Jump to content

Medjugorje

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Wyglif (talk | contribs) at 21:42, 11 May 2007 (template repair). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

St. James Church

Međugorje ([ˈmɛdʑu.ɡɔːrjɛ], roughly meh’-joo-gor-yeh) is a small Catholic Parish in Bosnia-Herzegovina, consisting of five villages (Medjugorje, Bijakovići, Vionica, Miletina and Šurmanci), where the Blessed Virgin Mary has been reportedly appearing to six Croats since 24 June 1981.[1]

The seers' story

According to the Web site of the Medjurgorje Shrine:

On 24 June 1981, at about 6 pm, six young parishioners from Medjugorje: Ivanka Ivanković, Mirjana Dragićević, Vicka Ivanković, Ivan Dragićević, Ivan Ivanković and Marija Pavlović, saw on the hill Crnica (on the place called Podbrdo) an apparition, a white form with a child in her arms. Surprised and scared, they did not approach.
The next day at the same time, 25 June 1981, four of them, Ivanka Ivanković, Mirjana Dragićević, Vicka Ivanković and Ivan Dragicević, felt strongly drawn towards the place where, the day before, they saw the One who they had recognised as Our Lady or in Croatian, the Gospa. Marija Pavlović and Jakov Čolo joined them. The group of Medjugorje visionaries was formed. They prayed with Our Lady and talked to Her. From that day onward, they had daily apparitions, together or separately. Milka Pavlović and Ivan Ivanković have not seen Our Lady again to date.

The messages

They are based mainly on five cornerstone topics:

Daily Prayer (of the Rosary),
Fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays,
Daily reading of the Bible,
Monthly Confession,
Holy Communion.

The messages have been published in many languages on a Web site.

The following are examples: "Children, darkness reigns over the whole world. People are attracted by many things and they forget about the more important."

"Light won't reign in the world until people accept Jesus, until they live His words, which is the Word of the Gospel."

"Dear children, this is the reason for my presence among you for such a long time: to lead you on the path of Jesus. I want to save you and, through you, to save the whole world. Many people now live without faith; some don't even want to hear about Jesus, but they still want peace and satisfaction! Children, here is the reason why I need your prayer: prayer is the only way to save the human race" (30 July 1987).

The ten secrets

The Web site Overview of Medjugorje claims that, in addition to the messages, the Virgin Mary promised to confide to each of the six visionaries ten "secrets" on future events, some of which concern the whole world. To date, three visionaries, Mirjana, Ivanka, and Jakov report they have received all ten messages, while Ivan, Marija and Vicka say they have received nine. The six visionaries would eventually each know all ten secrets, but none has fully disclosed them except to announce that they include chastisements for the world and that they will begin during the lifetimes of the visionaries.

The visionaries have so far revealed only one of the "secrets": Our Lady has promised to leave a supernatural, indestructible, and visible sign on the mountain where she first appeared. She said: "This sign will be given for the atheists. You faithful already have signs and you have become the sign for the atheists. You faithful must not wait for the sign before you convert; convert soon. This time is a time of grace for you. You can never thank God enough for His grace. The time is for deepening your faith and for your conversion. When the sign comes, it will be too late for many."[2]

According to the same Web site, when all ten secrets have been revealed to each one of the six visionaries, Our Lady will stop appearing, and three warnings will be given to the world. After the three warnings, the permanent visible sign will be left on the mountain where Our Lady first appeared in Medjugorje. Those who are still alive will have little time for conversion. For that reason, the Blessed Virgin calls for urgent conversion and reconciliation. The permanent sign will lead to many healings and conversions before the messages become reality.

Controversy and official statements

Catholics are divided on the credibility of the alleged visions. Negative judgments, expressed early by the local Bishop, Pavao Zanić, have been voiced by writers such as Michael Davies and E.Michael Jones, who suggested, among many other objections, that the alleged apparitions may have been used by the local Franciscan Order to challenge the authority of the diocese.

The region in which Medjugorje lies is reported to have seen centuries of rivalry between members of the Franciscan Order, which runs the parish, and the diocesan hierarchy, in particular the Bishop of Mostar-Duvno, the diocese to which Medjugorje belongs (see The Truth about the 'Herzegovinian' Affair).


Ironically, it was the Bishop who initially supported Medjugorje, while the key Franciscan Father Jozo Zovko, OFM, was not convinced until, while praying in St James church, he received a message to "protect the children". Subsequently, both were called in by the communist secret police who gave orders to stop the "disorder". Father Jozo refused and was sent to jail for 3 years, but was released after one and a half years.[citation needed] [3][4][5] [failed verification]


After a period of silence, bishop Pavao Zanic actively joined in challenging what was happening in Medjugorje, writing two statements which he sought to publish to the world. He even edited two written statements directed at the whole world. 1. "The actual (unofficial) position of the Episcopal curit of Mostar in reference to the happenings of Medjugorje", 30th of October 1984; 2. "Medjugorje, 1990". [6]


In a letter of 25 March 1985 and a homily of 24 July 1987, Bishop Pavao Zanić adopted a negative position with regard to the alleged apparitions, provisionally forbidding, until a Commission of the Bishops' Conference completed an inquiry, "the priests who organize pilgrimages or come here ascribing a supernatural character to these events, to celebrate Mass in the territory of my diocese."[7]


In an official memorandum of the Vatican State Secretary Office No. 150.458, on the 1st of April 1985, Cardinal Casaroli charged Croatian Cardinal Franjo Kuharic to convey to bishop Zanic that he should "suspend the airing of his own personal statements and renounce making judgements, until such time as all the elements could be conclusively gathered together, and the happenings could be clarified", because bishop Zanic's statement, "The actual position..." had had considerable reverberations in the press. The bishop's hoped-for co-operation has scarcely been discernable and a number of web sites have been actively spreading his personal statements and opinions, creating confusion among the faithful - the very result the Vatican anticipated when it charged Cardinal Kuharic to convey this message to the bishop. [8]


Because Bishop Zanić referred the matter to the Episcopal Conference, responsibility passed to the conference that still included all the bishops of the already dismantling Yugoslavia. In 1991, it issued a statementknown as the Zadar Declaration, that said: "The bishops, from the very beginning, have been following the events of Medjugorje through the Bishop of the diocese, the Bishop's Commission and the Commission of the Bishops Conference of Yugoslavia on Medjugorje. On the basis of the investigations so far it cannot be affirmed that one is dealing with supernatural apparitions and revelations."


