Each nodded.

“Fatima is a true meeting of the Virgin with a world in need of direction. These visions could confuse the true meaning of the miraculous from Fatima. These actions are designed to sow confusion in the faithful and mislead the Body of Christ. The time for discussion is at an end."

The Bishop continued. "I've heard enough and I'm clear in my spirit. I will not endorse these visions. I'll proclaim them as not of supernatural origin, for I will not give credit to the evil one that seeks it. I'll not contribute to members of our flock being led to peril. We'll be done with these attacks. All of you will say intercessory prayers for the next year during vespers to sanctify our community and our country. We will pray that the power of the Father destroys the foothold of the enemy. In the name of Jesus Christ the King, this attack will not stand!”

The Bishop stood and left the room. Only he and the investigator had said anything during the entire process.

Akita, Japan, July 6, 1973

Sister Agnes Katsuko Sasagawa was a deaf nun living in a convent in Japan. As she walked through the chapel, she heard a voice urging her to pray and giving her prayers for the task. She came close to the altar and saw the statue of the Virgin Mary bathed in light. It came alive and spoke to her with a voice of peace and sanctity. Over the next few years, it was documented that the statue that had come alive for Sister Agnes wept over 100 times. The right palm of the statue was also seen to bleed. Scientific analysis of the substance confirmed it to be blood from the blood groups O, B, and AB. Sister Agnes also developed stigmata on her right palm. She received three messages from the Virgin through the fall of 1973.

In April of 1984 the Bishop of Niigata, Japan, John Shojiro, ended a decade of exhaustive investigation on the apparitions. He declared them to be of supernatural origin and authorized the entire diocese to venerate the Holy Mother of Akita. He said, "The message of Akita is the message of Fatima."