of the Virgin Mary.” http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=19595 _________________________________________________
UPDATE May 2019 That was another pontificate ...
as of May 12, 2019 Francis, predictably, said Let them come! — despite “doctrinal questions”
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!
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“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”.
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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:
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Your Prayer Experience Package Includes:
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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
Former Medjugorje pastor laicized, dismissed from Franciscans July 27, 2009)
______________________________________________________________
NEW DEVELOPMENTS: Updated 29 September 2009
-
Medjugorje bishop emphasizes: don’t 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 Vlašić 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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Deposit of Faith entrusted to the Holy See in Rome
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