PRIVATE REVELATION
Medjugorje, Banality, and
the Balkans:
The
Seer-
ing Truth
|
For
there shall
be a time, when
they will not
endure sound
doctrine; but,
according to
their own desires,
they will heap
to themselves
teachers, having
itching ears:
And will indeed
turn away their
hearing from
the truth, but
will be turned
unto fables.
(2 Timothy 4.3-4) |
The
Vatican's Congregation
for the Doctrine of
the Faith (CDF)
has
instructed the Catholic
faithful
not to participate
in events in which the
seers
of Medjugorje
promise
apparitions of the Virgin
Mary.
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=19595
Private
revelation and
private
interpretation
the benchmark of the Protestant
Reformation have, regrettably,
much in common in the way
of cultic practices that
often emerge from them,
practices that as often
as not assume a primacy
in the way of revelation
that presumes, however implicitly,
to supersede the definitive
Revelation of God in Jesus
Christ that comes to us
through Holy Scripture.
Saint Paul himself speaks
of it unsparingly and
how presciently!
In some magnificent instances
exceptions, really, private
revelation has been the
seed of wide spiritual renewal,
much as we had found, and
still find, at Fatima and
Lourdes. Bear in mind that
both St. Bernadette and
Sister Lucia had assiduously
avoided publicity and sought
refuge in anonymity, living
the remainder of their lives
in poverty and seclusion.
In other instances, the
result has been less salutary
for the Church. There are
far, far too many to enumerate.
The
Bayside Apparitions
revealed to the discredited
Seer,
Veronica Leuken, suffice
for us in America, but you
can choose your own country.
So many
private revelations
have been flagrantly
contra fide, leading
the credulous and erstwhile
faithful into error, sometimes
very serious error to
the point of contention
with, and disobedience to,
the Church itself.
These are deep and potentially
hostile waters; in many
cases veritable vortices
of misguided spiritual excess
that drain upon themselves
ignominiously in an inevitably
and ultimately embarrassing
denouement an excess that
results from, and thrives
within, the suffocating
spiritual vacuum so often
experienced in our parishes-become-civic-centers,
and at our sometimes shamefully
trivialized Masses.
Seeking spiritual meaning,
a dimension of being that
is realistically tangent
to supernatural realities
for which they experience
a connatural affinity, so
many faithful Catholics
flee to the first rumor
of things supernatural ...
to the promise of tangible
realities that are either
sadly lacking or simply
denied them in their own
pews. The disinterested
and perfunctory recitation
of Masses by Priests, the
appalling state of increasingly
secularized music and instrumentation
the increasingly feminized
complexion of the Sanctuary
and Altar and a gospel
that becomes increasingly
social
and
gender-laden,
drives the thirst for authentic
spirituality to be quenched
elsewhere. As
New Age
and
Woman Church
spirituality encroaches
on the pews, however thinly
disguised, the pews become
vacant in the desperate
pursuit of something authentic,
something genuine,
something apart from the
vapid desiderations and
bankrupt manifestos of aging
social activists who are
allowed a podium at the
pulpit.
"We don't find Jesus Christ
in the Mass. Perhaps we
can find Him ... or this
failing, His Mother! ...elsewhere!
If these understandably
disillusioned souls remain
in the Church, they often
remain a cult in the Church,
a cadre, really, of the
initiated
who will bring something
spiritual back to the Church
and sadly, so often, something
corrupt. The seat of authority
in Rome is often effectively
displaced by authority elsewhere:
whether Bayside or the Balkans,
the effect is the same.
When we cease to find
when we are no longer led
to when we are actively
deprived of the authentic
Word of God spoken once,
unequivocally, authoritatively,
and unalterably in the Person
of Jesus Christ through
Holy Scripture and in the
Most Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass we go, in our desperation,
to where rumor leads us
... and if that to which
it leads us speaks decisively,
with conviction,
even with presumed authority
we will listen. It appears
to us that at least
someone is quite clear
about where we are going
and what we must do ...
however bizarre or banal
it may be. It is the human
and immemorial quest for
certainty, a certainty that
the Church has hedged upon,
to its own decimation, for
the past 40 years. Not without
reason did Jesus pity us
as
sheep without a shepherd",
knowing neither where, nor
to whom, to go. He knew
us well.
