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Article: Of women and virgins: religion. (apparition of the Virgin Mary in New Jersey) (American Survey)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- September 12, 1992
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1992 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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SOMETIMES a bishop cannot win. John Reiss, the Catholic bishop of Trenton, warnr Januszkiewicz has seen the Virgin Mary twice this summer, the first time as he sat peacefully on a plastic bucket taking the air. For the second visitation, thousands of people turned up. They saw flashes of light, and rosary beads changed colour. Marlboro, however, could hardly cope: police and street cleaners had to be paid $21,000 for overtime. Despite the bishop's injunction, 6,000 more people came to the town on Sunday. They felt "a presence"; nobody saw anything.
Bishop Reiss has tried to hedge his bets. In August, he appointed a commission to look into the apparitions. They are ...