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The truth
both frees us and binds us A tribute to
Michael Davies and his new book By Bishop
Peric of Medjugorje There are a good number of the faithful throughout the world who
strive for the purity of the faith, respecting the Church's magisterium and
bearing witness to the spuriousness of the "visions" at Medjugorje.
One of them is Michael Davies of London. When I assumed responsibility
for the diocese of Mostar, I came to know Mr Davies, who is Welsh, and his
wife Maria, who is Croatian. They were friends of my predecessor, the late
Bishop Pavao Zanic, who died on 11th November 2000. I must thank Michael for
the efforts that he has made to follow and criticize the unbelievable claims
made about the events at Medjugorje, a theme that he develops in this book, Medjugorje
after 21 Years.
I have to ask how the Christ's Church could on the basis of such
pilgrimages to a single parish, motivated by a range of emotions from mere
curiosity to fanatical zeal, proclaim such "visions" to be
supernatural, when three ecclesiastical commissions of inquiry into the
events at Medjugorje lawfully constituted on the direction of Bishop Zanic,
the local bishop, and the Conference of Bishops [of the former Yugoslavia] in
1991 confirmed that they could find no proof that there had been
"supernatural visions and messages"? How could the Church, which is
the pillar and support of the truth, recognize such more than questionable "visions"
under pressure from such petitioners? Thirdly, it is most puzzling why such priests and faithful as really
thirst for visions and messages do not drink their fill from the sources of
visions that have been recognized as authentic, for example, Lourdes and
Fatima, though there are others besides, but instead turn to the unrecognized
"visions" at Medjugorje, where "Our Lady" supposedly
"appears" sine fine. The Church recognized some of the seers of
Lourdes and Fatima as saints or as blessed after their deaths, but the
champions of Medjugorje seem to be in competition with one another to see who
can go the most times to a place where the Church has not merely declined to
recognize the authenticity of the "visions" but has even forbidden
private or public pilgrimages if they are based on the authenticity of the unrecognized
"visions". If indeed some bishops from other parts of the world come and stay at
Medjugorje (some twenty kilometres from Mostar) for several days, yet do not
even feel the need to make themselves known to their local counterpart,
whether during or after the war [between Croatia and Serbia] then such
servants of the Church show neither Episcopal collegiality nor solicitude for
the universal Church (1 Cor. 11, 28) but rather a strange curiosity to see
what "visions" there might be to be seen on the stony hillsides of
Herzegovina. Yet we bishops and priests constantly pray to God in the Canon
of the Mass to confirm his Church in faith and charity on its way through
this world. Fourthly, the mere fact that many people, though they are believers,
hold something to be true does not make it true, perhaps even the contrary.
Christ the Lord stood alone, but for his Mother and one disciple, at Gabbatha
and on Golgotha. He was the only Truth opposed by the nameless masses, the
superior and inferior clergy, and the national and international
establishment in Jerusalem. When Christ proclaimed that He was the truth, Pilate gave their
jesting answer "What is truth?" (John, 18, 38), which is to say,
that for them personal advantage, political position and a temporary triumph
were more important than any truth, human or divine! Fifthly, the "seers" who see visions on a daily basis and
the endless apparitions themselves (33,333 to date, nor it there any risk of
my being mistaken, for there is no end to the numbers or the
"visions") are more in the nature of a religious show and a spectacle
for the world than a true and faithful witness to the peace and unity of the
Faith and love for the Church. Who can fail to see that these endlessly
multiplying numbers should not be taken seriously? Shall we change our Catholic orthodoxy for fantastical
superstition? Sixthly, the many "messages" pronounced in the early years
by the mouths of the so-called "seers", especially those that
praised the disobedience of some Franciscan priests in Mostar, and berated
the local bishop who conscientiously abided by Canon law, that belittled the
highest decisions of the Church regarding the administration of the diocese,
which as such were obviously inspired by worldly considerations and not by
heaven, brought far greater disorder and conflict than true peace and order
to the Church. This is a very particular chapter in the history of the
diocese of Mostar and Duvno. Seventhly, our Croatian Franciscans, who accept Medjugorje as a place
of "supernatural apparitions" have never, alas, distanced
themselves publicly from this bad and untruthful message to the Church in
Herzegovina. Some Franciscan fathers have performed many invalid
confirmations. One of them, who falsely purported to confirm with a mitre on
his head in the parish of Capljina in 1997, claimed to come from Medjugorje
and openly supported schism in that community by his sacrilegious and invalid
confirmations. Now that he has been expelled from the Franciscan order, he
has forcibly occupied the parish of Grude, where, two days ago, on the feast
of Whitsun, 2004, according to a photograph which appeared in the daily
papers, he once again carried out invalid confirmations, but this time
without a mitre. If the "seers" with their "visions" tolerate such