Deprived of the
Authentic
Revelation
of God and His will in the
Person of Jesus Christ,
we succumb to
private revelation
and attempt to build a church
within the Church, not founded
on Peter ... but on the
utterances of
Seers
and
Visionaries
who will tell us,
unequivocally, what we must
do where our priests and
bishops, in an apparent
state of theological apathy,
meekly and uncertainly ...
suggest
what we must do
in deference to a
correctness
that will offend no one.
Man, however, does not want
to be
correct,
He wants to be saved.
Visionaries
and
Seers
are well aware of this.
Regrettably, many of our
bishops, priests, and Directors
of Religious Education
to say nothing of our seminaries
are not. Very clearly,
we will not go to those
who, charged with the truth,
are alternately reluctant,
embarrassed, or unwilling
to
speak
it. To what end?
So let us go to those who,
while not charged
with it, at least
purport to
see
it let us go to the
Seers!
This is the sad state of
much in the way of
private
revelation.
It has the uncanny ability
to metamorphose into authority.
The Vicar of Jesus Christ
on Earth speaks daily. Do
you know of any organized
group that (apart from ZENIT
www.zenit.org
) takes the time or makes
the effort to listen, and
to disseminate what they
have heard from him to whom
Christ has entrusted his
Church?
The
Gospa
of Medjugorje, on the
other hand, has
delivered over 30,000
messages ... to date ...
and they are, for all
their simplicity, rote,
and banal, and published
voluminously in every
imaginable format as
well as studied
assiduously in thousands
of
Medjugorje Centers
in America and elsewhere.
What
has the Gospa revealed today?
What are the catastrophes
looming over us as the Sword
of Damocles suspended by
the thinnest strand of a
horse's hair and held
by the Gospa alone from
plunging down upon disbelievers
and sinners alike, fraught
with towering anger and
impending rage?"
Peter speaks but, turning
no Rosaries to gold, is
politely ignored.
Ivan, and five others speak
(at
scheduled conferences
world wide) and the masses
await with bated breath.
Odd. Let us look at this
notable case in point
and undoubtedly to the consternation
of many readers.
Medjugorje: A Paradigm
of Private Revelation Gone
Awry
... 25 years
... 30,000 (thousand) messages
... and still counting ...
The
first apparition at Medjugorje
in the former Yugoslavia
was on June 24, 1981, occurring
on the "Hill of Apparition
immediately behind which
precisely on that day
40 years earlier Utashi
Croats, allies of the Nazis,
had massacred 600 Serb women
and children for two reasons:
they were not Catholics,
but Orthodox Christians,
and they were not fascists.
The ghastly specter of scandal
involving the complicity
of the Franciscans with
the genocidal mania of the
Nazis, Croats, and Muslims
has not subsided to this
day
(http://news.suc.org/bydate/2001/Feb_05/13.html).
These are the same Franciscans
who are now the spiritual
managers of the "Seers
and what is most notable
and very much to the point
is that all have acted in
disobedience to their local
Ordinaries (that is, the
Bishops of Mostar: first
Pavao Zanic, and, subsequently,
Ratko Peric) of the diocese
in which the "apparitions
occur:
|
"The Franciscans
who claim to
be serving Our
Lady at Medjugorje
have been formally
expelled from
the local diocese
of Mostar and
Duvno. The expulsion
was made by
both the bishop
of Mostar and
the father general
of the Order
of Friars Minor.
This took effect
on February
21, 1999. The
joint expulsion
was approved
by the Vatican.
The rebel Franciscans
continue to
control parishes
in the diocese
in disobedience
to the Church.
The latest expulsions
follow the expulsions
of the other
two Franciscans
who refused
to hand over
the parish of
Capljina in
1996. Their
expulsion was
confirmed in
1998.
According to
Bishop Ratko
Peric of Mostar-Duvno,
whose diocese
includes Medjugorje,
the messages
now number more
than 30,000,
a fact that
only increases
his own skepticism
about the authenticity
of the apparitions.
Bishop Peric
discussed Medjugorje
with Pope Benedict
XVI earlier
this year during
a visit to the
Vatican. In
a summary of
the discussion
published in
his diocesan
newspaper, Bishop
Peric said he
had reviewed
the history
of the apparitions
with the Pope,
who already
was aware of
the main facts
from his time
as head of the
Congregation
for the Doctrine
of the Faith.