As a result of persisting confusion in the minds of the faithful, particularly as to the authority of the local bishop to forbid pilgrimages to Medjugorje and as to whether the bishop's opinions represented official Vatican opinion, inquiries were addressed to the Holy See. Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone (Secretary to the "Congregatio", presided over by Cardinal Ratzinger) Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith sent a reply on 26 July 1998, saying:

"What Bishop Peric (successor to Pavao Zanic) said in his letter to the Secretary General of "Famille Chretienne", declaring: "My conviction and my position is not only 'non constat de supernaturalitate (not proven to be supernatural),' but likewise, 'constat de non supernaturalitate' (proven to be not supernatural) of the apparitions or revelations in Medjugorje", should be considered the expression of the personal conviction of the Bishop of Mostar which he has the right to express as Ordinary of the place, but which is and remains his personal opinion."


Fr. Daniel-Ange (France) summarizes this way: [9]

  • The declarations of the Bishop of Mostar only reflect his personal opinion. Consequently, they are not an official and definitive judgement from the Church.[citation needed]
  • One is directed to the declaration of Zadar, which leaves the door open to future investigations. In the meanwhile private pilgrimages with pastoral accompaniment for the faithful are permitted.[citation needed]
  • In the meanwhile, all Catholics may go as pilgrims to Medjugorje.[citation needed]

EWTN's "Frequently Asked Questions" gives an ample account of the history of the question, avoiding any judgement for or against the authenticity of the alleged apparitions.

Scientific research on the visionaries

A number of scientific and medical investigations have been conducted on the visionaries in Medjugorje.

The international French-Italian scientific theological commission "On the extraordinary events that are taking place in Medjugorje" reportedly examined the apparitions of Medjugorje. The assembly of seventeen renowned natural scientists, medical doctors, psychiatrists and theologians published a 12-point "conclusion" on 14 January 1986 in Paina near Milan. The summary was that "one can conclude that after a deeper examination of the protagonists, facts, and their effects, not only in the local framework, but also in regard to the responsive chords of the Church in general, it is well for the Church to recognize the supernatural origin and, thereby, the purpose of the events in Medjugorje."

A French team headed by Mr. Henri Joyeux undertook a series of neurological tests, using EEG and EKG device to examine the internal reactions of the visionaries and the synchronization of their ocular, auditory, cardiac, and cerebral reactions before, during, and after the reported apparitions. They concluded from their readings that the object of observation is apparently external to the visionaries, and they excluded any external manipulation or mutual agreement between the visionaries. The results with individual electro-encephalograms and other reactions were collected and described in Joyeux's book, written with R. Laurentin, Etudes medicales et scientifique sur les Apparitions de Medjugorje (Paris, 1986)scientific report

The results of psychiatric investigations by the Institute for the Field Limits Of Science (IGW), the Innsbruck Centre For Study and Research on Psychophysiology of States of Consciousness, the European School of Hypnotic Psychotherapy Amisi of Milan, and the Parapsychology Center of Bologna, likewise concluded that the alleged visionaries showed no signs of pathological symptoms, and no stress other than appropriate for their unusual situation. They pointed out that there is a difference between a state of ecstasy induced by hypnosis and one which comes about spontaneously, and concluded that the alleged visionaries were not under any form of hypnosis.

Psychologist and skeptic Armando De Vincentiis analyzed some of the works of dr. Margnelli and dr. Gagliardi in his book " Estasi: Stimmate e altri fenomeni mistici " ( " Ecstasy: Stigmata and other mystical phenomena " available only in Italian, Avverbi 1999, Rome, page 118). According to De Vincentiis, about the similarity between ecstatic state and hypnotic state, " the conclusions of the two authors [ Margnelli and Gagliardi ] present several weak points" ( " Estasi: Stimmate e altri fenomeni mistici ", Avverbi 1999, Rome, page 63 ). Moreover, author De Vincentiis suggests that we should reconsider the role of hysteria ( a well-known psychopathology ) in all mystical experiences ( quoted work, pages 47 trough 49 ).

Full account of the works of the three committees on Medjugorje can be found here: http://www.skepticwiki.org/wiki/index.php/Virgin_of_Medjugorje

References

  1. ^ Overview of Medjugorje
  2. ^ In the Medjugorje apparitions, the word "convert" means to turn away from a life of sin, to mend one's ways and permanently change one's life to live in closer accord with the teachings of Jesus Christ. It is not directly about a religious conversion to the Roman Catholic Church.
  3. ^ http://www.medjugorje.org/localbishandmed.htm
  4. ^ http://www.gospa.com/pages/jozo.htm
  5. ^ http://www.medjugorje.org/wmednow.htm
  6. ^ http://www.medjugorje.org/localbishandmed.htm
  7. ^ Bishop Zanić's letter and homily
  8. ^ http://www.medjugorje.org/localbishandmed.htm
  9. ^ http://www.medjugorje.org/newletter.htm

See also

43°11′41″N 17°40′48″E / 43.19472°N 17.68000°E / 43.19472; 17.68000

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Medjugorje&oldid=130190622"