Medjugorje

Medjugorje

For any that don’t know Medjugorje is a small village in Bosnia where the Blessed Virgin Mary has allegedly been appearing over the past 25 years with a total of over 35,000 individual apparitions and messages. Millions of people have visited this place (most of whom probably against the Church’s strict teaching, although most likely without realising it).

I’ve written this blog to discuss the Church’s position on Medjugorje and how the faithful should react to it according to the Church’s teachings - if there are errors please correct me and I will be more than happy to make any necessary changes.
 

So is the Virgin Mary really appearing at Medjugoje?

Perhaps a little disappointing to hear but the answer today is maybe yes, maybe no. As faithful Catholics it is not our job to judge the worthiness of apparitions since only the Church has this authority.

Therefore those who believe it ardently and those who have large doubts should both do so with care, particularly in how they present the alleged apparitions to other. Those who believe it should NOT preach it as though it were a truth, for example they should make clear that the "apparitions" have not been verified by the Church, and in the future should be prepared to humbly reject their own private view should the Church condemn the apparitions at some point in the future. Conversely, those who do not believe in the alleged apparitions should also be open to the Church’s authority on the matter. Although at no point in the future will anybody ever be required to actually believe the apparitions since the Church can only declare that apparitions are “worthy of belief” and as such can never be declared as Dogma but rather fall under the category of private revelation. Examples of apparitions deemed worthy of belief include Fatima, Lourdes and Knock.

Are Catholics allowed to make pilgrimages to Medjugorje?

Yes and no, it would depend on what you mean by pilgrimage. Any Catholic is free to make a pilgrimage to any Catholic parish in the world and therefore Catholics are free to travel to Medjugorje. According to the Church a pilgrimage can be made to Medjugorje in the same way as you would take a pilgrimage to your own local Church, another Church in your own city or any other city for that matter – in the eyes of the Church there is nothing “special” about Medjugorje, it is simply a parish like any other and Catholics are free to visit.

Whilst Catholics are free to travel to any parish this free however comes with certain conditions so as not to place our own authority on these matters above the Church.

1)      First of all, since the Church hasn’t made a decision on the alleged apparitions no pilgrimage can be organised at a parish or diocesis level and can only be of a private nature. This means that Medjugorje should never be mentioned or promoted in an official way and as such should never be mentioned during homilies, the Mass etc. to do so would be a grave disobedience against the Church.

2)      Any pilgrimage made to Medjugorje cannot be made should it be an affirmation that the Virgin Mary is indeed appearing there as the Church has not made a decision on the events and we do not have the authority to declare it worthy of belief, only Holy Mother Church does. In the same vain it is also worth nothing that a pilgrimage cannot be made to investigate and see if it is indeed true or not, again we do not have this authority.

3)      The journey should only be based on prayer and the Sacraments and be unrelated to the alleged private apparitions that are taking place – making a pilgrimage on the basis of the Virgin appearing is not allowed if your visit is an affirmation that she is appearing. Doing this can cause great confusion within the Church and can cause divisions among the faithful.

I’ve already booked my trip, what should I do?

Go but with great caution and not allow yourself to be swept up by events there. Certainly you’ll encounter a great number of believers there, maybe some with great conversion stories or possible miracles, but remember that this doesn’t prove there is any supernatural Marian related activity (we should remember that even the devil himself can perform miracles).

In any case the place is holy because the sacraments are celebrated there with frequency. Before departing read up on the issues, read the local Bishop’s pronouncements (links below) regarding these matters and just be on your guard reminding yourself of the Church’s authority on determining the events. Go and enjoy your trip, pray, be open to the Lord, but remember the rules that the Church has put in place regarding pilgrimages and adhere to them. They are there for a reason.

The Bishop said “Therefore I responsibly call upon those who claim themselves to be “seers”, as well as those persons behind the “messages”, to demonstrate ecclesiastical obedience and to cease with these public manifestations and messages in this parish. In this fashion they shall show their necessary adherence to the Church, by neither placing private “apparitions” nor private sayings before the official position of the Church.” And this is how we should act – with obedience to the Church authorities and remember that our allegiance will always be with Holy Mother Church and the local Ordinary above any seer or alleged private apparition.

How should we respond to firm believers?

With charity and love. They may have indeed had a great conversion to Christ and we should give thanks for this. However if someone preaches the apparition as a fact, that it must be believed or possibly even that it has been approved by the Church (or certainly will be in the future), simply point out that as Catholics we believe that only the Church has the authority to declare whether the apparitions are worthy of believe and it is not their place to decide this. Remind them too that as such they should not preach that the Virgin is appearing there as though it were a truth and that they too should be open to the Church’s final decision and judgement on the matter on the “supernatural” developments. This of course, also applies to any firm non-believers that you may encounter, whom are also numerous.

Do conversions and good fruits mean that Mary really is appearing?

The majority of people that have gone to the place that I know have come back strengthened in their faith, reporting an atmosphere of peace there which they haven’t experienced before. Praise God that their faith has been strengthened! Any step towards God is a great thing. It should be noted that a “feeling” or even a strong conversion is no evidence however that the Virgin is appearing. History tells us as much. We have seen similar things in Garabanchel and Palmar de Troya over the past 40 years and both of these places whilst not condemned have been declared as having “nothing supernatural”. Indeed in the latter example there were huge conversions which unfortunately ended with someone declaring himself the Pope; a disaster for the Church and all those involved which causes a great loss of faith. With this in mind we should all be wary of events at Medjugorje, and not presume that because there are conversions (even miracles – although none have been proven) that this constitutes proof of the apparition.

How should Catholics respond to the messages of the Medjugorje?

Again with great caution since the Church has not made any official pronouncement. It should be noted that no private revelation is ever part of the deposit of faith; it can only help one to lead a more Christian life. There has been no new revelation since the death of the last Apostle and as such the messages of Medjugorje (or any other private revelation) do not add to what Catholics are required to believe. The messages of Medjugorje should be read with caution and never above the doctrine of Holy Mother Church which must always take precedent over personal belief and feelings. If a message of Medjugorje conforms to the Church’s teaching then it is fine, if it goes against the Church’s teaching it should be discarded as heresy. It should also be noted that conformity to the Church’s teaching in some messages in no way verifies the apparitions.

As Catholics we should also be cautious of the huge publicity train that comes from Medjugorje and as there are many half truths and falsehoods that have been told. A perfect example of this would be the "messages", "comments" and "special blessings" from the Pope´s that have never been verified by the Vatican. Their origins are unknown.

Conclusion

As Catholic, faithful to Holy Mother Church, we must proceed as Catholics with great caution regarding Medjugorje, especially since both Bishops (Zanic and Peric) under whose control falls Medjugorje have rejected the alleged apparitions since they were claimed to have begun.

Whether you believe or not they should be humble with regard to the Church’s pronouncement and we must always remember that it is not our place to judge these alleged apparitions and for believers especially not to place their judgement above that of the Church.e

Statement by the Bishop regarding the events at Medjugorje:

http://www.cbismo.com/index.php?menuID=98

http://www.cbismo.com/files/file/ZanicMedj_May1990.pdf

http://medjugorjedocuments.blogspot.com.es/