The Holy Father
told me: We
at the congregation
always asked
ourselves how
can any believer
accept as authentic
apparitions
that occur every
day and for
so many years?
Bishop Peric
said.
Bishop Peric
noted that Yugoslavian
bishops in 1991
issued a statement
that "it cannot
be confirmed
that supernatural
apparitions
or revelations
are occurring"
at Medjugorje.
Bishop Peric
said he told
the Pope that
his own opinion
was even stronger
-- not only
that a supernatural
element cannot
be proven, but
that
it is
certain that
these events
do not concern
supernatural
apparitions.
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0603480.htm
|
Mary, it
is alleged, appears at least
monthly to the ...
Seers
or
Visionaries
as their followers call
them ... which means that
the Mother of God has appeared
well over 300 times to the
Visionaries/Seers
in the ensuing 28 years.
Her Son, Jesus Christ,
publicly
appeared for 3 ...
Thousands upon thousands
make "pilgrimages
to Medjugorje in the hope
of seeing their Rosaries
turn gold (an often cited
supernatural
occurrence ... although
of the many, many, thousands,
I have known none who have
brought one gold Rosary
back).
That a far greater and authentic
miracle occurs in the humble
Mass of every parish throughout
the world where ordinary
bread and wine are turned
into the Body and Blood
of Jesus Christ is, apparently,
less ... sensational. How
is the hidden Christ, eluding
our senses in the Sacred
Species of Bread and Wine,
to contend with an unparalleled
opportunity to see and even
speak with a
Seer,
a "Visionary
perhaps with with
several of them who
(unlike St. Bernadette or
Sister Lucia) make themselves
eagerly available to the
well paying crowds and whose
itinerary rivals the peregrinations
of St. Paul. Consider the
following:
http://www.medjugorje.org/ivanse.htm
This site lists Ivan's (one
of the 6 Seers, or Visionaries)
Speaking Schedule for 2009
there are 24 and a "Prayer
Experience Package",
stating that:
|
Your
Prayer
Experience Package
Includes:
-
Quality
Air and
Ground Transportation
-
Air Conditioned
Accommodations
(double
& triple
occupancy,
Private
baths)
-
Hot Breakfast
& Dinner
Daily (served
by Ivan
& Family)
-
English
Speaking
Tour Guide
-
Meetings
with Fr.
Jozo & other
visionaries
(when available)
-
Prices are
for New
York departures
and do not
include
airline
tax. Prices
are subject
to change.
If seats
are no longer
available
in class
quoted,
reservations
will be
made at
a higher
rate. Deviations
will affect
tour prices.
Please ask
us about
airfare
rates from
your city.
Furthermore,
the site,
in the classical
parlance
of the lucrative
travel and
tourist
industry,
offers:
****** Exclusively
for our
Prayer Experience
Pilgrims******
-
Special
Times of
Prayer &
Group Meetings
& Discussions
with Ivan
in our home
chapel
-
Unlimited
use of our
private
home chapel
(apparition
room)*,
books &
tapes
-
Ivan will
take you
back and
share his
experience
of the first
days of
the apparitions
during a
private
tour guided
by Ivan.
Relive the
first days
of the apparitions
as though
you were
there.
-
Morning
Prayer &
Rosary together
daily
-
Ivan will
take group
to Apparition
Hill for
Prayer &
Meditation
-
There will
be plenty
of opportunities
to speak
privately
with Ivan
during your
stay
And all
for just
under $2800.00
dollars
US
http://www.pilgrimages.com/prayerexperience
Quite a
bargain
...
Of course,
there
is
one official
proviso:
-
"WE
CANNOT PROMISE
THAT THE
GROUP WILL
BE ABLE
TO ATTEND
AN APPARITION
WITH IVAN.
Simply because
we are not
sure when
our Blessed
Mother will
stop appearing
to him."
(ibid.).
Of course
... We can
never tell,
after all,
when these
things may
cease
after 30
years and
counting.
|
The point?
Medjugorje is roughly 5,000
miles from Boston.
Your Bible is beside your
bed (or ought to be). The
Altar of God is very likely
a few minutes from home.
If you lust after the extraordinary,
the
supernatural,
if you long for the holy,
and wish to be witness to
and the recipient of the
greatest miracle of all
time - go to Mass.
