Lourdes miracles described as science-defying facts

In 1971, a group of Lutheran theologians from East Germany published a manifesto which contains these striking lines: 

"At Lourdes, Fatima, and other Marian shrines, impartial critics find themselves in the presence of supernatural facts which are intimately related to the Virgin Mary, either on account of her apparitions or on account of the miraculous graces requested and obtained through her intercession. 

These are facts that defy any natural explanation. Up to now, 1,200 cures at Lourdes have been recognized by doctors as scientifically inexplicable. But the Catholic Church has declared only 44 as miraculous. For 30 years, 11,000 doctors, regardless of religion or scientific opinion, have had free access to the Medical Examiner's Office. A cure declared miraculous therefore has the greatest possible guarantee."

Voyage et Mission n°113 by FJE

Reported in the 1991 Recueil marial by Brother Albert Pfleger