In June 1981, six children between the ages of 10 and 16 claimed that the Virgin Mary had appeared to them on a stony hilltop near the village of Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The children said she had shared messages of peace and prayer with them.
The visionaries, as the group became known, say that the Virgin has been returning to Medjugorje (pronounced mehd-JOO-gor-ee-yeh) ever since. Their claim has drawn millions of the faithful from around the world, transforming the once tranquil farming village into a major pilgrimage site.
From the outset, though, the alleged apparitions have polarized Roman Catholic opinion. Millions of believers say they have found spiritual solace in Medjugorje, with dozens of reports of miraculous healings, conversions and religious callings. Others dismiss the sightings as a hoax, in part because they have continued so long and occurred with clockwork regularity.
After years of commissions, analyses and pronouncements from the Vatican and local officials, the Vatican issued a document on Thursday “to conclude a long and complex history that has surrounded the spiritual phenomena of Medjugorje.”
The Vatican Weighs In
Acknowledging the “positive encouragement for their Christian life” that many pilgrims receive at Medjugorje, the Vatican has decided to authorize public worship there.
But the document, signed by Víctor Manuel Fernández, the head of the Vatican’s doctrine office, stressed that its decision was not meant to verify the presence of a supernatural phenomenon at the site.
Given that apparitions or other sightings are private experiences for individuals, the church does not require the faithful to accept the authenticity of such sightings. In this case, the document states that “the faithful are not obliged to believe in it.”
Citing some of the messages the Virgin Mary is said to have delivered at Medjugorje over the decades, the Vatican said that while most were “edifying,” that did not mean “that they have a direct supernatural origin.” Consequently, they should be identified as “alleged messages” delivered through the visionaries.
The church’s evaluation of “the abundant and widespread fruits, which are so beautiful and positive, does not imply that the alleged supernatural events are declared authentic,” the document states. But the spiritual phenomena at Medjugorje act “for the good of the faithful,” it says.
David Murgia, an author and journalist who has written two books about Medjugorje, said that the new document fell short of making any decisive conclusions about the apparitions, which is what many of the faithful were waiting to hear.
“People go to Medjugorje because they think the Virgin appears in real time,” he said. “I think it’s absurd that you tell me that the consequences are good, but not if the origin is real.”
He added: “It’s like saying that fruit is good, but we don’t know if the tree exists.”
The Road to the Decision
Several investigations into the origins of the apparitions have been inconclusive.
Two early investigations led by the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno in Bosnia and one carried out by the former Bishops’ Conference of Yugoslavia failed to provide definitive conclusions. One of Pope Benedict XVI’s top cardinals led a commission to examine the apparitions, but its findings were never published.
The Vatican said its conclusions on Medjugorje were based on new, comprehensive guidelines for evaluating visions of the Virgin Mary and other supernatural, faith-based phenomena that it issued last May.
According to the new rules, the church will no longer issue declarations that accept the supernatural origin of such phenomena, as the Vatican had at Fatima, in Portugal, and Lourdes, in France, two important shrines dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
Instead, after assessing the event and finding no “negative elements in it,” the church can issue a citation saying that nothing should stop a local bishop from recognizing the benefits of such “spiritual phenomena,” or even promoting them.
That’s what the Vatican has decided for Medjugorje.
“Those new rules were written solely so the Vatican could say something about Medjugorje,” said Mr. Murgia said.
Lingering Controversy?
Skeptics of the Medjugorje phenomenon have accused some of those involved of exploiting the visions for financial gain.
Though official statistics are unavailable, it is certain that many millions of pilgrims have come to Medjugorje, where once quiet streets are now lined with hotels. The number of priests who celebrate there and the number of communion hosts distributed are continually tallied and updated by the parish.
The bishop of Mostar-Duvno is now expected to issue a decree that will uphold the Vatican’s opinion.
The parish of Medjugorje will continue to publish messages on its website that it says come from the Virgin. A Vatican official will continue to oversee and authorize the publication of the messages.
Some critics have questioned the content of some of the messages, however. The Vatican acknowledged these concerns in its document, noting that a few messages “could be tied to the desires or interests of the presumed visionaries or other persons.”
But the Vatican pointed out that the vast majority of the messages — there have been thousands — contained “great value and express the constant teachings of the Gospel.”
As for the visionaries themselves, the document notes that the Vatican makes no “judgment about the moral life of the alleged visionaries.” It also makes clear that pilgrimages to Medjugorje “are not made to meet with the presumed visionaries,” but to have a spiritual experience with the Virgin and Jesus and to participate in a Mass.
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