It is not likely that your
Rosaries will turn to gold,
but perhaps something far
greater still will come
to be transformed: your
very heart. Two things
surely will be
transformed mere bread
into the Body of Christ,
and the simplest wine into
His Blood.
When you have read the Bible
and all that God has definitively
said to you once and for
all time in and through
His Only Begotten and Beloved
Son; when you can recite
Scripture chapter and verse
... and still you
long for the Balkans, go.
But you will not find there
what you have failed to
find in Jesus Christ Who
comes to you
in the Most Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass, in the words
of Sacred Scripture!
Such magnificent humility!
Would that we learn from
God and see with eyes that
see ... rather than through
the eyes of others who are
Seers" for us.
Our Last Check August
2013
Nothing
has changed. The Church
has not changed its stance
on the dubious "apparitions
at
Medjugorje, which is best
explained by this excerpt
from EWTN:
What the Church
has forbidden. From
the statements given
to date by ecclesiastical
authorities it is clear
that no one holding
an office in the Church
(bishop, pastor, rector,
chaplain or other) may
by virtue of that office
lend official sanction
to activities which
tend to assert the supernaturality
of Medjugorje, that
is, to contradict the
decisions made by competent
local authority. Those
statements speak only
of pilgrimages organized
under official auspices;
however, common sense
tells us that a conference
or other activity sponsored
by a diocese, parish
or other Catholic institution
would also be prohibited.
Likewise, there could
not be public veneration
(cultus) of the Blessed
Virgin under the title
of Our Lady of Medjugorje,
since this would suggest
the certainty of her
appearing there. The
title Queen of Peace,
however, is already
part of the patrimony
of the Church.
http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/medjugorje.htm
Printable PDF Version
Former Medjugorje pastor
laicized, dismissed from
Franciscans July 27, 2009)
______________________________________________________________
-
Medjugorje bishop emphasizes:
dont view alleged apparitions
as 'worthy of faith'
September 29, 2009
In a homily posted on his
diocesan website, Bishop
Ratko Peric, who has led
the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno
since 1993, has emphasized
that the alleged apparitions
and messages of Medjugorje
are not to be treated as
worthy of faith. The bishop
has imposed a series of
restrictions on activities
in Medjugorje, clearly designed
to discourage interest in
the supposed apparitions.
Brothers and sisters, let
us not act as if these 'apparitions'
were recognized and worthy
of faith, he said. If,
as Catholics, devoted sons
and daughters of the Church,
we want to live according
to the norms and the teaching
of the Church, glorifying
the Holy Trinity, venerating
Blessed Mary ... and professing
all the Church has established
in the creed, we do not
turn to certain alternative
'apparitions' or 'messages'
to which the Church has
not attributed any supernatural
character.
Bishop
Peric has also written to
the parish priests of Medjugorje,
reminding them of a series
of restrictions. The priests
have been instructed not
to identify the site of
the alleged apparitions
as a "shrine," not to promote
events connected with the
apparitions, and not to
include the "seers" in parish
activities. The prayers
and messages connected with
the alleged apparitions
are not to be printed in
the parish bulletin, nor
used in parish prayer services;
the priests are not to comment
on them. Priests who come
to Medjurgorje from outside
the diocese are not to hold
conferences or retreats
without the bishop's permission,
and any priest who visits
the parish is required to
provide proof that he has
proper faculties from his
own bishop before celebrating
Mass there.
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=4170
MEDJUGORJE-RULES Sep-28-2009
(600 words) xxxi
Mostar bishop reiterates rules
for Medjugorje parish
By Catholic
News Service
MOSTAR,
Bosnia-Herzegovina (CNS)
-- Confirming young people from
the parish in the Bosnian town
of Medjugorje, Bishop Ratko
Peric of Mostar-Duvno asked
them not to behave as if the
alleged Marian apparitions reported
in the parish were real.
In late September, the bishop
posted on his diocesan Web site
an Italian translation of his
homily from the June confirmation
Mass, as well as letters to
the Franciscan pastor of the
Medjugorje parish and to another
priest serving there.
Bishop
Peric had told the young people
that, during a visit to the
Vatican early in the year, the
top officials at the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith
and the Vatican Secretariat
of State confirmed they were
telling anyone who asked that
the Catholic Church has never
recognized the alleged apparitions
as authentic.
