dlm@cci632.cci.com (Don Muench) (01/22/91)
Please post the following for me....
I wish to quote an article by John Thavis of Catholic News Service, which
appeared in the Idaho register, 7 December 1990. Here it is:
ROME - Yugoslavian bishops heard a report from a commission investigating
the alleged Marian apparitions at Medjugorje, but decided not to issue an
immediate statement on the controversial events there.
The Yugoslavian bishops' conference held the special session Nov. 27-28 in
Zagreb, Yugoslavia, for an in-depth discussion of the developments at
Medjugorje. At the start of the meeting, the bishops said that they were going
to hear evidence and, if necessary, publish pastoral direcctives for priests
and faithful who wish to visit the site in western Yugoslavia.
After the meeting ended, however, the bishops' conference said it would not
issue pastoral norms at this time.
A source in Rome said the decision reflected the delicate nature of the
conflict at Medjugorje, which has pitted the local Bishop against the
Franciscan pastors who guide the young visionaries.
The reported apparitions began in 1981 when six children claimed they were
having daily visions of Mary. Since then, Medjugorje supporters say, Mary's
appearances have continued on a regular basis.
Most members of a diocesan investigative panel concluded that the events were
not supernatural, but their report was never published. At the Vatican's
request, a nationwide commission of Yugoslavian church and medical experts was
convened in 1987 to further study the Mdjugorje events. This commission
presented an extensive report to the bishops at their latest meeting in Zagreb.
Bishop Pavao Zanic of Mostar-Duvno, the diocese that includes Medjugorje, said
in a telephone interview Nov. 30 that the bishops would publish a statement on
the events at a later time. He said that he had attended the meeting, but
could not comment on what was discussed.
Bishop Zanic has complained for years about the influx of pilgrims to
Medjugorje. he has also questioned the authenticity of the alleged apparations.
In 1984 and 1987, the Yugoslavian bishops asked for an end to organized church
pilgrimages to Medjugorje. Their statements were published by the Vatican
newspapaer, L'Osservatore Romano.
The ban on church-organized pilgrimages was reiterated last May in a letter
>From Cardinal Joseph ratzinger, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of
the Faith, to Bishop Josef Stimpfle of Augsburg, Germany.
Cardinal Ratzinger, noting that a German group was organizing Medjugorje
pilgrimages under the spiritual leadership of priests, told the bishop that
the rules against such initiatives "are still valid".
Pilgrims, including many priests, continue to flock to Medjugorje from around
the world.
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Don Muench Phone: (716) 385-8155
Dept. of Math. & Comp. Sci. E-mail: uunet!uupsi!cci632!sjfc!dlm
St. John Fisher College or sjfc!dlm@cci.com
Rochester, NY 14618-9987 Fax: (716) 385-8129
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