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Published: November 19, 2009
Now That It Has Been Leaked
Cardinal Schönborn’s Will Visit Medjugorje
 Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Nov 16 (CNA) - Cardinal Christoph Schönborn will visit Medjugorje, the small town in Bosnia-Herzegovina where six young people have allegedly been witnesses of apparitions from the Virgin Mary. But according to the Archdiocese of Vienna, the trip is “completely private” and does not imply a statement from the cardinal on the veracity of the apparitions.
“It was supposed to be a completely private visit, it was not supposed to go out to the internet,” Father Johannes Fürnkranz, personal secretary to the Archbishop of Vienna, explained to CNA.
The cardinal’s visit will take place between December 8th and January 4th.
“The cardinal's visit was supposed to be absolutely personal and not public, but since it has been leaked, I can only confirm that it will take place. There is no statement whatsoever involved (in the visit),” Fr. Fürnkranz told CNA.
The local Church authorities, including Bishop Ratko Peric, whose diocese encompasses Medjugorje, have declared that the alleged apparitions are not to be published or promoted.
Bishop Peric has reaffirmed the official statement of his predecessor, Bishop Pavao Zanic, who in July 1987 wrote to the pastor of Medjugorje:
“I demand from you that you remove the 'visionaries' from public display and put an end to their 'visions' in the parish church. They have had 'visions' in Mostar, and earlier in Sarajevo, Visoko and Dubrovnik. Let them now have them at their homes: people say that they had them at their homes during 1981... You must stop talking about apparitions and also cease publicizing messages. The devotions that grew out of the 'apparitions' and their messages must be eliminated, sales of souvenirs and printed material which propagate the 'apparitions' must also stop.”
In June 2009, Bishop Peric addressed the parish in Medjugorje and insisted that “the presumed daily apparitions, known as the 'phenomenon of Medjugorje,' have not been declared as authentic by the Church. Not even after the investigations of various commissions nor after 28 years of media hype. Therefore, brothers and sisters, we cannot behave as if these 'apparitions' are authentic and approved.”
Nevertheless, 22 years later, the popularity of Medjugorje as a Marian destination for pilgrims remains.
Speaking on background, an official at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith told CNA that the Roman dicastery remains behind the bishops of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
“The local bishops have the ultimate authority on this matter, and their arguments against the alleged apparitions are doctrinally solid,” the official said.
Asked if Medjugorje should not be judged by its fruits of many conversions and vocations to the Church, the official responded: “It is not the duty of this Dicastery to make a pastoral assessment, but a doctrinal one. But regarding the argument, it can equally be argued that God can write straight with crooked lines, just as it has been proven in several previous occasions with patently false apparitions.”
Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 12:27 AM By Jay S.
I wonder what E. Michael Jones will say about this. . .
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 4:54 AM By 4unborn
For the Vatican to now come out with a negative position on Medjugorje would be divisive. Also, they will look like fools when the secrets start to be revealed.
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 9:13 AM By Annie
Recently read a book on Medjugorge. Have never believed in the apparitions myself, but wanted to learn what someone who investigated every aspect of them had to say. Author researched every facet, compared the apparitions with all the other authenticated apparitions of Our Lady. Bottom line: Medjugorge is false, has put the message of Fatima into the shadows; has not been promulgated recently as much as it has in the past. Do we ever hear about the Five First Saturdays any more? Nope. A few priests in our diocese believe that it's possible Our Lady did appear a few times at the beginning. The continuation of her alleged visits has enriched that area; there has been much disobedience on the part of some priests. And for the see-ers to claim that Our Lady said to pay no attention to the bishop, to continue to promote her "visits." Incredible. The lives of the see-ers have been vastly different from the children of Fatima, Bernadette, etc. They live very comfortable lives in expensive homes, drive expensive cars. Medjugorge seems to be more of an emotional attachment than anything else. Promoters do not want to use the faculty of reason. Rosaries turning to gold is NOT an authentic sign of a genuine apparition. Ultimately the followers believe what they want, and the evidence is not to be considered. We must go back to Fatima and re-read the story, read Sr. Lucia's books on Fatima, fulfill Our Lady's reqests, and especially see the new movie that is coming soon. Fortunately the Church does not depend upon "feelings" when making a judgment, and the local bishop DOES have the final authority. Neither the late Holy Father, John Paul the Great, nor Benedict XVI have approved of the apparitions; they could not because again, it is up to the local bishop to declare the authenticity of any apparition. People still follow Bayside and others that have been condemned by local authorities.
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 9:24 AM By John
It took 13 years after the Events for Fatima to be approved. There were a lot of clergy against it but God and Our Lady prevailed. The same thing will happen at Medjugorje and Garabandal. Both site and their message will be approved after the Events have taken place. In the mean time it is allowed for us to go on pilgrimages there along with a priest or bishop as spiritual guide. As Our Lady said: "Pray, pray, pray!" "Think about the Passion of Jesus."
