The Sat Report: Trying to make sense of the Vatican's Medjugorje mess
In the words of Tucho Fernández "the time has come to conclude a long and complex history that has surrounded the spiritual phenomena of Medjugorje"
This week we will have two Sat Reports, the one today analysing the Vatican’s declaration on Medjugorje, and another on early next week previewing the Holy Father’s Apostolic Visit to Belgium. I am aware that my opinions on Medjugorje are going to upset many people.
So, when the Vatican unexpectedly announced on Monday that it would hold a press conference later in the week on the “spiritual experience of Medjugorje,” it unleashed a flurry of activity in Catholic circles that very few other things to related to the Church could. Medjugorje is a global phenomenon, and is not confined to a Bosnian hillside parish, where millions of people have visited in the intervening 40 years since it is alleged that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to 6 people, five of whom were children. Medjugorje has entered the Catholic zeitgeist and is a truly international. I mean, as an example, one of the seers receives a yearly apparition in St. Stephen Cathedral in Vienna, where even the Cardinal Archbishop would be present. I think Covid may have but a stop to that, like it did temporality to the daily apparitions in Medjugorje itself, but I digress. Medjugorje is not without controversy due to a number of troubling aspects, from the questionable personal morality of the seers, threats of the seers against the local bishop, some heterodox and imbecilic messages alleged from the Blessed Virgin, and the fact that one of the early proponents of the apparitions, a local Franciscan priest impregnated a nun, later married her and was laicized.
On Thursday, September 19, the Vatican made two pronouncements on the Medjugorje phenomena, the first being that Pope Francis granted Medjugorje a “nulla osta” statue, meaning there is ‘no impediment’ to devotion to Our Lady, Queen of Peace, and that the Dicastery of the Doctrine for the Faith gave a “nihil obstat”, to the alleged phenomena. On the later, nihil obstat is the highest level of approval that the Vatican can give to alleged supernatural phenomena according the latest norm which came into place on May 18th of this year. Curiously, these same norms deliberately avoid answering the question as to whether these alleged phenomena are supernatural, they do however have the option to state whether they are not. So, we have the ridiculous situation where the Vatican has given its highest level of approval to Medjugorje, at same being at pains to clearly and repeatedly state that this is not in any way an approval of the supernatural natural origin of the alleged apparitions, nor an approval of the supernatural origin of the messages.
These norms were tailor made as a solution to the Church’s Medjugorje problem, and for completeness here are current categories into which alleged supernatural phenomena fall:
Nihil obstat – Without expressing any certainty about the supernatural authenticity of the phenomenon itself, many signs of the action of the Holy Spirit are acknowledged “in the midst” of a given spiritual experience, and no aspects that are particularly critical or risky have been detected, at least so far. For this reason, the Diocesan Bishop is encouraged to appreciate the pastoral value of this spiritual proposal, and even to promote its spread, including possibly through pilgrimages to a sacred site.
Prae oculis habeatur – Although important positive signs are recognized, some aspects of confusion or potential risks are also perceived that require the Diocesan Bishop to engage in a careful discernment and dialogue with the recipients of a given spiritual experience. If there were writings or messages, doctrinal clarification might be necessary.
Curatur – While various or significant critical elements are noted, at the same time, the phenomenon has already spread widely, and there are verifiable spiritual fruits connected to it. In this situation, a ban that could upset the People of God is not recommended. Nevertheless, the Diocesan Bishop is asked not to encourage this phenomenon but to seek out alternative expressions of devotion and possibly reorient its spiritual and pastoral aspects.
Sub mandato – In this category, the critical issues are not connected to the phenomenon itself, which is rich in positive elements, but to a person, a family, or a group of people who are misusing it. For instance, the spiritual experience may be exploited for particular and undue financial gain, committing immoral acts, or carrying out a pastoral activity apart from the one already present in the ecclesiastical territory without accepting the instructions of the Diocesan Bishop. In this situation, the pastoral leadership of the specific place where the phenomenon is occurring is entrusted to the Diocesan Bishop (or to another person delegated by the Holy See), who, if unable to intervene directly, will try to reach a reasonable agreement.
Prohibetur et obstruatur – While there are legitimate requests and some positive elements, the critical issues and risks associated with this phenomenon appear to be very serious. Therefore, to prevent further confusion or even scandal that could erode the faith of ordinary people, the Dicastery asks the Diocesan Bishop to declare publicly that adherence to this phenomenon is not allowed. At the same time, the Diocesan Bishop is asked to offer a catechesis that can help the faithful understand the reasons for the decision and reorient the legitimate spiritual concerns of that part of the People of God.
