"Once, when the Madonna was narrating her life to me,
when the Virgin showed me the Child Jesus in her arms,
he bended so, while she was holding Jesus,
By good, I mean an objective report.
From Ines San Martin for Crux.
It's one of the best articles I've read recently. It's an objective overview and history of the events, and in addition, the author offers a very good summary of the Church's discernment process as it relates to private revelations.
I'm not as closed to the phenomena at Medjugorje as those who contend it is diabolical, nor would I ever promote the seers or the message - precisely because the local ordinary has said nothing supernatural can be affirmed and since the Holy See is now in charge, I'm happy to wait for the official decision of the Church. What does impress me about Medjugorje is the good fruit produced. The people who have been there as pilgrims seem to me to be very devout and faithful. That said - my opinion on these matters means nothing - but I appreciated the article in Crux.
Why the delay?
Many attribute the long delay in getting a Vatican verdict to that ambivalence among the local bishops, but there’s an even more basic factor at work. Generally speaking, for the Vatican to even consider issuing a finding on a reported apparition, the revelations have to be over, and in Medjugorje they’re definitely not.
Such waiting periods, by the way, aren’t terribly unusual. St. Bridget of Sweden had visions for a quarter century, St. Hildegard for 70 years and Our Lady of Laus allegedly appeared in France for 54 years in the late 1600s - yet this last apparition wasn’t formally recognized until 2008.
For 350 years, since a decree of Pope Urban VIII in 1625, the Church has severely forbidden any publication of the accounts of what are called “private revelation and visions” without special ecclesiastical approbation. This ban was imposed in an attempt to protect people from the dangers of “apparition enthusiasm” and delusion.
No matter what Rome might say, however, in the digital era keeping the messages of Medjurgorje hidden has proven impossible. There’s a site, www. medjugorje.org, collecting them all, and they’re quickly shared among hard-core devotees when new ones are published.
Many Catholic theologians agree that private revelations have to be approached with caution, keeping in mind the strong possibility of human illusion, self-deception, diabolical influence, and even outright fraud.
In the last five decades, the Church has overruled several hundreds of alleged private revelations.
As long as the apparitions are ongoing, the Vatican’s preferred course is to defer to the local bishop. The last two bishops of Mostar-Duvno, the diocese to which Medjugorje belongs, have said clearly that nothing supernatural is happening here. - Finish reading here.
Whatever works: If it gets you to confession, communion, inspires a desire for prayer and penance, and you change your life - that is: stop loving sin and living in sin ... nothing wrong with that ... I guess.
What?
Good post, good article. The thing that makes me an unbeliever is that not one of the supposed Med seers went into religious life (unlike Lourdes and Fatima). Is there good fruit - yes. Is there disobedience - yes. Every single person I know that's into Med seem to be dramatic emotional types. I'll save my trip fare and go to Lourdes instead.
ReplyDeleteActually, I've met some really sincere and good people who have been there, which in itself almost made me a believer, but the seers and their 'success' puzzles me. Today is the first time I ever read a connection or similarity to Clemente Domínguez y Gómez or the Palmarian sect of Palmar de Troya revelations. When I lived in Boston, not a few devotees of Boyside were attracted to that. It's fascinating to me.
DeleteI wouldn't go to medjugorje when I was in the neighborhood. Another curious thing is the wealth of the alleged seers.
ReplyDeleteOne of them has a huge hotel and a so-called 'mansion' I guess. It's weird.
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