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 9:29 AM By Eric
All of Our lady's approved apparitions are short and to the point. The ones that linger for years end up being condemded by the Church, ie: Bayside. The message from Medugorje that changed my mind years ago was,"the holiest woman in the town is a muslim woman." Holiness, true holiness can only be achieved throuh the one true Church, and who would be the one who knows this the most? Yes, Our Blessed Mother. And all of the people that Our Lady truly appeared to lead Holy and pious lives; most of these "children" are driving fancy cars and are always on whirlwind tours loving the spotlight. It is fake!!!
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 10:32 AM By OneoftheSheep
Having visited this little village twice, I am desiring to return. My most recent visit resulted in healing of sleep apnea, high blood pressure and I am now off two of my prescriptions. PTL.
I am at home in Medjugorje as I walk the fields, visit the grave of Father Slavko, attend Mass and pray the rosary at St. James and on Apparition Hill. I love climbing Cross Mountain, visiting Cenacolo Community, the Community of the Beatitudes or hearing Sr. Emmanuel speak. Being blessed by Vicka as she prays over the pilgrims, being present at the Appartions...my prayers come so easily in Medjugorje.
Got to love those fruits, folks!!
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:04 AM By pete
It was reported yesterday that the condemned apparitions in Lipa Philippines in the early '40's to a Carmelite novice were REVERSED by the present bishop. Like the ordinaries of Mostar, back then an authoritarian bishop vehemently rejected something that is mysterious and requires supernatural rather than just rational discernment. Of course, the two first criterion are 1) nothing contrary to Catholic doctrine--Medjugorye passes that one; 2) good fruits -- also undeniable. The Bishops of the place must be listened to,but they are NOT infallible AND NEITHER ARE THE DICASTERIES OF THE VATICAN. which for decades got it wrong on St. Faustyna and Divine Mercy; were obtuse on Ruanda,-- even the popes on Fatima have failed to follow the simple directions of the Blessed Mother to avoid WWII. NOWHERE IS IT TAUGHT THAT THE PRACTICAL DISCERNMENTS OF THE BISHOPS OR THE POPE HIMSELF ARE INFALLIBLE. (Just consider the VERY imprudent decisions of post Vat. II liturgical implementations of the Council's directives on rearranging and rewriting EVERY ceremony of the Church, for starters) The PRESUMPTION must be to give the authorities the benefit of the doubt UNLESS there is obvious bias. The Vatican in the case of Medjugorje has REMOVED the case from not only the Bishop of Mostar BUT EVEN FROM THE NATIONAL HIERARCHY PRECISELY FOR THIS REASON! (btw, if you were at Fatima in 1917 you do not have to wait a dozen or more years for the Vatican to decide it was supernatural to see the truth of source of the "phenomenon".
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:16 AM By mark waterinckx
No, 4unborn, not the Vatican will be divisive, but the 'seers' and franciscans in Medjugorje which are disobedient from the beginning.
What happened to the 3 principal manipulators in Med.? :
1° Fr. Slavko Barbaric died in disobedience in Med. , where it was forbidden for him to stay there by his bishop.
2° Fr. Jozo Zovko has been suspended 3x and is now banned far from Med.by the Vatican
3° Fr. Tomislav Vlasic is reduced to the lay-status by the pope himself because of disobedience, false mysticism, dubious doctrine,etc.
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 12:44 PM By True Catholic
It is shocking to think that this Cardinal has been mentioned as future papal material. The bishops in the area, and especially Bishop Ratko Peric who has jurisdiction over Medjugorje, have declared that there is nothing supernatural proven there. They have asked that there not be "pilgrimages" to the site. Why is Cardinal Schonborn not honoring collegiality in this matter? He can say all he wants about the "private" visit - but he is a world-known Catholic and is giving horrible example to those many millions of Catholics who have fallen prey to the false apparitions, and to the jet-setting "seers" who travel around the world takng their "visions" with them for command performances.
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 1:08 PM By JLS
pete, why do you require an appartion? All that any of the credible apparitions ever say is to bolster what the Magisterium has always said. There are no new revelations, not since the death of the last Apostle, John.
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 1:19 PM By Chuck Anziulewicz
The word you're looking for is "pareidolia." Google it, or look it up on Wikipedia.
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 1:49 PM By WOODY GUIDRY
WE REALLY NEED help- if we consider the hundreds, yes,many hundreds, of apparitions that could, at best, be PRIVATE REVELATION THE TRAGEDY IS that NO private revelation is bound to be believed by the faithful-NOT EVEN THE ROSARY. Shocked? I personally believe in some miracles, having been to Lourdes and having been sort of slammed to my knees by physical evidence. The Church has been blessed by authentic miracles throughout our history when God's mercy has seen it was good to send them.