Declaratio de non supernaturalitate – In this situation, the Dicastery authorizes the Diocesan Bishop to declare that the phenomenon is found to be not supernatural. This decision must be based on facts and evidence that are concrete and proven. For instance, if an alleged visionary admits to having lied or if credible witnesses provide elements of proof that allow one to discover that the phenomenon was based on fabrication, an erroneous intention, or mythomania.
Petar Palić, Bishop of Mostar-Duvno, the ordinary of where the parish of Medjugorje is located also released his own statement. In a press conference yesterday, he stated clearly that there are no plans to elevate the Parish Church to a Shrine.
TL; DR, the Vatican has approved public devotion to the phenomena of Medjugorje, specifically under the title of Our Lady, Queen of Peace, without in anyway approving the supernatural origin of the phenomena. It approved the [most] messages, without in anyway approving that alleged messages are of supernatural origin. The events are not approved, and the seers are to be avoided by the faithful. Did I mention that despite all this the Vatican has approved the public devotion to Medjugorje, with the highest level of approval according to the criteria set out in its recently updated norms. Yes, I know it sounds insane, but here we are.
Before I continue with what the Vatican did and did not say on Medjugorje, I will just state where I stand on it. I do not believe Our Lady has ever appeared in Medjugorje. I do not believe that the first half-dozen apparitions are credible as the Ruini Report outlined. I think the messages are fake, most of them are imbecilic. I believe the seers or visionaries are charlatans, though there probably are other things going on. As to why they fabricated this lie and then perpetuate it with claims of ongoing daily apparitions, well there are financial, geopolitical, and ethnic reasons, that I will not go into.
That is my opinion, you are free to disagree. The first question many would ask me, as was reasonably asked of Victor Manuel Cardinal Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Andrea Tornielli, Editorial Director of the Dicastery for Communication, at the Press Conference on Thursday, is have I been to Medjugorje? The answer is no. Tucho Fernández and Tornielli have been there once each, with the later been a strong proponent of Medjugorje, notably leaking the contents of the Ruini Reports, after Pope Francis ridiculed the phenomena on his flight back from Fatima in 2017. Tornielli, who is the Vatican’s official spin doctor, published a piece for Vatican News on the Vatican’s announcement, praising it as an example of Pope Francis’ pastoral approach, showing his “shepherd’s heart.”
I know of and have heard from many people who have derived much spiritual benefit from visiting Medjugorje. I have even witnessed a bona fide medical miracle that the person and his family believe to have been through the intercession of Our Lady of Medjugorje. There are many such stories of similar miracles. I do not doubt their sincerity. Miracles do happen through prayer, and one must have the courage to ask God, through the intercession of the saints, and trust in His infinite goodness. What I believe has happened here is that pious Catholics have built a devotion, though laudable as it, on lies told and perpetuated by the seers, the local Franciscans, which has snowballed into something far greater than I think they ever thought possible.
“The Queen of Peace”: Note About the Spiritual Experience Connected with Medjugorje
Before I continue, the note, all almost 10,000 words of it, can be read in full, in various languages here. It is extremely long and detailed. In addition to this Vatican news published a timeline with the entire history of what happened, the Vatican’s involvement through the decades and how it reached it’s final conclusion. The 2-hour Press Conference that accompanied the publication of the note can viewed here in the original Italian and Croat. I have embedded the Press Conference with an on-the-spot English translation below:
The note begins with the authoritative statement, “the time has come to conclude a long and complex history that has surrounded the spiritual phenomena of Medjugorje.” Well contrary to what the Vatican wants to conclude, if the seers are claiming to see and receive messages from the Blessed Virgin Mary on the daily, this is wishful thinking to say the least. The Vatican then explicitly outlines that this not does “not imply a judgment about the moral life of the alleged visionaries. Additionally, when recognizing an action of the [Holy] Spirit for the good of the People of God “in the midst of” a spiritual experience, present from its beginnings until now, we should remember that the charismatic gifts (gratiae gratis datae) that may be connected to that experience do not necessarily require those involved to have moral perfection.” Reading between the lines, the Vatican is admitting that there are serious red flags surrounding the moral life of the alleged visionaries. The Vatican should state this plainly, this kind of obscivation doesn’t help anyone. The note later goes on to explicitly state that “the people who go to Medjugorje be strongly advised that pilgrimages are not made to meet with alleged visionaries.” So, one hand, the Vatican says by all means visit Medjugorje, but on the other hand avoid the woman who claims to have a public daily apparition of Our Lady, the apparitions of which are the foundation for this devotion in the first place. One of the many contradictions in this document, where the Vatican has contorted itself in such a way as to not offend the earnest Medjugorje devotees, because the Holy Father has a true “shepherd’s heart.”
