Helen Borg Bonnici’s letter (March 23) speaks of being touched and expressing great happiness and peace when visiting Lourdes.

I wonder if Ms Borg Bonnici has ever heard of the placebo effect, that improvement one feels when one takes “a pill” that one perceives will help, although it actually has no therapeutic effect for one’s particular condition.

I believe it’s all in the mind. Regardless of the amount of visitors everyday, there is no such thing as one place being “holier” than another.

In the case of Lourdes it must be said and take into account the fact that those seeking “miracle cures” and not finding them by far outnumber those of equal faith that were cured.

It must also be said about sickness that even when most unlikely it’s not unheard of that one gets better, often without the subject of spiritual intervention even coming up.

So it would be much more convincing, as a miracle, if, say, someone’s missing arm or leg were to grow back into place (as Richard Dawkins put it) but that’s still unheard of.

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