"Brothers and sisters, let us
not act as if these 'apparitions'
were recognized and worthy of
faith," the bishop said in the
homily he gave June 6.
"If, as Catholics, devoted sons
and daughters of the church,
we want to live according to
the norms and the teaching of
the church, glorifying the Holy
Trinity, venerating Blessed
Mary ... and professing all
the church has established in
the creed, we do not turn to
certain alternative 'apparitions'
or 'messages' to which the church
has not attributed any supernatural
character," Bishop Peric said.
After the confirmation Mass
in Medjugorje, the bishop also
made a pastoral visit to the
parish and published the follow-up
letters he had written to Franciscan
Father Petar Vlasic, the pastor,
and to Franciscan Father Danko
Perutina, one of the parochial
vicars.
The bishop praised Father Vlasic
for the way he was handling
what he called "the Medjugorje
phenomenon," which began in
1981 when six young people --
Mirjana Dragicevic, Marija Pavlovic,
Vicka Ivankovic, Ivan Dragicevic,
Ivanka Ivankovic and Jakov Colo
-- said they had seen Mary on
a hillside near their town.
Several of them say they continue
to see Mary and receive messages
from her.
In his
letter, the bishop reaffirmed
that
priests from outside the
parish cannot give conferences
or lead retreats at the parish
without written permission from
his office and that no one can
use parish facilities to promote
the alleged apparitions or messages.
The bishop specified that the
pastor should ensure that Father
Perutina stop offering comments
on the messages Pavlovic claims
to receive on the 25th of each
month.
He also asked Father
Vlasic to remove from the parish
Web site all references to the
parish and its church buildings
as a shrine or sanctuary and
to ban prayers allegedly dictated
by Mary or suggested by her
alleged messages from liturgies
and prayer services inside the
church, including public recitations
of the rosary.
"We have enough official ecclesiastical
intentions (pontifical, episcopal,
missionary, etc.) and there
is no need to turn arbitrarily
to the presumed apparitions
and messages and mix them with
the public prayers of the church,"
he said.
In his letter to Father Perutina,
who was assigned to the Medjugorje
parish after completing a degree
in Mariology at a pontifical
university in Rome, Bishop Peric
said he did not understand why
the priest was publishing a
commentary on the monthly message
Pavlovic claims to receive.
"Gradually we have been able
to distance the 'apparitions'
and 'messages' from the parish
church and church environs,"
the bishop said, but the fact
that a Franciscan from the parish
is commenting on the messages
creates confusion.
"These are private messages
to private people for private
use," he said, ordering the
Franciscan to cease commenting
on or publicizing them in any
way.
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0904306.htm
Update: directives on Medjugorje
By Richard Chonak on September
28, 2009 1:15 PM |
Permalink | Comments (54)
[SUMMARY: Bp.
Ratko Peric of Mostar-Duvno
in Bosnia and Herzegovina has
sent letters to the pastor and
a parochial vicar at Medjugorje,
with specific
directives about how
they and
the parish are not to promote
the alleged apparitions of the
place:
that alleged messages and
commentaries on them are not
to be published;
that prayers from the apparitions
are not to be used publicly;
the parish church is not to
be called a "shrine", even privately;
that foreign priests may not
give conferences or retreats
without permission of the bishop;
foreign priests wishing to
offer Mass must present a celebret
from their diocese or order,
and the information is to be
recorded;
a privately-built church has
already been closed and is not
to be used;
unauthorized religious communities
have no permission to set up
residence;
and about regulating several
other forms of promotion of
the alleged phenomenon.
This is a newly published document
from the website of the diocese
of Mostar-Duvno. (Note: the
web page contains three documents;
scroll down to see the source
for what follows.) Here I am
presenting a translation based
on the Italian version on the
website, so I have to acknowledge
the limitations involved in
a derivative translation. Any
mistakes are my responsibility;
please inform me via the comment
box of improvements or corrections.
Thanks! -- Richard Chonak]
Letter of the bishop to Friar
Petar Vlasic, parish priest
of Medjugorje
Mostar, 12 June 2009.: Prot.
648/2009
Reverend parish priest friar
Peter!
After having made the canonical
visit to the parish of Medjugorje
last Wednesday, 10 June, where
nine other Franciscan fathers
share the pastoral care of souls
with you, according to the directive
issued by this office, I wish
to make reference now, by this
means, to several points.
