In Finca Betania, Venezuela on March 25, 1984 Our Lady appeared seven times in one afternoon. Many people there that day saw Our Lady. The Bishop estimated that 500-1000 saw Our Lady that day without experiencing ecstasy or a trance. The people who saw Our Lady, described her as Our Lady of Lourdes, others as Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal and still others saw her as Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Our Lady of Sorrows. Also in the church a host begain to bleed. These two miracles were approved by the local bsihop. Betania, Venezuela has been called the Lourdes of South America.

To go on with the story of Betania we must stop and tell another story which took place in 1972. Rick Salbato, managing editor of Unity Publishing, saw the picture of Our Lady crying [The same one on our add "Fatima Reconsidered"]. It was on the front page of the San Diego Union Paper. The story said that the Official Statue of Fatima, the Pilgrim Virgin, was crying. Rick did not believe it. After examining many apparitions all over the world, and seeing that one mystic controdicted another, he gave up on all apparitions. Just to prove that this also was false, he jumped in a plane and flew to New Orleans. This is his story in his own words:

"Within two hours I was on a plane to New Orleans to see for myself. I met the pastor of the Church, who was also the editor of the "Clarion Herald", Father Romagosa. In his Church, the statue was crying. There were two remarkable miracles.

"But there was also a seer, an exile from Poland. This seer was running around saying that the Virgin had appeared many times to her and was giving out messages of why the Virgin was crying. She had been following the statue for many months and the new custodian (only two years) allowed her to travel with the Statue.

"But Father Romagosa had more discernment than the custodian did.

He invited the seer with the initials AW, into his office and asked if the Virgin could give him a message. She knelt on the floor to pray with the assurance that the Virgin would always appear. Father Romagosa went across the room and sat in a chair and began to read out of a prayer book.

"The woman, AW, prayed and prayed and prayed but nothing happened. Finally her face turned demonic and she began to scream at the good Father in a language that only a truck driver would use. She stormed out of the room and drove away so fast that her tires left rubber.

"Father Romagosa was reading exorcism prayers from an exorcist book. The tears were investigated and found to be real human tears. The miracle of the statue was truly from God. It was supernatural. But the woman was not." Everywhere God performs a miracle or a work of grace, the devil is right behind to defuse, confuse, and disillusion.

In Betania we have the same situation, but the promoters do not have the same discernment of Father Romagosa. The promoters of the Movie "Betania - Land of Grace" narrated by Ricaardo Montalban and featuring Father Rene Laurantine have mixed the True with the False.

Maria Esperanza is not of God. The Church, meaning the local bishop who is the sole authority appointed by God, approved the apparitions of Our Lady to the people and the Eucharistic miracle as being supernatural, meaning "From God". The Church did not even mention the name of Maria Esperanza.

According to Esperanza, a wife and mother, Mary and Christ have been talking to her for many years before the true miracle. However, she never mentioned this to anyone, not even her husband, until after the true apparitions.

Now, she is claiming that the reason the Virgin appeared is this and that. How do we know that she is not of God? It is very simple. Although 90% of her so-called messages are about love and mercy, sin and Hell, she has an agenda that is contrary to Scripture.

She talks a great deal about the coming Chastisement, and we all know from true prophets that it is coming, but she talks also about Christ coming and walking amongst us. This we know cannot be true. Because Christ will never set his foot on this earth again.

Christ’s second coming is the end of the world. When He comes, He will appear in the sky. All will see Him, the good and the bad. He will appear with the Heavenly Host. He will appear with His stigmata. In the twinkling of an eye, the bad will be judged and disappear right before your eyes. The good will then rise to meet Him in the sky, body and soul. Then He will wipe away the Heavens and the Earth with the wave of His hand.

All this will happen 45 days after the death of the Antichrist. Anyone who is claiming that Christ is coming, Christ is coming, do not believe it, because the son of perdition must come first. They are, sometimes without knowing it, preparing people to accept the Antichrist.