schismatic scandals, without in any way admonishing those involved, and
likewise those who support the "seers" and act as their public
relations men, without ever distancing themselves from or condemning such
local schisms, then in the name of the Mother of God, the Queen of Peace,
yea, in the name of the Holy Trinity, one God, might that not be a sign that
those involved in propagandizing in support of the supposed credibility of
such "visions" do not have the Divine will at the forefront of
their thoughts? A group of Franciscans (eight living, one deceased) who have been
expelled from their Order for their notorious disobedience
to the decisions both of their own superiors and of the Holy See with regard
to matters of ecclesiastical administration in the diocese, have forcibly
taken over a number of parishes in which for some years now they have been
administering invalid confessions, and officiating at invalid marriages, some
even carrying out invalid confirmations, and generally carrying on in
defiance of Canon Law, all in the immediate or general neighbourhood of
Medjugorje, as the place where tens of thousands of "visions" have
occurred. It is indeed astonishing that the "apparition", which has
passed on messages to thousands of the curious, even including American
President Ronald Reagan, and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev, and its
supporters, have not yet expressed concern, whether about the blasphemy
perpetrated against Christ's sacraments, or the damage to the unity of the
Church in the diocese of Mostar-Duvno. It is certainly remarkable that people
come from all over the world to make their confessions in Medjugorje, but the
expelled Franciscans and a few others who are in a state of disobedience to
the Holy See, their Order and the local Church authorities, give thousands of
invalid absolutions in the very neighbourhood of
Medjugorje. When this group of Franciscans, who even now wear Franciscan habits
even though they have been canonically expelled from the Order of Friars
Minor in 2001, blasphemously and sacrilegiously sinned against the sacraments
of the Eucharist and of confirmation by summoning an Old Catholic deacon (!)
a schismatic not in communion with the Catholic Church, to celebrate an
invalid Eucharist and to "confirm" hundreds of candidates in three
parishes, Grude, Capljina and Ploce-Tepcici, that deacon falsely held himself
out to be a bishop, saying "both the friars and I believe in the Marian
apparitions at Medjugorje". Alas, we heard not a word and saw not a sign of disapproval of such
pronouncements. On the contrary, some still defend the visitation of the un-catholic
deacon who proclaimed himself to be a bishop. One of his colleagues, who
lived in the same community for some time, tells how this deacon celebrated
"mass" in honor of the BVM in a church in Switzerland on the feast
of the Assumption, all dressed in black! A requiem for the Mother of God on
the day of her Assumption into heaven! What folly! A man who cannot celebrate
mass at all, since he is not a priest, so insults Our Lady, who reached a
higher state of holiness than any other human being, yet he claims to
"believe in the Marian apparitions at Medjugorje", and comes along
to "confirm" Catholic children in Herzegovina. Yet that same
colleague of his has given written testimony that this "bishop"
does not recognize the sacrament of confirmation administered according to
the Catholic rite, so he "confirmed" his friend a second time! The scandal of disobedience, concerning which we have not heard a word
of criticism from the "oasis of peace" at Medjugorje, has grown to
such a level that some of the above-mentioned former Franciscans asked an Old
Catholic bishop in Switzerland to consecrate one of them as bishop! So that the schism in the diocese should
deepen? So, for example, on 16th June 2003, the Pope once again asked the
members of the General Chapter of the Franciscan Order to carry into effect the
decision of his predecessor, Pope Paul VI, going back to 1975: "Your missionary activity will prove fruitful in so far as it is
fulfilled in harmony with the lawful pastors to whom Our Lord has entrusted
responsibility for his flock. Bearing that well in mind, I once again warmly
remind you of the efforts that have been made to overcome the difficulties
that have long existed in certain areas. It is my heartfelt wish that, with
co-operation on every side, that understanding with the diocesan authorities sought
by my worthy predecessor, Pope Paul VI, should be fully attained. It has
become apparent that such an understanding is a prerequisite for effective
evangelisation." It would be desirable to have an unambiguous response from the
Franciscan side to this exhortation by the Pope. For my part, I have never publicized the immorality or the financial
scandals associated with Medjugorje. There are other well publicized
disorders and evidence that sufficiently disprove the supposedly supernatural
nature of the "visions" and lead to the conclusion that it would be
better to conclude "constat de non supernaturalitate" rather than
"non constat de supernaturalitate". This book seeks to describe chronologically, analyze logically, and
explain faithfully the many facts connected with the more than questionable
"visions" at Medjugorje. May the true Queen of Peace help the
author by her intercession with the most Holy Trinity. Mostar, on the feast of the BVM, Mother of the Church, 31st May 2004, Contact Michael Davies:
info@mdaviesonmedj.com |
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