[quote=Lrning]I one time heard someone say (or maybe I read it?) that there have only been miracles within the Catholic Church. It was being mentioned as part of the proof of the Catholic Church as the one true church. Does anyone know if that seems to be true? Have there been miracles (serious ones like Fatima or Lourdes, not tortillas) outside the Catholic Church?

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You would be hard-pressed to find one that can be documented or proven, outside of the church. At least at Lourdes, there is much valid medical evidence to support the healings that have been declared by the church as miraculous. Ernest Ainsley (is that spelled correctly?) has no valid evidence whatsoever.

Technically speaking, though, the answer can be confusing. If someone performed a miracle, it is the spirit performing the miracle through that person, not the individual of his/her own innate ability. If the spirit will use such a person as a lens to focus its miraculous light through, then that person cannot be considered “outside of the church” even if they are not Catholic; since the spirit would not perform miracles through someone who is either a heretic, or in opposition to the unity of the apostolic church.

This falls in line with the biblical event of the disciples of Jesus trying to prevent a man, who was not of their numbers, from casting out demons in the Lord’s name. “Do not prevent him, for he who is not against us, is for us.”

Thal59