text: Marian apparitions have a place in Catholicism, but they are not equal to Revelation. Nor have they been used to found a "restoration" church, as it were, or new religious body (like Mormonism, for example, whose founder, Joseph Smith, established a church based on the divine visions of Jesus he experienced in the 1820's  and the angelic visitations of the Angel Moroni). We have to, of course, respect the religious traditions of all, including Mohammad's visions and visitations. For that reason alone, I stay clear of critiquing them -- whether of St. Bernadette's or Joseph Smith's or of Mohammed's (though as a Catholic, I feel more in sync with the Fatima children or St. Bernadette, for that matter, especially having experienced Lourdes).