Inasmuch as you are the current
parish priest, who have been
working in that capacity since
September 2007, I express to
you my sincere thanks for maintaining
transparent records in the books
of registration and other matters.
For a parish priest, as for
a bishop - it is really essential
to carry out not only the
munus docendi et sanctificandi,
but also the munus
gubernandi
entrusted to us.
Munus docendi:
The rule is still valid that
in the parish of Medjugorje
priests coming from elsewhere
are not permitted to conduct
retreats or spiritual exercises,
nor to hold conferences, without
the approval of this office.
(Circular of 23.8.2001, #1290/2001)
Analogously, neither
foreign nor domestic priests
can promote alleged "messages"
or "apparitions" which have
not been proclaimed authentic
in that church or on church
property.
Munus sanctificandi:
It is praiseworthy that you
require from every priest who
wishes to celebrate the Holy
Mass at Medjugorje the
celebret
of his ecclesiastical superior
and that you record in a particular
book all the concelebrants,
from the beginning of this year.
As well, you have kept me informed
about the "Oasis
of peace", which, since the
intervention of this office
on 15 December 2008, no longer
keeps the
Blessed Sacrament privately
in their chapel and no longer
conducts adoration, which they
had been doing according to
their own account. They do not
have permission as a religious
association to reside in the
territory of this diocese.
Munus gubernandi:
You have informed me that the
church in Bijakovic, built by
a foreign member of the faithful
as his ex voto,
without the necessary request
and approval of the competent
ecclesiastical authority, has
been closed by now and that
no services are conducted in
it.
In the parish chronicle you
have made sure to record, with
the right terminology, everything
that happens to this parish
as a pastoral unit of this diocese,
without regard to all the stories
about "seers", "apparitions",
and "messages" connected with
the parish.
"The Phenomenon of Medjugorje":
The "Shrine".
The parish of Medjugorje cannot
be called a shrine, neither
privately, nor publicly, not
officially, because it is not
recognized as such by any level
of competent ecclesial authority.
And that wording cannot appear
on the web site of "Medjugorje
- place of prayer and reconciliation",
where it is currently found
in many places.
In a statement on that site
- where there is no indication
of who is responsible for it
- this message appears: "To
avoid any misunderstanding,
we wish to underscore that the
Shrine has not given the mission
of representing Medjugorje to
anyone. The Shrine has not given
the mission to any community
or person either in Medjugorje
or outside of Medjugorje - of
speading or interpreting the
messages of the Gospa. All these
initiatives are private and
voluntary on the part of the
faithful and the communities."
From that statement it appears
as if the site is proclaiming
itself as being a "Shrine".
Then it seems in some way to
be the only competent [source]
to give instruction to the world.
As the local Ordinary, in this
present letter,
I declare that the so-called
"shrine" has no mission to declare
itself a "Shrine", nor to present
(the parish) with that title,
because it has no ecclesiastical
mission to present itself in
the name of Medjugorje, nor
to spread or interpret the "apparitions"
and "messages" of Medjugorje.
Commentaries on the "messages":
I have already discussed with
you and with another vicar,
with friar Danko Perutina, who
writes and publishes the commentaries
on the "messages" issued from
the "apparitions" on the 25th
of the month. It was said that
he receives the "messages" of
the "seer" Marija from Italy
or from Medjugorje when she
is in that location, and then
he presents them there, comments
on them and publishes them.
This is contrary to the decision
and request of this Curia, especially
after the declaration of 10
June 2006, which was repeated
in the parish church on 6 July
2009 (the accompanying homily).
The Cenacolo.
After our intervention, on Christmas
Day of last year, there are
no longer private "apparitions"
in the courtyard of the Cenacolo
by the alleged "seer" Mirjana
Dragićević, married name Soldo,
on the second of each month.
The association "Queen
of Peace..." I have
been informed in our meeting
that in the association founded
by Tomislav Vlaić at Medjugorje,
which equally has no permission
to reside in the territory of
this diocese, there are some
members, men and women, who
dress in lay clothes.
The number of prayers.
In September 2007, on the occasion
of your installation in the
office of parish priest, I indicated
to you that the
so-called "seers" cannot present
themselves on any occasion to
promote their private "apparitions"
and "messages", nor to preside,
nor to have anyone preside in
their place, at the recitation
of a certain number of prayers
"received" in an "apparition".
