evident that this has been written for those who already know the story of Garabandal. If not, I fear that they will neither understand nor value this testimony.

Barcelona, December 1974. Dr. Ricardo Puncernau.