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 7:22 PM By Angelo
A friend of mine went to Medjugorge recently. Came back somwhat perturbed. He liked the idea of the nonstop opportunity for Confession. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. He found alot of things at that parish very good.
The part that he wondered about was the fact that every group of pilgrims is entertained to an apparition from Our Lady. In the apparition especially performed for his group, Our Lady allegedly calls on everyone to pray "all the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary daily." Pope John Paul ll added five mysteries to the Rosary, so there are 20 mysteries. So much disobedience to Church authority at Medjugorge. They even have Our Lady defying the Holy Father. When the Church investigates a private revelation. The first test that the revelation must pass is the Virtue of Obedience. And thus far Medjugorje is the bastion of disobedience.
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 7:24 PM By 1abqdad
My doctor went t the urging of one of his patients. He HAD been a believer, until he spent some time near there during the conflict as an ER doctor and surgeon. He felt that if there had been some type of "miracle", it was falsely manipulated after the fact. The length of time is highly questionable. The behavior of the "see-ers" is highly suspect. The "message" is confusing. The bottom line is that we have enough legitimate apparitions to establish God's desires for man. The "message" in this case just seems "man-made"... I do not have a problem with any church leader independently investigating the site. This seems to be the case. It is being blown out of proportion.
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 9:16 PM By victoriag
I have never been to Medjugorje, but I do know Catholics who have visited there. I know these people to be sound, level headed, nonhysterical; which is why I BELIEVE them when they say they witnessed TRUE Miracles. Sadly it often seems that the People In The Pews have more Faith in the Goodness and Kindness of Our Beloved Blessed Mother than do the Vatican Red Hats.
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Posted Thursday, November 19, 2009 11:29 PM By JLS
A friend is on his third visit to Medjugorge. Last time I asked him if he witnessed a miracle. He said he had a cold when he left L.A. and not when he returned. I have heard one man testify that his sister had cancer when she went there and then it was gone. Miracles do not prove legitimacy. The bishops there are aware of the factors, and none of them validate the apparations. Jesus informs us that the devil can appear as an angel of light. We should know that afflictions can be cured and healed by magicians ... such as Simon Magus who followed Jesus around (or was it St Peter?) and healed people. Immune systems respond to a person's mood. Faith heals people according to Jesus. Lourdes has a solid tradition of miracles and testimony of them ... yet how many of those miracles are authenticated as divine miracles? Not that many. So, even if there are miracles at Medjugorge, what is the rest of the evidence, the rest of the story? I have witnessed true miracles although they have always been "small" so that they seem humdrum. I have heard and read testimony of many who have witnessed true miracles, yet these did not occur at shrines. I have read some of the testimony of the seers and there are problems with what they say. There is a complete difference between what and how they say stuff and what one finds with Lourdes, Fatima, Guadalupe, Scripture. It takes sufficient discernment to see the issues and not everyone has that discernment; this is why we have bishops. They do not always see the issues, but the Church is guaranteed, and so we have to wait to find out sometimes. Afflicted people waited for years at the pool of Siloam (has another name also, maybe Bethsaida) for healing, even though there was none until Jesus arrived. They were faithful and eventually their faith was fulfilled by God. There is far more to religion than just going and being healed. If you want some real potent religion, then visit St Pio, and other saints if you dare.
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Posted Friday, November 20, 2009 4:39 AM By 4unborn
No, mark, the seers in Medjugorje are not disobedient. Have you been to Medjugorje? It changed the lives of my wife and me.
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Posted Friday, November 20, 2009 2:10 PM By Angelo
Only recently the Bishop that oversees Medjugorge with backup from the Vatican. Gave direct orders that the alleged seers stop deceiving the people, and has barred them from entering the Church in Medjugore. I think the Church has given its official position. We don't need the Holy Father to bend over backwards and declare something ex-cathedra. here. Either we obey legitimate Church Authority, or we choose to offend God with an act of disobedience. There's
no middle road. Cardinal Shonborn not too long ago did nothing to stop the disobedience of many Austrians in their objection to the Priest chosen wisely by BXVl to the Bishopric. With Shonborn's planned visit to Medjugorje he confirms where he obviously stands. (In the way.)
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Posted Friday, November 20, 2009 4:56 PM By Victoria
JLS The TRUE Miracle of Lourdes, Fatima, Medjugorje, is the Faith of the Millions of People who visit these places. I hope to go to Lourdes next year; but I don't expect to be cured of my physical ailments. It is for my Spirit that I will make this journey. And Please, JLS, none of your biting remarks.
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Posted Sunday, November 22, 2009 5:39 AM By mark waterinckx
Dear 4unborn,
I have been 24x to Med. Before I was a believer and translated for all the 'seers'. Now I have 200 arguments against Med. The received graces there are the result of the H.Sacraments(H.Mass, confession,...)
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