Fr. Sibley asked me today if I knew anything about the phony mystic Christina Gallagher of Ireland, so I checked around the net to find out whether her bishop had made any statement about her claims of messages from our Lord and our Lady. Now that she's opened a new branch operation in Texas, I suppose we may be hearing more of this.
As it happens, Mrs. Gallagher's from the Archdiocese of Tuam, and the archbishop there has been fairly circumspect, aiming to keep her activities within the modest limits his predecessor permitted, while not banning them outright.
December 1997:
Archdiocesan committee finds no proof of supernatural phenomena.
Abp. sets conditions for establishing a Private Association to bring her activities under closer archdiocesan supervision, including financial.
January 1998:
Bishop orders that confessions and sermons at the House of Prayer cease.
May 1998:
Sunday Masses at her House of Prayer on Achill Island are stopped, though not all Masses.
July 1998:
Gallagher announces she's closing the House; local tourism businesses complain.
Archbishop surprised by closure announcement.
August 1998:
Rick Salbato's newsletter on the closure and Mrs. Gallagher's lifestyle.
September 1998:
House to reopen, Gallagher promises compliance.
September 2002:
Interview, photos: 1, 2
(I tend to believe that real seers don't give interviews, let alone whine like this one.)
July 2003:
10th anniversary gathering.
June 2006:
Austin, TX bishop warns of "House of Prayer" opening without permission, denies faculties to priest supporter.
September 2006:
Layman Ron Conte (FL) points out theological errors, bizarre statements.
Of course, it's harder to do something more bizarre than making a supposedly Catholic religious medal that calls our Lady "The Matrix".