We know that Satan was chained at the time of Christ’s death from Rev. 20-1 and Thess. 1:6-9. We know that a chastisement must come before the Antichrist from Isaias 24-1, Ezechiel 39, Daniel 7:7, 7:22, and 7:23, and Joel 3:9-21. We know that 75% of the world will die in the chastisement from Zachariea 13 and 14. We know that the Antichrist will come before Christ in Daniel 7:23-25, 8:9-27, 10:30-32, 10:36-45, Matt. 24:15, 24:4, 24:24, 24:25, Rev. 20:7, John 5:43, Matt. 24:4-31, and Rev. 20:3. We know all about the Second Coming of Christ from Matt. 24-25, Mark 13, Luke 12, 1 Cor. 15, 1 Thess. 2:19, Luke 21:27, Rev. 1:7, 2 Peter 3:10, Joel 2:1-10, Rev. 11:15, 1 Thess 3:14, 4:14, 5:2-3, Daniel 12:12, 2 Peter 3:9-10, Rev. 3:3, Matt. 24_36, and Daniel 12:1.

In this century, from 1923 until 1975, the theologian Bernard Billets, has reported 232 separate apparitions of Our Lady in 32 countries. According to the new video, "Marian Apparitions of the 20th Century", over 300 apparitions have been reported in this century. In 1995 the number has reached 700. Yet, as in Lourdes, most will prove to be an aping of demons, pious imaginations, or fraud. In Lourdes there were 50 other children who saw the Virgin, but all were proved to be "not from God" except one.

They are Fatima, Beauraing, Banneux, Akita, Japan and Betania, Venezuela [but not the seer], Our Lady of Soufanieh, Our Lady of Nicaragua, Sister Ferrero, Padre Pio, Sister Josefa Menendez, Therese Neumann, Sister Faustina, Sister Elena Aiello, apparitions at Ephesus, and Alexandrina of Portugal.

The words "Consiet de non supernaturalate" (It is established that there is nothing supernatural here), and "Non constat de supernaturalitalate" - (It is not established that something supernatural is here.) are the official statements of the Church to declare a private revelation false, since if it is not supernatural (meaning "from God"), then it must be fraud or from some other spirit. To be approved by the Church means the apparition is worthy of the faith and contains nothing that is contrary to faith and morals. But belief in the apparition (even the true one) is not necessary for salvation.

After examination there are three categories into which the apparitions are put. The lowest being 'not worthy of belief.' There were no characteristics that showed it to be of a supernatural origin. The terminology used, as stated above, is "Consiet de non supernaturalate" (It is established that there is nothing supernatural here), and "Non constat de supernaturalitalate" - (It is not established that something supernatural is here.)

The second category is 'nothing contrary to the Faith.' Locally it is decided or suggested that the reported apparition might or might not be of supernatural origin.

Finally the third category, the approved or recognized

I held in my hands the real tears of Our Lady in 1972. I have never been the same since. It gave to me my vocation in life, and taught me how to know the true from the false.

Very, very important to know is that promotion of unapproved private revelation is against Church law and therefore a sin, maybe a mortal sin.

November 1996

2. Regarding the circulation of texts of alleged private revelations, the Congregation states:

1. The Interpretation given by some individuals to a Decision approved by Paul VI on 14 October 1966 and promulgated on 15 November of that year, in virtue of which writings and messages resulting from alleged revelations could be freely circulated in the Church, is absolutely groundless. This decision actually referred to the "abolition of the Index of Forbidden Books" and determined that --- after the relevant censures were lifted --- the moral obligation still remained of not circulating or reading those writings which endanger faith and morals.
2. In should be recalled however that with regard to the circulation of texts of alleged private revelations, canon 623 #1 of the current Code remains in force: "the Pastors of the Church have the … right to demand that writings to be published by the Christian faithful which touch upon faith or morals be submitted to their judgement".
3. Alleged supernatural revelations and writings concerning them are submitted in first instance to the judgement of the diocesan Bishop, and , in particular cases, to the judgement of the Episcopal Conference and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.