MEDJUGORJE VISION OPPOSES CATHOLIC DOGMA THAT BISHOP MUST BE OBEYED EVEN IF WRONG TO PREVENT CHURCH UNREST
Let Hector Avalos tell us the backstory,
Medjugorje, once a sleepy little town in the province of Bosnia- Herzegovina
(old Yugoslavia), became in the 1980s one of the world's most visited
destinations, attracting perhaps as many as fifteen million visitors. The
attraction had nothing to do with amusement parks or hotel casinos, but with
claims that Mary, the mother of Jesus in Christian tradition, was making special
appearances in Medjugorje. Cover stories have been published about the
phenomenon in Life (July 1991), Time (December 30, 1991), and other respected
publications, which are not always as critical or accurate as they should be.
For the past few years I have been studying reports and videotapes of supposed
Marian apparition experiences, and I have spoken to some of the people who
claimed to have witnessed them or whobelieve in them. The most frequent defense
of Marian apparitions among believers whom I have encountered usually revolves
around one central question: How can a group of seemingly honest and apparently
normal people report seeing Mary if she is not appearing there? Other defenders
point out that a "scientific" team has supported the authenticity of the
apparitions at Medjugorje. Ironically, it is the dramatic events themselves at
Medjugorje that support a nonsupernatural explanation.
The Medjugorje reports are different from those of earlier sightings of Mary in
a number of respects. First, written accounts have been produced while the
series of apparitions were still occurring. Second, most of the principal
witnesses are still alive and have made themselves available for extensive
interviews. More important, modern video and audio equipment has recorded the
visionaries as they are supposedly experiencing their visions. Finally, the
visionaries have submitted to various medical and scientific tests such as
encephalograms during their experiences.
The first reported apparitions at Medjugorje began on
June 24,1981, when six Croatian-speaking children claimed that the Virgin Mary
had appeared to them on a hill. They were met with initial skepticism and
harassment from some authorities. Surprisingly, one of the most vocal skeptics
was Pavao Zanic, their own bishop, who, according to one transcript of an
interview, declared, "In my opinion Medjugorje is the greatest deceit and
swindle in the history of the Church." In particular, Zanic complained that the
apparition stories were part of a conspiracy instigated by a group of popular
Franciscans who have protested efforts to replace them with secular clergy in
the parish of Medjugorje.
Despite the political conflicts caused by the apparitions within the local
diocese, and despite the fact that the Catholic church has not officially
affirmed the authenticity of the visions, thenumber of pilgrims who have gone to
Medjugorje since 1981 has been placed by some at over fifteen million. This
number of Marian devotees at Medjugorje far surpasses the believers of the Jesus
apparition stories of early Christianity. Only the recent civil war in
Yugoslavia has discouraged massive visits.
Now to what I want to say.
The bishop ordered the visionaries to have the visions in private in 1985 and not to promote the messages. The Church has the right to ban messages from being promoted unless they are checked out. Even if they are it might determine that it is wiser to wait until some clear indications of the apparition being from God are found. His command was disobeyed completely
Here is the March 25, 1985 official letter of Bishop
Zanic to the parish priest, Father Tomislav Pervan, of St James parish of
Medjugorje
Reverend Father Tomislav,
Most certainly the Pastoral personnel of the Medjugorje parish know about the
newest developments and the circumstances of the letter of the "visionary" Ivan
Dragicevic on the sign that he described on May 9, 1982 during his stay in the
seminary in Visoko. With a copy of that letter we are also supplying you with a
copy of the Minutes of the last meeting of the Commission on the Events of
Medjugorje held in Mostar on March 7, 1985, on the occasion of the opening of
Ivan Dragicevic's letter. This letter contains the described sign which would
occur in order to confirm the "apparitions" of the Madonna in Medjugorje. Last
year, in a conversation with the investigating Commission, Ivan Dragicevic
declared that the sign we speak of will be the Madonna's shrine and that sign
will appear suddenly one morning.
Even before this, the Ordinary had come to the firm conclusion that the
apparitions of the Madonna in Medjugorje are not a reality. Meanwhile, in 1982,
the Bishop's Office had formed the Commission to investigate the events and to
study the case thoroughly. Because of it, the Bishop's Office has refrained from
making any official statement on the real state of affairs. However, several
times through letters, the Bishop's Office expressed its desire, and even
demanded, that the propaganda stop because of the disobedience of the pastoral
personnel and the "visionaries." This was a futile attempt. I present the
documents which have been sent to you, and the subject of each one of them:
—December 13, 1981, (N 977): attitude toward the events in Medjugorje;
—April 12, 1983, (N 241): letter to the parish priest, instructions to be
followed;
Invitations for meetings:
—March 31, 1983, (N 297);
—September 27, 1983, (N 982);
—July 19, 1984, (N 777);
Following a two-day session, the Commission on the events of Medjugorje declared
that the pastoral personnel and the seers in Medjugorje are requested to abstain
from any public statement or declaration to the press about the contents of the
visions and the alleged miraculous cures.
At our meeting, held in the Chancery Office in Mostar on October 31, 1984, I
demanded that Medjugorje's occurrences "be toned down and eliminated little by
little."
In the meantime, matters remain as they were, and a great disgrace is expected
to befall the Church. Now, without any delay, after all this, I demand from you
that you remove the "visionaries" from public display and put an end to their
"visions" in the parish church. They have had "visions" in Mostar, and earlier
in Sarajevo, Visoko and Dubrovnik. Let them now have them at their homes: people
say that they had them at their homes during 1981. In ten days the new statue of
the Gospa in front of the main altar ought to be discreetly removed late one
evening and replaced by the old one. You must stop talking about apparitions and
also cease publicizing messages. The devotions that grew out of the
"apparitions" and their messages must be eliminated, sales of souvenirs and
printed material which propagate the "apparitions" must also stop. The faithful
can go to the sacrament of reconciliation and attend Mass. I do not allow the
other priests, especially Fathers Jozo Zovko, Tomislav Vlasic and Ljudevit
Rupcic, to celebrate Mass for the faithful or to preach.
The "visionaries" must give you whatever they wrote, especially what pertains to
the so called "Biography of the Madonna." No excuse that that's a secret can
justify them from not handing over that material to you. Since there was so much
public talk about their Diaries and their other writings, and since all this had
a great influence on the events of Medjugorje, thus all these documents and
written materials fall under the supervision of the Ordinary and become subject
to the investigation of the phenomenon of Medjugorje.
We do hope that you will execute what we demand from you in this letter. With
greetings and a prayerful wish for God's blessing.
Msgr. Pavao Zanic,
Bishop of Mostar-Duvno and Apostolic Administrator of Trebinje-Mrkanj.