Two years later, I am still uncertain about the worth of
Medjugorje as a place of pilgrimage. There have undoubtedly been many valuable
fruits – Mary’s Meals is often cited –
and the tales of lives transformed are numerous and impressive. I have met many
returned pilgrims who were as enthusiastic as Cathy – and also one or two who
were quite obsessive! There is also quite a bit of negative background to be found, in books and on the internet, that - at minimum - sounds warning bells.
At the risk of being boring myself, let me repeat some of my
earlier blog, which is a summary of the position as I viewed it then – and now,
supplemented by other and more current information...
************************************************************************
The history
of Medjugorje and its surroundings is complex with racial, cultural, religious
and political elements involving the Byzantine, Roman and Ottoman Empires; the
Slavs, Franks, Bulgarians, Bosnians, Serbs and Hungarians; Orthodox, Moslem and
Catholic adherents - a real stew of peoples, plots, conflicts and battles that
continued until the Second World War, with contributions from the Nazis,
Chetniks and Ustasa.
What a challenging place that the Mother of God (Our Lady of Medjugorje,
Queen of Peace) reportedly chose for her communication! There are unsettling
parallels with the Rwandan apparitions of Our Lady of Kibeho that took place at
the same time. Both alleged appearances took place in 1981 and both presaged
conflicts; the Rwandan Genocide in 1994-5, in which the UN estimate that about
800,000 died, and the Bosnian War of 1992-5 when over 100,000 people died. Two
‘holy’ places, with their shrines and pilgrimages sited amid a landscape
scarred by the sinfulness of humanity.
..................
Today, there seems to be three views about Medjugorje in the Catholic community.
The
first is “Medje-what? How do you pronounce it? Where is it?”..................
Today, there seems to be three views about Medjugorje in the Catholic community.
The second - and most prominent on the internet - is “A wonderful place,
prayerful, I experienced something that has changed me forever...”
The last is “Work of the devil, Stay away.”
Learning how to
pronounce the word ‘Medjugorje’ is easy now (Med-joo-gori-yeh or thereabouts!),
thanks to the internet. The last is “Work of the devil, Stay away.”
Also, thanks to the internet,
those with negative views on Medjugorje can readily communicate their
reservations or contrary opinions. These seem to fall under three main headings
DIVISION & REBELLION
There is a history of
confrontation between the local ordinary of Mostar and the Franciscans in
Mostar (who promoted the apparitions). Indeed, the local Bishops of Mostar,
Pavao Zanic, and his successor Ratko Peric, have both ruled against the
apparitions, after investigating them. Under the principle of collegiality,
religious at all levels should have honoured this decision, but, instead, quite
a number have visited Medjugorje or allowed facilities to the alleged
visionaries when visiting their areas, sowing the seeds of division and
apparently promoting an illicit cultus or alternative magisterium. (Indeed, at
one stage, in 1991, Bishop Peric was kidnapped, beaten up and held hostage in
an illicit chapel belonging to the Franciscans.)
In 2007 Bishop Peric
summarised the local church’s view (Bishop Peric's Statement)
The Church is competent to say this. In her name, 30 chosen
priests and physicians, working together in three Commissions for 10 years, in
more than 30 meetings, dutifully and expertly investigated the events of
Medjugorje and brought forth their judgement. And not one, but twenty bishops
responsibly declared that there exists no proof that the events in Medjugorje
concern supernatural apparitions.
However...a final view on the
question has now been subsumed by the Vatican. In March 2010, Pope Benedict XVI
established a Commission of 17 experts under the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith (CDF), headed by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, to report on the alleged
apparitions. In November 2013 Pope Francis commented that the BVM ‘... is not a postmaster, sending messages every
day.’ In January
2014 the Commission’s report on Medjugorje was provided to the CDF. In June
2015 the Pope, flying back to Rome after a visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina, told a
reporter that a decision on the apparitions was imminent.
Three
days later, in his homily during Mass,
Pope Francis cautioned against those who look for God‘with
these Christian spiritualities that are a little ethereal,’calling them ‘modern Gnostics.’These
people, he said ‘tell you this or that: no, the last word of God
is Jesus Christ, there is no other!’ He also warned
against those ‘who always need novelty of Christian identity.
They’ve forgotten that they were chosen, anointed, that they have the guarantee
of the Spirit, and they seek.’
Francis observed that there are those
who might ask, ‘But where are the seers who tell us today, ‘the
letter that the Madonna will send us at four in the afternoon…’ He cited this type of predicted vision as an example of those who
base their faith on novelties, explaining that these people ‘live from this.’However ‘this
isn’t Christian identity. The ultimate word of God is named ‘Jesus,’ nothing
more,’he added.
DIVINE NATURE OF COMMUNICATIONS
Some
commentators accuse the seers of receiving messages that are contrary to faith,
for example, claiming Mary has said that all faiths are the same and equal
before God. The visionaries are alleged to have given inconsistent reports in
the early years and lied. It also strains credibility that tens of thousands of
messages have been received since 1981 (compared to a handful at Lourdes and
relatively few at Fatima). The messages are also described as anodyne, banal,
boring or, in a few cases, even heretical and supportive of cults like Bayside,
or validating the existence of UFOs!
However...there is a dispute as to the
actual words said, reported, and translated. Although there may be some tape
recordings surviving from the early days, and original transcripts are said to
display numerous contradictions and inconsistencies, in many cases we are going
back 30+ years to fallible recollections. The few alleged messages of Mary that
I have read seem consistent with Catholic doctrine, emphasising prayer,
repentance, fasting, the Bible, the Eucharist - however, we are talking about literally
thousands of messages.
In support of the supernatural nature of the visionaries’
experiences, it is said that three separate and detailed scientific examinations
of them failed to reveal any subterfuge or impropriety (- so they have not been
‘found out’ over the last 34 years, which must say something). Then there is
the ‘miraculous’ signs, the sun spinning or being encircled by rainbows, base
metal rosaries becoming gold, healings and so on...and there are also tales of
credulous pilgrims staring at the sun for so long that they suffered eye
damage.
LIFESTYLE OF THE VISIONARIES AND THEIR
PROMOTERSNone of the visionaries has opted for a religious life (as did the visionaries in Lourdes and Fatima). It has been said that they did not seem exceptionally devoted to the Eucharist, and several seem to have benefitted materially from their situation, owning nice houses and cars. Their main promoter and spiritual advisor, Father Tomislav Vlasic, was reportedly suspended by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, investigated for matters including sexual immorality and creating a New Age cult, and then allegedly defrocked (or allowed to revert to non-clerical status). Similarly, two Franciscans accused of serious improprieties, including in one case impregnating a nun, were declared ‘innocent’ by the BVM in several ‘messages’.
However...it can be argued that participating in a
Catholic marriage is also a worthy sacramental life. Some who have seen the
seers’ houses regard these houses as unexceptional (although they have been
enlarged to help house pilgrims) and many view the visionaries as exemplary
Catholics. Also, it can be argues that not all those clerics and religious involved with the phenomena are, absent grace, able to resist the wiles of the Evil One.
******************************************************************
...so, are the good fruits, the conversions and
genuine piety seen at Medjugorje enough to validate the apparitions as the
fruits of grace?
I don’t know.
But, I’m going there in a few days time for a
week’s pilgrimage and, if I decide either way, I’ll let you know.
No comments:
Post a Comment