On the messages, the note clearly outlines that “when we consider the overall set of messages tied to this spiritual experience, some people believe that certain messages contain contradictions or are connected with the desires or interests of the alleged visionaries or others. It cannot be ruled out that this may have happened in the case of a few messages. This reminds us that the Norms of this Dicastery state that such phenomena “at times appear connected to confused human experiences, theologically inaccurate expressions, or interests that are not entirely legitimate” (Norms, par. 14).”
The Vatican then does on to list the many fruits that have come out of the Medjugorje phenomena - pilgrims increasing in their own spiritual life, lapsed Catholics reverting to the faith, vocations to the priesthood and religious life - before quoting from a selection of messages alleged given by the Blessed Virgin Mary over the last 40 years to show the orthodoxy of the phenomena. On the latter, the note admits “the messages overall possess great value and express the constant teachings of the Gospel in different words. However, a few messages stray from these positive and edifying contents and even seem to go so far as to contradict them. As a result, one should be attentive lest these few confused elements overshadow the beauty of the whole”, before repeating once again that “when one recognizes an action of the Holy Spirit in the midst of a spiritual experience, it does not mean that everything belonging to that experience is thereby free from all imprecisions, imperfections, and areas of possible confusion. Once again, one should remember that these phenomena may “at times appear connected to confused human experiences, theologically inaccurate expressions, or interests that are not entirely legitimate” (Norms, par. 14). This does not exclude the possibility of “some error of a natural order, not due to bad intentions, but to the subjective perception of the phenomenon” (ibid., art. 15, 2°).”
What then follows is a list of questionable, confusing, and heterodox messages that are allegedly from the Blessed Virgin Mary, touching on threats and reprimands, ‘Mary’ trying to exert control on the parish, and the title of mediatrix. One of the criticisms outlined by the note is that the ‘Mary’ cannot replace the parish council or the synodal work of the community; “Our Lady’s messages cannot replace the ordinary role of the parish priest, the pastoral council, and the synodal work of the community regarding decisions that are the subject of communal discernment, through which the parish matures in prudence, fraternal listening, respect for others, and dialogue.” I had to read that paragraph twice, and then chuckle to myself due to the absurdity of ‘Mary’ wanting to replace the salt of the earth boomer ladies that tireless work in the parish, who dominate parish life the world over, and the framing that this is clearly heterodox because it goes against synodality.
The Vatican notes ends with a list of conclusions that can be summarized, as “while this does not imply a declaration of the supernatural character of the phenomenon in question (cf. Norms, art. 22, §2)—and recalling that the faithful are not obliged to believe in it—the Nihil obstat indicates that the faithful can receive a positive encouragement for their Christian life through this spiritual proposal, and it authorizes public acts of devotion”, before immediately repeating “the positive assessment that most of the messages of Medjugorje are edifying does not imply a declaration that they have a direct supernatural origin. Consequently, when referring to “messages” from Our Lady, one should always bear in mind that they are “alleged messages.”” So yes, most messages are good and can be read by the faithful, however these messages explicitly claim to be of supernatural origin, but the Vatican does not pass judgement as to whether they are of supernatural origin. Madness
Now after explicitly saying that these are “alleged messages”, the Vatican concludes its own note thus “Let us read one last message, which summarizes the valuable Christocentric sense of the message of Medjugorje and manifests its most authentic spirit:
“Dear children, my words are simple [...]. I am calling you to my Son. Only he can transform despair and suffering into peace and serenity. Only he can give hope in the deepest sorrows. My Son is the life of the world. The more you come to know him, the closer you come to him, and all the more will you love him because my Son is Love. Love changes everything; even that which seems insignificant to you apart from love is made most beautiful by love.” (2 September 2018).”
Even the Vatican can’t be consistent in trying to frame these messages as “alleged messages.”
My final thoughts
We have the absurd situation where the current norms of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith for proceeding in the discernment of alleged supernatural phenomena, allows the Vatican to completely ignore the key question as to whether these phenomena are in fact supernatural, and to instead only rule on spiritual fruits of said phenomena. No word on whether the apparitions were (are) true, no judgement on the alleged seers and no approval as whether the messages indeed came from the Blessed Virgin Mary, whilst at the same time allowing these messages to be read by the faithful for spiritual benefit.
I can only assume Tucho Fernández thinks this is another example of his omega level logic. We are not blessing relationships we are blessing couples in relationships.
Our religion is the one true faith, founded by God himself on the truth, the truth that God became man. The truth that Jesus Christ, the second person of the Most Blessed Trinity, was crucified, died, buried, and rose from the dead. This is not a myth, all these things happened. Medjugorje was founded on too many lies, that make ascertaining any truth from it near enough impossible. This devotion to Our Lady, Queen of Peace, was founded on a myth, and doing so does much damage to the rationality of Catholicism, which is one of its great strengths. I fear the Vatican’s careless handling of the situation is a mistake, one that will have many unforeseen consequences, and sets an extremely dangerous precedent.
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