Medjugorje: What next?
A statue of Mary is seen outside St. James Church in Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, in this Feb. 26, 2011, file photo. Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Henryk Hoser of Warsaw-Praga, Poland, as his special envoy to Medjugorje, the site of alleged Marian apparitions. A Vatican statement said his role would be to study the pastoral situation in Medjugorje. (CNS photo/Paul Haring)
Supporters of the reported apparitions of Our Lady in Medjugorje will have received Pope Francis’ remarks on the matter with a sense of disappointment but also hope.
Having just celebrated the centenary of Our Lady of Fatima, the pope was dismissive of the on-going apparitions allegedly taking place daily at Medjugorje, saying that he prefers Our Lady as our mother, “and not a telegraph operator who sends out a message every day at a certain time”.
Noting that he was stating a personal opinion, he said that “these alleged apparitions don’t have much value”.
Pope Francis, whose visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2015 excluded Medjugorje, said that he is more sceptical about the events at the shrine than the commission established by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 to investigate the apparitions for the Vatican. While the commission seems to regard the first seven apparitions in 1981 as supernatural, albeit not unanimously so, its findings appear to preclude approval by the Holy See for all that has happened at Medjugorje since then.
Its report, which was submitted to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith four years ago, has not been published, but details of it entered the public domain after the pope’s comments.
While the commission seems to regard the first seven apparitions in 1981 as supernatural, albeit not unanimously so, its findings appear to preclude approval by the Holy See for all that has happened at Medjugorje since then.
This is sensitive territory. Since the first apparitions were reported in 1981, successive bishops of Mostar-Duvno, the diocese into which Medjugorje falls, have not only declined to declare them as worthy of belief but also opposed them.
In April 1991, the bishops’ conference of the former Yugoslavia determined that “on the basis of the research that has been done, it is not possible to state that there were apparitions or supernatural revelations”.
In March this year, Bishop Ratko Peric of Mostar-Duvno declared unambiguously that “the Virgin Mary has not appeared in Medjugorje”, saying that a study of the transcripts of interviews with the six alleged visionaries from that first week give rise to suspicion, if not total doubt, about the supernatural nature of the events.
To the local bishops, Medjugorje has no legitimacy. This has had consequences.
For example, as it presently stands by Vatican decree, pilgrimages to Medjugorje should not be organised either on a parish or diocesan level. Pilgrimages may be organised only by laypeople, not by clergy or religious. Priests may not lead pilgrim groups under the customary title “spiritual director”, nor may they say Mass at the shrine.
The doctrinal congregation has directed that priests and the faithful travelling to Medjugorje “are not permitted to participate in meetings, conferences or public celebrations during which the credibility of such ‘apparitions’ would be taken for granted”. To the local bishops, Medjugorje has no legitimacy. This has had consequences.
But the reported content of the commission would recommend lifting these restrictions, approve the first seven claimed apparitions, and reject the thousands that have followed.
This would not satisfy the diocese of Mostar, since it would negate its positions, nor the devotees of Medjugorje, since it rejects almost all the apparitions claimed by the original seers.
Pope Francis is trying to navigate this minefield. In February he appointed Polish Archbishop Henryk Hoser to investigate pastoral solutions for Medjugorje. Since the commission’s report is not binding, it seems that the pope is seeking a second opinion.
But it is also an acknowledgment of the reality that Catholic pilgrims will continue to visit the shrine, notwithstanding the views of the hierarchy.
The recognition that properly defined pastoral care is necessary at Medjugorje also takes into account that the shrine is a place of prayer, conversion and encounters with God — that even places of undetermined character can be sanctified by the prayers of the faithful who come there and by the graces they receive.
These prayers and conversions, the pope said this month, are not a result of “magic” but a valid spiritual and pastoral fact that “cannot be ignored”.
Whatever the Holy See finally decides — and it may well involve compromises that satisfy nobody — the debates will continue. These must not be intemperate, as they often were in the past.
Until the Church provides greater clarity and guidance on Medjugorje, devotees should exercise some caution in accepting the apparitions without qualification.
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I find it incredible that even after the local ordinary has made a decision that certain groups continue in disobedience. I hop that pope Francis will soon make his final decision on the matter. I long to hear Peter’s voice to put this case to rest once and for all, regardless of whether it is in favour of the apparitions or not. God can write just as well with crooked lines if He wishes.
OUR Lady said it best, as did Jesus. A tree is known by its fruits.
You can take that either way of course.
Faustina was put on the “banned books” for 20 years from 1958 to 1978 and Jesus was behind that apparition. The truth will out in the end. For now let the people go to Medjugorje and pray and fast for world peace. I have to laugh at Cardinal Mullers statement, though I am sure he is a great person and very intelligent. He used the phrase “take it for granted”. I looked it up. It means without questioning it. I questioned it for a year and came to the firm belief and even knowledge that Our Lady Queen of Peace is appearing in Medjugorje. Since I questioned it big time before I spent a year discerning it true (in 1987) then, Cardinal Muller’s directive does not prevent me from going to hear Ivan talk. I did not take it for granted. I don’t think he meant it that way.
Pope John Paul II believed it. That’s good enough for me.
I was also skeptical of these apparitions. However a priest who had been there once showed me a Video of the Miracle of the Son and the Blessed Sacrament that was recorded by one of the people on pilgrimage with him. It was truly incredible how the son and the host moved around in the sky. I thought maybe it was doctored at first but the priest assured me it was not. I mentioned this later to a lady who I knew had also been there already and she told me that she was the one that had taken the Video( no DVD’S yet). She told me she had seen the sun dancing in the sky and the host moving around as well so she rushed and grabbed her video recording machine to record the event. I have known this lady for years and her integrity is unquestionable. NOW the proof of Fatima was borne out by the Miracle of the sun as proof of Our Lady’s appearance in Portugal. So if its good enough for Fatima it should be good enough for Medjugorje whatever anybody may think. It is clearly Heavenly approval that Our Blessed Mother has appeared there despite what is decided. Whether she appears there on a regular basis one does not know but that she has appeared is in my mind now unquestionable unless one thinks the movie was hoax- which it definitely wasn’t.
IF Our Blessed Mother wants to appear as she has who are we to question it and I certainly would not like to be the one to stand in her way.
The problem there is also one of jealousies between the local clergy which has not helped matters.
As far as I remember Our Lady said – “Do whatever he tells you”. I still believe that if a local ordinary has made his decision, it should be honored until such time that he retracts it. All those who received messages from Our Lady were obedient to their ordinaries, but these seers are not.