Therefore, they cannot use prayers
from scripture or those approved
by the Church as a means of
introducing "numbers" and "messages"
from the private "apparition".
The intentions of the
rosary.
It is equally not permitted
to introduce intentions received
in an "apparition" or "message"
during the prayer of the Rosary
of Our Lady.
We have sufficient official
intentions (from the Pope, from
the bishop, for the missions)
and there is no need to arbitrarily
have recourse to alleged apparitions
and messages and mix them with
the Church's public prayers.
Anniversaries.
It is not permitted that the
"seers" be invited and present
themselves in the parish church
or on any church properties
at any time, especially on occasions
related to the "apparitions"
of Medjugorje, to promote their
private "messages" and "apparitions".
Therefore, we do not mix the
unrecognized with what is recognized,
the private with the official,
the non-liturgical with the
liturgical.
Grateful for what you, together
with the other friars of the
parish, undertake for the good
of souls, and because you know
how to clearly separate pastoral
care from private "apparitions"
and "messages", I greet you
with devout respects.
And the second letter:
Letter of the bishop
to friar Danko Perutina, parochial
vicar of Medjugorje Mostar,
12 June 2009;
Prot. 649/2009
Reverend friar Danko!
After your priestly ordination
in 1999 and at the conclusion
of your studies, I appointed
you, at the suggestion of your
religious superiors, in 2000,
parochial vicar of Humac. Then,
again at the suggestion of your
provincial governor, in 2001,
vicar of Medjugorje, in 2005
again of Humac, and in 2007
at Medjugorje. In the meantime,
you studied and obtained a degree
in mariology at Rome.
I write to you in reference
to your commentaries on the
so-called "messages" and "apparitions"
on the 25th day of the month.
In an official visit to Medjugorje
on the 10 June, I had a conversation
with you, with the parish priest
friar Petar Vlasic and another
vicar present.
In the conversation it became
clear that Marija Pavlović,
married name Lunetti, daily
"seer" who lives in Italy, and
temporarily also at Medjugorje,
sends to the parish office or
to some one of your pastoral
workers in the parish of Medjugorje,
her "message" of the 25th day
of the month, which is then
published on the Medjugorje
web site and in other mass media.
And you regularly make commentary
on the monthly "message", which
is published in various languages.
When I asked how the "messages"
of the 25th were published,
and not the other "messages"
said to be "private", I did
not feel I received a clear
and convincing answer. I do
not know who has sent and authorized
you to comment on them and publish
them on the site. What sort
of person is assuming the right
to decide that some "messages"
be omitted and others published,
and that this is done through
the parish office and the site
connected with the parish of
Medjugorje?
We are gradually succeeding
in distancing the unrecognized
"apparitions" and "messages"
from the parish church and from
church property, and the appearances
of the "seers" before or after
Holy Mass. In that conversation
I reminded you of having asked
in 2006, and reconfirmed in
2009 from the altar, that
"No priest who works canonically
in this parish of Medjugorje
or who is here temporarily,
is authorized to present his
private opinion, contrary to
the official position of the
Church on the "apparitions and
messages", neither at the celebration
of the sacraments, or during
the regular acts of devotion,
nor in the Catholic media."
(homily attached).
To avoid any misunderstanding,
in this present letter I declare
that you, according to my decree,
are not authorized, either in
the name of the parish office
or as parochial vicar, to comment
upon and publish the "messages"
of the 25th or any other day
of the month. These are private
"messages" of private persons
for private use. And we cannot
permit that this is given the
form of a message from the parish
office, from the parish priest,
or any parochial vicar, or even
of the "Shrine" which is not
recognized as such at any level:
not diocesan, or the level of
the episcopal conference, or
of the Holy See.
Therefore I expect with trust,
without any further admonitions,
that from now on you will not
publish your commentaries, either
in the name of the parish office
or in your own name, or under
a pseudonym, not after the 25th
of this month or at all, as
long as things continue as is.
I greet you with devout respects.
http://catholiclight.stblogs.org/archives/2009/09/new-directives.html
______________________________________________________________
Suggested reading:
http://www.medjugorje.org/mediv1.htm
http://www.culturewars.com/CultureWars/Archives/cw_feb98/surmanci.html
http://www.culturewars.com/CultureWars/Archives/cw_feb98/surmanci.html
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